Canada Seeks to Lower Morse Requirement
from
Radio Amateurs of Canada
on
August 15, 2000
Website:
http://www.rac.ca
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From: RAC Headquarters
Date: August 14, 2000
Subject: RAC Asks Industry Canada To Discontinue The 12 W.P.M. Morse
Code Test
During the past year, RAC has consulted with the Canadian
Amateur community in various ways including web site surveys,
message boards, analysis of e-mail and postal correspondence,
letters to the editor of The Canadian Amateur magazine and
as well as on-the-air discussions and fora.
The RAC Board of Directors has concluded that a majority of
Canadian Amateurs are supportive of dropping the 12 W.P.M.
Morse test although many are against such a change.
In a recent letter to Industry Canada, RAC President Kenneth
Oelke, VE6AFO recommended that full HF operating privileges
be granted to amateurs who have passed a 5 W.P.M. Morse test.
At the same time, Mr Oelke requested that the department
consider the augmentation of written tests to strengthen and
expand the requirements for operator knowledge and skills in
the areas of station set up and operation, on-air procedures
and operating practices, and to include more questions on
modern modes of communication employed by Radio Amateurs.
This proposal would give Canadian radio amateurs operating
privileges similar to those currently accorded to United
States amateurs who successfully pass a 5 W.P.M Morse test.
Industry Canada is aware that a review of the international
regulations governing the Amateur Services will take place at
the next World Radio Conference currently scheduled for 2003.
One aspect of such a review would be the testing requirements
for access to frequencies below 30 MHz. The proposed review
is supported by the International Amateur Radio Union, which
has consulted with its member organizations in over 180
countries during the past four years.
Independent of the review of the International Regulations,
many countries including The United Kingdom, Australia, South
Africa, and many European countries are either considering or
have already decided to decrease their Morse testing
requirements. A decision by Canada to drop the 12 W.P.M. test
would be in harmony with what is happening in other parts of
the world and would simplify the negotiation and
implementation of reciprocal operating agreements.
------------------------
Guy Charron VA3FZA
Bulletin Editor
Radio Amateurs of Canada
------------------------
Please send your comments regarding the content of this bulletin to
rachq@rac.ca
This article has expired. No more comments may be added.
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Dropping the 12 WPM code requirement in Canada
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by VE7BGP on August 20, 2000
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Mail this to a friend!
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I am in favor of that proposal but I would like to see it manaditory for Canadian Amateurs to have the advanced level of qualicifation on there certificate to operate in the prime DX bands of 40 thru 12 meters. I would like the exams to be more extensive then our current mutiple choice or guess format. Any "ACTOR" that is good at memorizing lines can memorize the answers to the questions, pass the multiple guess test, and get on the air. Clubs here in B.C. have put people on the air offering a 1 weekend long course cramming them so they can pass a test and "putting them on the air"! They have no idea what to do if they are told the have a poor quality signal on the air and some of them care less. The courses we offer for beginners in our club take about 3 months to complete and have the students sucessfully pass the exam. They should have the knowlege to know how to correct common problems. The exam should contain schenarios of common problems and the canidate demostrate the solution to the problem. I would also like to see our volenteer examiners interview each canadite for a few minutes to make sure they have the basic knowledge to go on the air. 73 de Gerry VE7BGP
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