[CW] We're not a privileged SERVICE ...

[Scott Rosenfeld [N7JI]]

Might I add that we're supposed to be able to provide that service in 
whatever way possible.

Let's say conditions are really poor on the air.

Someone else attempts to communicate with you in Morse code as they didn't 
have a computer around...and it's actually an emergency situation, and 
the cell phone system is overrun, and SSB just won't cut it...but you 
don't know it...so you're now useless.

"Sorry," you say, "I never learned Morse."

Morse code is the UNIVERSAL language which all hams speak/spoke.  It's 
called the INTERNATIONAL Morse Code because it's not just English.

It is the simplest mode to send and receive, requiring nothing more than 
simple circuitry and using the brains of the operators as encoders and 
decoders.

And no complaining about Morse - we could just as easily be using "Smith 
Code" if someone named Smith had invented a universally accepted system.

That said, Morse also does very well in information theory, achieving a 
very good average length per character sent and optimizing quite well over 
the character set that is the English language.

On Wed, 9 Jul 2003, Fred Adsit wrote:

> ------- Original Message ------
> Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 09:46:22 -0400 (EDT)
> From: uhsteinberg@earthlink.net
> Reply-To: ulrich@steinberg.cc
> To: cw@mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [CW] We're not a privileged SERVICE ...
> 
> Because it is NOT just a hobby. It is a government SERVICE, subject to
> international treaties.  The day we become "just a hobby" will be the day
> ham radio ceases to be.
> ---------------------------------------
> Alan,
> You mean like Citizens Band Radio SERVICE, or Family Radio SERVICE? (they,
> too, have spectrum allocations that are subject to international
> agreements ...) Of course it's just a hobby, and you shouldn't try to
> expect special privileges or protection because of that magic word in its
> name.  A small minority of us have ever provided a public service (on a
> voluntary basis - I'm not aware of any mandatory service we have to
> provide) or would know how to fill such a role, and whatever the services
> we provided they probably did not involve CW, and therefore will not
> provide a rationale to protect CW band allocations.
> The elimination of the 5wpm requirement doesn't change the facts too much:
> it doesn't take a lot of effort to pass that test, and if you do it
> doesn't realistically enable you to communicate since the typical speed on
> the bands is probably three times faster.  Those who strive to master CW
> will continue to do so even if it's not required - after all it's one of
> the few skills in ham radio these days that require a bit of tenacity and
> give a sense of accomplishment.
> Rather than petition the FCC or pressure ARRL into a position to retain
> the worthless 5wpm requirement, we should focus our energies on making
> sure that some part of the bands remain reserved for CW (and other
> non-voice modes).  THAT is the real battle, and we cannot expect
> protection from a misplaced hope that we'll be seen as a government
> service - we clearly are not.
> 73, Ric, N2DE  (100% CW)
> ----------------------------------
> >From NY2V:
> "PART 97--AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE--Table of Contents
>                       Subpart A--General Provisions
> Sec. 97.1  Basis and purpose.
>     The rules and regulations in this part are designed to provide an
> amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the
> following principles:
>     (a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service
> to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service,
> particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.
>     (b) Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to
> contribute to the advancement of the radio art.
>     (c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through
> rules which provide for advancing skills in both the communication and
> technical phases of the art."
> ----------------------------------
> Well, Ric, you have had your opportunity to BE a service, in traffic
> handling if nothing else. The Part 97 definition has always been very
> clear to me, and I spent years handling traffic, including health and
> welfare traffic, and on CW at that - I won't bother to discuss my
> activities in ARES/RACES which for the MOST part involve VHF comms on
> phone, but not entirely. I don't recall ever feeling that this was just a
> hobby. I do not see (a), (b) and (c) above as a multiple choice option. I
> am old and tired but I help pay the freight, and few hams do that. The
> fact they do not is no reason to say we are not a service. We are far more
> so than any other halfway similar "service", but "we" means, as you say,
> "a  small minority of us". Is this a criticism of your right to be a ham
> and whether you have fulfilled your duty as a servant to the government? I
> suppose so, but it's a free country filled with those who have no regard
> for Stop Signs, much less government Rules and Regs re Amateur Radio. It
> is a criticism of EVERY ham who has ignored the multi-part definition and
> spent their time doing everything BUT providing a public service. How do
> you expect us to preserve a single thing in the way of room to operate
> with Morse code if you cannot cite a reason based on something beyond
> tradition and sentimental trash? If we cannot show the value of CW as a
> service, don't even bother to petition the FCC or strong-arm the
> self-serving poll-ignoring ARRL. Most hams made this bed and now we will
> have to lie in it, Ric. "a misplaced hope that we'll be seen as a
> government service - we clearly are not."? Baloney, Ric. That is not
> "clear" at all. We were always supposed to be, on a voluntary basis (i.e.
> they meant we don't get paid for it). That is my opinion, and that
> definition has not changed since I got a ticket 55 years ago.
> 73,
> Fred Adsit NY2V - Syracuse, NY
> ex-W2ZOJ 1948
> ex-STM WNY
> ex-NM - NYS CW Net
> Member ARES / RACES
> A-1 Op
> NY2V is not a vanity call sign. Just luck of the draw, at the time.
> W2ZOJ - ZUT Amateur Radio Club - membership Closed.
> Its members waged a unified war with regard to restructuring.
> Ham Radio lost, which shows what our chances are Now....
> Although I belong, the ARRL is corrupt and impotent, and
> the FCC's Bill Cross W3TN will likely write a NPRM
> based on the recent WRC decisions.
> ----------------------------------
> 
> 
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-- 
Scott Rosenfeld  ARS N7JI
541-684-9970  Eugene, OR  Land o' much rain
If you find me on the air, I'm probably in my car
ham@w3eax.umd.edu  http://w3eax.umd.edu/~ham