sde%Mitre-Bedford@sri-unix.UUCP (06/29/84)
When the more sophisticated systems fail, almost anything can be used to generate Morse code. The point of the req. to know it is to ensure that those granted privs to use the bands will be able to deal with the kind of real emergencies that occasionally necessitate such a mode. The ASCII analogy does not apply. If you want substantiation that such events have actually occurred, just read QST, for example. By the way, although I got my commercial license (radar endorsed) without difficulty many years ago, it was years after that until I got sufficiently code-proficient for an amateur license,, so try not to class my comments as merely trying to exclude those for whom it is a chore to learn the code. David