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October 22nd 04, 11:54 AM

In article , (Steve
Robeson K4CAP) writes:

Subject: These EXTRA'S, Steve::: WHICH Extras, Brain?
From: (N2EY)
Date: 10/21/2004 12:07 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

(Steve Robeson K4CAP) wrote in message
...

It STILL does not answer your suggestion about "several Extras" in
RRAP
suggesting that anything less than an Extra Class is "a problem".

That's right.

The claim was that "several Extras here on rrap" said it. That's simply false.

The story relates the telling of some club some time ago wherein some
other group of people may have acted stupidly.

That depends on the definition of "stupid".

That's why I said "may", Jim. Nothing in what Brain cited was
inappropriate.

You have yet to quote Brian (W3RV), Hans, Jim, the other Jim, or
myself,
among others, as having said anything close to "what's his problem" over
not
being an Extra class licensee.

Let's clear this up.

The club referred to above is a special-interest amateur radio
organization, not a general-purpose club. Their focus is HF contesting
and DXing, setting up stations to do those things better, and not
much else. They don't do domestic contests or QSO parties; they focus
on the big stuff. Their members are highly competitive, and
progressive. (Example: They were among the very first to have
computers in their hamshacks).

Which would answer why the possession of an Extra MIGHT make the
difference.

What the back benchers were saying was: "How come this guy doesn't realize that
any serious DXer/contester who wants to join our club would get an Extra
first?"

How could anyone disagree with that?

In pursuit of the club goals, an Extra class license is pretty much a
necessity, because the DX is often in those subbands. That's just the
way it is.

Then that IS the difference.

Exactly. Having that license *does* make a difference in how well someone can
do what the club is focused on. "What's his problem", in that context, meant
"doesn't this guy understand how basic that is?"

Take contesting, for example. There are folks who think they are doing well if
they make 15 QSOs/hr in a major contest, and can keep that rate up for 12
hours. And for their setups and skills, they *are* doing well! Yet among other
folks, 30 QSOs/hr for 24 hours (twice the rate, twice as long, four times the
score or more) isn't considered "doing well" at all. All depends on your
concept of what "doing well in the contest" is.

So the fact that somebody without an Extra would even apply for
membership and expect to be taken as a serious DXer/contester by that
bunch indicates a problem someplace.

The "what's his problem" reaction above happened a relatively short
time ago, not the 1960s, so the code test wasn't the issue at all.

Is that an "elitist" situation? Maybe - but that club is an elite
group. Their accomplishments in their chosen field tell the tale.

btw, Steve, no disrespect intended, but among those folks, 115 countries isn't
a big deal. Twice that many isn't! It's just a matter of what they focus on.

To paraphrase what was written earlier: Nobody, regardless of license class,
has all the answers or knows all of it.

That doesn't mean everyone's knowledge is the same, or that everyone's opinion
is equally valid/of equal value.

73 de Jim, N2EY