Feb. 2008

Should Morse Code Still Be A Right Of Passage?

In a word… yes!

I once heard a ham say that requiring Morse Code to get an Amateur Radio license was like requiring one to know how to "shoe a horse" in order to get a driver license. I couldn't agree more.

But, requiring Morse Code was just a little "right of passage" that set Amateur Radio apart from flying, boating, stamp collecting, and yes, CB radio. It made Amateur Radio special compared to any other hobby. Did it weed out the riff raff? Maybe a little, but not nearly to the extent some would have you believe.

In my 25 years of being a ham, Morse Code has never been a practical requirement, but I welcomed it just the same.

Anyone with half a brain can pass the technical exam these days. But to pass the Morse Code test, you had to sit down and engage in some serious practice. Who would not feel a sense of accomplishment having completed such a task?

But we had to drop the code because we needed more hams. That was one of the reasons, wasn't it? Of course we don't need more hams. We have plenty.

Well, we need younger hams so that the hobby doesn't die out in the next 20 years or so. Guess what… the hobby may die out no matter what action we take now. Maybe not in 20 years, but the end is probably not that far away. If it doesn't die, it will be a shell of its present self, with frequencies whittled away due to non use.

If this happens it will be a natural evolution and nothing to fear. I know I won't be around to worry about it. I don't think anyone should worry about saving the hobby for the next generations. If the next generations want Amateur Radio, they'll save it themselves. If they don't want it, nothing you or I do today will alter that future.

73,

WF5TX