[Elecraft] OT: Decoding high speed CW

[Phil Kane]

On 3/29/2016 4:45 PM, Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:

> In the 1950's the U.S. 2nd class commercial Radiotelegraph license exam
> required 20 wpm sending and receiving. Receiving was 5 character random
> groups that included all punctuation and most of the special characters you
> see above the numbers on a keyboard. After 6 months of sea duty as an
> assistant radio officer, one could apply for a First Class license that
> required the same but at 25 wpm. I don't recall how long we had to copy,
> just the elation LS experienced at passing, Hi!

My memory is 16 WPM code groups and 20 WPM plain text for the Second
Class.  The one year at sea was for the endorsement permitting  the
person to be the sole operator on cargo ships.  The requirement to sit
for the First Class exam was one year or more experience handling Public
Correspondence (message traffic to and from commercial ship or shore
stations excluding most military experience).  Passenger ships required
two or more operators, one of whom had to hold a First Class license
acting as "Chief Operator".

The code requirements for the Second Class have been carried over for
the "combined" lifetime Radiotelegraph Operator License.  The FCC will
no longer issue  First Class Licenses because Manual Morse is no longer
required for safety and distress traffic in the Maritime Services now
that the satellite and SSB-based GMDSS is in operation and there is no
need for a "Chief Operator" on ships..

I finally got my Second Class before the "cut-off", one of the last 8 so
issued.  It gets renewed only once in 2018 and then it goes "lifetime"
losing the Second Class designation.
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73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane
T2-00000208