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Bodysurfer, the decision to eliminate Morse Code Proficiency as a requirement for an Amateur Radio  FCC license was made in late 2006 and came into effect in 2007.

FCC Ends Morse Code Testing for Ham Radio (betanews.com)

 

A History of Amateur Radio License Changes – Eastern Massachusetts ARRL

 

Apparantly there was some "Buyer Remorse" on the part of the FCC as evidenced by the following article's tenure from 2014:

 FCC to reinstate Morse Code test - KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

It didn't happen, but that doesn't mean it isn't still a hot topic in the Amateur Radio Operator community and one that does not have universal agreement.  I think it will always be one with strong opinions on both sides, Pro and Con regarding having to show proficiency as a CW Operator.

FCC to re-institute CW as part of license requirements? | Page 7 | QRZ Forums

Personally, I never saw anything wrong with having a minimal 5 WPM requirement, even though I haven't met the requirement myself.... yet.  At my advanced age I still "intend" to meet that very minimal level of achievement and I still have the greatest respect for those who pound away effortlessly at 25 WPM or greater.  My excuse so far:  Just haven't spent enough time and haven't exerted the proper commitment to a very doable task.  My goal is to do some QRP work this year and I am buying a QRP transceiver for that very purpose, so I am kind of locked in.  I have to acquire that very minimal skill at 5 WPM, otherwise my new transceiver is useless since QRP equipment at 5 watts or less is all CW mode.

Wow, I never realized there would be this much interest in this type of Off Topic topic.  How many more Hams are out there in this woods?  

One of my reasons for interest in CW transmission is that you can get so much more bang for the buck regarding the narrower bandwidth transmission vs voice transmission.  5 Watts via CW can do a lot, just ask the old QRP operators.  They are a committed group!

Okiedo

 

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