Morse Code

[JOhnH]

My wife has started her IFR training in our Cessna 172. The plane is going to Sarasota this weekend to get a Garmin audio panel and a GNS 530w, but it currently has a pair of MX 300 Nav/Coms.

The instructor said he could not pick up morse code with our unit ( a unit with which he was not familiar). I am at work now and cannot find anything about that on the internet. Is anyone familiar with the MX 300 that knows if/how we would do that? Does an IFR pilot really need to hear morse code? I haven't used that since I was a boy scout. To show how long ago that was, it was way before I learned how to use a slide rule. And no one had ever even considered NOT getting up to change the TV to the other channel.

 

[Jim Logajan]

I am not familiar with the unit you are talking about, but yes, a IFR pilot needs to know Morse code. The way you identify all the nav aids is through their Morse identifier and if you are lucky enough to use an NDB the only way to tell if it is operating is to maintain a listening watch to the Morse identifier.

I think every nation on the planet that issues amateur radio licenses has finally eliminated the Morse code requirement - thank heavens.

I held a novice class way back in high school and now only vaguely remember 'e', 't', 's', 'o', 'c', 'q', and 'd'. All the rest are gone.

My CFI has related some unusual problems he's seen with students, but never with them making the mental correspondence between the printed dashes and dots on a sectional with the audio signal. I see no reason why a pilot needs to know Morse code - just needs to know what auditory signal to associate with the printed "-" and with ".".