The three 'R's

You're still out of it.

In a qso on HF where one party is fading during an important transmission...(there are important transmissions) the other party only has to send three R's to confirm the QSO. It's a wonder modern sets don't have a 'three R' button. In fact make mine with a small battery backup so I can send a brief explanation of my power outage at ten watts. Hell that could be at a hundred watts from two AA cells, brief as it would be. CW simply works. Sometimes it's the only thing to do.

It amazes me how many General Class hams don't even have a key around for that simple task, if no other.

It also amazes me how many General class hams haven't the slightest what a cubical quad is even though they supposedly checked answer boxes about it. And that venerable antenna has been described graphically since 1960 that I know of in the General Class license manual.

Let's face it. Lot's of cheaters out there and misery loves company. That is, if you accept that an understanding of the three 'R's and the cubical quad ought to be required.

To me they are minimal requirements in the radio art.

Now that is an 'attitude.' After all, CW is a signaling skill which transcends radio to include car horns and flashlights. Of course it's a 19th century notion. When Morse's engineer got tired of fooling with the ticker tape and just read the clicks my ear. Is that what you guys want? To eliminate the possibility of reading data by ear?

Keep CW. In fact, improve and simplify it, if you can. And do tell me what you insist I learn.