I guess I should have read it more completely. Yes, I guess it's just
another case of deregulation, and I suppose we don't need the government
telling us to like cw ;-)
BTW, I too have that pretty blue piece of wallpaper on my wall, although
I did need it way back when ;-)
73,
Larry N8LP
Ron D'Eau Claire wrote:
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
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