Slow Code wrote:
Chuck Harris wrote in
:
Slow Code wrote:
Chuck Harris wrote in

While you are being all holier than thou, what did you design and
build for your main rig? I'm hoping to be impressed, but expecting to
be disappointed.

Did the code help you with the design?

I took my Advanced class test down at 1919 M street 36 years ago. I
had to sit at the desk and copy one solid minute out of five error
free at 13WPM. I passed it on the first try. I almost failed the
sending test, as I had never spent much time doing that. I had never
made a code contact before my test, and I have only made a couple
since.

The thing about code contacts is they never seem to want to say
anything beyond:

WA3XXX DE W6XX RST 5NN WX FB 73 W6XX SK

That's not the case when I operate Morse Code.

How does that help the cause of amateur radio?

I have designed and built numerous rf receivers and transmitters, many
are employed by the US Army for various uses. I have fixed many
different radios from tube stuff through DSP driven affairs.

How exactly did the code help me to do this?

For me code was a means to an end. I wanted my license, so I learned
the code.

There were plenty of rude, profane, and generally unpleasant hams on
the air back when all had to pass the test in the offices of the FCC.

I don't remember that at all.

I haven't noticed that things are any worse now. About the only real
difference is in the quality of the gear folks are running. It is
much better than the crappy stuff that was on the air back in the
early 70's.

There were good and bad rigs then as well as now.

Are conversations on repeaters as technical as they were twenty-five
years ago?

Oh, easily. 25 years ago, technical conversations were dominated by
such earth shatteringly important stuff as having a ham down at the
repeater site helping other hams tune their transmitters to be on
frequency. Other wonderkind were hitting the repeater with a full
quieting signal, and turning their power up to try and get a better
signal to that DX mobile that breaking up.

If it wasn't that, it was an endless sea of autopatches calling the xyl
to tell her that traffic was bad, could she start dinner... or ordering
pizza.

Me? I hear no-codes and nickle extras arguing how long a half wave
dipole should be.

I heard the same things 25 years ago from Generals that got their
licenses at the offices of the FCC.

Even 34 years ago, there were study guides that had questions from the
pool used by the FCC. If you could memorize the answers to those
questions, you were virtually assured of passing. I used the ARRL
handbook as my guide.

Do you mean the License Manual?

It did not have the exact questions and answers in it.

You didn't answer my questions about the home brew rig you are using.

Construction projects you or I have done aren't important.

Yes they are!

Working to
insure ham radio doesn't turn into CB is important. Agreed?

*BOTH* are important.

If you're not running a homebrew or at least home-assembled rig, who
are you to call someone else an appliance operator?

What good are technical *discussions* if they don't translate into
actual working radio systems?