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Author Topic: uk still has code test to get a ham licence  (Read 1563 times)

G3ZHI

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uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« on: May 10, 2019, 02:22:32 PM »

uk has three classes of ham licence

foundation
intermediate
full

the foundation licence still includes questions on code

Demonstrate ability to send correctly by hand, and to
receive correctly by ear, text in Morse Code.


more information and the syllabus for each licence can be found here

https://rsgb.org/main/clubs-training/tutor-resources-2/syllabus/syllabus-2019/

Until 2003 the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) required assessment of Morse code proficiency as part of the global amateur radio licensing procedure.  However, since the World Radiocommunication Conference of 2003 (WRC-03), Morse code has become an optional element in amateur radio practice, and many countries have now removed the compulsory Morse component from their amateur radio licence requirements.

https://rsgb.org/main/operating/morse/

itu regulations

http://search.itu.int/history/HistoryDigitalCollectionDocLibrary/4.127.43.en.100.pdf

'25.5 Administrations shall determine whether or not a person seeking a
license to operate an amateur station shall demonstrate the ability to
send and receive texts in Morse code signals.'

73 ian g3zhi

whatsapp    +447575658368

www.qsl.net/g3zhi

http://www.pa7lim.nl/peanut/


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K4EMF

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2019, 03:07:58 PM »

Maybe I'm just too old fashioned, but I'd prefer there was still some sort Morse code requirement here in the states.
Even if it were only 5 wpm.
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PU2OZT

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2019, 04:06:38 PM »

Brazil too keeps a Morse test, ~10 wpm, 125 letters/numbers, some punctuation, no prosigns, portuguese language only, received/sent in 5mn, in order you upgrade from C-Class (technicien) to B-Class.

(Test that I failed miserably)

Oliver
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MACGUFFIN

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2019, 08:09:30 AM »

uk has three classes of ham licence

foundation
intermediate
full

the foundation licence still includes questions on code

Demonstrate ability to send correctly by hand, and to
receive correctly by ear, text in Morse Code.

No, the UK ham radio testing does not include any testing on Morse code.  Did you even follow and read your own links?
Here's a link from one of the pages you linked to -> https://rsgb.org/main/operating/morse/countries-not-requiring-morse/
Quote
UNITED KINGDOM – 26 July 2003

The UK has not required Morse code testing for over 15 years.

Maybe I'm just too old fashioned, but I'd prefer there was still some sort Morse code requirement here in the states.
Even if it were only 5 wpm.

Yes, you are too old fashioned.  The ending of Morse code testing ended the downward spiral ham radio was in at the time.  It still has not recovered, IMHO.
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K4EMF

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2019, 04:49:07 PM »



Yes, you are too old fashioned.  The ending of Morse code testing ended the downward spiral ham radio was in at the time.  It still has not recovered, IMHO.

in 2000 there were 682,000 hams
in 2007 there were 656,000 hams, a 3.8% decline (not normally known as a "downward spiral")
in 2014 there were 726,000 hams, a 10.7% increase from 2007

according to my recollection of statistics 101, we HAVE in fact recovered......IMHO of course
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MACGUFFIN

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2019, 10:03:16 PM »



Yes, you are too old fashioned.  The ending of Morse code testing ended the downward spiral ham radio was in at the time.  It still has not recovered, IMHO.

in 2000 there were 682,000 hams
in 2007 there were 656,000 hams, a 3.8% decline (not normally known as a "downward spiral")
in 2014 there were 726,000 hams, a 10.7% increase from 2007

according to my recollection of statistics 101, we HAVE in fact recovered......IMHO of course

The recovery I'm thinking of is more cultural than mere numbers.  Numbers are required for a recovery but insufficient.  Amateur radio needs to be about emergency communications, experimentation, and people communicating.  What's happened over the decades was this ingrained culture of what a "real ham" was, a person that could operate Morse code quickly and participate in contests.  There's still little pockets of hams that experiment, but the larger community seems to be focused on their license from the FCC being just another contest.  The license wasn't the entry into ham radio, it was the end goal.  When someone got to 20 WPM then they "won" and moved on to the next contest.  That being of worked all states, DXCC, or some other piece of paper to hang on a wall.

When I got my license I was attracted by the people experimenting with packet, spread spectrum, digital voice, etc.  Things that did not exist in consumer products, or existed at high cost.  These were people trying new things.  But they seemed to just leave.  My best guess is that they got fed up with the infighting over Morse code testing and just went off to do their experimentation in Part 15, Part 95, Part 5, in industry, in wired networks, or wherever else they felt welcome.

Morse code testing has been ingrained into the culture of ham radio to the point that it is still being brought up more than a decade after it was removed.  It's gone, and it's not coming back.

I'll believe that the Amateur Radio Service in the USA has recovered from the shackles of Morse code when people stop bringing up the possibility of restoring Morse code testing by the FCC.  Morse code testing was dragging ham radio down.  The testing is gone now but the culture of being a "real ham" by proving one's Morse code speed is still tripping it up.

If you enjoy Morse code then I'm fine with that.  Just don't expect every ham to be as excited about it as you, and don't consider someone that doesn't enjoy Morse code as some kind of second class citizen within Amateur radio.  Ham radio will have recovered from this rut it's in when status in Amateur radio is determined by one's technical skill, rather than their Morse code speed.
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G8HQP

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2019, 03:51:54 AM »

If you read carefully the UK rules require Foundation level candidates to carry out a supervised non-telephony contact. This may be Morse, but it may be some other method. Hence Morse is not a UK requirement.
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K4EMF

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #7 on: May 23, 2019, 03:10:26 PM »

The recovery I'm thinking of is more cultural than mere numbers.
I see, I don't recall ever hearing a "cultural decline" described as a "downward spiral" but OK.
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....Amateur radio needs to be about emergency communications, experimentation, and people communicating.
True enough, but then CW is a mode for communicating and in low power emergency situations with no digital modes available it may be the only mode that gets through.
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....When someone got to 20 WPM then they "won" and moved on to the next contest....

I can recall many hams achieving CW speeds WELL above 20 wpm.  In fact I read one interview where the guy said he wasn't even listening for individual letters but entire words.

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When I got my license...
I cannot help but notice you don't have a call sign displayed.  I've never met or known any ham who was not proud to display his call sign.
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My best guess is that they got fed up with the infighting over Morse code testing and just went off to do their experimentation in Part 15, Part 95, Part 5, in industry, in wired networks...
Possibly....I suppose, but seems highly unlikely.  Given anyone doing the experimenting would already be licensed to begin with.
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Morse code testing has been ingrained into the culture of ham radio to the point that it is still being brought up more than a decade after it was removed.  It's gone, and it's not coming back.
I hardly see a problem with the first part and you're right I doubt seriously a code test will ever come back.  But then I never said it was ,I simply lamented that I wish they had not eliminated it completely.
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I'll believe that the Amateur Radio Service in the USA has recovered from the shackles of Morse code when people stop bringing up the possibility of restoring Morse code testing by the FCC.
Not to worry, all us older guys fluid in or formerly fluid in CW will die eventually. Fortunately, according to you, the hundreds of thousands fewer Hams are only numbers and won't matter.
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Morse code testing was dragging ham radio down.
I assume here you mean the "cultural decline" you eluded to earlier, since the numbers don't matter?
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The testing is gone now but the culture of being a "real ham" by proving one's Morse code speed is still tripping it up.
"Cultural tripping" I presume??

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If you enjoy Morse code then I'm fine with that.
I did and plan to again.  I'm relearning Morse code now that I have the Extra exam behind me.  I'll be perfectly content with 10 - 15 wpm.
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Just don't expect every ham to be as excited about it as you, and don't consider someone that doesn't enjoy Morse code as some kind of second class citizen within Amateur radio.
Oh I won't
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Ham radio will have recovered from this rut it's in when status in Amateur radio is determined by one's technical skill, rather than their Morse code speed.
I assume you mean some manner of "cultural rut".....since the numbers don't matter, of course.
Seems to me CW is a technical skill and a potentially very useful one at that, at any speed.
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MACGUFFIN

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #8 on: May 23, 2019, 05:16:26 PM »

I assume you mean some manner of "cultural rut".....since the numbers don't matter, of course.

Yes, a cultural rut.  But did I say that numbers don't matter?  I'm quite certain I did not.  I included what I said before for your convenience.

The recovery I'm thinking of is more cultural than mere numbers.  Numbers are required for a recovery but insufficient.

Now that I made that clear do you want to try again on making your case?  Your premise hangs on something I did not say, so perhaps you should reconsider your points.
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G3ZHI

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #9 on: May 27, 2019, 11:06:40 AM »

No, the UK ham radio testing does not include any testing on Morse code.  Did you even follow and read your own links?
Here's a link from one of the pages you linked to -> https://rsgb.org/main/operating/morse/countries-not-requiring-morse/
Quote
UNITED KINGDOM – 26 July 2003

The UK has not required Morse code testing for over 15 years.

of course you are right
but the post was about the foundation licence exam set by the rsgb
which still has a morse test in it
it was not about the uk requirement for a morse test
the two are not the same

the rsgb wanted to keep the morse test because morse was used in the war

if rsgb have their way a morse test will still be there in 2050..........and beyond





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G8HQP

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #10 on: May 27, 2019, 12:44:00 PM »

As I said, the Morse is optional. You can do some other type of non-telephony contact instead. What is unclear to me is whether the choice is made by the candidate or the tutor.

I see no harm in including Morse in the Foundation licence. I see no need to make it compulsory - but it isn't compulsory. What is all the fuss about?
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MACGUFFIN

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #11 on: May 27, 2019, 01:00:45 PM »


but the post was about the foundation licence exam set by the rsgb
which still has a morse test in it
it was not about the uk requirement for a morse test
the two are not the same

the rsgb wanted to keep the morse test because morse was used in the war

Then why is the title "UK still has code test to get license"?  Would not a more accurate title be "RSGB still has code test to get license"?

As I said, the Morse is optional. You can do some other type of non-telephony contact instead. What is unclear to me is whether the choice is made by the candidate or the tutor.

I see no harm in including Morse in the Foundation licence. I see no need to make it compulsory - but it isn't compulsory. What is all the fuss about?

My "fuss" is the misleading title.
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G3ZHI

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #12 on: May 27, 2019, 11:00:45 PM »

Then why is the title "UK still has code test to get license"?  Would not a more accurate title be "RSGB still has code test to get license"?

the title is correct

yes the rsgb set the exam syllabus to get a uk licence on behalf of ofcom

the issue is not the title but why the rsgb keep the code test in the exam when it is not a legal requirement in the uk




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MACGUFFIN

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #13 on: May 28, 2019, 12:00:40 AM »

the issue is not the title but why the rsgb keep the code test in the exam when it is not a legal requirement in the uk

As far as I can tell the Morse code test is optional.  RSGB offers a Morse code test, just like RAC in Canada or the ARRL in the USA, but they don't require it.  The written tests in the USA and Canada require that applicants know some technical aspects of CW, as they do of many other modes, but no real demonstration of Morse code knowledge.  This sounds similar to the testing in the UK.  I don't understand your complaint.

By your logic it would follow to say the USA has a code test to get a ham license, or that Canada has a code test to get a license.  It's not required knowledge in any nation but it's there if someone opts to take it.

I'd like to express my suggestion this thread be locked.  The original post is based on a provably false premise.  I guess this could be called "fake news".
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K4EMF

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RE: uk still has code test to get a ham licence
« Reply #14 on: May 28, 2019, 06:01:04 AM »


...I'd like to express my suggestion this thread be locked.

And so it was that he who hath no call sign proclaimed "So let it be written....so let it be done !"

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  The original post is based on a provably false premise.

Maybe the mods should just move this thread to the debate club forum ?
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