The UK Amateur Radio Foundation exam required you to complete a short Morse code appreciation practical. You don’t need to learn Morse code, and this part of the test is to introduce you to the basics of Morse. Here is a short video showing what to expect:
Surely you need to actually know Morse Code in order to translate the Dots and Dashes into the appropriate Letters or Numbers. To me that is a Test all be it a fairly basic one.
Hi Ian,
No – For this practical, the assessor sends the dots and dashes, you write the dots and dashes as you hear them, then use the provided lookup table to convert to the letters. It you watch the video, you will see how this is done.
I never used this sheet for the Morse Code Test and did the translation in my head.
For Foundation, you do not need to learn Morse code. Not sure if you’ve watched the video, but this is explained by the assessor – this is an appreciation of the concept of Morse, not an actual Morse or memory test
I learnt the Morse Code so it was far more than just an ” appreciation “. After all when sending I made a mistake and used the correct process to correct my mistake. I have a FULL License but now my interest has reached a point where I might just go QRT.
Yes. Morse was originally a requirement to access some bands, but this was dropped as a requirement in 2003. The current Foundation (entry-level) licence includes this introductory “appreciation” in its practicals to give newcomers a basic appreciation of what Morse is. People can still go to learn it if they wish, and there are Morse tests, but it’s no longer required.
As for giving up the hobby – there are plenty of aspects to the hobby, including various new modes and types of hardware, and there’s always something new to try.
The mcHF is now just sitting in the Box and I only have M0NMQ so all I need is the motivation which is nowhere to be found.
Yes Ian, learning CW does take time, effort and practice, and if you don’t have the motivation currently, put it on the back burner and come back to Morse later as and when the mood and motivation take you.