[RVRC] Recent FCC Action

[Martin Friedman]

In response to much criticism  from homeland security they also will be changing back from international Morse to American.  

Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 1, 2016, at 5:00 PM, "E. Drew Moore" <drumor at optonline.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 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
> .
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