[SMCARA] FCC to reinstate Morse Code test

[jbr13 at md.metrocast.net]

Yeah, that is the same article that came out for April Fools Day last 
year or the year before.

I really like the names....Dotty Dasher and James X Shorts (Jim Shorts) 
That is the funniest part!

Jason  N3YUG






On 04-01-2016 7:36 AM, JD Delancy wrote:
> 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
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> 
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