[SMCARA] FCC to reinstate Morse Code test

[Richard B]

You'll have to do better than that. :-)
--
73 DE N1LID (Boz) Friday, 01 April 2016, 07:36AM -04:00 from JD Delancy < w1jd at mindspring.com> :

>This appeared in a newsgroup this morning ; bring it on! (/remember what 
>today is/)
>
>FCC to reinstate Morse Code test
>
>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 at (202) 555-1212 or 
>jim.shorts at fcc.gov. For more news and information about the FCC, please 
>visit
>Federal Communications Commission
>The United States of America
>fcc.gov 
>< http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ffcc.gov%2F&h=TAQH1eIleAQGPMt4d7bZVtWnDpmfqHRZ88JjjLafaWcOlSA&enc=AZMjHbG1-9iO9_n3hsCOTeBjUtnyW5Zs_DAOvEisB37Y8m09GvmpQlHvGEr96skEWTlGWyxUEbPUgBVMDKmRQihjqt8LTGeAWI-3eHIRXnCRrpwJxgQ_9UgQcceWKFlZB2Tkcr4d9QVnfhOI-mNtUvZ-sy8f6UjvIuwk3OhdZTtaqZsypfnc17giNbo54WIR4673-a6ympNZ9yVZsGFMfvl_&s=1 >
>
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