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Kind of wish they had kept the Morse code requirement for the radio license. Felt like more of a connection to the old ham requirements and history
by dbish 2y ago
Kind of wish they had kept the Morse code requirement for the radio license. Felt like more of a connection to the old ham requirements and history
- pc486 2y agoI feel the opposite. Morse code was a major barrier into HF for many different people. Folks who are musically challenged would fail to copy. People with hand disabilities faced major hurdles. Hearing disabilities made it impractical, even though there are plenty of visual-only modes (sstv, digital tty modes, etc). Removal of morse has allowed far more people to reach more technical levels of ham radio. And, in my anedotcial experience, dropping the requirement hasn't impacted the popularity of morse code. I'd wager its more popular than ever because of how many more hams have HF access compared to limiting access to folks who learned code just to pass a test and to promptly throw away their key.
- dbish 2y agoFair enough. I just loved learning it as a boyscout and applying it to HAM and always think of it as this last ditch backup option
- pc486 2y agoMorse code is fun! It's not just an emergency mode either. Those mountain climbing SOTA hams love code because CW radios are so simple that they can cram several bands into an absolutely tiny QRP rig. Collectors practice on their 80 year old rigs. There's even a club dedicated to making contracts only with straight keys. Fear not. Code will be with us for decades to come.
- hilbert42 2y agoWouldn't it be easy to apportion small sections of the HF bands to those who are so afflicted? Those who've CW wouldn't be so restricted.
- ravenstine 2y agoIt'd also be nice if car mechanics were trained to shoe horses and fix wagon wheels so I can feel some connection to the old West.
- dbish 2y agoAgreed. Good point
- rcurry 2y agoFor the win.
- tonymet 2y agowithout them we wouldn't be here. one day you'll appreciate that
- hilbert42 2y agoAnd making wagon wheels requires considerable skill. When you've mastered that you've almost certainly got a second trade of woodworking under your belt. And perhaps even iron-working skills. As someone who learned woodworking I'd not like to make a wagon wheel without guidance from a master. One of the problems of inexperience is not being able to appreciate the subtleties, and how many seemingly disparate things relate in ways that end up being important.
- uint8_t 2y agoWorth noting that the movement to drop morse code, "No-code International," was spearheaded by none other than K6BP. Bruce Perens, one of our own!
- Aloha 2y agoI do not, I never would have gotten my ticket with it, and I tried and repeatedly failed to learn code. Now I'm an Extra, and have been licensed long enough to join the QCWA.
- swalberg 2y agoMorse code is flourishing even without it being a requirement. People are discovering what a fun mode it is -- the low power portable people love the reach you can get on 5W, others enjoy the mental challenge, and it's prevalent in contesting. You can be as connected to the past as you want in this hobby. It's at the point where we have people getting remote islands on the air by driving a boat onto shore that has a radio and an amplifier, raising an antenna, and then people can operate from either a boat anchored off shore or back home over Starlink. And they're doing it in Morse code, so you have this nice blend of the old and the new.
- howard941 2y agoI made my peace with no code a long time ago. The hobby was shrinking. IME what was lost in connectivity was made up for by bringing in new blood.