Larry, N8LP wrote Sad day for amateur radio
---------------------------------------------- Not at all, Larry! The FCC has simply told us Hams in the USA that it's time to set our own agenda. They recognize that there's a huge interest in CW and that it's one of the most popular modes today, but they decline to see any reason why they need to regulate it. They asked a great question in their Notice of Proposed Rule Making: Why should the US FCC mandate a demonstrated knowledge of Morse code and not mandate a demonstrated knowledge of other digital modes? Years ago I earned a First Class Radiotelephone License that allowed me to operate and repair the transmitters at commercial television stations, radio stations and anywhere a licensed transmitter (other than a Ham rig) was located. For most people it involved a two year college-level program to prepare for it. That license is now no more than pretty wallpaper. Anyone who can pry the cover off of a transmitter is, in the eyes of the FCC, qualified to work on it today. This is just the same thinking coming to Amateur Radio. The commercial technicians and broadcast engineers in the USA have adopted their own standards of competence through their professional organizations. We are certainly allowed to do that through our Ham organizations. But under it all, we in the USA are being allowed to choose our own destiny. We have been given tremendous freedoms to continue to explore and enhance our hobby, including our use of CW and other modes. The on-going chatter among US Hams here on the Elecraft reflector about CW operating is a clue about just how vital CW is to the Hobby as well as how important it is to understand other modes, even if we choose not to use them in our stations. We don't need a government agency to which is important to us. Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
