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

"Vito" wrote in message
...
"Michael Sutton" wrote
"Doug Dotson" wrote
It is true that the code requirement is part of international treaty.

Not since the last (ITU?) convention just last year. It was dropped and
several countries (Japan & Canada?) quit code testing. The US FCC still
requires 5 wpm for General and Extra (ie, to use HF) but ARRL has
petitioned
FCC to drop it. Don't hold your breath - FCC is OK but is still an
American
bureaucracy so I'm sure anyone here can learn 5 wpm faster than it'll act
on
the petition.

So if you already have your code from Novice at 5wpm, .....

Volunteer Examiners will give you credit if you have proof you passed it -
eg if you have a Novice or a Tech license dated before the advent of
no-code
tech. In fact those who did code + novice written to become Novices, then
took the General written exam to become Techs can apply to get
grandfathered
to General.

BTW, my child bride heads a W5YI VE team that admin's tests every other
month in Fredricksburg VA. If some of you want to take an exam in VA's
No.Neck or Middle Peninsula area she could prolly help.

K3DWW