As a number of people have pointed out here, the skill sets required for
an Amateur Radio license have
changed over the years. This has been brought about by changes in
manufacturing of the very radios
we use and the need for new abilities, reflecting new technologies, on
the part of the new licensee.
The elimination of the CW requirement, mostly used as a filter to keep
out all but those with the most avid
desire to BE hams, will not change the hobby in any great regard. What
WILL change the hobby is how the
team that writes the license tests meets the challenge of making the
tests relevant.
Examining the myths of CW we find at the top of the list "CW kept the
CBers out."
In most areas of the country those very CBers we all feared learned the
entry level code and theory and,
in many cases documented in the 1980s and 1990s became the officers of
clubs in the ARRL Hudson Division
and were very active in community service events like parades,
marathons, boat races, etc. They recruited
like minded communicators from other services (fire, police and CB) and
brought them into Amateur Radio
where they became very productive members of the ham radio community.
As to how people act socially, a decade of FCC NALs would indicate that
it is the Extra Class licensees
that have been the chief recipient. And they all passed a code test!
As for those coming into the hobby who have not passed a code test, I
would remind all of you that our
current astronaut corps has many hams who have not passed a code test,
but have passed other tests
that most of us could never come near to passing. When they communicate
with schools, via ham radio,
they make the hobby very relevant to our next generation of hams....the
children. Would you call them
a liability because they didn't pass the code? Nobody I know would.
Then there is "CW will die" fear. As has been stated in other fora, CW
as a communications device
is quickly becoming perceived as an art form.
Like running a sail boat in an age of nuclear powered ships, like riding
a horse in the age of automobiles, like
hunting or fishing, it will be a long time before CW dies away. Many
who have watched the sociology of
ham radio over the last 50 years are of the opinion that now that people
are not required to learn the code,
they will learn it because they want to.
Surface mount technology has made it very difficult for the 19502-1960s
era ham to maintain their own
equipment, something they took pride in for 40-50 years. If the
equipment goes bad a yellow light comes
on indicting its time to send it back by UPS for repair.
This brings us to antennas (please note that K7LXC's blood pressure just
dropped 10 points LOL)
With or without a CW requirement, with or without the ability to fix
your rig, with or without knowledge of
other facets of Amateur Radio, the one common point is the need for an
antenna. Good, bad or compromise,
antenna design, construction, erection and maintenance have become the
common focus for all hams.
As the newcomer gets their feet wet in this hobby one of the basic
truths is the need to understand antenna
design, implementation of that design, how to safely erect a tower, how
to safely maintain both the antenna
and tower and how to enjoy the hobby more with their new found knowledge.
And where will they go to find such knowledge? Towertalk.
My thesis is that fora like this one are what will educate the newcomer
and keep amateur radio from being
dumbed down. As newcomers enter the hobby and begin to learn what
questions to ask, they will find that
antenna knowledge is foundational to getting on the air successfully and
will come here for answers.
And if the last 10 years are any indication of desire, all of you stand
ready to help the newcomer with a depth of
knowledge, a wealth of desire and helpfulness common to this reflector.
The lack of a CW requirement wont change Amateur Radio in a major way.
The knowledge displayed on this
reflector and the education it has given its participants already has.
-73- Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML
Past ARRL First Vice President
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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