karn (11/24/82)
The comments about the usefulness of CW on HF, although I generally agree with them, aren't really relevant to the proposed no-code license. The most likely proposal from the FCC this winter will be to drop the CW test from the Technician class license. Of course, by international treaty, the Novice CW privileges granted to Technicians in the middle 70's would have to be removed from any code-free license. Therefore, the proposal poses no threat to HF operations. The result would be full privileges on 6m and up, excepting the segments reserved for CW only. As an aside, it is true that much, if not most, small-signal work, e.g., EME, on VHF/UHF is conducted using CW. However, it is also true that this work is usually carried out in the CW-only segments, and these would be off-limits to a code-free licensee. The basic argument I would make to those who oppose the code-free license is this: No one is trying to deny the usefulness of CW in its proper places or to do away with it altogether. CW is certainly NOT obsolete, and it will continue to be used both on HF and for small-signal work on the higher frequencies for a long time. Including by me. If the code-free license becomes a reality, however, it would have the LEAST effect on the dedicated brass pounders who spend all their time in the CW subbands. Therefore, I don't understand what they have to object to. As an issue completely separate from the usefulness of CW, I do believe strongly that it is a mistake to make CW an inflexible prerequisite for doing work in entirely different facets of amateur radio. The comments clarifying the difference between bandwidth efficiency versus throughput are clearly correct. If the FCC were to require all amateurs to be proficient in the technique that results in the most efficient use of our allocations, everyone would be forced to learn packet radio, not CW! In our crowded bands, any advances in the state of the art which could improve the utilization of our allocations is clearly desirable. These advances are much more likely to take place with the influx of technically talented people that a code-free license would provide. If you want a test to keep the "lids" off the bands, make it technical! Phil Karn, KA9Q/2