[TenTec] FCC to reinstate Morse Code test

[Dwight Orten]

*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 .*