Subj : radio check
To : Cougar428
From : DaiTengu
Date : Wed Feb 01 2023 02:02 pm
Re: radio check
By: Cougar428 to DAITENGU on Wed Feb 01 2023 11:43 am
Co> Hi there, I am just an SWL listener. I do hear morse on the bands.
Co> Although I may be tuned in to it as I was a Morse intercept operator
Co> in the US Army and when I hear it, my fingers start to hit the keys.
Co> Once I got out of the service, I found there wasn't much call for
Co> morse operators. Maybe in the Maritime service but not much else.
Co> I am not a licensed HAM, just an avid fan. I learned morse so many
Co> years ago, and I don't really see it being used much anymore that I
Co> think making new users test would probably be a deterrent.
CW is still incredibly popular on the amateur bands. Just because people don't have to learn it to get their license, doesn't mean they don't learn it.
It's been 16+ years since the requirement to learn, and be proficent in morse code was a requirement to get a higher level ham radio license. Some people still lament the fact that the requirement was dropped, and are convinced that any operator who was licensed without having to learn CW is a "lid" and they're killing ham radio.
There are 767,863 licensed amateurs in the USA right now. A cursory google search seems to indicate anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 amateurs are added per year. If we do the napkin math, that'd mean 300,000-480,000 (licenses last 10 years) of those 767,863 were licensed since the morse code requirement was completely dropped. More than half.
Gatekeepers such as the guy I was replying to originally are a dying breed.
DaiTengu
...It's always the OVERtakers who keep the UNDERtakers busy.
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