[CW] Fw: Wake up all you ARRL Directors and Officers

[n3drk]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "n3drk" <n3drk@triad.rr.com>
Subject: Wake up all you ARRL Directors and Officers


> The following excerps are taken from an article written by Marshall Emm,
> owner of Morse Express. This company provides keys, paddles, keyers, qrp
> gear for the amateur and is in a position to know where cw is going and
the
> failure of the ARRL and FCC to encourage CW. If one wants to read the
> article it can be found at
>
> http://www.morsex.com/pubs/cw.htm
>
> The only argument against the CW proposal is that to use the "CW" system
the
> "hams" would have to learn Morse code, while the "SSB" system requires
only
> that the "hams" be capable of picking up a microphone and knowing when to
> push the button.
>
> In our "unreal world" of amateur radio we have seen a lot of pressure to
> abandon the code as a licensing requirement- usually it's sugar coated,
> along the lines of "nobody is saying you can't use it, we're just saying
you
> don't have to learn it." Why? Doesn't take much analysis to come up with
the
> answer- money and politics. For most of us as individuals, amateur radio
is
> a hobby. But for far too many "support types" it is an Industry.
> Manufacturers and bureaucracies are concerned that the market is
> "shrinking." They point to license numbers and say that the amateur
> population is declining, and getting older, and something must be done.
> Obviously we need to make it easier to become a ham, and about all we can
do
> apart from giving away licenses is to eliminate the code requirement. But
> guess what, boys and girls... we've been there and done that. We got a
huge
> influx of no-code licensees in the '70s but we didn't maintain their
> interest and they are dropping out of the hobby like flies. That is the
> shrinkage that the Industry is seeing. The popular wisdom now is that
access
> to HF will bring them back and keep them in.
>
> The important thing here is that in the three major areas of code use, it
is
> being actively discouraged for reasons which have absolutely nothing to do
> with its usefulness
>
> Using Morse code is a skill, like riding a bicycle, or playing golf. You
> have to learn how to do it, and you get better at doing it through
practice.
> Riding a bicycle is a good analogy, because it seems impossible at first
but
> eventually something "clicks" and you can do it. Not only can you do it,
you
> wonder what all the fuss was about. In one respect, however, playing golf
is
> a better analogy because it is open ended. The more you do it, the better
> you get, but you never quite reach perfection
>
> From time to time I hear speculation that we could face a natural disaster
> that wipes out most of what we call "technology," or perhaps a war with an
> enemy who has figured out how to use their technology to defeat ours.
These
> scenarios are often dredged up in an attempt to justify preserving Morse
> code, which is seen as being under threat and in need of defense.
>
> In the first place, if there were a sudden need for thousands of Morse
> operators, they could be trained very quickly- possibly more quickly than
> communication networks could be created for them to use. We went through
> that in World War II.
>
> In the second place, Morse code will survive as long as people want to use
> it, and there is absolutely no question that it is the mode of choice for
an
> increasing number of hams. There are many "sub hobbies" within amateur
> radio, but the one area which has seen spectacular and sustained growth
over
> the last few years is QRP (low power operation). Because of the power
> advantage (equivalent readability on the order of 18dB greater than SSB),
CW
> is used in the majority of QRP operations. QRP is inexpensive, it's
> environmentally friendly, it's challenging, and it's fun. CW is the mode
> that makes it possible, and you don't hear any complaints about Morse
being
> "too hard." But don't take my word for it, listen around 7.040 most any
> evening.
>
> Diehard DXers know that CW will get through when SSB just won't cut it,
and
> the same is true of the top contesters. Anybody who thinks CW is dying out
> should listen to the CW sub-bands during Field Day.
>
> AND LASTLY HE STATES
>
>
>
> I'm in a position to know that interest in Morse code (and the machines
that
> make it useful) has been growing steadily over the last four or five
years.
> I'm also an active operator, so I know that use of CW on the air is also
> increasing. Maybe it's not "high tech." Or maybe, since it is direct
digital
> input to the brain, it's as high as tech can get. Either way, it's fun,
it's
> rewarding, and it's going to be around a lot longer than I am.
>
>
>
> Send email to EVERY DIVISION DIRECTOR AND VICE DIRECTOR. DONT FORGET
MR.JIM
> HAYNIE THE PRESIDENT OF THE LEAGUE. AND ALL THE OFFICERS OF THE LEAGUE.
>
>
>
> Thank You
>
> n3drk-john
>