Exams Morse Academy on board SS Rotterdam December 2, 2023
Following Article received by Radio Officer Harm de Haan
Morse Academy ss Rotterdam/PI4HAL
After more than a year of lessons from an enthusiastic team of teachers on board the SS Rotterdam and after many hours of practice at home, Saturday, December 2, 2023 was finally the moment of truth. A group of students felt sufficiently prepared to take the exam!
Not all with the idea of passing, but to gain experience of the exam and to mark the end of the first year of training. Even though not everyone may yet reach the threshold for the diploma, it is quite an achievement to have made so much progress in learning the fine art of keying and decoding Morse signals.
The teachers were also looking forward to this moment. Indeed, after an extensive number of lessons, it would also provide an idea of the result of the training. During the course, a very good bond has been forged between the students themselves, but also between the students and the teachers. This certainly helped to motivate everyone.
Students on board SS ROTTERDAM
Perhaps everyone was a bit too optimistic at the beginning of the academic year about the time it would take to achieve the speed of 18 wpm (words per minute) that we would like to see. After all, both the students and the teachers are somewhat more mature than in years when young radio operators were taught the Morse Code at the maritime school. But progress has certainly been made!
So healthy apprehension on December 2. The tables apart in exam setup on board the SS Rotterdam. The wires rolled out for the headphones, the sounders connected. Derk, Edward and Dick indicated how the exam will proceed and the candidates start the test with healthy stress but also serene silence.
The programme allows students to record at speeds of 12/18, 15/18 and 18 wpm. Not everyone is at the right level yet, but even they had many correct words on the sheet of paper. Not enough for a small number of students to obtain their diploma now, but certainly next year! Four students reached the lowest speed without any problems and moved on to the second speed, 15/18. That speed was also achieved by 4 men! Above expectations. For the last step, 18 wpm, the bar was just a little too high for most, but fortunately that level was also achieved by one candidate. Awesome!
After a break to let the adrenaline calm down, the keying tests began. Everyone had brought their own key, some of which were enviable, beautiful signalling keys.
Candidates who were unable to receive a diploma were also able to have their signals heard and assessed. The keying of all students ranged from readable to beautiful. All the attention paid to the correct position when keying and the correct technique has certainly paid off! How fantastic to see and certainly to hear. Things won’t go wrong there next year, because they can all master the key, congratulations!
Afterwards, 4 diplomas were signed by Edward (PE1EEF, chairman) and the two examiners Derk (PA2DW) and Dick (PA3CW) and were presented by Edward. Then a photo of the entire team at the bow of the SS Rotterdam. A wonderful journey on board of the SS Rotterdam is coming to an end for some. The Morse code skills plus all the great training components on technology, cultural heritage, history and contest technology have completed the course year. We look forward to seeing most of the course participants back again next year, to improve their Morse code skills or to gain more confidence in the procedures on the amateur bands!
Congratulations to everyone, but especially: Stephan, Bas, Gert and Ralph!
The Awards
