[SixClub] CW SK

[mikea]

On Mon, Dec 18, 2006 at 04:34:39PM -0800, John Carson wrote:
> LET" TRY THIS AGAIN!!!!
> 
> I am pleased to say that I amone who has taken Morse
> Code classes with mikea/w5ego (THANKS MIKE!!!!...we
> need many more like you...) 
Thanks, John. I'm not sure the world could stand more like me. I 
still have your sectional mast in its bag from Field Day, if you 
want it back. ;)

>                             and as one who has had a
> problem in getting the code down pat, I can say it has
> really frustrated me a great deal. (I know it is not
> supposed to, but it does indeed tend to make me feel
> like less of Ham in the fact that I can't just pick it
> up like many I know...). I have determined that
> inspite of the change, I will continue to persue my
> goal of knowing the code. (Code Quick which I am
> working my way through seems to be working well so
> far.) I will also comtinue to study and keep preparing
> for my  General written test. I can't deny that for
> one I am pleased with the upcoming change. As I said
> in an earlier post, perhaps it is better to let those
> who want to learn (and use) the code to do so rather
> than having it as a "barrier" of sorts to any form of
> advancement. 

> I also, get a bit upset when I hear other Hams dress
> down the Techican  Class Hams  asa  whole by saying WE
> are dumming down the Amateur Radio community. I beg
> your pardon...I for one hold 2 undergraduate degrees
> and work full time in  broadcasting, yet I am" DUMMING
> DOWN" the Ham community as a Techinican...give me a
> break! 

Lots of very good hams, including more than a few with MSEE and PhD(EE)
after their names, just can't quite get the Morse. In many cases, it's
a medical, neurological, or physical problem. My wife, W5DNA, whom John
knows, is one: she has a profound bilateral hearing loss in the speech
frequencies, as well as a neurological problem. The neuro problem makes it
difficult for her to tell reliably whether the last element of a character
is a dit or a dah, and the hearing loss means that she can't hear BFO
output from 400 to 1200 Hz. Together, they combine to make it very hard for
her to work CW _or_ any phone mode. The PSK action is, TTBOMK, down in the
General and Extra bands, but she can't get there -- or couldn't, anyway,
because of the Morse requirement. Now she's really, really looking forward
to getting her General and Extra, and doing PSK where the PSK operators
are.

>  I do heartily agree with a  previous poster in that
> all you really need do is hear how the 6 meter
> fraternity operates on the air. THEY are the ones that
> make me proud.(for the opposite reaction, I would
> point your attention to those who frequent 160 and 49
> Meters...talk about some very POOR examples!) 
> Perhaps the rest of the old line Hams should take
> notice...but in reality THEY won't. (who are we
> kidding anyway...) 

The 6-meter ops were great last Field Day, which was the best 6m day I've
ever had.

> In the end we want to draw more and more folks in to
> the Amateur Radio community (don't we...) We must
> realize that todays Hams are computer literate,
> technically compident and that new modes and standards
> are a good thing rather than any perceived threat to
> tradition. For example, I know little about PSK, yet I
> am not threatened by those who like and use it. Am I
> any less of a ham because I don't (yet) persue PSK? 
> In the view of the hardliner CW folks, if you follow
> their reasoning then the answer to my question is a
> resounding YES.

> CW definately has its place...but it is NOT the be all
> and end all of Amateur radio.

Amen. It's important to _me_. It's important to a _LOT_ of us, and I see it
as something that sets CW ops a bit apart from the rest of the herd.

And what do they call someone who passes med school with a "C" average?

"Doctor". 

Here we're all hams, because we all passed the exam prescribed at the time.
The 2nd Phone I took and passed in 1964 was _lots_, _lots_ harder than the
Amateur Element 4 I took and passed in 2005. Was I any better for being
P-2-9-3089 in 1964? In my mind, no, but I was damn proud to have a 2nd
Phone at age 17 -- and a Novice license at age 16.

I don't live by CW, but I use it and teach it. The mike gets used for the
2-meter nets. I'll welcome the no-code Extras and Generals, though. They're
playing by the rules in force at the time, and that means they qualify.

> In the words of my favorite broadcast journalist,
> Charles Osgood...
> 
> "I'll see you on the radio!"
> 
> 73de kd5srw

Just so. 

Very 73, and Merry Christmas, de

-- 
Mike Andrews, W5EGO
mikea at mikea.ath.cx
Tired old sysadmin