[CW] W6BNB's comments to FCC

Tue, 16 Sep 2003 22:57:26 -0400

DT,

The code requirement for the 3rd class Radio-telegraph license is 20 wpm.

20 wpm of English and 16 wpm of coded groups.

Remember that the morse code was made up to go faster with English, so 16
wpm of code groups is 20 wpm of English.

But to most people on the list, they would think you meant that the
commercial exam was at 16 wpm but the ham exam was at 13.

This would NOT be true!!!

The commercial exam is 20 wpm, and the ham exam (for General) was 13 wpm.

73

DR
David Ring
N1EA (still have my T1 license!)

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Toepfer" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 9:23 PM
Subject: Re: [CW] W6BNB's comments to FCC

> --- Donald Chester <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > > Back in the 193O's, the FCC recognized that
> > > > code is learned at 13 wpm so it increased amateur Morse Code
> > > > speed tests from 10 to 13 wpm.
> >
> > Actually, it was proposed to increase it to 12.5 wpm, but the FCC
decided
> > the calculations for characters per minute for the code tests would be
too
> > messy, so they upped it to the nice round number of 13.  I recall
reading
> > that in some old QST's of the era.
>
> Funny thing is, if you're gonna go with round numbers why not just go with
15
> or even 16 to allign with Third Class Radiotelegraph Operator's
Certificate
> (T3) [ http://wireless.fcc.gov/commoperators/t3.html ] Element 1 - 16 code
> groups per minute.  I would even support that.
>
> dt
> .
>
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