[TenTec] FCC to reinstate Morse Code test

[P C A]

APRIL FOOLS, but I wish it were true.

>
> 
> *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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