"I'm sorry, but it's vy hard for me to feel that this decision is not a
^dumbing down^ of a great communications service. The fallacy of the "radio
art" comment in the FCC order is that it should have read "radio
communications art", which would so much more accurately have described what
we have been overthe years. It has been ^both^ a communications medium and a
technical resource. And CW has been--and will continue to be-- a linchpin of
the ^communications^ part of that art. Tell me that someone who has passed a
5 wpm CW exam is going to be as effective an emergency communicator as
someone with more proficiency when CW is all there is at the time, as can
easily be the case, and frequently has been. No way. Yes, I believe radio
communications technology will be a large part of the future and needs to be
emphasized, but so would have been the radio ^communications^ art if the FCC
hadn't made this ill-considered move. Can't help it: there's no way to get to
quality without working for it, and now no one has to work for it.
Nevertheless, I don't particularly subscribe to the "conspiracy" theories
suggested in this thread. It would be an even more disastrous situation were
there to be a mass defection from ARRL. And, furthermore, I absolutely
endorse the postitive comments about gettiing new hams excited about the art;
if this is the way it is to be, then that's the only way we can continue to
maintain the quality of this great hobby (aka "communications art"). Still,
my ole (1977) Amateur Extra License certificate has new meaning for me today,
a sad day for ham radio.
--
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