[BC] No-code Amateur license

[Jeffrey Kopp]

>[Rich:] I can't think of anything that's cause more damage to
>Amateur Radio than the code requirement. ... I'll be found living 
>underwater in Alvin for the next few years.

It's a difficult question, and I see this thread bound for AF, so I'll 
squeeze this in.

The FCC was bound by international convention to require code proficiency 
on HF into at least the eighties.

But some people simply can't hear code, in the same way some can't carry a 
tune in a bucket. Should they be excluded today?

The Coast Guard RM"A" school was six months, one of the longest "A" 
schools. Copying machine-generated code on a typewriter at 18WPM was 
required to pass, which worked out to about 13 on a live circuit (more than 
a tad below the ITU requirement of 16). The washout rate was about 50%. 
They even gave those who were stuck at 13 another expensive month to try, 
as they were desperate for operators. They loved to get hams, but these 
were in short supply; only around 5% had tickets.

Our training was spread out to limit code training to 65% of class time, as 
they'd found pushing it harder resulted in psychological disturbance and 
increased attrition.

And one has to keep at it; several years' experience is required to make it 
stick. Those who didn't get placed immediately on code circuits quickly 
lost their ability, which happened to me. I'd made 22WPM in 
school--probably because I could already type--but found myself a total lid 
aboard my first ship three years later.

Knowing the code does prove a serious interest, and confers respect for 
tradition. It also serves to emphasize there is more to communications than 
just keying a mike to yak. But the days of soldering a $45 xtal Heathkit to 
go novice with a rickety $100 general-coverage receiver are long past.

I think a good compromise would be to require applicants to at least be 
able to read code off flash cards. That requires sufficient effort (a few 
weeks) to show serious intent, teaches some history, and would give a nudge 
in the right direction, but wouldn't exclude the tone-deaf.