[Elecraft] To CW or not to CW ...

Tim N9PUZ tim.n9puz at gmail.com
Sat Sep 3 17:05:08 EDT 2005


Fred Jensen wrote:
> Hmmm ... it's pretty easy get people riled up on one side or the other 
> these days, just mention the terms "evolution" or "same-sex marriage." 
> Apparently for hams, the equivalent term is "Drop the CW Requirement."

My feelings are that CW as a requirement will go away, there's no 
question in my mind.

What I would like to see happen is that the tests include some 
questions about CW operation and an opportunity for the perspective 
new ham or upgrading ham to get credit for copying accurately at some 
speed be it 5, 15, or 20 WPM. If the candidate ham was really into CW 
then those portions of the tests would give their score a boost. If 
they weren't interested in CW but instead got really turned on by 
satellite work using phone or digital then not having a good grasp of 
CW would not prevent them from getting a license so long as they were 
knowledgeable of the other material.

In short I feel it should be no more and no less of a requirement than 
any other type of material on the exams.

My $0.02,

Tim, N9PUZ




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