[PaQSO] CW proposal

[Jim]

I’m not sure why the CW issue came up here, but I will
give my two cents on it.  I have made many CW contacts
over the years.  I passed the Extra exam the old way,
with the 20 wpm test.  Having said that, here we go:

CW can be fun, once you master it, but from a
practical perspective, it has outlived its usefulness.
 Many of us believe that since we suffered to learn
it, that all others after should, too.

CW testing discourages people from becoming hams.  I
have tried many times over the years to convince
highly educated people I went to school and worked
with, to give ham radio a try.  I explained the
licensing, which they expected, but once I got to the
CW part, all of them backed out.  I have never been
able to convince anyone to learn CW.  Common reasons
given for not attempting CW were irrelevancy in the
modern world, lack of free time to learn, difficulty,
etc.  One person couldn’t believe that CW was
required.  He said that it sounded primitive, when one
considers all of the high-tech gadgets we have today. 
This person was interested in SSB, digital modes, etc.
 

I can understand this perspective.  I liken it to
riding a horse.  If you CHOOSE to learn how to ride a
horse, you can, but since we have cars today, it is
optional.  No one will stop anyone from learning CW,
if they so choose.  

Putting it another way, what if the FCC required all
hams to demonstrate that they can change their own oil
in a car.  Most people don’t do this, and never will
use this knowledge, but let’s require it to make
people suffer, anyway.  Same logic, different example.
 See my point?  

I do not see ham radio having much of a future unless
we can do something to attract younger people.  Once
the elders move on, who is left?  Couple that with the
increased commercial demand for spectrum, it’s a
recipe for disaster.  If we can’t come up with
something soon to get the youngsters involved, our
situation will be dire.  Actually, I think that the
survival of our hobby is much more important than the
other pursuits we follow.  There will be no contests
if we have no spectrum.  

I fully expect that this will crank up some people,
but we must consider our future.  What will ham radio
look like in 15 years if we don’t get new members in
our ranks?

Another good idea.  I saw that they had an experiment
called the Wi-Fi shootout.  The goal was to connect to
an access point from as far away as possible, without
amplification.  I think it’s now up to 55 miles!  What
if a few hams publicized this event, or attended to
explain ham radio.  These people are quite smart and
our microwave bands are similar to Wi-Fi.  Our future
depends upon doing cool stuff and mixing technology,
not just the same old stale ideas.  Hams and non-hams
can do many similar things together and share common
interests, that can only be good.

Jim
N3PBH 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com