[OKDXA] 'Tis the season

[Nelson Derks]

>Then one dismal December Day
>The FCC came to say
>Bubba we no longer care
>So you'll be an extra next year
>
>Then all the freebanders loved him
>As they shouted out with glee
>Bubba the no-code extra
>You'll soon have DXCC
>
>anon
>
>  
>
No doubt the loss of CW as an entrance hurdle will have a profoundly 
negative impact on the amateur service, as I've been hearing dire 
predictions for the past 20 years or better on this very topic. It must 
be true, isn't it? Who could forget the chaos that greeted your delicate 
ears on the morning of April 16, 2000? Meanwhile, the crowds get smaller 
(and grayer) at every HamFest as the service grows more irrelevant to 
anyone under 40. Think of it as a technology Generation Gap. WiFi, 
gents, WiFi. CW has dismal throughput compared to text messaging...

Ahhhhh, but there is that argument about CW as a 'Lid Filter'. God knows 
no one here ever had an embarrassing moment while in the transmit mode 
because they had the foresight to pass a CW test.

Let me share two stories that might be relevant to the concept of 
'Extraness':

While walking the aisles of the 2004 Green Country HamFest I happened 
upon a well-known OKDXA member eyeballing the goods at the WB0W table. 
We exchanged pleasantries, and then this person announced to the 
proprietor they've been meaning to put up an 80 Meter dipole and this 
was a good opportunity to buy the requisite wire and insulators. He 
asked WB0W how much antenna wire he'd need. Uhhhhhhhhhhhh... Not Sure. 
So, there we were, three Extra's and I'm the only one who's thinking 
132'. There's a pocket calculator next to the cash register, but did 
anyone divide 468 by 3.5 or thereabouts? Nope. The thought never occured.

I should have kept my mouth shut to see if one of 'em started plowing 
through the antenna books for The Magic Number. I know we're not all 
technically oriented, but c'mon... That's a Novice Exam question.

There's also a nasty little rumor floating around that prior to April of 
2000 an OM arrived at a VE session in the Tulsa metro with hopes of 
passing the 20wpm CW test before it became obsolete. Three VE's in 
attendence and all of them die-hard believers that Real Hams use CW. 
They found the 20wpm cassette, but not the official ARRL answer key.

Had I been there I'd have offered to take the 5wpm test four times, but 
this particular fellow thought: "Why don't I take a walk outside while 
you guys listen to the tape and transcribe the text...? When you have 
the text, let me know and I'll take the test." All three of them 
declined the idea. They kept looking for the answer key until they found 
it. In all fairness, this was the right thing to do as the Pass / Fail 
thing is judged against the official answer key, not what CW Charlie the 
VE thought he copied.

But... It was an interesting quandry that makes a point... Ya' Know?