"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
...
cl wrote:
"robert casey" wrote in message
ink.net...

The biggest problem with most is "laziness". Maybe you never will use
it again. There are many things you learn in life and may never use
again, unless you plan to play on Jeopardy. Many people learned the
skeletal system in health class, microorganisms in Biology class. It
doesn't mean they use it now. Probably forgot it as soon as they
graduated.

Guess that explains Creationism. They either forgot or just
never did get biology class. And get upset when science
contradicts a trivial off topic section of the Bible.
But there is hope that some people will "get it" and
be able to do something with it. Of course the school
or FCC has to pick and choose what the kids should try
to learn. Spending less time on European medieval kings and
more on Vietnam would make sense, as modern governments are
no longer kings sitting around in castles getting bored
and deciding to have wars for the fun of it. Well, today kings
are called "dictators" anyway. Now to bring this back to
ham radio, is requiring code worth the time prospective
hams would have to spend on it, or maybe more theory should
be asked for today?

I seriously doubt that the FCC would increase code speed for
extras. The medical wavier issue would crop up again, and
the FCC found that to be a PITA. Besides it would be hard
for the FCC to tell old extras from newer extras as IIRC they
didn't keep track of who was who as old extras came up for
renewal.


I'm not so sure "more" theory is the answer either. Used to be, you HAD
to know electronics when you went for the exams. NO ONE told you what
was on the exams. Then some lazy ******* got some political pull and they
started to dumb down the theory and put "ALL" possible questions and
answers in a book - for someone to read and recall.

Almost all standardized testing is done that way these days. Actually I
don't know of any that isn't


Testing is one thing, "studying"' is another. Most "tests" don't give you
the answers in a book. Rather it is a conglomeration of books which a person
has had to read to ascertain the knowledge. IF it is coming to that, then it
is no wonder this country is dumbing down.

That isn't teaching anyone - anything. Any idiot can learn that way, to
the extent needed. It doesn't do anything to reinforce it in their heads
as to what to do with it after. IF they make it more theory, then they'll
just make the "idiot" books cover it, and again, you'll have a bunch of
people who learned A, B, C or D, not the real meat and potatoes of
Electronics.

I have never been able to see the difference between reading a book that
contains the answers to questions, and reading a question pool. Both are
entered into my memory the same way. Did you know the answers are often
scrambled, that is that the letter answer on the test is not the letter
answer in the pool?



Those books do not cover electronics in great detail. They gloss over
subjects. There was a time you had to "build" a working circuit - to pass.
Yes, I'm well aware that the answers are mixed up in the test pools as
opposed to the books. Back when Heathkit was in business, they had books for
each class of license. Those books had a similar pattern, but they drilled
stuff into your head. They seemed to explain things a lot better and in more
detail. Maybe I'm just too used to the "learning" methods of yesteryear.

I've seen them come away and not know what a fuse does or some of
simplest of schematic symbols they "should" know.

I've been in the field for a long time, and there are some things that
slip me once in a while. Do you help these folks when they make a newbie
mistake?


I try to help! And yes, as we age, we do forget things. I used to have
several dozen frequencies memorized and as to service. I'm lucky if I can
recall 10 of them - now. I'm sure there are symbols people can forget. But
my example of the fuse, it is sad when you don't know what a fuse is for!
That is like the most basic principle.

Give me a break. Those books today teach them NOTHING. They're nothing
more than the sugar coating of it all. Just enough to get by and HOPE
they plan to pursue it further on their own, which MOST - DO NOT. Again,
due to LAZINESS.

Wow! I've got a copy of the "Now You're Talking" book. A person would have
to work pretty hard do learn nothing from that.


The Now Your Talking - Book, is probably one of if not "thee" only in depth
books out there at this time. I was referring - and should have been a bit
more specific, to the question and answer guides with something like a 2
sentence explanation of a procedure, theory, etc. In my opinion, they don't
teach a thing. They just provide the questions and answers. Study it long
enough, you'll get enough memorized to pass, yes... but then you're stuck
because you know little "background". I believe it used to be, if a person
had the minimum of an Advanced license, he/she could use that as somewhat of
a credential for a job in electronics. Now, "I" wouldn't dare think of
hiring anyone with just having used the Q/A books. That is my opinion - for
what it is worth.

You're right about the History though, not to lay so much on the past,
but work on current affairs. Past is good, but often TOO much time is
spent on it. That stuff is building blocks to some extent, history does
have a propensity to repeat itself, so you can't "ignore" it as a whole,
but spending say a week learning about King Arthur just doesn't get it. I
recall our teacher trying to drill **** in our heads about Genghis Khan
(sp?). I could give a **** less what he did. What I DID come to ignore
and have a need for later in life, was that stuff covered in Health
class. I ended up using it a few years out of school.
I wished then I had paid more attention to it. So, I had to "relearn"
most of it. Some things DO have their uses.

As to code, actually, it isn't so bad to know - really.

Morse code is VERY good to know. Good enough that it should continue to be
a part of the test.


Think about it. You have sign language for deaf. IF you plan to talk to a
person who is deaf, you better learn it real fast. If you plan to
travel - you may need to learn some foreign language, even though most
can speak English now. Code "can" have benefits. We had 9 miners trapped
about a year ago. They communicated that there were nine, by 9 raps on
the pole stuck in the ground. Had someone in the ground and above ground
knew code, a more detailed description could have been issued. It could
have helped. Before they got the elevator in to get them, they had no
idea what "physical" shape the guys were in or any pending dangers under
the ground. Maybe you won't use code again once learned, but at some
point, it may save a life with the user's intervention. If you're in an
auto accident, down in a gully, you have a radio. The mic is broken, so
you can't talk. You could key the radio with a key or something and send
a message. Hopefully someone knowing code would hear it and be able to
let others know. There are many reasons people can give to "not" learn
code, but there are just as many as to it's benefits. If it saves only
one life, it is worth it.

Yup, one of so many reasons that Morse code is a good thing. Hams are all
about communication, and communications in all manner of situations. I
love the latest technology, but that technology is sometimes fragile.
Sometimes life and death, health and welfare might just come down to two
skilled operators who can make an old communications method on primitive
equipment sing its simple yet powerful song.

- Mike KB3EIA -