[ETS/PARC List] Recent FCC Action

[E. Drew Moore]

Washington, D.C. – April 1, 2016 – Today, the Federal Communications 
Commission (Commission or FCC) approved Report and
Order 14-987af which reinstates the Morse Code test for General Class 
and Amateur Extra Class licensees. “It was a big
mistake eliminating the Morse Code test,” admits Dotty Dasher, the FCC’s 
director of examinations. “We now realize that
being able to send and receive Morse Code is an essential skill for 
radio amateurs. As they say, it really does get
through when other modes can’t.”

Not only will new applicants have to take the test, but General Class 
licensees who have never passed a code test will
have one year to pass a 5-wpm code test. Similarly, Amateur Extra class 
licensees that never passed a code test will
have one year to pass a 13-wpm test. Those amateurs that fail to pass 
the test will face revocation of their operating
privileges. Materials for administering the examinations will be 
distributed to Volunteer Examiner Coordinators by the
end of April, so that they can begin the testing on May 1, 2016.

“This isn’t going to be one of those silly multiple-choice type tests,” 
noted Dasher. “We’re going to be sending
five-character random code groups, just like we did in the old days. 
And, applicants will have to prove that they can
send, too, using a poorly adjusted straight key.”

Technician Class licensees will not be required to take a Morse Code 
test, nor will a test be required for new
applicants. “We discussed it,” said Dasher, “but decided that since most 
Techs can’t even figure out how to program
their HTs, requiring them to learn Morse Code seemed like cruel and 
unusual punishment.”

When asked what other actions we might see from the FCC, Dasher hinted 
that in the future applicants taking the written
exam may be required to draw circuit diagrams, such as Colpitts 
oscillators and diode ring mixers, once again. “We’re
beginning to think that if an applicant passes an amateur radio license 
exam it  should mean that he or she actually
knows something,” she said.

For further information, contact James X. Shorts, Assistant Liaison to 
the Deputy Chief of Public Relations for the FCC
.