[rescue] Dayton Hamfest

[wa2egp at att.net]

-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Robert Darlington" <rdarlington at gmail.com>
>
> Eh, learning the code isn't hard.  They dumbed it down from something
> near 30 words per minute (27? something like that) to 5 words per
> minute across the board for all ham tests.  As of 2/23/07, they
> completely dropped the requirement for morse code, which brings our
> amateur radio exams in line with the rest of the world.  There is a
> lot of drama associated with the decision to drop the code requirement
> which I won't get into, but it's gone now.

21 WPM for the Extra license in the U.S.A.  Actually, we were not too far behind some other countries.  Sometimes only a year or so.  

Code is certainly easier to generate and receive than other modes if that's of any use.  

> 
> Incidentally, Thailand's telegraph service just ended this month:
> http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=91565
> 
> I like the idea of code, but it's 2008 and there are faster, more
> reliable means of communication out there.  The ham community has
> pushed to keep the requirement around for the wrong reasons (read the
> FCC's report if you're interested), but that doesn't mean it didn't
> have its place.
> 
> -Bob (N3XKB)

Whether the wrong reasons or not, it is gone but there are still a lot of hams that use it, some exclusively.

Bob WA2EGP