On Thu, 06 Mar 1997 23:17:51 EST, aa7uf@juno.com (Gerald L Marsh)
wrote:
>Instead of 13 and 20 WPM testing, why not substitute actual CW use on the
>air?
You may be on to something here. Of course, since novices are
restricted to CW anyway (except for that slice of 10 meters that
will rarely be good for the next few years), the only HF contacts
they could make would be CW contacts ... the Extra would be a bit
different.
>Require x confirmed CW contacts instead of 13 WPM, and y confirmed
>contacts instead of instead of 20 WPM.
>
>Aren't we supposed to be fostering real radio operating skill (read the
>intro to Part 97) as a part of our "incentive" licensing?
>
>I'd have to admit I passed my tests by drilling, drilling, drilling on a
>computer. Does that make me a competent CW operator? (You guess)
>
>Room for fraud, you say?
>
>Which is harder - to fake one exam with three VE's, or to fake 20 or 30
>CW contacts with different operators (which by the way you could confirm
>or deny after the fact in their logs)?
Except the FCC no longer requires logs, except for third party
traffic. The logging requirement went out some time ago. I still
keep a log, personally, though -- it seems to be the smart thing to
do.
>Who knows, some might find out they actually like CW when they use it on
>the air. And there would not be intense pressure for ONE exam.
>
>Actually, we could consider the same for the initial 5 WPM. We don't
>expect a new driver to prove they can drive a car before they drive a
>car. A "learners permit" CW operator would be foolish to get on the air
>to "pass" their initial (5 WPM equivalent) CW "test" if they did not
>believe they had practiced enough off the air to communicate.
I advocate code *recognition* tests as a part of the theory exam
(What is the alphabetic character represented in Morse Code as
"didahdidit"?) But I think your idea has some merit.
Like you I drilled (via code tapes and computer) to pass the code
test, and only after the "pressure" was off did I work any CW.
The only drawback I see to your idea, and I hope it's one that can
be solved, is the speed aspect -- or are you indicating speed isn't
important anymore? Just good operating? I'm inclined to agree ...
72 es 73 de
Marty, KM7W
__________________________________________________________________
Jackson, Tennessee e-mail: mdwatt@usit.net
http://www.public.usit.net/mdwatt
"The Curmudgeon's Corner"
NorCal #???? - ARCI #7514 - QRP-L #953 - AK/QRP #098 - Grid EM55oq
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