[nrv-hams] nrv-hams Digest, Vol 59, Issue 2

[Ben Williams]

wished i had seen it i would have used in the tech class lass night

>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: W8TCM - Cherryland Amateur Radio Club <cherrylandarc at gmail.com>
>>
>> ** * FCC to reinstate Morse Code test *
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> ***VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE ***
>> FCC to reinstate Morse Code test
>> *April 1, 2015*
>>
>> *Washington, D.C. ? April 1, 2015 ? Today, the Federal Communications
>> Commission (or FCC) approved Report and Order 14-987 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, 2015.
>> Moreover, any Extra Class amateur who does not improve his/her code
>> speed to 20 wpm during that one year period will have his/her license
>> revoked--and cannot reapply for another license for 5 calendar years.*
>> *?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 .*
>> Note: One report confirmed that a lobbyist, Mr. R. F. Burns, had a
>> great deal to do with enacting this bold move.
>>
>> ============================================================
>>