[CW] No more RCC or old timer's certs?

[scott mcmullen]

i think the decline of interest in the Rag Chewer's
Club is owing in large part to the fact that most
amateurs today enter the hobby through VHF/FM rather
than HF/CW. i just don't visualize new hams applying
for RCC after a 30 minute qso on 146.52 MHz, or
through a repeater (actually, long QSO's on repeaters
are often discouraged by the owning organizations).

by the time the amateur upgrades to general and makes
their first hf contacts, amateur radio is more "old
hat", the novelty has kind of worn off, and it seems
kind of silly to apply for a certificate after just
one long qso.

in my case, i am a proud, certificate-carrying
member of the RCC. my first amateur radio qsos were 
on HF/CW, and making them at all seemed like the 
culmination of significant effort (my first xmtr was
homebrew; bet alot of yours were, too). hence the
RCC felt to me as if it represented something 
tangible.

i hate to see them cancel these awards, but with 
their budgetary problems, i can understand why 
they are, since people after all aren't applying for
them.

i do hope they continue the code proficiency 
program.

i'm returning to amateur radio after a long qrt 
period, and am using the w1aw practice transmissions
and qualifying runs to try to "up" my code speed. i
sent in my papers for the 20 wpm certificate, and
hope to continue at it to earn a 25 wpm endorsement
at some point. i earned the extra with the 20 wpm 
multiple choice test in 1978, so this has really 
been my first attempt to get the 20 wpm with the
one minute of solid copy, like those did shortly
before i started. (the "dumbing down" started even
back then, and i was a "beneficiary").

73,
scott nj0e

--- HSHK <hshk@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> ARRL Membership Services
> Manager Wayne Mills, N7NG, says that the number of
> amateurs applying
> for awards in general has declined significantly
> over the years, and
> interest
> in these three awards had slowed to a trickle. DXCC
> and WAS remain
> among the most popular ARRL Awards, he said, but the
> eliminated awards
> "had outlived their interest level." 

=====
Scott McMullen, NJ0E
http://www.geocities.com/scottamcmullen
scottamcmullen@yahoo.com
Dripping Springs, Texas

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