[CW] Licensing?

[N2EY at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/25/05 11:10:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
k4wj at bellsouth.net writes:


> No test is required for CW in order to prove proficiency. I know guys 
> that passed the test and can't send worth a dime. 

But did they pass a sending test?


 My buddy Ted, 
> 
> K6YN, was licensed before just about all of us were born. He turned 
> 100 on April 30th. He never was required to take a CW test when he 
> applied for an amateur radio license. He only took a written exam. A 
> CW test was not part of the amateur test requirements back then.
> 

Yes, it was. 

Before 1912, licensing in the USA wasn't mandatory. Most stations, 
particularly
amateurs, used self-assigned call letters and whatever power and wave they 
felt
like. Some used "Continental" Morse and some used "American Morse". The Navy 
used a third code!

The Wireless Act that was enacted after the Titanic disaster changed all 
that. All transmitting stations had to be licensed, amateurs were sent to "200 
Meters and Down", etc. 

A US ham license required 5 wpm code, sending and receiving, and a written 
test consisting of essay questions. After WW1, the speed was increased to 10 
wpm.

In those days there may have been some "crossover" of exam credit. For 
example, if someone held a commercial radiotelegraph license, the examiner probably 
wouldn't require a slower-speed code test for a ham license. 


> Now at his age his fist leaves a lot to be desired but he is in there 
> pounding brass.
> 
> So it looks like the amateur licensing process will go full circle 
> when the FCC makes it ruling.
> 

The reason for licensing in the first place was to bring order out of 
chaos...


> Let the newbies hear what good CW sounds like by SENDING good CW. 
> Properly formed characters with proper spacing between them is a lot 
> easier to copy then some of the banana sounding fists I hear on the 
> air. Some guys mangle the code in the process of trying to make their 
> fists sound unique.
> 
> 

I think the explanation is a lot simpler than that.

In the bad old days, new hams learned to send and receive code because both 
were tested. Never mind that the examiner might listen to you send for 10 
seconds and say "that's OK" - you'd prepare yourself for *anything*.

But for 20+ years there's been no sending test, so many newcomers don't 
bother to learn sending. The sad part is that learning to send helps you learn to 
receive IMHO. 

73 de Jim, N2EY