Oh, would that this were any other day...73, Brian KA9EGW
On April 1, 2015 4:27:50 PM CDT, Dwight Orten <dwightorten@gmail.com> wrote:
>*FCC to reinstate Morse Code test**
>
>*April 1, 2015*
>
>*Washington, D.C. – April 1, 2015 – Today, the Federal Communications
>Commission (Commission or FCC) approved Report and Order 14- 987 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, 2015.*
>
>*“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 .*
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73, Brian KA9EGW
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