[Fists] Fw: Chicago Tribune Article

[FISTS Down Under]

> I thought that many might not have seen this in today's Chicago Tribune
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> Vy 73 de
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> Ralph ZL2AOH
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> +++++++++++++++++++
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> By John McCormick
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> Tribune staff reporter
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> March 2, 2006
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> A century-old hobby filled with dots and dashes is embroiled in a debate
> about its future and what level of training should be expected of those
> called on to help during local and national emergencies.
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> Morse code, a slowly dying language, has become radio's equivalent of
Latin:
> historically important, but increasingly irrelevant in a world of cell
> phones, computers and instant messaging.
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>
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> With mariners and the military having moved to other technologies long
ago,
> ham radio operators are virtually the sole practitioners of a technique
that
> made national and international communication possible with the telegraph.
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> Now, after decades of requiring code proficiency to obtain certain amateur
> radio licenses, the Federal Communications Commission is considering a
> proposal to do away with the qualification, generating strong emotions
among
> the nation's more than 600,000 operators.
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>
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> The debate comes after the completion of one of the highest-profile
missions
> in decades for amateur radio operators, who relayed messages about
> everything from medical supplies to missing people when Hurricane Katrina
> wiped out telecommunications along the Gulf Coast.
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> As ham radio operators debate the need for Morse code, military officials
> say it is taught in an expansive way at only two U.S. bases, with just a
few
> dozen members of the full-time military learning it each year. It is
> primarily used as a backup for joint operations with less-developed
nations.
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> "Morse is a fading skill in today's day of information, especially as we
get
> into networks and cyberspace," said Capt. Kevin Hooley, commanding officer
> of the Navy's Center for Information Dominance in Florida.
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> The International Maritime Organization officially phased out Morse in
1999
> for ships in peril, replacing it with the high-tech Global Maritime
Distress
> and Safety System. Before that, in 1993, the Coast Guard shut down its
Morse
> code emergency distress network, a system that was a throwback to when
ships
> used the chilling "SOS" as their internationally recognized call for help.
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> Nations drop requirement
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> Code requirements for amateur radio licenses have already been eliminated
in
> some other nations, including New Zealand, Ireland and Singapore. The FCC
is
> expected to issue a decision this year after reviewing more than 3,700
> written comments.
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>
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> Although his radio is capable of transmitting voice with near-perfect
> clarity, Mike Dinelli prefers to tap away on a Morse code key when he
sends
> messages around the world to other radio hobbyists. "It's part of the
> romance of radio," said Dinelli, 49, a commercial real estate broker from
> Skokie who has been a ham radio operator since 1980.
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>
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> Others say the code requirement is needed to keep the ham radio bands from
> degrading to the level of citizens band radio, which peaked in popularity
> during the 1970s and was known for its often-colorful conversation.
>
>
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> "I've always said that we need some hoops to jump through to make it
> viable," said Ed Hayes, a ham radio operator in Longview, Wash. "If you
> don't have to do anything to get the license, it puts you in the CB
world."
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>
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> Hayes, a retired community college teacher, learned the code when he was a
> Boy Scout. He belongs to the International Morse Code Preservation
Society,
> which claims about 12,000 members in North America.
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>
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> Hayes can send and receive about 25 words per minute in Morse code, a
> glacial rate compared to modern, digital technologies. "I don't even have
a
> microphone hooked up," he said.
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> Pure nostalgia for some
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>
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> For others, such views are pure nostalgia for a hobby that has been hurt
by
> the popularity and communications power of the Internet.
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>
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> "To require young people to learn an old language that is very seldom used
> is a stumbling block for a lot of people to get in the hobby," said John
> Kuntz, a ham radio operator from Fennimore, Wis., who wrote the FCC to
> support eliminating the code requirement.
>
>
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> Making it easier to obtain a license could increase the number of
operators
> at a time when the frequencies authorized for their use have come under
> increased pressure. Some in the hobby fear the government could move to
> auction off portions of their radio spectrum for other purposes.
>
>
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> Although few young people are entering the hobby, about 660,000 are
licensed
> nationally, and roughly 22,000 in Illinois, according to the American
Radio
> Relay League, a national organization with about 170,000 members.
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> Kuntz, an electronics technician, said he has little concern that the ham
> radio bands will be turned into the trash-talking environment of CB radio
if
> the Morse code requirement is dropped.
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> "A bigger problem is not getting enough new people into the hobby to keep
it
> going," he said. "If we don't keep attracting young people into the hobby,
> we aren't going to have that backup system of radio communications out in
> the country, which can really be an asset for public service."
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>
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> Backers of the code requirement, meanwhile, maintain that Morse has
> tremendous advantages during crises. Morse can be sent and received when
> less favorable radio conditions prevent voice signals from being heard,
and
> it requires only basic equipment that is readily available during
> emergencies.
>
>
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> "There are counties that are very poor that don't have other kinds of
> equipment," Dinelli said. "Hams have to be able to use this mode so they
can
> communicate in times of need."
>
>
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> Morse code's storied history started on May 24, 1844, when Samuel Morse
> transmitted the question, "What hath God wrought?" over 35 miles of wire
> from Washington to Baltimore.
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>
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> The accomplishment amazed observers and started the process of speeding
> information across the country and world, replacing the Pony Express and
> courier pigeons.
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> Titanic used wireless code
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> After the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, which used wireless code to try to
> attract help, Congress enacted legislation that required U.S. ships to use
> Morse code radiotelegraph equipment for distress calls.
>
>
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> Over the years, the code has changed very little. Bowing to the importance
> of the Internet, the @ sign was added in 2003 by the International
> Telecommunications Union, the first new character in decades.
>
>
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> Hooley, the commanding officer at the Navy's information center, said he
is
> not aware of any military usage of Morse code in recent years. Still,
during
> operations in the Middle East, he said there were discussions about
whether
> coalition partners had the capability.
>
>
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> "We never had to resort to it, but it was sometimes asked as a
possibility,"
> he said. "It is a skill that we have to keep."
>
>
>
> ----------
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>
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> mccormickj at tribune.com
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> Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune
>
>
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> Ralph Sutton ZL2AOH
> 12c Herbert Gardens
> 186 The Terrace
> Wellington 6001
> New Zealand
>
> Tel +64-4-473-0847
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