I enjoyed the article and reading some of the comments, particularly those related to the code requirements for licensure.

I received my tickets through the code requirement system. That said, I think the ARRL shot themselves in the foot when they decided that they wanted to become involved in determining who was handicapped and the appropriate accommodations for handicapped examinees. They went so far as to say that they wanted to review the medical records... In my opinion, that was over the top... That should have been between the doctors and examinees period!

After this effort, on the part of the ARRL to obtain medical records -- around 1998 as I recall -- there was a gradual erosion of support at the government-level to continue the code examinations. I don't think the FCC wanted to get involved in a three way legal challenge in regards to the American's with Disabilities Act, so the code went on its way.

Code has its place and will always have its place. I'm personally in favor of some sort of spectrum incentive for code -- my opinion. During rough conditions, as anyone will attest, code is much easier to pull out of the soup than SSB.

I've always enjoyed the hobby and I think, from the responses I've seen here, it has something for everybody. There are not many hobbies you can say that about...

Best 73 Rick, AH8T

The dropping of the CW requirement for attaing Ham Radio HF privileges is adreadful mistake.

Please bring back the CW requirement and require that the code speed is no more than 10 WPM but no less than 5 WPM.

Does that sound good and fair enough?

There is just totally a lot of bickering and humiliation about why the CW for getting a ham radio operator's license was dropped.

If it is really that bad then how about the hams who are CW finatics please band together and go camp out at the ARRL Headquarters and let the personnel who manage the ARRL know that you are there to let him know that the CW requirement to operate on HF should not have been dropped in the first place.

I think this is great news. Code or no code there are plenty of enthusiasts including myself that would love to pursue HF bands, but for many years have been inhibited from doing so. With license should bring about the interest to pursue code while learning old and new communication techniques. I have been studying for my test, and with that designing new antenna systems, tuners, and restoring receivers. Now I feel more driven to pass the test.

To code or not to code,... I originally was licensed as WN6HGF in the early 70's. I never used the license - I was to afraid of screwing up the code. Now 35+ years later I tagged along with a small group of friends to get a tech license, then chose to take General immediately and two weeks later the Extra. I am an EE so the theory was "easy", I was grandfathered in on the code with my previous license. Without that I would not have gotten into HAM again. So I understand how eliminating the code requirement could revitalize the hobby. Given the positive aspects of public service inside of Ham Radio the change may be good. What may be missing is verification of a solid understanding of electronics and especially RF power electronics. I doubt the testing really is effective toward that end.

Learned code in high school to get Ham ticket.Then 4years in Navy air corps flying blimps for a full day and enough code to wish it gone. have advanced ticket for past 58 years and mind set closes at sound of code. Its an antique process as is AM voice-technical progress is where hams need to move; as always !! W0DLQ

Hopefully, someone will read this, as I am about a month late in writing. This is first chance I've had since the article came out! Well, I've had my ticket since 1962 and been active, one way or another, ever since. Now living in Iowa, this has been a VERY busy year here for EMCOMMS. I am active in ARES in my county, and the radio club of which I am a member did provide service to the county for several days in June, as well as back in 2004. I am active 160m thru 70cm (except 30m and 60m) and especially like terrestrial DXing on VHF and above. My Morse abilities are quite poor, although I did manage to make a few aurora contacts on 2m a few years ago using CW. I do need to beef up that capability for such purposes. If you have a computer and suitable support hardware and software, there are now digital modes that can exceed the ability of CW to copy under poor S/N conditions. However, if the only avialable computer is the one between your ears, then CW tops all others for copy capability.

Got my ticket in 1967, wn8zow. That's was when you could get a "general" to gives you the tests. And you had to upgrade to tech at the FCC orfice. I could never get down to the FCC. It wasn't 'til 2000 I got my tech, just before they did another major change of part 97. That was a month before they dropped the code speed. It wasn't 'til 2006 I used my old novice ticket, for the code part of the license, then took the elements needed to upgrade to extra, straight from tech, a couple months before they dropped the code.

I learned back in '67 that ham radio wasn't cheap. Unless you rolled your own. Now it's even harder to roll your own. Though not impossible. Just more costly. I think it was a sad day in radio when they did away with the morse code requirement. That's progress.

73 and 88 n8zu

I bought my home from a retired hammer. He left me some equipment because I'm an electronics hobbyist. So I kept the power supplies, and portable shortwave radios. But a friend of my wife ( a policeman) is an avid hammer, so the 'rack mount' eqt. went to him. As it turns out, one piece was the digital unit necessary for him to get the "911 homeland C.B." certification he needed. So I contributed passively. But I was glad to hear of the government's inclusion of the citizens.

In the Washington DC area, we have seen many new no code hams who come from all backgrounds. Most have little if any electronic knowledge, many are ex CBers who want to DX legally, some got the ticket just for fun. But, most are eager to learn.

Case in point: The lady I am dating got her no code ticket along with her deceased husband who had "Get a Ham License" on his 'do before I die' list. She helped him study while both got their Novice, Tech, General, Advanced and Extra Class license. Unitl last year, the summer of 2007,she had Never made a QSO even though she is an Extra Class ham! So, I took her to our Feild Day, sat her down at the GOTA station where she made 50 QSOs. And she loved it.

Ed, W3EKT.

I got the radio bug at age 14 in 1954, from a school teacher and a church asst. pastor. They were helping remote places where radio was the only means of communications. Both voice and code was used. I was a short wave listener for a year, with a National NC-54 receiver, then as I turned 15 I passed my 5 words per minute code test and novice exam. The license WN5GAI opened up a whole new world of experimenting with antennas, building radios, and talking to people far away. I learned how to speak to others without trepidation, in code or voice, and this made me a more outgoing, less introverted, more caring person. The excitement of learning geography, weather, solar effects on radio and about other cultures stimulated my school studies, and led me to pursue an Electrical Engineering degree. I spent 35 exciting years career in the computer industry, all along (when time permitted) continuing with my Amateur Radio hobby. Now that I am retired, it continues to be a way to enjoy new avenues of exploring the magic of the ether, tinkering with technology, meet and visit with old and new friends all over the planet, and provide emergency services as needed in times when most other forms of communications fail. A recent project was to help recover the lapsed W5YU call for Tulane University, which I had also helped resuscitate in 1958, and work with a professor there to reconstitute W5YU as a hub station for emergency communications on the campus and for New Orleans next time a disaster hits. Amateur radio is the only FCC licensed service which can use the entire electromagnetic spectrum, and it remains a magical way to explore that is open to anyone willing to put forth a little effort. It is so broad in scope that everyone can find something of interest to pursue. It also is the most friendly, honest, caring, helping, sharing, trustworthy, ethical worldwide community I have ever experienced. Amateur Radio deserves the Nobel Prize, the Congressional Medal of Honor, Grammy, Emmy, and U.N. Peace Prize!

Communications was what first got me interested in electronics. I received a crystal radio kit (OK, it had a 1N34A instead of a galena crystal!) as a Christmas gift, and building & using that radio set something off inside me that is still there. I received my Tech ticket in 1969, just before we moved from Denver to Puyallup, WA. I joined the USCG & was an electronic tech until my discharge. I let my ticket expire, but got the bug again & received my new Tech (N6AFV) in about 1975 (I think) and used CW on the HF bands for DX. In 1983, I had moved to Nevada & cranked up my CW speed to about 15WPM, took the General & passed. Ironically, I virtually never used CW after that, as the new ticket gave me 'phone priveleges! I was off the air for many years, but bought a new rig 3 years ago & tried again, but the sunspot cycle was on a low & the amount of QRN & QRM was discouraging. After the winter storms blew down my dipole, I packed the stuff up again. I did renew this August, but my latest experiences with ham radio have not been particularly exciting. All that being said, I believe that it is good for us to have trained comunicators on hand in case of emergencies, whether they are hams or other agencies. I like the idea of having a solar-powered HF & VHF station capability, but have not spent the bucks to implement it. I would alos like to respond to those who earlier have said something like, "CW is just another mode, just like PSK31". I don't agree, because CW can be generated with almost nothing (the old Popular Electronics had a series about a couple of young hams named Carl & Jerry who once got stuck in a old smokestack. They were able to use the ignition coil from their model airplane, along with a file on a knife (as an interrupter)to make a spark transmitter and couple that to a rusty ladder to send out an SOS! Try that with PSK31! I think that knowing code can come in handy, even if it's not used regularly.

I see biggest obstacle for ham radio is that it is "HF centric." That is, you need a separate room for the "radio room," a large yard to erect a tower, etc. For many young people particularly in big cities live in condos/apts so there is no space for a radio room or a tower. Though code requirement for VHF/UHF dropped years ago, this same mentality carries on to VHF/UHF (which is why you never hear anybody on the repeaters because the "radio room" is unattended most of the time). Use VHF/UHF like LMR, have radio set on same desk with the PC or like an appliance in the kitchen.

Hams can do amateur television like the broadcasters, shoot microwave to the mountain top ATV repeater, it then re-transmits on UHF (i.e. 421MHz or CATV channel 57). But ATV guys have their stuff setup in a HF centric "radio room" so pretty much all are shack transmissions. Seen one shack, seen them all. Think ATV like Part 73 guys, televise club meetings, tech sessions, and events from the field.

Man, we gotta stop saying "code, code, code...." it keeps us locked in the past.

Code does have uses (Part 90 LMR love it for repeater IDs) but think of ham radio as means do to wireless stuff like video and texting without paying monthly fees and always having to register to some soul sucking webpage!

The 13 wpm code kept me off the air for years as every time I tried to get the speed up, some life changing catastrophe came along while I was around 10wpm, stuck for months. Between work, health, family, and life in general, I went for well over a decade before I finally had 6 months of consistant daily practice that was necessary for me to break the barrier. It took less than 6 more weeks to hit 22wpm and upgrade all the way and less than that without daily practice for it to slizzle down to barely 12wpm.

I'm live on and am involved in disaster work on the western gulf coast and hurricanes are a periodic disaster that happens here. We have virtually doubled the number of active hams locally in our area over the last 5 years - all ages and backgrounds. The majority have some interest in emergency communications with very few having little to no interest. Some were without power for days last week due to Dolly despite being at the far north fringe of the impacted area. Consequently, one cannot say they are not affected or wont be affected by disasters here. That makes us a bit different than most places in that hurricanes are much wider spread than most other types of disasters.

There is less of a recognition of the twin towers and war on terror down here except as a general part of possible emmcomm preparedness. That too may be a matter of where we are as well as the presence of those periodic hurricanes (and other disasters) which we know are going to occur here, sooner or later.

There is also the classic features of the hobby that are still there. People joining up are participating in the social aspects of the club as well as in the training and disaster participation.

It is far easier now to get a license than decades back. One doesn't even have to meet an amateur operator prior to the test to get licensed. Without the socialization (and associated casual learning) associated with the hobby, they are most likely going to dissappear from the scene frustrated, perhaps never really learning what they could even do with the hobby.

In short, your hypothesis is very much on target. NoCode has opened the doors wider, often permitting some who didn't have the time or ability to develope their cw skills, despite possibly having serious electronic and even RF skills and education. The consequences of 911, rita, katrina, fires, and flooding have had an impact upon people in general and there are many who wish to be useful when an emergency happens. Also, the liklihood of encountering serial killers and sexual predators and other undesirables on the radio is probably far less likely than on the internet. Passing a test requires learning and discipline and that tends to filter out a lot of the above categories along with the absence of the anonymity provided by the internet. However, amateur radio is a set of technological hobbies that are great fun, once one discovers them. It's not just a sense of responsibility to do something or some more technology to learn for work.

One final factor is we're in a technological society where communications is crucial. Financial costs and day to day operation dictate the sophistication and cost expendiatures for this and ultimate redundancy cannot be had for reasonable costs. By the nature of the beast, a disaster occurs whenever communications are insufficent to handle the necessary information flow. When natural or manmade crises occur, this rapidly increases the need for more information flow and often is involved in reducing the working infrastructure needed for the normal comm channels. That's why there is a need for this resurgence of amateur radio to occur.

I got my Novice and Tech back in 1952, with 5 wpm. My ticket expired while I was overseas with the Air Force, and I never made the effort to get it back. I became a no-code Tech in 2000 because I wanted to be ready for emergencies (I live in Ohio). When the code requirement was dropped, I immediately started studying for Amateur Extra, and passed in 2007. I'll probably make the effort to get my code back, but so far I've been operating only on 2 meters and up. Nevertheless, I think dropping code was a big boost for ham radio.

Well, where we live, in the North Caorlina piedmont, we are always waiting and watching for a hurricane (like Fran) to blow straight through the coast and destroy substantially more populated areas like Raleigh - and yes, definitely with the code requirement gone, that was a big reason why I took the Tech test in May, passed the General in July, and am studying for the Extra now (and you're right , the tests -especially the Extra - is not for the faint of heart or the un-driven (AND I do plan to learn the test after I earn the Extra - I hope to do this last test within a few months at the most) - But it is a great hobby and I wish , If I had known how great it is - that I would have buckled down years ago when my head was full of electronic formulas (but no code) and earned my license (AND LEARNED THE CODE) back then. Emergency prepardness ? That's a big part of why I do it (but I also look forward to every public service events I can fit in that's near me)

Mark

I have been licensed since 1969. The nice thing about ham radio is how broad and varied the activities and interests are. I am not a brass pounder and never have been but there are plenty that love it. I don't do moon bounce, I don't chase DX and I rarely do RTTY. I do belong to ARES and RACES. I am very involved in our emergency training and exercises on the county and district levels. I love chewing the rag but spend most of my time listening to the different ham bands as well as SW and even the AM broadcast band.

Morse code was but one facet of ham radio. True CW can get thru in bad conditions with less power than almost any other mode (at least if you count the modes you copy only by ear). But it was also being used as a blockade against "all those CBers" from coming on to "our bands" and making it just as bad as the Chicken Band.

Did the removal of the morse code requirement help ham radio? From a numbers standpoint you bet. Look at the numbers of licenses issued at the FCC site. Up across the board. Fantastic news.

Are the new hams helping ham radio? Maybe if they train and get involved and have a true love for the hobby. A bigger question is how are the old timers helping given this amazing opportunity?

When you read some of the comments sent in so far they reflect what I hear on the air too. They talk about how they got their extra when the test was much harder and they had to know 'the code'. They talk about the bad operating habits of the new people and how they don't understand the lingo. They talk about how they don't get involved. Hams generally are good at talking but poor at doing.

Yes the numbers are up but how many of the OT are helping the new guys and gals? How many are reaching out and inviting them to a club meeting, an emergency training session or helping them build their first antenna and put it up? I bet not many. The ones that do are very dedicated but to revitalize ham radio it take more than a few.

In my county we have over 230 licensed operators. In our county radio club we have less than 30 members. In our county RACES group we have less than 20. That is a poor percentage of involvement.

Has ham radio been revitalized remains to be seen in the future. The door was opened by removing the morse code requirement. The next steps are yet to be taken by inviting new and perspective hams thru that door and making sure they are welcomed. Once welcomed they need to be trained as us OT were trained by our Elmers. Then we can claim to be revitalized.

Hi Don,

I won KN4VBT in 1960, right after my family returned from Dad's Army tour in Japan, where the ham bug bit me at the Camp Zama MARS station where I hung out after school. Taught myself the code using a Boy Scout code practice buzzer. Got my Extra a few months before the FCC cut the code speed requirement to what I'd taught myself decades earlier - I wasn't about to let that hurdle fall all by itself!

Now, it's great to see all the new hams coming into the hobby, but it's also dismaying to note how little many of the "newbies" are willing to learn once they've got their first ticket. As many had feared, the skill set and fervor to learn more that you and I experienced on earning out Novice licenses back in the '60's simply isn't apparent in our new hams. E.g., I was working on the air with a brand new Extra who was trying to find out where he could access one of the local repeaters from his house, and in the process, I asked him for his QTH (common ham lingo from the morse code days for his location), and he he had no idea what I meant. In another instance, one of the new Extras with a 2x1 vanity call was sending packet beacons out over one of the local repeaters. I had to walk him, step by step, on how to power down his TNC - and he plans to be a VE! But wait, there's more: after one of our weekly Colorado ARES HF nets on 3.8 MHz, I was chatting there with a fellow about 70 miles away, when I heard a new ham call him on the local 146 MHz repeater. I answered the kid and advised him that the guy he was calling couldn't hear that repeater, but that he was on 3.8 MHz. The kid responded that he only had a single-band walkie-talkie.

As the HF net manager for Colorado ARES, I started up a weekly CW net in response to the FCC's cutting the Morse requirements back to 5 WPM, in hopes that it would keep that mode alive and bring it to some of the new hams in a friendly environment. That net is still running, and it has brought in some new guys, but the bulk of the participants are old timers. But it sure has helped me keep up my skills, and it also serves to show how effective CW can be compared to SSB voice, since the 2 nets are just half an hour apart; stations that were loud and clear on CW are just barely audible on SSB, due to the wider required receive bandwidth. This fact has not been lost on DoD and MARS, since the 10-year-old ban on CW on DoD frequencies has recently been lifted, and we're already handling some message traffic in that "outdated" mode when we see that voice and even the newer sophisticated digital modes simply don't cut it under noisy conditions.

Hope reigns eternal, and I think that once some of our new hams observe dividends that the effort to develop broader skills than those necessary to pass a license exam yield, they will come around once again.

73 de Mike W5VSI

I have been licensed since 1967 and have seen a lot of changes in 40 years. Being an "Extra Heavy" (just barely in 2000), I was somewhat saddened to see the code vanish completely. My vote would have been to retain 5 WPM for the Extra. Oh well, I'll get over it.

I have been a VE for about 9 years. I saw a temporary surge in Extra exams when the 20 WPM requirement disappeared. There was a similar bump in General exams when the code requirement was dropped. I think there has been a slight uptick in General exams since then, but no significant long term change in Extra examinees. For the past year or so, there seems to have been an increase in Technician licensees. Our test sessions have been notably larger this past year. There are a variety of resons to become a Ham, and Emergency Preparedness is certainly among them.

I have also been an officer in my local club for the past 14 years. While the number of licensed Hams has increased in that time, club membership has dwindled. This seems to be a societal problem; people just don't "join" organizations as readily as they used to. We developed flyers and a "new member" coupon to pass out at exam sessions in an effort to bolster membership. Sadly, the rate of coupon redemption has been disappointing.

A more troubling aspect of this lack of participation is the number of Hams who get a license and are NEVER heard on the air. If their intent was to get a license, buy a radio, and keep it in their sock drawer waiting for "The Big One", they're in for a rude awakening when that day arrives. Their battery will be dead, they won't remember how to operate their equipment or be familiar with emergency procedures. Rather than becoming an asset, they will be a liability when they try to "help", but only get in the way instead.

Hopefully events like Katrina have shown people that our technological infrastructure is fragile and that something "simple" like Ham Radio still works when everything else doesn't. I don't think Ham Radio is dead yet, but it will be unless we continue to tell our story and maintain recruiting efforts.

Chuck WA7JOS

I'm a 58 year old electrical engineer living in the Houston, TX metro area and I have almost 40 years of experience in the electronics industry.

I got my First Class commercial license in 1972 but I was never able to master the morse code to get a ham license until two years ago.

The week the FCC dropped the Morse code requirement, I took and passed both the Technican and General class licenses. The following month, I passed the text for an Extra Class license.

I still want to learn the code, but the pressure is off so I think I may have a better change of success. I'm really interested in participation in the technical aspects of ham radio, but DXing on HF is hard to resist.

73s Paul KE5MHZ

After 33 years in the hobby and 20 + years of professional work as an RF engineer I'm getting out of the hobby.

Here in Northern Arizona, and even down in Phoenix and Tucson, all the repeaters sit dormant with no one listening, case in point just this past Monday a group of hams were out at a outdoor shooting range when one was accidentally shot in the leg.

Cells phones didn't work and all of the several 8000 foot mountain top repeaters with 75 mile radius coverage were idle with no one listening so the only resort was to use a car with ONSTAR which worked perfectly and the ham was saved.

I don't even carry any radios with me anymore as the times that I have been out of cell coverage but with excellent ham repeater coverage only to find nobody around has given me a negative taste for ham radio.

This and all of the unlicensed part 15 garbage interfering with most ham bands is a total turn off to ham radio for me.

After hearing the above story I can honestly say that my next vehicle will have ONSTAR and nothing else in it.

Very good article. The morse code requirement is dated and with new modes rather obsolete. Another requirement to the Amateur Radio service is the forced restriction of outside antennas. As any Ham knows the USA still allows antenna covenants and restrictions. The cable companies, satellite companies and broadcasters did away with antenna covenants and restriction back in 1996. Ham radio does not have the BIG money to make this happen. Until these unfair restrictions are lifted you will just have another obsolete barrier to effective communications. It is ok now but it could be better. I have been a restricted Ham for 42 years.

Thank you for your article, Don. I fear that Ham Radio will last only one more generation with or without the code requirement. The ease of use of the Internet and personal computers seems to attract young people interested in technical experimentation today, no license and no expensive equipment required. Also no homeowner's associations to complain about antennas!

I have had an Extra class license for 48 years but have not been active. However, yesterday's 5.6 earthquake here in Southern California encourages me to a rig. For almost 20 minutes AFTER the quake, my telephone land line and VOIP and cell phones were inoperable due to system overload problems. Only my computer with cable modem was still functional. If this is what happens from a quake which produced no damage whatsoever to the infrastructure, what happens when the "big one" hits? ONLY ham radio and police/emergency communications systems will be functional!

Yes, dropping the code requirement has been a factor in bringing more people into the ham radio ranks.

However, I believe that it is a mistake to eliminate the code requirement for all license classes. While there are many benefits derived from having many people involved in a hobby that inherently promotes a degree of electronic technical skill, the real justification for dedicating a valuable resource – radio spectrum – to hobby use is two fold, development of a resource pool of: 1) skilled technicians, and 2) persons who can establish emergency communications under extreme conditions using the simplest of means. Such a resource pool makes the nation more ready to respond to emergencies be they natural disaster or national defense. My objection to “No Code” stems from the “using simplest of means” requirement. A flash light is a simple means as is the simplest transmitter that can be improvised to send code (even just a spark gap). Without sophisticated equipment, no other communication mode comes close to the ability of CW code to establish communication under difficult propagation and interference conditions.

Yes, it takes a little (VERY little) effort to learn the code, even for the most significantly challenged. During more than 50 years as a ham I’ve helped a large number of people get their amateur license, people of all ages and backgrounds and with a wide variety of disabilities. I’ve encountered very few who suffered challenges that prevented them learning the code. This does not mean that there are not many people who deemed learning the code more effort than they wanted to make; these are the people who have indulged their interest in the technologies and social discourse enabled by amateur radio since the code requirement was dropped. Their swelling of the amateur radio ranks is a good result; there is a critical mass effect that engenders additional participation by others. Also, many technical advances have come from experimentation by amateur radio licensees – both experimentation directly related to amateur radio activities, and the application of ham radio developed technical skills to interests outside amateur radio.

Some incentive needs to be restored to encourage, even require, development of communication proficiency with Morse code. It can and has saved lives, my own included.

First licensed as KN6PXQ in the mid ‘50s, I’ve held an Extra Class license since 1977. At various times I’ve operated using most transmission modes, digital and analog, on all amateur frequencies between 1.8 MHz and 1.3 GHz. In addition to serving in a variety of ARRL field leadership positions I’ve held an ARRL Technical Advisor appointment for 30 years. The pioneer days Packet and Satellite communications have been some of the most technically satisfying experiences I’ve had.

73,

John, W9JM

First of all, I have been pretty well inactive for a number of years. I was first licensed in Oct 56 as KN4LMT and took the Greyhound bus up to Cincinnati and passed the General test a couple of weeks before my novice license ran out. I have kept the call ever since, although I had a DL4CA call in Germany in the mid sixties.

I probably was close to 20 wpm when I was in high school, but what with college, grad school and the real world, I never upgraded to extra until (days) after the 20 wpm requirement was dropped.

That being said, I think that dropping the code speed requirement along with (much earlier) changing from a real theory exam to the memorize/multiple guess format was a big mistake. Anybody without some sort of disability can learn to send and copy 5 wpm in a few weeks. Gee, in the boy scouts, I got so I could do that with semaphore, just playing around.

One of the best things about ham radio is the generally high quality of the people involved. Having a barrier that requires some commitment to work keeps the scum out. Just consider what Citizens Band radio became.

Bill, K4LMT

I am a little saddened by your article but also kind of relieved. I retired from the US Navy ten years ago. I was an Electronics Tech and believe it or not I was pushing myself to learn all there was to the Radioman rating and become a Tech Controller (Radiomen didn't agree with it). The code part kicked my rear for a while, I admit. Voice was no problem. But the truth is that all services did away with code long before I retired (Coast Guard being the exception I believe). We still maintained a key in radio in case we had to contact a third world navy that didn't have other capabilities. Most new radiomen (they're not called that anymore, by the way) will probably never even uncover the box cover to the key.

About the only people that actually are still operating with code are the Navy signalmen, but they don't do sound, its all lights and flags.

To truly see what the Ham world is doing you have to visit one of your Ham supply stores. I saw one of the biggest Radio Shack stores here in SC close up due to lack of sales. All the RS stores around cater to the younger crowd which has no interest in electronics experimentation. As a matter of fact, blame it on the education systems.

When I was going through school we had shop classes, carpentry, mechanics, electricity, electronics, metal, air conditioning, etcetera. Nowadays these classes are given in some of the schools, and in most cases there is no requirement for the students to take them. I taught electronics in the Navy, and it was pityfull to watch this young crowd whom were trying to become techs only because of their experience with video gaming. The majority thought that all there was to electronics was black boxing it (replacing modules). Oh yes, they could talk a lot about computers, but they can't build one from scratch, much less program it.

What I'm really saying is, we got blind sided and one tracked. We forgot our Ham roots somewhere. And worse yet, we forgot to impart this knowledge, then along comes the big wakeup call and now we scramble. It is a fact that people do not like changes, specially when they are comfortable where they are at. But progress is progress. How many Hams do you know that are still using code? Are you sure? Are you certain that they are not using a computer conversion program that takes keyboard input and converts it to code? See. We got lazy or we tried to catch up with the computers and we ourselves obsolesced the use for code learning. I believe Ham comms is important, from a military point of view it is an asset (or a hindrance) depending on which side you are at. But if it weren't for Ham comms many of the Police actions and battles of the military would of had a different outcome. I grew up in the Caribbean, and we sample every hurricane before we send them up north, and if it weren't for the Hams (KP4's as we call them) at times we would have no outside comms what so ever. Good for you if you know code, if you don't, no bigee. We should be focusing on educating the younger crowd and getting them excited about it. As a matter of fact, my kid put a new stereo in his car and after a week he comes to me and asked Dad, can you look at my radio? I asked, whats wrong, he answered: This light that says DX keeps lighting up every now and then... After I laughed, I explained it to him.

When was the last time that you saw the mention of a Ham operator or anything Ham on the radio, newspaper, TV, movies or even the net? Think about it. Are we the Dinosaurs of the new millenium?

The comments by older hams about newer hams being "Extra Light" have no place in any hobby that needs new members to grow. Regardless of how you feel about the "Code" there is no more reason to test for proficiency in CW anymore than there is a need to test for proficiency in PSK-31. It is just another mode. We need everey new ham we can convince to enter the field and comments such as I have read from some of the writers here are totally at odds with the Ham Radio tenet of welcoming everyone no matter their nationality or status. A ham is a ham is a ham and if we do not get that we are doomed to drive away the very people who can save this hobby. CW is no better at getting through in rough conditions than at least a half dozen digital modes, so that old saw can be put to rest. One area that hams seem to have forgotten in their desire to get new people into the hobby are the "boomers". People in their 50s and 60s who remember ham radio before the internet and cell phones (neither of which will work in a disaster). These people are looking for a new outlet for their creative talents and want to be of help. Target this group and you will add numbers and good operators. The worst operators I ever heard were a bunch of "Extras" down on 80 meters. The best bunch I have heard were on our regional repeater the other night during a regular evening net. They cooperate instead of complain, and assist each other instead of rejecting each other. That is how it should be! You may not like the new rules, but they are the new rules, so get over it!

My first license was issued to me in 1959. Old navy op finally taught me to copy code in my head about two years later. I am still comfortable at 25wpm and work all modes including the sats. I lived throughAndrew in South Forida when the only communications for two days in and out of the badly hit areas was from ham stations. I hear a few new ops on HF SSB and there is no chaos yet from "easy path ops." But, let's wait and see what happens as the sun spot cycle moves toward the peak. I over heard a recent QSO where a new "advanced" said that his amp put out the full legal limit in AMPS. This is indicitive of memorizing the question pool rather than actually understanding the information because that is now the only hurdle to a ticket. I have heard more re-activated hams on VHF/UHF than new ops and more interested in emergency communications. Real indicator of ham rejuvination will be FCC new lic info and equipment sales numbers. Hopefully, some of the new geration ops will get turned on by sat ops and help fund the new AMSAT launches. I was just in Japan and the ham store that occupied two stories and quarter block in Akihabara in the 60's and 70's is now down to about 900 square feet. And, the "parts mart" individual vendor stall area is about 1/8th the size. 73's

It's about time that the FCC eliminated the Morse code requirement for an amateur license. To preface this, I've had an Extra Class license since age 14 (45 years ago), so I've been there, done that. However, what has always bothered me about making the code mandatory was that an incredibly talented electronics engineer, perhaps the founder of a successful electronics startup company, wasn't good enough to be a ham unless they also learned the code. Who knows how many talented would-be hams were discouraged from entering the hobby because of this. What a waste that was. It's about time this requirement was dropped.

Hello all,

Well here we be. We have had our license since 2006. And yes we live in a valley 35 miles from a metropolis and when we joined the CERT class they asked us to get our tickets because GMRS just doesn't cut it up here. My husband has since joined the Volunteer Fire Dept and the Volunteer Ambulance Assoc. We joined the local Amateur Emergency Club and I joined an ARES group Down in Valley in part because I wanted more emergency training and I was down there 5 days a week if something happened while I there I wanted to be able to help. Last summer when they dropped the code test we went for our General and passed, my son missed his Tech by 1 question and still wants to retake it, I just have to help him study this winter. Last winter kind of went out the window for helping him study; we had our second 500 year flood in 12 years. We went up to the Fire house where the EOC is located and he went to work and I was sent out too. The group that I joined was activated by my county to help and as soon as they were able they were here and bringing me gas since the gas station had flooded and I'd managed to run all the gas out of my truck during the high water running supplies around.

Since then I've been named PIO for the ARES group I joined and secretary of the local club.

CW is not dead like someone else said for some of us like me its hard to find the time and they all run together for me even at 5 wpm. I bought an extra book to study and havent even had time for that let alone CW.

This weekend I've spearheaded setting up a booth at our local festival here in town. I will be there manning it but some of those that have been operators for years assure me they will stop by. I know it gets tiring but if you want the hobby to catch on you have to get out there and not just be an "official" at some gathering you have to say hi and then they will ask. I don't know how many people I've explained it to in the last few years but a few have gone on to get their tickets too.

Don't bemoan it do something about it.

YES I wish I was not technologically challenged when it comes to building a radio but all my gear has to be pre-made. I'm not able to build my own. I greatly admire all who can, set up a class maybe I'll be able to come just not in the summer I'm already never home as it is.

I'll get off my soap box now.

73's & 88's

Dawn

We're seeing lots of new license holders here in Arlington, VA where ham radio was just about dead just four years ago...many of the new members to the ARPSC are interested in public safety and public service. Many have broadcast radio or IT technical background. A talented bunch of newcomers who aren't threatened by the digital modes and enjoy learning about the old school HF/VHF/UHF technology while mating it up with the Internet, etc. They quickly upgrade from tech to extra class and enjoy QRP. We had a massive turn out for this years Field Day exercise, for many it was their first FD. These new hams are excited and engaged in the hobby. I think this is good news for the hobby. I don't know what the numbers are across the country but my subjective opinion of one is that things are perking up in the hobby...sure beats listening to old white men who spend endless days behind the mic whining about their medical conditions ;-)...now if the ARRL would just add a box on their subscription form that says, check this box to be a league member, rather then just counting magazine subscribers as league members...ah but that is another survey for another time.

73 - Dave / WA3GIN

I agree 100%. Here in NH we are attracting more, younger, hams than ever before. And, as you say, they're active. I was first licensed as a Tech in the early 60s right after graduating electronics school and getting my First Class Commercial license. I never did much other than tech until they grandfarthered us 5 WPM folks to general. And then, on a dare, I took my extra in 2006 and passed it first time. I think that the original change to 5 WPM receive only was caused because the FCC couldn't employ examiners who could send code! That started the ball rolling. I know, and have heard the stories of what do you do if you're in a disaster and can only key some kind of transmitter. This is garbage. With todays receivers you'd have better luck in the lottery than ever having anyone who could hear a simple keyed carrier. You couldn't even key most repeaters today without a CTSS code or a DTMF identifier. I'm personally glad that Ham Radio finally came out of the closet and joined the electronics mainstream. Thanks for listening....

rlusuh Wow, lots of water under the bridge since my battle with CW and finally a class B license in 1947. Later a class A, and then "Extra"... the hard way! I sure have a lot of respect for newbies with technical skills that far surpass my tube and bipolar transistor world. What is sad to me, and probably just nails me as an "old foggie", is the decline of home built stuff. Granted, factory stuff is (or at least should be) as good or better than my stuff built on hunks of lumber or hacked bread pans. I know "appliance operators" have a well deserved reputation for emergency communications, and keeping the hobby alive in the new age of computers and electronics, but CW........ particularly from a chirpy, key clicking 6L6 still has it's charm! QRZ...Old Chief Lynn, W7LTQ, ex F7CT, AJ2BO, AJ1DQ and /m,/4, and /6.

Sure you can buy a radio, but how many people can actually build a radio from scratch?? I grew up on crystal sets, then tubes, then built some transistor amplified crystal sets, etc., until I had a good working knowledge. Buy a radio and call yourself a true *Ham*??? Good luck getting any respect in the community.

As someone who has some "issues" learning code, I was very glad to see it dropped.

I have been a Broadcast Engineer for 31 years. I found it very ironic that I could work with 50,000 Watts of AM radio, but because I have not been able to learn code (and not for lack of trying), I could not get that ham ticket. To work with under 1,500 Watts, no less!

I was licensed as a no-code tech 5 years ago, and joined a club. Working 2 meter and 70cm repeaters became old in a real hurry. I jumped up to Amateur Extra the day code was no longer required. And I'm having a great time on the HF bands. My farthest contact to date has been Japan on 100 Watts. And at Field Day, I led the charge with my club to tune the flagpole on site to 40 Meters and use it as an antenna.

I've heard all the "reasons" why code should still be required, and I disagree with all of them. If you love code and have the wherewithall to learn it, God bless you. Those of us who are good operators and can contribute to the hobby should not be denied the simple pleasure of ham operation because we can't pass a code test - a mode of operation that I have little, if any, interest in using. There's plenty of room on the ham bands for us all.

'73

Thanks for a great article Don. Hey, homebrewing is now easier than ever. No drill presses or rat-tail files needed to hog out big chasses. You can now assemble sophistictated ham radio equipment on your kitchen table. I'm just finishing up a G3XJP reference-design STAR (Software Transmitter And Receiver) using three PICs, an Analog Devices DSP and CODEC, MOSFET power ampl;ifier, parallel JFET front-end, and H-mode switching mixer. Fantastic receiver! Still enjoy boat anchors, but must stay current.

Vy 73, AI2Q in Maine

I agree with you that some of the recent disasters have definitely generated a lot of interest in Amateur Radio but I don't think that doing away with the code requirement altogether has "rejuvinated" anything, at least not in the area where I live. In fact, from my perspective, it seems to have had very little effect at all. Remember, the code requirement for the Technician Class license was done away with a long time ago. The club I belong to offers Technician License classes and will soon be offering General and Extra as well (we've put off preparing for the higher level license classes in large part because expressed interest has been very sparse relative to Technician level). We also offer monthly testing. We've had a few people who already had their Technician Class license who have upgraded to General or Extra since the code requirement was dropped, but not a big increase like most of us had expected.

Interestingly it seems like the majority of the students we've had in our classes have been CERT graduates seeking their ham license as a result of recommendation (prodding?) by the city that CERT people get licensed, as they will need to be able to communicate in the event of a disaster. Unfortunately, although our success rate in getting these folks licensed has been nearly 100%, very few of them seem to be following through by getting themselves radios and almost none of them have even bothered to check in to the Sunday Evening Net on the club's two meter repeater even once, let alone regularly. It is worrysome to me that just acquiring their ticket seems to be the end of the line for most of these folks. The license alone isn't likely to do them much good without a radio and the knowhow that comes only through experience regarding how to operate it.

Another bothersome aspect of this situation is that, although on paper our numbers may be rising as a result of the increased interest, the number of hams that are actually active on the air (I believe) continues to dwindle. We need to find ways to inspire the newbies to buy themselves radios and actually get on the air. If this doesn't happen, the Amateur Radio Service is likely to become nothing more than a "paper tiger."

One rather fascinating comment I've heard from several long time Technician Class hams who had not previously had any interest in learning code, is "Now that it is no longer a requirement [they] want to learn the code." This one has really surprised me because I have heard it mostly from people who I would not otherwise have considered to be contrary in nature. It will be very interesting to me to see whether those who have made this comment will actually follow through and learn the code; if they do, then I think that may be one positive outcome of ditching the code requirement.

73,

Eric, AD7BF

I have had my ticket for about 40 years. I have not been active recently but am planning to get back into it when I finally retire. All gear back then was home brew transmitter and surplus receivers. Did some TTY on VHF and even built the FSK decoder and encoders.

So much for history. The one thing that I am looking forward to now is to increase my code speed when I get back to it. I have always thought that it was a skill to be admired due to the challange. The more we make life easier the less satisfaction that is achieved. The same goes for the store bought equipment. Sure it beats the heck out of what you can build but there is the thrill of rolling your own and actually seeing it work.

Gene VE7BPX

You mostly asked if we have seen the same influx of people joining local radio clubs specifically to get involved in emergency services. Can't say that I have seen much of that here on Long Island (NYC suburbs). There are those who are quite active in emergency service, but I think that it's always been the same people.

Regardless of reasons for wanting to enter ham radio, the number of new hams applicants has remained generally constant (although lower than most would prefer), through all the iterations of relaxing of licensing requirements.

Today's youth seem to be bombarded with "action at a distance" and take it for granted. When you realize that is, after all, what ham radio is about, it is disappointing. The ham population is definitely aging.

Ed Gellender WB2EAV (1962)

Hurricane Andrew, The Twin Towers, LA quake, and other disaster situations had overloaded normal communication networks leaving only Amateur Radio to save the day for all. It took a lot of years and a lot of disasters before Government realized that "Ham Radio" is the last link to saving the day in a disaster. News reported the CELL phone system overloaded with the L.A. quake. On a personal side: In 1953 I had to have a Novice License to pass my Communication Class in High School...I passed the Technician. In 1956, my Chief Engineer offered me the prototype SSB transmitter I built for the company providing I upgrade to General. I went on to Advanced and still hold it. Incentive was the key for me. Did a lot of "mixed" DXing but not the incentive to get passed 18 WPM for the Extra. I was K2DGI back then and became K4KIK when work moved me to Florida in '73. A novice held KN4KIK but never went further in 1956 when "K's" were being issued. I feel 10 or 13WPM was not that difficult yet still be an incentive to accomplishment.

73, Fred, K4KIK

As soon as I could, I upgraded to Extra on a previous reduction in code requirements. It was easy to upgrade. A lot of my friends no doubt still judge it as an intellectually inferior way to get to Extra.

I have been inactive recently but hope that my family might get involved because now they have a chance at it. No code is probably the only way they would consider it. With so many competing interests, it is really hard to have the time to sit and learn the code. And perhaps, for the kids, I really would rather they read some homework or did some math. Everything we can do to pull them away from TV with an interesting subject is a plus. 73.

As with any activity, be it hobby, interest, profession, or obsession, if you don't have new people entering into it, then it shrivels up and dies. Back when I did the Novice (1968)I was 12, and got the General at the age of 16, it was an exciting thing because of the capability to talk all over the world. (No big deal in the era of the internet, Skype, IM and chat rooms!) I haven't been active as an amateur in many years, but see the need for emergency communication, and more importantly if it stimulates interest in science and technology its a good thing IMHO.

vy 73, Jerry WA1QDI/6

I got my Novice about 1968 in 9th grade and took most of the two years allowed then to pass the 13 WPM code. I went straight to Advanced. It was almost 20 years before I got the code up to 20 WPM for the Extra. I passed the written with a perfect score after a few minues of study--no surprise, I'd held a 1st class commercial license for 15 years!

Morse code and I never got along well. Even though I jumped through the hoops, I couldn't wait to use a microphone, and was glad to see it finally considered irrelevant. No code should have happened 20 years sooner.

As for the future, I can't say much about the local (Denver) area. I haven't found any groups to connect with here like I did in CA, so I have become busy with other things and don't use it much.

Times have changed, and a number of factors play into it. Dropping the code is probably too little, too late. For me the biggest attractor was the opportunity to experiment technicaly, which others have mentioned is on the wane. The LSI ICs that make up state of the art radios these days are beyond the vast majority of the population. The learning curve is too steep and the effort to build something with them too time consuming for an individual (not to mention SMT difficulties and small size issues). Then there's the cell phone. Another big draw for me was phone patches, especially autopatch on 2m mobile. With cell phones, there are few reasons to do that anymore. The internet also provides a wealth of communication opportunities that rival ham radio for many. Don't get me wrong, it won't replace ham radio after an earthquake. But, I must admit my packet TNC has only been on the air a couple of times in 20 years. Why? I found I could send a file by E-Mail in 5 seconds that took 30 minutes on 2 M packet! For what purpose?

The computer has been both a benefit and a competitor to the hobby. Ham radio used to be about the only electronic technical challenge available. The computer offers a variety of other challenges, including my career--embedded development.

I'm not trying to be sour grapes. I am glad for the time I spent in Ham radio, and am still proud of my call, but the world is a different place today, and I don't think anything will ever bring back the past. There is a future for Ham radio, but it will be smaller than the glory days. That future needs to focus more on developing and using advanced communications techniques than what has been done so far. I'd like to see a grass roots project in SDR. Not something that requires a 3 GHz Pentium, but something built using modular PCBs with DSP and a control processor. Or how about a digital network, something like packet radio, with at least enough throughput for digital voice and the networking protocols to connect any ham or group of hams in conversation--say anywhere in the US.

I will be an Amateur Radio operator for 51 years this Fall. Held Novice, Technician, General, Advanced & Extra Class. With most disasters lately the Fedral Government takes over any effective communications. It is sad. Most people ask what are all those antennas on my car? Amateur Radio, I reply. Responce is "Oh like CB." What kind of communication will will you use in a disaster? "My cell Phone." OK, Good luck and have a good day! As a Ham Radio operator, I know the cell phone is the first to go in overload. It is sad, I hope I am not around for the BIG ONE. What ever that is? 73, w2ncn.bill@gmail.com

I do think that there has been a resurgence of interest in amateur radio, but I think it's a convergence of a number of factors. Eliminating the code test requirement was one of them, as well as a renewed interest in emergency communications. (I think Katrina had more of an effect on those folks than did the 9/11 disaster, though.) I also think that amateur radio itself is doing a much better job of drawing people in, or at least doing a better job of not turning them away. :)

I think what Jim, W6RMK, said about emergency communications being only one of the five "purposes" of amateur radio. When I speak to organizations about amateur radio, I try to emphasize all five of them, as they are all equally valid reasons for folk to get licensed and equally valid reasons for the continued existence of the amateur radio SERVICE.

I do think that there has been a resurgence of interest in amateur radio, but I think it's a convergence of a number of factors. Eliminating the code test requirement was one of them, as well as a renewed interest in emergency communications. (I think Katrina had more of an effect on those folks than did the 9/11 disaster, though.) Another factor is the whole "MAKE movement"--that is people doing things with their hands and minds. I also think that amateur radio itself is doing a much better job of drawing people in, or at least doing a better job of not turning them away. <grins>

I think what Jim, W6RMK, said about emergency communications being only one of the five "purposes" of amateur radio. When I speak to organizations about amateur radio, I try to emphasize all five of them, as they are all equally valid reasons for folk to get licensed and equally valid reasons for the continued existence of the amateur radio SERVICE.

I tried to learn the code back in the 1960's, when I was 10, but never succeded due to lack of equipment. Then I got re-interested in the 1980's and became determined to learn it whatever it took. I heard that some people are code deaf. I was one of them. It took me over a year of consistent daily practice. I estimate that I copied over 1 million characters to get to 17 WPM. I was really jealous when I heard people on the band brag they learned the code in just 3 weeks. I finally got my Advanced and decided not to update to Extra because the Advanced Class is no longer offered. I would have felt cheated if I had worked so hard for the Extra only to find out later my hard work was in vain. At least my license class is unique and reflects the code era. 73, KG2RU

I got my license in 1953, kept it renewed, but was inactive most years while raising a family. Code speed max'd around 18 wpm, but fell off badly due to inactivity. Got into contesting, took the extra class test after code was dropped, and now contesting has me doing code easily at 35 wpm. I welcome the new hams with no code and urge they try contesting. That, and the thrill of DX will inspire learning the code.

- Ken NO6X

I got my license in 1953, kept it renewed, but was inactive most years while raising a family. Code speed max'd around 18 wpm, but fell off badly due to inactivity. Got into contesting, took the extra class test after code was dropped, and now contesting has me doing code easily at 35 wpm. I welcome the new hams with no code and urge they try contesting. That, and the thrill of DX will inspire learning the code.

- Ken NO6X

Interesting discussion, though a bit baffling to me as a guy who (1) has been designing semiconductors for the last quarter century, and (2) knows nothing about ham radio. Why would anyone need to know Morse code in the 21st century? I do get the disaster scenario where the infrastructure of civilization is gone and all you have is your radio equipment, a generator, and a hamster on a wheel powering it all. But if there's some reason you can't talk voice, why wouldn't you use something like a TTY device for the deaf to communicate under those conditions? Seems like a relatively cheap and low power little gizmo that speaks keyboard (computer-style, cell phone-style, or whatever...) + small LCD display on one end and Morse code (or ASCII or ???) on the other would be just what the doctor ordered. I'm sure there are some complications like competing users on the same frequency, but they don't seem insurmountable -- and presumably you'd have the same problem with Morse code. Seems a solution like that with a well thought out protocol would do the job and make it a lot easier for *anyone* to communicate under those sorts of dire circumstances...

All you ham guys please pardon my ignorance (and please don't flame me), but it is an honest question I'm curious to know the answer to...

I was disappointed that the morse exam was dropped entirely from the licensing regime. With the amount of CW activity that exists below 30 MHz, my sense is that it would still be relevant to the licensing process. Written exam questions are in place that are only relevant to the handful of amateurs that are in the astronaut program; I guess those are just in place for the "gee whiz" factor.

What you seldom encounter today (that was commonplace years ago) was new hams that would roll their own stuff. A commercially made receiver coupled with a homebrew transmitter was a common manifestation of this. Each edition of the ARRL's 'How to Become a Radio Amateur' had detailed plans for a simple direct conversion receiver and 1 or 2 tube transmitter.

My feeling is that what we have today, with hams starting out with a store-bought "shack on a belt" after taking a "ham in a day" class, pales in comparison to the vital hobby that we enjoyed in an earlier era. 73 Scott W5ESE

I do think that there has been a resurgence of interest in amateur radio, but I think it's a convergence of a number of factors. Eliminating the code test requirement was one of them, as well as a renewed interest in emergency communications. (I think Katrina had more of an effect on those folks than did the 9/11 disaster, though.) I also think that amateur radio itself is doing a much better job of drawing people in, or at least doing a better job of not turning them away. :)

I think what Jim, W6RMK, said about emergency communications being only one of the five "purposes" of amateur radio. When I speak to organizations about amateur radio, I try to emphasize all five of them, as they are all equally valid reasons for folk to get licensed and equally valid reasons for the continued existence of the amateur radio SERVICE.

I started out to learn the code in 1956, and after fifty years of code records, then tapes, then the no-code tech license, I gave up. When the requirement was dropped, I passed general and extra in the same session. Meantime I got a GROL (first radiotelephone, then) in 1960 and worked as a tech, then engineer until a couple of years ago. It's been a long fun ride, and I plan to continue the ride for as long as I can.

I just bumped into an old Zenith "all-wave" receiver and it sure looks good on my bench next to the Yaesu FT-817 and assorted hand-helds and an unfinished homebrew HF amp. My only problem is that I'm afraid to turn it on: if it doesn't work, after all these years I'm not sure I remember how to fix tube gear!

73, John Amos K6TVM

Thanks for the article Don.

Carl NØPXJ

With 35 years as a Ham operator, I was disappointed to see the code requirement dropped, especially for the Extra Class. I've always felt that it was a prestige license anyway, and still feel there could at least be a 5wpm code requirement for it (memorization level), at least with the Extra. With an Advanced class license, I have most of the spectrum space alloted to us, and 'dragged my feet' getting the Extra. Now, I don't really see the need to become an "Extra extra light". I'm part of a canine search and rescue group, and communications is a very important part of our resources. Unfortunately, I'm the only one in our group who knows the code...so I have to keep our tired old VHF handhelds working!!! Most forget, hams included, that Ham Radio is defined as a "service", not a hobby... and the reason for our existance is to keep a trained group of communicators available for emergencies. I disagree with the comment "..communications don't need code..". Code is the bottom line for communication...rf, lights, whistles, flags...it will get through. There has been a "surge" of new Hams, due to the dropping of the code, which is a good thing. But, 'dumbing down' the service isn't a good thing. Kudos to those who want to learn to use it in spite of the new regs. 73 Mike/WB5JMJ - DC to infinity...all modes!!!!

Got my Novice in '59, General in '60, Advanced in '66 and Extra in '80, when it still required significant effort. Early rig was Viking Adventurer and SX-43, Then Heath Apache that I built at age 12, tnen 4-1000 linear for HF bands. Got EE degree in '70. What I see in the Kentucky area is most new hams are the equivilent of CBer's from 30 years ago. The hams that I knew and grew up with "knew" radios, electronics and communication theory, even if they had no formal electrical schooling. I was always amazed,even with my EE degree, how much the "old timers" knew and understood about radio and electronics. Those days are gone and so are the ham radio ranks that made up those generations.

K4IQQ

I was a student boarding at a Catholic High School back in 1953. There was a priest named Sebastian Ruth that had a ham call (W7YS). My dad made a key and a buzzer on a piece of plywood to 'try' to get me to learn the code. I had this key-buzzer in my room and I was practicing the code (a series of 'o's and s's!!) before 8 am class.. The buzzer accidentally was attached to my 300 foot outdoor antenna.. (The antenna was installed one dark night!! You have to know what boarding schools were like!!) After class there was Father Sebastian and two other priests in my room when I came in. Father S. asked if it was me. I said yes. He said don't do it again because it interupted their morning radio news broadcast.. I never did learn the code. But after 30 plus years with IBM, I now do repair work on antique radios and tube stereo equipment.

I would say it has had very little effect in the midwest. We see a few more retired people comming in and I know a couple of real smart computer geeks that have been able to upgrade to extra but that is about all. Our club memebership is steadily decreasing as older members become silent keys and we only have a couple of members under 40yrs old. 25yrs ago there was a gorup of us that came into the club about the same time and got it very active. Now that we have become the Old timers, we are still in the club but we don't have the next generation to take over all the activities. During those 25 yrs, our licensing classes generated hundreds of new ham licenses including a bunch of kids through a school ham club but we don't know where they went.

So if there is a new no code surge of active excited hams we haven't seen it here.

Like most everybody here who is on the north side of 60, RX was Hallicrappers SX-25 TX was scrounged rockbound sweep tube and TV transformer power supply.

High school ham club led to electronics physics degree led to the moon, Mars, and various and sundry record-breaking aircraft electronics designs. Also led to about 20 years of community college teaching electronics.

Got my extra the hard way about a month before the CW test disappeared. No problems with the new tests; CW was like a requirement for shoeing a horse before you could get a driver's license.

Not quite as active as I once was ... and Don knows full well what an outside job and a monthly magazine deadline will do for your spare time.

I love your wife's call ... N7 HeebyJeeby. Gail's is KB9MII (Chicago brat).

73 es CUL...Jim

I can't generalize about whether or not ham radio is better off without the code requirement. However, I think that working to learn the code, or ANY new operating mode, is a good thing. Being conversant in the code gives a ham increased capability for operating with minimal radio hardware, a potential advantage during the worst emergencies. Capabilities like this translate not only into fun, but into service - the Amateur Radio Service.

73, Mike KG2MG

Yes, I to have seen a resurgence in Ham operations and licensing as I got caought up in it my self early 2007 although I've been an avid follower of the craft and an elect tech since 1984. I got mine license not as a result of September 11 but something similar. The world of wilderness Search and Rescue has MANY licensed operators and its use is becoming more common. I'm greatfull that Morse Code is no longer necessary for higher licenses and as such I predict an even greater interest across the spectrum.

HI Don, Good article. My brother got hs "extra" class back in 1979. He's always bugged me to get mine. Now, I'm in a group that tracks and locates high altitude amatuer rockets and baloons. Most of thse use APRS for tracking. That's the primary reason I got mine. I'm encouraging my son to get his right now. Regards, David

The FCC first relaxed the code requirement for a ticket saying that they "did not want to create barriers to achievement". They then eliminated categories of licenses to make it easier for everyone to have greater "privileges" on the bands. International treaty still required Morse 10 meters and below. Learning a new skill(code)and passing an exam are not barriers to achievement, they are achievement. A trophy for all participants makes no winners but devalues the game and removes incentives to grow by the strength of your own effort. Unreasonable barriers intended to discourage do no one any good. Making nothing worth having by reducing the effort required to do anything does no one any good either. Chris N6ZXG

I'm a new ham after 33 years in electronics. I always wanted to learn code but felt intimidated. I still want to learn code, but can enjoy the hobby in the meantime. The hospital I work at has an agreement with the local ARES group, which I joined. This helps everyone out in case of a disaster.

Still kept my tech numbers from years ago but have progressed to a General... Now that they've made it easy, to jump to Extra with the 20WPM it's definaty something worth doing.... Those lower 40N,80M and 160M freq are worth it.... John - N1LAJ New Hampshire

There's a lot more to ham radio than emergency comms. There's also advancing the radio art, international goodwill, etc., which sometimes, I think gets pretty short shrift in the marketing of ham radio. In the past (and even today) ham radio emphasized hardware skills and Morse Code is part of that history (since a CW transmitter is pretty simple to build). However, the trend in radios (ham and otherwise) is a larger software/firmware component. Hopefully, doing away with the code requirement will encourage talented folks with a software orientation (who might not be particularly interested in hardware design or historical operating modes) to participate in advancing the radio art.

I'm a fellow Bay Area HAM from Santa Clara, CA, thus the KE6PIJ callsign even though I now reside in Maine. I can understand the comment your heard over the air as I recently upgraded to Extra class and am still planning to increase my skills in morse code to use the mode on HF. The reason being that DX is increased using code (you can pull a signal out with less power and amid more noise) and its fun. Code isn't dead, it just isn't required. Yes, you will have new HAMs who aren't up to speed quickly but we were all at that stage at one point . You see more of it now that the code requirement is gone because the program is working, it's creating more "new" hams. It's up to us seasoned hams to Elmer them to become good operators.

A little sorry to see the bar lowered. Yes, there will be more hams, but it was always nice to know that there were certain "reserved" bands for those that were really serious. Enough to learn code. I would guess that nobody in emergency work particularly cares about 20Meter DX. "let 'em all in" is a double edged proposition.

I've been absorbed in electronics since grade school. When "citizens band" opened up in 1957, I built a vacuum-tube transmitter from scratch and used a Hallicrafters S-20R receiver. It was fun and educational until all the teen-age (and adults that behave like it) "yahoos" and illegal kW transmitters ruined it. The code requirement has kept me from getting back into the hobby. I just hope the technical knowledge requirements are kept to keep some of the "yahoos" out! And our recent earthquake here was a gentle reminder of how important independent (of the public grid) communications can be in an emergency. A recent viewing of "On the Beach" made me ponder this, too.