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G4EBT > MORSE 07.03.08 13:00l 132 Lines 4965 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 5B8171G4EBT
Read: GUEST IU4JRU
Subj: FCC dumps Morse petition
Path: IZ3LSV<IW2OHX<OE6XPE<DB0RES<DK0WUE<GB7FCR
Sent: 080307/0957Z @:GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU #:63932 [Blackpool] FBB-7.03a $:5B8171G4
From: G4EBT@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
To : MORSE@WW
My views on the now defunct Morse test as a requirement to qualify for
an amateur radio licence are well known. Any restrictions place by public
authority on any lawful activity - be it operating an amateur radio
station, flying a plane or driving a car, must be both necessary and
proportionate.
They can go no further than that.
The Morse test was an outdated anachronism with no regulatory logic,
sustained for at least forty years after it should have been dumped,
due mainly to the preponderance of ex-service personnel who came into
amateur radio after WW2 and held sway for far too long, making amateur
radio their personal playground.
They saw Morse as a means of "rationing" access to HF.
I don't have an axe to grind on this, other than that regulations
must have proportionate and necessary underpinning logic to them.
To gain a full licence back in 1974 I learnt Morse in three months
and passed the piffling 12WPM test in 10 minutes. No big deal - probably
the least significant challenge in my life - nothing more than a minor
impediment to be overcome and forgotten about.
A licence to do anything - drive a car, fly a plane, operate a transmitter
isn't a reward for hard work - it is a legitimate expectation for anyone
who meets the minimum criteria.
Not a "privilege" - a right. Any effort involved is incidental - a
driving test isn't a test of commitment, but a test of competence.
To gain a driver's licence one demonstrates competence in driving a car.
There's no requirement to demonstrate competence in driving a tractor to
"show one's commitment" to want to drive a car.
Passing a test in any competency is a first step on a journey - it isn't a
destination. For some, that journey is a voayage of discovery which lasts
a lifetime. For others, it ends when a test is passed. Each to their own.
In amateur radio, the overriding consideration is that we don't cause
interference to other spectrum users - notably the emergency service
or air traffic control.
The Morse test never had regulatory logic - it was ludicrous to expect an
amateur to take a test in a mode he wasn't interested in (Morse) to enable
him to gain a licence in a mode (SSB) in which he wasn't tested.
Being against the Morse test due to its illogicality as a regulatory
requirement must *not* be confused with an antipathy towards Morse.
Morse is a fine mode, much favoured by QRPers.
Few would disagree that it's an excellent mode in high noise conditions,
for its economy of bandwidth, lending itself to simple QRP equipment. It
is still much in evidence on the bands and is about the only thing that
differentiates amateur radio from CB these days.
I hadn't been aware until recently that the FCC's decision to scrap the
Morse test early in 2007 (at least 40 years too late) had been
challenged.
That challenge has failed.
The FCC concluded, as it must, that proficiency in Morse has no relevance
to an amateur's ability contribute to the advancement of the hobby, and no
relevance to emergency communications or national security.
Indeed, the FCC saw the scrapping of the Morse test as an enhancement.
For anyone who might be interested and who may not have seen the FCC
judgement, I'll put it out in another bull. For those who want the short
version, here are the FCC's conclusions:
Quote:
No Grounds for Reconsideration:
In summary, the FCC said, neither petition asserted "any grounds for
reconsidering" the decision in the Report and Order. "We believe that
the actions taken therein will allow amateur service licensees to better
fulfil the purpose of the amateur service, and will enhance the
usefulness of the amateur service to the public and licensees."
End quote.
So that's it then - Morse Code as a licence requirement in the
US is dead in the water. Good - why did it take so long?
Those who are interested in Morse Code are not in any way affected by the
judgement. They can continue to learn and practise Morse to whatever level
of proficiency they can attain, forsaking all other modes if that is their
wish.
I have a friend - now in his late 80s, licensed before WW2, and a "secret
listener" for the Ministry of War during that war. He's active on CW
daily, and has had well over 40,000 QSOs to date on a self-built Heathkit
HW8 which he constructed in the mid 1970s.
It gives him immense pleasure - long may that continue.
Morse forever - compulsion never.
FCC judgement to follow in another bull.
Quote of the day:
"Freedom"
"Freedom in general may be defined as the absence
of obstacles to the realization of desires".
Quite so.
(Bertrand Russell, English Logician and Philosopher 1872-1970)
Best wishes
David, G4EBT @ GB7FCR
British Vintage Wireless Society Member
G-QRP Club Member, No: 1339
Cottingham, East Yorkshire.
Message timed: 09:22 on 2008-Mar-07
Message sent using WinPack-Telnet V6.70
(Registered).
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