From: utzoo!decvax!cca!Stephany.WBST@PARC-MAXC@sri-unix Newsgroups: net.ham-radio Title: Re: Code-Free Licensing: Epistle #3 Article-I.D.: sri-unix.4640 Posted: Mon Dec 6 09:55:21 1982 Received: Tue Dec 7 09:31:53 1982 Re: Code-free licensing: Epistle #3 You have missed the fundamental arguments. 1) The elimination of the code requirement will not bring in all the new blood and geniuses that will revolutionize Ham radio. The facts: a) the Canadian Digital licese has only been issued to less than 200 people. b) The Reduction of the code for technician class at 5 WPM was for the purpose of bringing in all those people that would populate the UHF. The Technician Licese turned into a waiting room untill you get your general, the geniuses never showed up. c) In Japan, a code free licese for 2meters made 2 meters into a Citizen's Band just like in the US. There was never any great technical upswing. If anything, Ham radio was worse off because of all the clunkers they picked up . So forget the genius argument. The geniuses already have liceses. 2) Code is not "just another mode" to be equated with the others on an equal basis. It is the mode that gets through when all else fails. The distress situations were only quoted as dramitization of the idea. When your mike is broken, your TTY doesn't work, etc., the code is the last resort. remember Ham Radio is not just another hobby, it is based in pulic service. Public service justifies its existense. Without our ability to communicate in times of disaster, there would be no Ham radio, or at, least, we would not have the spectrum space we do have. I cannot see how a person without code, even though he may not use it, can participate in a disaster with confidence. It would bother me no end if I knew that if my SSB demodulator failed, the mike broke, etc., I could not communicate. I agree the CW is not the most efficient mode when compared with several other modes in use. But these comparisons are really not a valid argument: 1) These other modes assume the existence of some elaborate equipment, usually including digital circuitry. Modulating CW with similar circuitry (phase shift CW for example) can place it on an equal basis since CW is another form of modulation that can always be substituted for the modulation in use ( example, the ASCII code can be substituted for the CW code). But, and this is the big but, CW is human readable. I know of one person that can read Baud TTY code by ear ( at 30 WPM , he could only read every other letter). I know of none that can use any other code. I know of 300,000 that can read CW. 2) When the chips are down, if you want to send CW, all you need is 1 (ONE) transitor, some wire, and a battery. ( no receiver). Can oany other mode do the same ? Compare it to a trip in the wilderness: you do not need to make a fire by rubbing two sticks togeather, you can bring a cigarette lighter. But what happens when the cigarette lighter fails ? Chances are that you will never have your life saved by knowing CW, But, how many lives will be sacrificed by eliminating the CW requirement. A few?... A Hundered ? .... What happens when the guy in a flood area looses his mike or rig, and only has his grid dip oscillator to communicate ? An old tube type ACDC receiver has enough spunk in its local oscillartor to communicate on 160 meters. ( The Germans, during WW2 used to pick up thoses oscillators for a distance of 100 miles and zero in on convoys). Also, if you think CW is so old fashoned and unnecessary, remember that the final back upo system for communication to trident and polaris subs is CW on 300 Hertz (thats right ,CW on 300 HERTZ). No other system will work (all other systems take too much bandwidth). All Navy opoerators are still trained in CW and there will be no change in the future despite satellites and backscatter. There is no question in my mind that a Ham without a knowledge of CW , even at the low rate of 5 WPM, is a detriment to Ham radio's purpose as public service, and represents a lowering of the ability and competance of Hams the world over. Joe, N2XS (Spark Forever)