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G4EBT > MORSE 31.12.07 00:12l 88 Lines 3138 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : F97290G4EBT
Read: GUEST
Subj: Re: K7QO CW video (ZS6CFC)
Path: IZ3LSV<IW2OAZ<IK2XDE<DB0RES<DK0WUE<GB7FCR
Sent: 071209/2041Z @:GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU #:54127 [Blackpool] FBB-7.03a $:F97290G4
From: G4EBT@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
To : MORSE@WW
Sten, ZS6CFC wrote:-
> RE: Morse is an asset...
> I would rather see it that way: As the barriers of having
> to have learning Morse are brought down - Morse might turn
> out to be an asset.
Yes, it might now be seen as something worthwhile to do in its own right -
not simply as a needless hurdle to get a full licence, then forgotten.
> We have an ever increasing form of modulation/digital
> programmes. Morse is just one of them. Many HAD to overcome
> this barrier, just to drop this asset.
It might seem an odd thing to say, but in my view the mandatory Morse test
for HF access sealed the fate of Morse by giving it negative connotations.
Morse wasn't promoted for its intrinsic values:-
The simplicity of equipment,
The on-off state ensuring maximum readability under QRM
or weak signal conditions,
Its narrow bandwidth,
The overcoming of language barriers by use of the Q Code,
The working of DX with countries from which SSB signals will rarely if
ever be heard,
The added joy of using a skill which we wouldn't ordinarily
use in our everyday lives.
Something special to amateur radio.
There was never any sustainable regulatory logic to impose a test in a
mode which one may not wish to use (Morse) to gain permission to use a
mode in which one wasn't tested (SSB).
There are many reasons why Morse doesn't appeal to amateurs.
The ear is an analogue device naturally accustomed from birth to hearing
analogue sounds - the varying modulation of the human voice - pitch, tone,
emphasis, etc.
If we send Morse, we convert this analogue sound into a digital one a -
full-on/full-off signal of varying mark-space ratio. At the receiving end
our ears and brain have to convert that digital signal back to analogue to
decode it into the spoken and written word.
Some enjoy learning this additional skill and putting it into effect -
others consider it a needless impediment and see the loss of voice
intonation and a loss of spontaneity, and as unnatural.
Today, an ability to send and receive Morse is the only thing that sets
the hobby apart from "posh CB". Yet the hobby is being promoted on the
basis of "great news - you no longer have to pass a Morse test", rather
than "great news - come into the hobby and we'll teach you to use the
fascinating skill
of Morse code and lots of other communications skills".
There could also have been additional merit certificates for Morse at
higher speeds - say 15, 20, 25, 30WPM etc as a means to encourage
interest in Morse and to promote it.
Too late now I think.
There will always be a place for Morse, just as there's a place for the
hurdy gurdy and crumphorn, and there will always be those who will keep
these quaint traditions alive by learning the skills, putting them into
practice and enthusing like-minded consenting adults.
The world would be a worse place without them.
Best wishes
David, G4EBT @ GB7FCR
British Vintage Wireless Society Member
G-QRP Club Member, No: 1339
Cottingham, East Yorkshire.
Message timed: 19:35 on 2007-Dec-09
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