"Doug Dotson" wrote in message
...
Hooah!! I remember a friend that took his 5WPM by writing down the
dots and dashes. Then in the "think-time" after the test he was able to
remember the code. VEs outlawed that practice pretty quick!

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista


"L." wrote in message
io.net...
"L." wrote in message
rio.net...

"Jack Erbes" wrote in message
...
Doug Dotson wrote:

I guess I'm a little behind as well. If I recall correctly, when
the
last rule change happened that made 5WPM the speed for
General and Advanced, it was stated that the ITU requirement
was the reason that it could not be dropped entirely. Once the
ITU dropped the requirement, the FCC would iniate action
to follow suit. Personally, I think the code should stay.

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

I agree with keeping the 5 WPM requirement. Being able to read an
SOS,
read a repeater ID, etc., etc., is a good thing. And it does not
hurt
anyone at 5 WPM. At that speed you can take a cheat sheet with you
and
look the longer, harder to remember ones as they are sent. Of
course,
I
suppose there is someone that will have trouble as soon as they got
to
those really tough ones with both dits and dahs... :)

-.- .---- .--- .... .

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jacker at midmaine dot com

A CHEAT SHEET???????????????

Buddy, if you're not ready for an exam, you're going to fail. Come to
my
exams and be caught and the exam is OVER and YOU FAIL. And that is the
least
you can expect. Being turned into the FCC for any possible action will
be
up
to them.

L.


Rules are rules until they are dropped.... But "I" nor my team will not
allow nor ANY team should or be expect to allow ourselves to be subject
to
any punishment as may be handed down to allow a "cheater" to get away
with
it. Don't place the exam teams in jeapardy just because you don't like
to
follow rules. 5 WPM is NOT that hard. In 2 weeks at about 15 minutes a
day,
you can learn code sufficiently to pass that exam.... To not, is pure
laziness. Bitch about 13/20 all you want, but 5 is as easy as it
gets.....

L.





This in reply to the thread, not to Doug Dotson - personally......

At 5 WPM, if you have enough time to write down the dits and dahs, you sure
in hell have enough time to decipher it in your head. It doesn't take much
longer to write down the letter K for example when you hear -.- as it would
for you to go back and recall it later. So, why not save yourself the
aggrivation and frustration and do it right the FIRST time....? It's plain
and simple... Either you know the code OR YOU DON'T. And if you know it
even reasonably well, you'll do fine..... WITHOUT the crap.

To take a sheet in to the exam with you with all the letters, numerals and
characters and Q signals and such which shows them in dits and dahs - is the
same as taking in with you a cheat sheet with all the Ohms Law formulas,
Frequency Charts, Part 97 rules which you are supposed to know off the top
of your head and so on..... Call it gray if you like, somehow I don't think
the FCC would allow it, if they were still testing. They expect you to know
what you're being tested on, just as your school teachers did. Just before
the FCC quit giving exams, they were in most cases, down to once a month and
quite a drive if you didn't live near a city. IF you didn't know your
stuff, you failed. AND then you wasted a trip and had to wait 30 days to try
again. Cheat sheets? Man they probably would have strung you up, if they
caught you. Actually, the VEs are supposed to check calculators too, to
erase ANY/ALL saved formulas you may have in there, so you "have" to recall
them mentally. The only thing there is, you are allowed to write them down
on your scratch paper from memory - but all scratch papers are to be turned
in with the exams. Writing them on your scratch paper is NOT the same as
taking in a sheet with them already listed. Read the Rules, you'll see
(about the calculators) . Unless they changed and I"m not aware of it, that
still stands. So if that is the case, then WHY would you be allowed a "cheat
sheet"?????

If you got to cheat to get by in life, then what value does your life or any
goals you've achieved - hold?????

The gentleman now ready for his Social Security check surprised the hell out
of me... Folks in that age bracket - I thought - knew what it was to put in
some effort, a hard days' work and get some value out of life. Having served
time in the Navy, which I'm not condeming him of in anyway, I'm surprised he
seems to have taken the attitude he has. To have been trained hard, to put
in effort to get the job done.... I AM SURPRISED.

NOTHING in life worth having - comes free or easy. There is NO free
lunch....... We ALL live by rules... Rules of the road, the bible if you so
choose to do that, the community, FCC and so on. With no rules, man this
world would run amuck and be a hell of a lot worse off than it is becoming
daily.

Furthermore, maybe "my" examples of why the theory are needed weren't good,
but if you don't test at all, then why bother? The ham bands just handed out
like the CB band.... Then what? I'm not condemning CBers either. I know many
good ones. It is the bad apples of the bunch causing the harm. And yes even
the bad apples among the hams that are making Ham radio to become a cess
pool. Giving away a license surely will not clean it up. It can only get
worse. What sir, would you propose if no theory or code, should be done to
get you there? I eagerly await your answer. As Doug points out, there are
STILL things which can be done by hams, and I TOO am proud of it. I've built
equipment from scratch which has saved me hours of labor in my hobby and
business. I continue to learn something new every day. Were it not for hams,
many of the advances made may still be in the imagination stages. Hams
aren't the saviors of the world, but they've brought this world a good ways
into the present. You're still able to make and install your own antennas
which does take "some" knowledge, especially to tune them if need be. OR if
building - to know the formulas to get them to resonate. Many who get on a
radio (CB for example) don't know the first thing of what goes on when they
key the mic. Isn't it nice to know HOW things work or to be able to improve
your system - even if you can't repair the radio due to today's
technology????? There is STILL much to do there.... LEARN IT, USE IT, ENJOY
IT. ONLY THEN - will the fruits of your labor come to pass and you'll then
"APPRECIATE" your time and efforts.

When we WANT to stop learning, to stop trying, succeeding - what will we
have come to? What good will we be to ourselves and/or to others? Why, we
won't even amount to a droid. One can only wonder how terrible things really
will be then. I don't want to take that trip into the twilight zone......
It's ugly enough to think it, let alone experience.

L.