Red Wave Radio

Discussions about CW or not CW always tend to
fall back on the obsolescence of CW as a
communications mode.  Well, it looks like FM repeaters
and SSB HF use as we know it is becoming, if not already,
obsolete.

Guess we should get rid of old repeater technology
and get with the times.  Yup -- ham operators MUST be at
the forefront of technology. No more CW, no more FM
repeaters, no more wasting time chasing DX on HF when
you can dial them up on your satellite based radio.

Here...read this.

SATELLITE-BASED DISPATCH RADIO SERVICE
ANNOUNCED SERVIING ENTIRE CONTINENT

        RESTON, VA. - American Mobile Satellite Corp.
has introduced Skycell Satellite Dispatch Service,
a digital point-to-multipoint broadcast system that can
operate throughout North America, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto
Rico, the U.S. *** Islands and 200 miles of coastal
waters.
        Skycell Satellite Dispatch Service and its subscriber
equipment will be distributed beginning in this year's
fourth quarter, AMSC said.
        The service provides comprehensive voice dispatch
and individual private telephone service for small and large
fleets of mobile users.  Each network can be divided into
multiple talk groups, enabling a dispatcher to communicate
with individual users, groups of users of the entire fleet
by opening a voice channel and broadcasting a message.  
Skycell customers will be able to have up to 10,000 mobile
users in one network, AMSC said.
        Users are equipped with a fully digital Skycell
satellite telephone with push-to-talk dispatch capability
for land, mobile, fixed site, maritime, aviation and
transportable applications.  Phones are manufactured by
Westinghouse Electric Corp. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
        AMSC offers fleet management mobile data and
position reporting to the maritime, trucking and rail
industries throughout the United States through leased
satellite capacity.
        AMSC shareholders include Huges Electronics Corp.,
Singapore Telecommunications, McCaw Cellular
Communications Inc. and Mobile Telecommunication
Technologies Corp.  AMSC launched its first satellite
in April.

From RCR (Radio Communications Report)
August 21, 1995 edition, page 43.

Please don't use the argument that SSB DXing is
"enjoyable" or that you "enjoy" using FM repeaters.
The "enjoyment" factor does not seem to be relevant
with CW arguments and consequently should not be a
consideration here. Nor should cost of equipment, as a
simple CW transmitter is far less expensive than a full
featured SSB rig (and much easire to build if you had
the desire or need to do so).  And since many past anti-CW
posts have used the argument that the military and the Coast
Guard have dropped CW use, I feel it appropriate to note
that commercial interests are dumping use of FM repeaters
and HF because they are aware that single frequency
repeater systems and HF operations are obsolete
and inefficient for today's communications requirements.

The pot is now sufficiently stirred.  Let's turn up the
heat and see if it boils over.

- - -
Jason Lansky, NF6E

The argument about obsolescence is typically in response to
two issues.  The first is the myth that Morse Code is somehow
superior to other modes when in fact it is just another mode
of operating with advantages and disadvantages like most other
modes.  The second is that the amateur service is supposed to
provide a pool of trained operators (presumably for other services,
in particular the military) in times of need.  This is probably how
the Morse Code requirement came about in the first place as it
is the only mode specific operating test and the military was at
one time a very large user of Morse Code.  Since these other
services have abandoned Morse Code, the primary reason for
the testing requirement has vanished, not because the mode
is obsolete, but that it has been abandoned by the other services
so we no longer need to provide a pool of trained Morse Code
operators.  Part 97.1(d) can be met without knowing how to
manually send by hand and receive by ear Morse Code.

Quote:> Guess we should get rid of old repeater technology
> and get with the times.  Yup -- ham operators MUST be at
> the forefront of technology. No more CW, no more FM
> repeaters, no more wasting time chasing DX on HF when
> you can dial them up on your satellite based radio.

I would agree this is relevent if anyone was proposing to
get rid of Morse Code, but no one has suggested that here.

[info about a commercial satellite based service deleted...]

Quote:> Please don't use the argument that SSB DXing is
> "enjoyable" or that you "enjoy" using FM repeaters.
> The "enjoyment" factor does not seem to be relevant
> with CW arguments and consequently should not be a
> consideration here.

Again the issue is Morse Code *testing*, not the use of
Morse Code.  Enjoy any mode you like, just don't expect
everyone to enjoy what you enjoy.  The world would be
a pretty boring place if everyone enjoyed the same things.

Quote:> The pot is now sufficiently stirred.  Let's turn up the
> heat and see if it boils over.

I don't know what pot you think you stirred up, but your note
is typical of those that either haven't read the discussion here,
or would rather attempt to move the argument from "changing
the Morse Code *testing* requirements" to "stopping the use
of Morse Code".  Is this just an attempt to obfuscate the real
issues?

73,
Todd
N9MWB

Quote:> Please don't use the argument that SSB DXing is
> "enjoyable" or that you "enjoy" using FM repeaters.
> The "enjoyment" factor does not seem to be relevant
> with CW arguments and consequently should not be a
> consideration here.

"Enjoyment" is the basis of most hobbies, Jason.
I'll take satellite-based multimedia communications...

Roger ka6mwt

Yep, true, digital and cellular techniques, spread spectrum, etc
are the wave of the future. The old methods are no longer the
methods that "get through when all else fails", nor are they
defacto the "common language of amateur radio", though that
pretense holds on de jure.

Quote:>Guess we should get rid of old repeater technology
>and get with the times.  Yup -- ham operators MUST be at
>the forefront of technology. No more CW, no more FM
>repeaters, no more wasting time chasing DX on HF when
>you can dial them up on your satellite based radio.

Now that's where pro-coders and no-coders differ. While
many no-coders believe code is obsolete, none of us want
the government to *force* you to stop using it. Nor do
we insist the government *force* SSB or FM off the bands.
In fact, we don't want the government involved in those
sorts of mode choices at all, including *forcing* Morse
on us through a mode specific speed test. We're quite
content to let the better mode win in free and open
competition on the air. We're confident that amateurs
will adopt the modes that work best for them, whatever
those modes may be, without arbitrary government intervention
in those choices.

Most of us believe the government has a legitimate interest,
and a legitimate role, in regulating the public spectrum in
the public interest. Part of that regulation involves amateur
radio, of course. The government has an interest in protecting
other services from amateur interference. Since we are allowed
to build, modify, and repair our own equipment, certain technical
knowledge can legitimately be expected of us before we are allowed
to operate. Similarly, knowledge of regulations can be expected
of us before we are allowed to operate. Both areas are legitimate
testing subjects.

In the past, safety critical radio services needed to communicate
with amateurs from time to time to tell them to cease interfering
with the safety critical service's signals. In the past, those safety
critical services used Morse exclusively, so amateurs were required
to know Morse. That time has passed. The government no longer has a
legitimate need for amateurs to universally meet some arbitrary Morse
speed capability. The government has recognized this on VHF+ already.
We are only asking that the government recognize the same thing is now
true on HF.

Few, if any, of us care if some amateurs want to continue using
Morse on the air. It's a free country, their choice, etc. All
we are asking is that they give us the same courtesy by recognizing
that our methods too are legitimate, and that their mode no longer
holds a special status, other than historical, in amateur radio.

Gary
--
Gary Coffman KE4ZV          |    You make it,     | gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary
Destructive Testing Systems |    we break it.     | emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary

Lawrenceville, GA 30244     |                     |

I have been wondering for a few years now when HAMs could
switch to digital communications vs present FM voice techniques.
Seems like a CODEC and some method of sending the bits in a
auto synchronous (embedded clocking in signal) fashion, would
allow us to extend our batteries and keep our handheld small.
Everywhere I look I see HAMs talking packet, which requires
a keyboard and other pieces.
Sincerely
Bill Selph, EE, KC4TJR....

I have been wondering for a few years now when HAMs could
switch to digital communications vs present FM voice techniques.
Seems like a CODEC and some method of sending the bits in a
auto synchronous (embedded clocking in signal) fashion, would
allow us to extend our batteries and keep our handheld small.
Everywhere I look I see HAMs talking packet, which requires
a keyboard and other pieces.
Sincerely
Bill Selph, EE, KC4TJR....

Quote:>I have been wondering for a few years now when HAMs could
>switch to digital communications vs present FM voice techniques.

Hi Bill, we are limited to 300 baud on HF. That's not quite enough
to realize decent real-time digital speech given the conditions on HF.

I wonder if digitized speech will be allowed in the digital portion
or the speech portion of the bands.

73, Cecil, KG7BK, OOTC  (not speaking for my employer)