Yep, been around before.  I guess I'm like the grinch that stold 
Christmas,, but I don't even really see the humor in this april fools 
stuff.
73
Butch
WA0VJR
Node 3148
Wallace, ks.


On Sat, 2 Apr 2016, Phil Scovell wrote:

> April fools. I'm guessing.
>
>
> Phil.K0NX
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, April 02, 2016 12:30 PM
> Subject: FCC to Re-Instate Code Test
>
>
>> BlankI received this yesterday from our local club.
>>
>> Steve, K8SP
>>
>> FCC to Reinstate Morse Code Test
>>
>>
>>
>> April 1, 2016
>>
>> Washington, D.C. - April 1, 2016 - Today, the Federal Communications
>> Commission (Commission or FCC) approved Report and Order 14-987af which
>> reinstates the Morse Code test for General Class and Amateur Extra Class
>> licensees. "It was a big mistake eliminating the Morse Code test," admits
>> Dot N. Dasher, the FCC's director of examinations. "We now realize that
>> being able to send and receive Morse Code is an essential skill for radio
>> amateurs. As they say, it really does get through when other modes can't."
>>
>> Not only will new applicants have to take the test, but General Class
>> licensees who have never passed a code test will have one year to pass a
>> 5-wpm code test. Similarly, Amateur Extra class licensees that never
>> passed
>> a code test will have one year to pass a 13-wpm test. Those amateurs that
>> fail to pass the test will face revocation of their operating privileges.
>> Materials for administering the examinations will be distributed to
>> Volunteer Examiner Coordinators by the end of April, so that they can
>> begin
>> the testing on May 1, 2016.
>>
>> "This isn't going to be one of those silly multiple-choice type tests,"
>> noted Dasher. "We're going to be sending five-character random code
>> groups,
>> just like we did in the old days. And, applicants will have to prove that
>> they can send, too, using a poorly adjusted straight key."
>>
>> Technician Class licensees will not be required to take a Morse Code test,
>> nor will a test be required for new applicants. "We discussed it," said
>> Dasher, "but decided that since most Techs can't even figure out how to
>> program their HTs, requiring them to learn Morse Code seemed like cruel
>> and
>> unusual punishment."
>>
>> When asked what other actions we might see from the FCC, Dasher hinted
>> that
>> in the future applicants taking the written exam may be required to draw
>> circuit diagrams, such as Colpitts oscillators and diode ring mixers, once
>> again. "We're beginning to think that if an applicant passes an amateur
>> radio license exam it  should mean that he or she actually knows
>> something,"
>> she said.
>>
>> For further information, contact James X. Shorts, Assistant Liaison to the
>> Deputy Chief of Public Relations for the FCC
>>
>>
>> "A person cannot survive as a true Spartan fan unless he is a bit of a
>> masochist
>> and a very large optimist."
>>
>> Steve
>> Lansing, MI
>>
>
>