FCC Officially Releases Report and Order

[W5LZ]

I just checked the Federal Register from Dec.15th to Jan.11th and could find no mention of this R&O changing the code requirements for amateurs. So, forget the 19th of Jan. Maybe it'll hit the register in the next few days?
- 'Doc

Go here: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html

Do a search by the day's publications, unless you happen to know the specific 'title' of the R&O.

 

[Hook948]

Dude you are lying to yourself and us if you say you can send 40wpm and not copy 5 wpm... It just takes lots of practice time and patience.

No lie. No need to. Time and patience? Re-read my post. Not everyone is like you and able to copy. I won't "cop out" and claim a hearing problem although thats possible I guess. I just claim that there is either a bad connection between my ears and my brain or my brain just ain't right. Like I said, Knowing it and copying it are two very different things in my case. Call me a liar or lazy if you want to Mr tough over the internet guy, You still can't wipe the smile off my face over element one drawing it's dieing breath.

 

[buckwhite]

Why do you call me a tough guy. I'm going by the info in your post. You never once said you had a disability that caused you to not be able to copy. Code is like anything else that you cant buy with money. If it were easy everyone would be doing it. I never called you lazy, Some folks dont have the time to dedicate to code. I am lucky in the fact that i have some free time in the evenings since it gets dark at 1800. The good news is the code isnt dying any time soon (as you put it). Just because its not a requirement doesnt mean its not in use by thousands of operators all over the world. Good luck to you on the General.

[quote="Hook948[/quote] No lie. No need to. Time and patience? Re-read my post. Not everyone is like you and able to copy. I won't "cop out" and claim a hearing problem although thats possible I guess. I just claim that there is either a bad connection between my ears and my brain or my brain just ain't right. Like I said, Knowing it and copying it are two very different things in my case. Call me a liar or lazy if you want to Mr tough over the internet guy, You still can't wipe the smile off my face over element one drawing it's dieing breath. [/quote]

 

[Hook948]

Never said CW was dieing, Just Element one. Heck even I started to think CW was neat after I learned it and started sending it through my Bencher. Most likely not a mode I would do most of the time but would be fun every now and then. I haven't given up on it but I have given up on studying it for now. Maybe one day I'll be able to copy more than a word or two before it sounds like gibberish then who knows? Thanks for wishing me luck.

 

[cyclops1970]

Ethics are often instilled by proper leadership and the movement towards Excellency.

So...how does dropping testing for code contribute to the "movement towards Excellency?"

Fact is, the FCC, the ARRL, and W5YI want to make it as easy as possible to get a ham license. And they are willing to make any outrageous claim or modification to the existing license structure to attain that goal. The ARRL keeps saying "we need more hams....we need more, more, moremoremore" How many more? 100,000? 250,000? 1,000,000? And how low are going to have to drop the bar to get there?

The trend doesn't sit well with a "movement towards Excellency". More like a movement toward mediocrity.

Which is better:

250,000 licensees that are knowledgable and active on the air

-or-

750,000 licensees that don't know all that much, and 3/4 of which never get on the air?

Most of the brouhaha regarding the removal of the code testing requirement is that it signals a clear reduction in the qualifications necessary to hold an amateur license with no real additional requirements being added back to maintain the level of quality. Those hams who have been around a long time remember the end of testing in front of the FCC, the end of essay questions, the advent of the No-Code Tech license, the reduction of the CW requirement from 20 & 13 to 5 WPM, and now the no-Code Extra license. What has that gotten us? About 300,000 new licensees over the last 20 years, of which a goodly portion are never active.

Looking at the "big picture"....who is the more qualified Amateur radio operator: the Extra of 25 years ago or the Extra of today?

Unless we can come up with a way to stop the trend, one day we may find our ham licenses being delivered like this: