RadioBanter - View Single Post - Let's debate: Should Amateur Radio be made a free for all?

May 9th 04, 03:15 PM

(Steve Robeson K4CAP) wrote in
:

Subject: Let's debate: Should Amateur Radio be made a free for all?
From: Alun
Date: 5/9/2004 9:06 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

I think maybe you are a bit confused, so I guess I need to explain a
little more. The radio merit badge used to require the boys to
participate in 2 CW QSOs and 1 phone QSO. Now that requirement is just
for 1 QSO in any mode. Some phone ops used to teach the badge and do CW
QSOs by computer, which had the added advantage that the boys could see
what was being said, whilst others used to get a CW op to participate
(the counselor tests the boys, but anyone can provide the
instruction/demos).

Ahhhhhhh....I see...You were speaking of the REAL "Merit
Badges"....!

Yes, you were correct, of course...I stand corrected.

The QSO requirement is only one from a long list, and can be satisfied
by boys with a ham licence if they submit 5 QSL cards from 3 call
districts. The boys who are not hams (obviously the vast majority) just
have to sit in on a QSO instead.

One of the other requirements is to draw a frequency chart, and there
are very specific rules about what it has to show. The funny thing is,
the example in the book doesn't comply. It was done by the ARRL, but I
don't think it was created specially for the purpose. I think it was
just something that already existed that they let the boy scouts use.
One of the questions I am contemplating is whether I should give credit
for copying it, or whether they should have to do it properly?

The FCC has a real nice chart available from GPO and is all
inclusive from
a few KHz up to, I beleive, 300GHz. It might go higher.

73

Steve, K4YZ

That's a good point. I understand that Icom has one you can download,
although I don't know if it meets the requirements. I'm sure the FCC chart
meets all possible requirements, though.