[SMCARA] [Non-DoD Source] FCC to reinstate Morse Code test

Fri Apr 1 09:47:26 EDT 2016

Holy Baudot, Batman!  

I sure am glad I sat before those steely-eyed FCC examiners at the old FCC office ( No VE's in those days, you had to face "the man"!) on Veasey Street (or was it Cortlandt St ?) in NYC and don't have to fool (operative word) with this new requirement! 

Historical note:  The old FCC office on Veasey Street (lower Manhattan) was in an area called "Radio Row" which was torn down in 1966 to make room for the World Trade Center.  The collection of electronics stores in Radio Row had been there from the earliest days of radio.  It was still going strong when I went there in the late 50's for the exam and to drool over the latest ham gear or war surplus ARC-5s, BC-348s, or whatever!  In those days Radio Shack was single ham radio store up in new England, Boston I think, and later with a store in Hartford ( HRO, etc. wasn't even a dream! ).

A ride on the New Haven Railroad to Grand Central Station and then taking the subway downtown to radio row was an adventure of the first magnitude for a teenage ham from Connecticut (K1AST in those days).  A day playing hooky from high school after I got my driver's license netted a visit to W1AW in Newington, and ARRL HQ in West Hartford for myself and a fellow high school ham (K1GMR, now W8JRK, with whom I now attend the Dayton shindig every year!).  An awesome trip to meet all the "big names" at ARRL, like Lew McCoy, our hero! That's a story for another day!

Have Fun Every Day!
73 de Tom/W4OKW ex K1AST

-----Original Message-----
From: SMCARA [mailto:smcara-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of JD Delancy
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2016 7:36 AM
To: SMARC; SMCARA; kl7aa; KL7AIR
Subject: [Non-DoD Source] [SMCARA] FCC to reinstate Morse Code test

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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