Hello, Chuck
First of all, "rec.radio.amateur" isn't a group; there has to be another
word on the end. You can find it in your newsgroups if you search for
"rec.radio.amateur" and you'll find such things as
"rec.radio.amateur.policy", "rec.radio.amateur.misc" and many others.
If you wish to upgrade, you may or may not be out of luck. You must have
proof of passing the Morse code test at 5 words per minute (or higher).
This would require an old (before 1987, I believe) technician license which
required 5 words per minute plus the general theory, or an old novice,
general, advanced, or extra class license. I'm not too sure about the tech
+ (tech plus 5 words per minute).
Obviously, you can renew your ticket in 2 years and can continue to use it
now.
If you wish, check out this URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HamRadioHelpGroup/
You'll find a lot of folks willing to share information with you and they
have had some give-aways of study material.
Best regards from Rochester, NY
Jim
"Chuck Sherwood" wrote in message
...
First of all. What happed to rec.radio.amateur? It is not supported on
my server.
Second. I was a ham back in the 90s. I have been inactive since 1996.
I had lots of gear and sold it all because I was tired of the hobby.
I am beginning to regret selling some of it. I had some really nice
antenna tuners, Heathkit SM220, nice TenTec radios, VHF/UHF all mode
all the way up to 1.2G, etc. All gone.
I just acquired a Kenwood 520 to listen to the HF bands. It seems
like a nice basic radio that will do for a while. I really would like
to get on 80m but I don't have the room for a 80m dipole. Is the
matching Kenwood tuner a good one? I think it will be a while before
any good hamfests because of the Wx in chicago.
I researched rigs on line and so far I like the Icom 746 Pro but
I'm not ready to spend that kind of cash.
I was also told that I can upgrade to Extra with just a written
test. Since my license expires in 2 years it seems like the thing
to aim for.
I still have a couple of ham friends so I will probably pick their
brains, but I open to suggestions!
chuck
K1CAS