Kimberly Chase (she/her) 🏳️⚧I'm on HF, who wants to work me? I can tune any band and I can use digital modes, SSTV, SSB voice, and FreeDV.
Kevin Karhan 
@KJ7OMO sadly I have neither equipment nor license...
No worries. If you ever need help at getting licensed, feel free to shout out.
Andreas, DJ3EI, he/him#DARC and @BNetzA have been talking about the former taking over exam administration from the latter. Afaik, there has been no formal result yet and it is uncertain whether it will happen any time soon, or at all. For the time being, German #hamradio exams are exclusively held by BNetzA.
That said, #DARC has quite a few hard-core people of different flavors. Absolutely! 😎
@KJ7OMO
@dj3ei @BNetzA @KJ7OMO Until not-so-long ago they mandated fluency in #Morsecode in writing and listening...
Which in my eyes was just an arbitrary gatekeeping requirement to enshure less people would take or pass the exams.
Kinda like if driving license exam rides required people to perform a roadside tire swap, de-facto banning all non bodily-abled and mechanically capable people in the process!
During much of the 20th century, ITU demanded that all countries required #MorseCode fluency from all #hamradio short wave operators.
During that area, we amateurs could handle a ship's emergency traffic. I believe it saved quite a few lives.
It also kept many who never mastered the code from op'ng short wave frequencies.
In the 1990s, ships stopped having Morse code trained radio specialists on board. Coastal stations became history. The ITU requirement was dropped.
@dj3ei @BNetzA @KJ7OMO I don't doubt the usefulness for it as well as the priority for emergency broadcasts and relays.
Enough people died for this to be instated by #ITU...
That being said we live in the age if #ERIB, #COSPAR-#SARSAT and #Inmarsat so unless radio equipment & tech is being sabotaged like with #MH370 emergency calls and transmissions should get picked up easily.
@dj3ei @BNetzA @KJ7OMO that being said I understand ~why~ they did it back then.
Just as I understand that people overwintering in #Antarctica are required to have their appendix removed and be fully bodily abled, as medical support is basically nonexistent and noone can expect s MEDEVAC in stormy polar winter nights.