Amateur Service of the ITU - Telegraphy YES, Telegraphy no

Open letter from the GACW (CW Argentine Group) Coordinators to the National Authorities, ruling class, Argentine and Southamerican Radio amateurs, and to all the people in general.

For several years have been a controversy, about the knowledge exigency of the Morse Code, in order to get a radio-amateur license with privileges to operate in the S.W.(HF), at the present it has create a lot of opinions and critics, which are very controversial in the international ambit and this is why we want to point out and to clear our position with this Opened letter.

We understand a great part of the reasoning, developed in some international media with the aim to derogate the CW exigencies, due to there is another emission methods and technical advances, as a product of the digital evolution in the Communications, which in due course could become also an examination subject. In fact, developed countries like Canada?, Germany? could have an admission examination without CW, and in the other hand their technical examinations and rules are very hard and selective. But, apart from that, we are wondering, which exigency is going to replace the capacity to operate an Emergency CW Station?, ...writing in a keyboard?,... touching a clarifier?,...or speaking in front of a microphone?.

If in another countries like England it has been decided the same action course and in some part of North America are doing the same, given arguments like the society development and its control systems, ...like the high age on the average, (lead to an illusory saying it is almost 50 years),... saying the telegraphy is killing the hobby, ...saying the telegraphy it is not up dated, ...saying there is no people going to the fairs and they blame to the CW examinations, etc., it is possible that some sectors are going to react in the same way and over all in places where the organizations has leaders without evidence of technical and personal capacity but yes they have a lot of discriminatory acts against every minority with a microphone not inclouded.

To understand perfectly the basic differences of our position, we need to clear to all who are ignoring, our activities has its origin en the Telecommunications International Union and its definitions as an Amateur Service and in this way, setting aside the most current tentative to change its name to adapt it to reality which emerge from the homogenization, it is not correct to name it like a hobby, apart from that a lot of people use it and think in consequence.

The majorities, several times manipulated by spurious interest, use to adopt wrong resolutions but adjusted to their reality and convenience. Actions like this could lead us far from the definition of the GACW (CW Argentine Group) about the real spirit of the radioamateur. A behavior adjusted to principles and rights, which hardly the majorities could approve, because it is easier a wide way than to follow the right steps, little by little, to obtain the place we deserve in connection with our capacities and knowledge, where who is doing an 6V6 by 6V6 with a crystal oscillator himself and manipulating a cathode or modulating in screen connected to a LW, or those others who experiment demodulating waves of TVBL (SSTV) or with QRP equipment, has the same areas and rights than others with a lot of kilowatts and sophistication.

With all our respect, the CQ Magazine of USA, Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, the W5YI organization and others who can push and to re-claim more activity, don’t blame to the radioamateur, and if some of these organizations disappear some day, nothing is going to happened to us, we are going on working in our bands sharpening our intelligence in order to keep in the air whatever mode we choose and their disappearance will affect very little to the activity, and at least, much less than is would affect the disappearance of the operative genuine exigencies like a Morse examination.

The GACW support that the huge technologic development of the telecommunications, and the technology of the information is approaching the humankind each day, cellular telephones, satellital telephones, the Iridium Network, the TV right to home, the Internet network and others are filling empty places which were covered by the radio and convoke much more to young people due to its attractiveness. So, if they are preoccupied due to diminution of their incomes, the Institutions all over the world should play their real role, dedicating and promoting new activities in schools, printing books and bullets, preparing courses in videocassettes ands in audio-cassettes, and not following process like the Morse elimination in the examinations, which are far from being clear at all.

GACW applauds and points like an example the action started by a not diffusing Argentine Group of High Speed, integrated by enterprising argentine amateurs who are not in agreement with the sole microphone, who put in functioning its opened connection between the radio and the Internet Network which let the interchange of messages between our bands and the e-mail box of the whole world and between the local radioamateur group from the A.Brown and L. de Zamora Council Towns. Who are very interested in the lunar rebound TLT (EME), obtaining excellent intercontinental QSOs with old fashioned elements, or the amateurs members of the organizations who are searching for alien intelligence by hearing determined bands. These small group of amateurs with a technical and professional attitude, with very little institutional connections, are pointed us the changes using the knowledge and not those are simplifying, eliminating and destroying everything they are not in a position to understand because they don’t know or they don’t understand. For the same things, it was 21 years ago, the former discriminatory attitude in the clubs obligated us to create the GACW.

We know very well that our ambit is doing a great deal with the functioning delegations in the clubs and with the CW examination and we want to point out this situation and to cover the name of the leaders and institutions interested in share, improve and participate of the development. We are over 440 adherent members, some neighbor have understood us, and from Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Brazil and also a person from Kwait have joined to the legions of Mr. Samuel and we are eager to continue in this way of integration and mainly nobody discriminate us only because our loneliness and because we don’t use microphones very often and we don’t go very often to clubs either except to retire our cards.

The GACW don’t present a systematic opposition and without reasons against those leaders who are looking forward to eliminate the CW examination, we are concerned only about some of them, specially the most relevant in the National ambit, in case they don’t adopted an equilibrated and equidistant from the extremes, it will enough for us if each of them were capable to define orally the Ohm’ law and demonstrate graphically its verification, were capable of demonstrate his satelitte operative capacity, to make some fitting soldering in a UHF equip or perhaps he take part of the armed and solder of a DB25 connector, between so many things that an amateur should be in condition before to arrive to a transcendent leading charge, in order to be sure, at least, although they don’t share our thoughts, they will have a technical base of knowledge, due to the rules are easier to obtain, what let him to rule the destines of our National associations with equity.

To conclude, in synthesis, you can do whatever you want, go on destroying, extending the BC, eliminating, massing, go on forgetting that the only aims of our existence is the experimentation, but make you responsible of this, so the history can point you and everybody know that the telegrapher go on being for several years more, much more than the national and international fraudulent people who are temporally inside our Amateur Services.

ARGENTINA - July 1999.-

The GACW Coordinators:

Alberto U. SILVA, LU1DZ - Raúl M. DIAZ, LU6EF - Jorge F. Vrsalovich, LU7XP.-