[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Code or No Code? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 4/22/2016 5:19:51 AM EDT
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Are you one of the elite operators that have a license from when code was required? I heard a conversation on 20m this afternoon where someone suggested we got our licenses out of a Cracker Jack box but he was corrected by someone else, opining that they came out of a gum machine.
So, code or no code? Hit the poll. |
<------- Just another no-code ham ruining the hobby. 
Here's my story...it's a little funny. I first started studying for a Techician-Plus license in 1990. Got my 5wpm Gordon West cassette tapes and learned the code, learned all of the study material, etc. Then I couldn't find a test. There was no ARRL website to search tests, I didn't know a single ham, and didn't really know where to go from there. The idea faded away until I went to college. My freshman year I found out that there was an amateur radio club on our campus. I was very excited about it and went to the first meeting I could go to. There were three or four engineering students there who had the social skills of a piece of wet cardboard. I explained what I was interested in and what I would like to do and, without a word or handshake, they just handed me a couple of study guides. Seriously, they didn't say anything to me. Just shook their heads slowly up and down. Looking back on the experience, I am fairly certain they were aliens. Fast forward through college, jobs, med school, residency, and fellowship for my wife, having kids, etc. and I forgot about it until one day I saw a post about Pic's emcomm drill a few years ago. I think it was the first one maybe? It immediately sparked my interest again and I got online to refresh myself on what it took to get my tech-plus. I was amazed that there were only three classes of license and none required code. I started studying and passed tech and general a little over a week later. Moved on to extra after about a month of on and off studying after that. But I still didn't have a radio! We were in the middle of a move so the radio had to wait, but a few months later, I picked up my trusty 7200 and the rest was history. Then, after all of that, I finally learned code because I found it fun. I'm still not great by any mean, but I am getting closer to my goals everytime I practice so I'm happy with that. Whenever I meet someone interested in amateur radio, I ALWAYS try to remember how seemingly difficult it was at the time I started to get any kind of information on the subject. It reminds me to always try to be helpful to the new folks. |
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1993 passed tech written and 5wpm code test - made very first contact on 10m SSB to California, instantly hooked on HF
1994 - -passed general and advanced written and 13wpm code test forget when I got my extra, but it was after they dropped the 20wmp test [ sarcasm ] ....all you newb FNG's are retarded, everybody knows, learning CW makes you an expert on every subject  [sarcasm ]
Here' a card from when I was getting on the air, trying to get to 13wpm... 
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| In either very late '79 or very early '80 I started classes to get my license. After two classes I found out that I have a weird very short term memory problem and that I can never learn code. That ended that. Fast forward to three years ago and I found out that you don't don't need code anymore. I got my General about two weeks later and if I'd known what I know now, I'd have studied another month and got my Extra then. |
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Got a tech license back in late 80's. A work friend & I were into wireless data communications. Never had the funds for HF at the time, so I stayed on VHF/UHF. To be honest, I never used my Tech privileges much. Once my kids were grown & gone I wanted to try HF. DX interested me the most. Upgraded to General 3 years ago & bought my 1st HF rig. Got bitten by the DX bug. I quickly realized to get serious about DX, I need to learn CW & get an Extra ticket. I'm not a rag chewer with CW, but can manage a basic QSO exchange. CW & my Extra license keep me competitive in the DX game, even with my modest wire antennas.
It's a fun, rewarding hobby or I wouldn't bother. We just need a decent solar cycle now!
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Quoted: Are you one of the elite operators that have a license from when code was required? I heard a conversation on 20m this afternoon where someone suggested we got our licenses out of a Cracker Jack box but he was corrected by someone else, opining that they came out of a gum machine. So, code or no code? Hit the pole. I studied code in my "yoot". I've had a radio bug since I was a kid and unless you knew a guy who knew a guy, a ham, there was no entering the club a a kid. I was living abroad (Saudi Arabia) and my science teacher who was a ham stateside got us to learn code in the 6th grade. We all passed a 5 wpm test he gave us. That was 1978. When I came back to the states I actually TRIED talking to an old ham in the area and he wanted nothing to do with me. The attitudes I remember was that a bulk of them were old mil vets, usually radio guys, and they did it back in the day. Fast forward to 1995, now I'm the combat infantry vet (GW and Somalia) and I get my no-code tech. Currently I'm a general and soon I will get off my ass for that little bit of "extra" band width. Fast forward to today, now my 21 y/o son is a tech since he was 15, my 11 y/o daughter is a general. She was a tech at 8 and gen at 9. And recently my youngest boy got his tech at 8. The sad truth is although they know what ham radio is, their friends and their 40 y/o parents don't. Is code even necessary? I saw how the hobby, trying to stay viable, dropped the code requirements. Probably a tad early, but most who were code tested dropped them immediately. Even after learning code in the 6th grade I struggle to remember 1/4 of the alphabet and forget going in a two way code QSO. It's like any other skill, if you don't continue to use it.... Kind of like the people who say they are bi-lingual because they got all A's in HS Spanish for 3 years. I speak Spanish fluently and they can only order a beer in Spanish. Never mind if a waiter asked them Modelo o Dos Exis, con o sin vaso? "Uuuhhhhh......." Not to mention who uses text to code devices or really, for efficiency, just use other digital modes. Hate to be Capt. Obvious, but the digital star killed the morse code star. I currently see the hobby desperately needing a revamp. I can see going to two class of licenses, a no-code tech just as we see it today and a extra level with a 5 wpm test for all under 30 Mhz. Do away with general all together. And none of that is going to save the hobby for a while. What is going to save it is the latest in Amsat geo-static sat com. PTT or digital mode nationwide coverage in every square inch of the country. Ham then will be better than having a cell phone for safety. Until cell phones go all satellite. |
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Being one of the "old guys", I can do CW, but don't really use it much. I make an occasional DX contact and maybe a QSO or two on SKN.
My Dad taught me the morse code back before I can remember. I don't remember learning it, it has always "been there," I got my Novice license in 1961 at age 12. Upgraded to Tech within the one year allowed at that time. High school, college and the Army took up the next decade or so. Came back from Asia in 1977 and upgraded to General and then Advanced, which required the 13 WPM code test and trips to the FCC office in San Francisco (no VEs yet.) Jump forward to 1993. My 12 year old son gets interested in radio, learns the code, grabs some study manuals and proceeds to go straight to General class, passing the 13 wpm code test, Two weeks later we go back to the Sunnyvale TRW VE session and he passes the Advanced test and the Extra class written test, but doesn't pass the 20 wpm code test. He stays at Advanced class for many years. To stay a jump ahead of him, at the same session I took and passed the Extra class exam (aced it with 100%) and barely passed the 20 wpm code test to get my Extra ticket. Finally, last year my son upgraded to Extra class so he could apply for and receive my late Dad's old 2X1 callsign. So we both can do CW, and do so once in awhile, but neither of us are as good at it as my Dad was. He was one of those guys that could rag chew at 35 WPM, watch a ball game, and talk with us at the same time. We're never gonna do that! |
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Quoted:
I heard a conversation on 20m this afternoon where someone suggested we got our licenses out of a Cracker Jack box but he was corrected by someone else, opining that they came out of a gum machine. So they were on SSB complaining about the hams who don't use CW. 
I'm a no-code ham but 97% of my QSOs last year were on CW.
Edit: BTW, I think CW is a pretty good brain activity. It's something you can do (and improve on) for life, and is a lot more fun to me, than sitting around working crossword and sudoko puzzles. 
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| I am moving to the country soon and really look forward to setting up my station. I tested when the 13th wpm was required and made it but never got better at it until I started getting into contests, then it was fun. I think testing is much different than contesting,but you have to know something in order to do something. A weird catch 22 that will hound ham radio forever. DE w9trb dit dit |
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i think k9bob nailed it
the degradation of ham radio isn't because they dropped the CW requirement ....it's simply the degradation of society a quick look at drudge report any day proves it politics, social issues, people today are bringing stupid and rude to a whole new level |
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Had no choice. Passed 5, 13 and 20WPM tests. No big deal.
I got my first licence overseas. It was much much harder than getting a 20 WPM with Extra written test passed here in the US. Both theory and CW tests required a demonstrated ability test that included setting up all equipment, tuning it on several bands and antennas. I had to make several SSB and several CW QSOs while correctly copying and transmitting all jnfo. This was done at a club station. I PASSED, yay! |
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Proud enough to have gotten licensed via our "can't fail" thread here.
While I respect those that got their license decades ago and stayed active to provide a hobby for us no-code folks I feel that learning code is like learning vacuum tubes or choosing ladder lines over coax. An option for those that are interested. Not a requirement to contribute to our and other people's lives. |
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while I needed Code top get my license I have meet quite a few hams who
have extremely limited technical skills (even ones who had to learn the code). To me I would love to see a practical technical test and less multiple guess. There are a whole lot of hams out there with little skill (and poor operating habits) who hold General and Extra class licenses. I once had a guy who wanted me to fix his HW-8 (Heathkit QRP CW Transceiver); I asked him why he didn't just fix it himself, His reply was that he knew code but not electronics.
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Quoted:
Just another no-code ham ruining the hobby. A couple guys got the joke and laughed. Yet my other encounters were one of two flavors. - Those that think that no-code hams are ruining the hobby. One in particular was in my face going on and on about how I suck and shouldn't be a ham blah, blah, blah. Kept my cool for a change and said, "I've got WAS and over 70 DX on CW. You?" Dude got red faced like he was going to punch me but turned and walked away. One of the hamfest organizers came up and told me to never mind that guy, he's been pissed off since the early 90's when the code requirement for Tech was dropped. Quite a long time to hold a grudge I thought. - Those that think that no-code hams are saving the hobby. The flip side is the number who came up to me to inform that I should hold my head high. Whether I had to do CW or not to get my ticket is immaterial. It's a known fact that the numbers of radio amateurs was in a steady decline for a while. Dropping the code requirement in 2007 removed an artificial roadblock to those interested in radio. Code or no, you are one of us. Adding that t-shirt to the collection I can't wear in public. |
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http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zKCcNJNrL._SY300_.jpg Cordless since 1991. 
Sadly some of the most ignorant and ill mannered hams have been found on CW pile ups. Then ham bands are nothing more than a microcosm of society. Heard Island being the most recent example of stupidity and nonsense on the air. Actually, I'll take this a step further - much like the internet, the airwaves grant a degree of anonymity that make crappy people act even crappier. Sure, amateur radio isn't really as "anonymous" as the internet but the face to face aspect is removed and it's pretty hard to get your ass whipped (or simply shamed) when hiding behind a microphone (or a key) a few thousand miles away. A lot of folks believe that some barrier to entry keeps these folks away - but sadly, they are wrong. Look at the effort people put into trolling this site - how many trolls here have paid accounts? Look at the idiots on 313 - not only do they spew their trash on the air but they put up web pages to insult each other. People are willing to put up with a lot just so they can act like assholes. |
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Did the 5 wpm for my Novice
Passed the General but failed the 13 wpm fist time so by default got the Technician Eventually passed the 13 wpm and 20. I did not copy anywhere near 20 wpm on the test probably 17 or 18 but picked up enough letters to answer the questions. I get hot and cold on ham radio every several years but can usually copy between 10-15 wpm at any given time. These days no doubt closer to 10.
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Passed Novice in 1954, but got involved with girls before passing General, so took Tech to hold my call (It was one of the last W4 calls issued). Passed 13 WPM General in '56, Advanced around '62, and 20 WPM Extra in the mid '80s.
Along the way, I dabbled in AM just after getting my general, SSB in the early '60s, played with repeaters, RTTY, and packet in the '80s, but always came back to CW. Now it's all hand-sent CW, using straight keys and a bug. The last time I operated SSB was a couple of QSOs to check my K3 just after I got it. The 2 Meter transceiver in my truck stays tuned to the NOAA weather station. I haven't made a contact on it in years. |
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I was a no code tech. When I wanted to upgrade to General I had to learn code. I decided to knock it and Extra extra out at the same time. I was able to do 13wpm and then they promptly dropped the code to 5wpm.
I lost basically all of my code copying and sending skills when I had a rollover accident on the interstate where I hit my head on the pavement. I still cannot copy much more than 5wpm if I try hard. |
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I have a code license, and I strongly support the no-code license structure.
We've got more people on CW than ever thanks to no-code. The elitism of the old fogeys that bitch about no-code pisses me off like nothing else, and they have no special claim to the airwaves. |
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When I was in Afghanistan I could at about a 10-15 wpm do a simple QSO in cw, limited to a simple me-you, 5nn, 73, exchange.
T6EC rolls off the paddles much easier than KF7WNX.
I haven't done a CW QSO since I returned and in reviewing my logs, only did 3 CW qso's in total. Time has been my limiting factor in keeping up on improving, but I do want to learn, especially as the solar cycle keeps fucking shit up. |
| I think the overall quality of the CW Op is better now than before the code requirement was dropped. Now a person learns CW because he or she wants to, and in most cases looks upon it as an art or skill to take pride in. The Straight Key Century Club has over 15,500 members who take great delight in doing it the old fashioned way, with straight keys, sideswipers, and bugs. |
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What exactly about knowing Code is it that makes me a better ham?
I passed all three tests in one sitting to receive an Extra license. A few weeks later I became a CVE and have tested and received the personal satisfaction of seeing many new hams come into the hobby. I have portable antennas published on a popular website that others build and use to communicate coast to coast. I rigged up my own homebrew interface to an Icom R75 for receiving digital before I became a licensed ham. I was able to read conversations from all over the world! Does that count for anything? I've rigged up solar for my portable ham gear, you guys have seen the write up. I've rigged up a nice 100 w system for portable operations, and you've seen the write up for that, too. Does all that count for anything? So, I'm not a "real ham" according to some only because I don't know Code? What makes that particular mode any more important than any of the digital modes, or any other mode for that matter? The days of homebrewing a working radio from a bread pan, an old bed spring, an oatmeal box, and a galena crystal are far behind us. I would not be well liked if I built my own spark gap radio, would I? So, whether I am a "real ham" is defined only by some other ham, not by the FCC or any other licensing body, but just on his opinion? Well... (non-COC compliant expression inserted here).
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Quoted:
What exactly about knowing Code is it that makes me a better ham? It's actually a legit filter in at least two ways: 1. I suspect that "back in the day", when it was just phone and CW, the more expert the operator the less he wanted to deal with slow/inexperienced CW operators. I.e. if he wanted a fast, comfortable QSO he could just tune to the the Expert sub-band and hang there. This is little different than when I was motorcycle racing. Novices ran with novices, amateur with amateurs, and experts with experts. Experts didn't run with novices primarily because it was too dangerous, but there was also the annoyance factor. Of course the law of unintended consequences has seen the rise of people who became dedicated to CW after the fact rather than before the fact, as has already been mentioned. I wonder, however, what the old timers think about 5WPM in the Extra sub-band. I suspect they don't like it even though they can just spin the dial or click the waterfall. 2. It demonstrates a level of commitment such that it is not unreasonable to expect a similar dedication to mastering other important aspects of the art. Although again the law of unintended consequences might show that people understand the theory and regulatory stuff better since they don't have to concentrate so hard on the code part, but as to that it's impossible to say. Again, mandatory disclaimer: no code Extra here ruining the hobby... |
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Of course the law of unintended consequences has seen the rise of people who became dedicated to CW after the fact rather than before the fact, as has already been mentioned. I wonder, however, what the old timers think about 5WPM in the Extra sub-band. I suspect they don't like it even though they can just spin the dial or click the waterfall. Exactly, there are still a number of active Novices listed in the FRN, why should they shun them when they came it under the "old" rules, or should they? Bitching on air is much easier. Again, mandatory disclaimer: no code Extra here ruining the hobby... |
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No Code Extra here. Wish I could get it. You mean you can't "get" learing morse code? http://www.cwops.org/cwacademy.html |
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Quoted: Are you one of the elite operators that have a license from when code was required? I heard a conversation on 20m this afternoon where someone suggested we got our licenses out of a Cracker Jack box but he was corrected by someone else, opining that they came out of a gum machine. So, code or no code? Hit the poll. You should have asked them why they were wasting time talking on SSB if code was so great. |
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No-Code General here.
While I'm trying hard to learn CW now and having fun with it, I wouldn't be a HAM if it was required. What appeals to me is that there are so many different things you can do with radio. Personally, other than a few nets I check into, I don't touch the mic as ragchewing isn't enjoyable. Digimodes are fun and where I spend a majority of my time. My interest now in CW is learning another language and having a mode to use QRP while camping. |
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No Code Extra here. Wish I could get it. You mean you can't "get" learing morse code? http://www.cwops.org/cwacademy.html FWIW I have tried three times. I have also tried to learn French and Spanish. Failed every time. I seem to have tremendous difficulties with learning foreign languages, including Morse. I'm not saying it's not possible, but it wasn't worth the price of admission for me. There's plenty of other modes to have fun with. Heck, I made three FreeDV HF digital voice contacts last weekend (that's a huge number, by the way, not much FreeDV traffic out there!) |
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I'm a no-code Extra.
Also have a degree in electrical engineering and built a decent portion of my rigs. But being something of a traditionalist, I learned code, practiced with a bug, and made a QSO to prove I could. That said, I am just about exclusively a phone guy...I just like firing up the radios and talking with folks. |
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CW is an art form and not a right of passage anymore. If you choose not to not learn and use it, you are missing out on a wide world of DX. I have worked 254 DX entities on CW since 2010 and for me its make the hobby a lot more fun. How long did it take for you to learn code? I've started and stopped attempts to learn code about 3 times. Each time, reality rears its head and I'm working overtime, doing a new AR build (other hobbies), dealing with issues around the house, etc. At least for me I think it would take a good commitment to learn and actual use over a longer time period to not forget it. While I would like to be proficient at it but I'm not going to devote that kind of time. And as an electrical engineer I'm much more interested in digital and SDR. Why should I be denied the hobby for code? Neither I nor anyone else that has no interest in CW should be. I bet many of the older complainers still use a flip phone. |