[CW] Morse Gone?

[D. Chester]

> This doen;t mean that CW is gone as
> a mode of communication; it's no longer required to get a license.
> It is a digital mode, as are the other digital modes, and
> should e accorded bandwidth in the same manner as the other modes are.
> . Perhaps if we oldtimers keep it going, newcomers will gain an interest
> and give it a try. With all of the software for training that is
> available there might be incentive for people who WANT to learn code
> can do so without the pressure that a test requirement incurs.

But I would say that over 90% of us initially learnt the code so we could 
pass the 13 wpm test.  I know I did. With even that 5 wpm incentive gone, I 
supect only a very small percentage will go to the trouble.  It will be like 
getting Americans to learn foreign languages, since they believe that every 
one else in the world learns English.  Preserving CW as a mode of 
communication over the air will be like the present-day uphill efforts to 
preserve the French language in Louisiana, Irish Gaelic in Ireland, and 
Native American languages on the Indian reservations.

And with ever more sophisticated keyboards and code readers available as 
dedicated units, or nothing more than a software CD to run in the computer , 
to many, cw will become just that - another digital mode, a bare-bones form 
of RTTY.

Don, k4kyv
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This message was typed using the DVORAK keyboard layout.

http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak/
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