[Boatanchors] Upgrade question

[Bill Paschall]

One thing this entire quiestion of CW, yes or no, upgrade ease and who has 
the biggest johnson really proves is that we human beings are if anything 
predictable. I guess by some standards I am a newbee, first licensed in 66 
and now an advanced liscenee. Yes, I did get general before the FCC testers 
but baring dishonesty on the part of a volunteer tester whom as I recall had 
to be at least one grade higher than the level he was going to test, I doubt 
that my test was any more difficult that those faced by conditional 
applicants.   I can remember even then, there were groups of old timers  who 
were rallying against conditional liscensees as a dumbing down effort since 
they did not have to break in using spark gap or heliography.  It seems to 
me that if those who are so upset by the removal of CW as a requiremet would 
stop carping and break out the old key and actually use some CW we might 
quit losing bandspace to other mediums. I was recently talking to an extra 
at a hamfest who thought Amateur radio was doomed due to the CW issue, it 
turned out he didn't even own a key for his ricebox but he had a heck of a 
big amp. While I am on the stump, what about the argument that no one can or 
does build anymore, Wrong! people do build , a lot of them, and not just 
simple field strength meters and such. They build receivers , transmitters 
and transceivers for all modes and complexities, that perform very well 
indeed. Many of them are QRP enthusists but a lot of them are QRO guys as 
well. They use tubes, transisters, ICs and some chips that weren't even 
dreams back in the day. Don't believe me do a google on homebrewing ham 
radio and see what you get.
Now the question of entry requirements and general operating ability. Sure 
some of the new guys use prowords incorrectly , so do I on occasion. True 
some of them have along way to go before they are competent hams but they 
have an excuse, they are learning, they met the federal requirements as we 
all did. That said it doesn't excuse the oldtimer who is splattering 6 KCs 
either side of zero beat and whose hearing is such that he thing he needs a 
processor to make himself understood and gets upset when told he is not the 
best sounding signal on the air.
All in all, My money is on there not being much difference between now and 
1950 as far as hamming goes, same old story , different day.
I relinquish the stump and don my asbestos cape.
73
Bill,  WD5DZG