16 DEC 2006 - 2300 CST Below, is the text of a recent reply I sent to a good friend who is lamenting the loss of the Morse code licensing requirement. He does not blame the ARRL, but he is very unhappy with the FCC. I thought you all might be interested in my response. If not, trash it before you read it. 73 - Dick, W9GIG =========================================================================== Hello <deleted> ... I'm sorry to hear that you are really distressed over the latest FCC R&O. However, I'm not ready to put on a black armband over the elimination of the Morse code licensing requirement. I personally would like to have it kept as an Extra Class requirement because I believe Extras should be knowledgeable about all amateur radio communications techniques and modes. I believe CW communications will continue to be a widely used mode if its users go out of their way to recruit new people. I also doubt if we will be deluged with masses of CBers or worse. Most of these people are not interested in amateur radio and the current tests will stop many of them. I have not read or heard about the trashing of amateur radio in those countries that have already dropped the code requirement. Perhaps the difficulty of the written exams should be increased as a means of creating a higher level of technical competence. But this will not screen out the real lids, turkeys, 80 Mtr pig farmers, etc, that we have been afflicted with almost since the dawn of radio communications. The only way this can be kept to an acceptable minimum is to really mentor all new licensees, not bitch about them over the air as I have been hearing for years. We must all take a personal interest in making these people comfortable and encourage them to only use good operating practices. I admit there have been times that all I wanted to do was to ignore both the new and the long-standing RF A--hole(s) at meetings. Sometimes that's all you can do if you want to keep your sanity. (I never get into an over-the-air discussion or dispute about amateur radio licensing.) But most of the time if a bridge of friendship can be built, these people turn out to be similar to the rest of us. To quote long deceased Walt Kelly's cartoon character, Pogo, "I have met the enemy and they are us." Merry Christmas! Dick, W9GIG