From: "Alun L. Palmer" on Mon, Jan 1 2007 10:32 pm
" wrote in
Alun L. Palmer wrote:
John Smith I wrote in
wrote:
I think you misunderstand me, Len. All I'm saying is that there are quite a
few radio professionals who are also radio hams, and you ought to at least
give it a try.
I don't "misunderstand" much, Alun.
My good friend Allan Walston (W6MJN), friend and former
group manager Jim Hall (KD6JG), and military service
comrade Gene Rosenbaum (N2JTV) have all been professionals
involved in radio. All are against the elimination of the
morse code test in US amateur radio but I do not hold that
against them. They are good people.
"Give it a try?" I've already done that as a "third party"
on amateur radio bands. Good grief, Alun, I really have
communicated by radio many times in the past fifty
years...and over more of the EM spectrum than is allocated
to US radio amateurs. I know how it works. I've had to
"know" several different radio service protocols and have
no trouble adapting to any of them. Just what is it I am
supposed to "learn" in such "having fun?"
That's an honest question. I don't lack for human
companionship, friends or much else. Having once kept
many radio circuits operating 24/7, transmitting 'vital'
messages all day long, I don't regard "collecting brief,
momentary contacts" as "fun." If others like that, fine,
more power to them. Last I looked, 'operating' a radio
is not the end-all, be-all of amateur radio.
I have been opposed to code testing for the last 35 years, but it's all
over bar the shouting.
As Yogi Berra was quoted as saying "It ain't over till
its over!"
The "fat lady" hasn't sung yet and the Federal Register
won't be issued until Wednesday. FCC 06-178 has been
announced but it is ONLY an announcement and not yet
law.
As for the age limit thing, we used to have a lower limit of 14 in the UK,
but it was dropped completely and never missed.
I'm NOT into that "age thing." Almost 8 years ago my
particular Reply to Comment on FCC 98-143 had a
"suggestion" to that effect on the last of 14 pages
of text accepted by the FCC.
If anyone wants to see the public record, they only
need go to the FCC ECFS and bring up the 13 Jan 99
Comments. In that they will find out that my
suggestion was THEN prompted by a (referenced) ARRL
news page wherein two 6-year-olds were shown in a
picture as "the youngest hams."
According to the FCC regulations then and now, any
licensed radio amateur can operate on permitted
bands BY THEMSELVES. There's NO law saying that
6-year-olds "must" have parental supervision when
doing so. They (the sixes) could legally send RF
anywhere in the world, all by themselves.
Way back about 7 years ago, I stated that CHILDREN
(specifically pointing to the six-year-olds) don't
have the RESPONSIBILITY nor the requisite wisdom
to behave properly in a largely-adult endeavor.
That hit a terrible sore point with all the morsers
who had (or cared for) children since, having passed
a high-rate code test, they were now PhD-equivalent
pediatric "experts." :-(
I've tried to let the matter drop but Miccolis MUST
try to bring that subject up again, and again, and
again. I suspect that I set an arbitrary age limit
of 14 and Miccolis got his first license at age 14.
See the connection?
I let this age thing drop years ago and won't pursue
it any more than I did almost 8 years ago. I am
getting annoyed that Miccolis keeps bringing it up
with supposed "motivations" that are impure or
immoral or somehow "against him." That's why he
gets the bird flipped at him...
The only RL life case I know of involving ham radio was someone in an area
where I used to live who allegedly enticed local boys into his radio shack,
If you think about it, preventing them from having their own licences could
have made his station all the more interesting to them.
I'm not going to venture into this area. I have
NEVER done such a thing, have no desire to "entice
anyone" into my electronics workshop, office,
vehicle, or home for ANY immoral purposes. I have
a lovely wife, my high school sweetheart in fact,
and we've been together for longer than that
supposed moral perfidy that Miccolis keeps
crowing about, the one done almost 8 years ago on
the last page of 14 Comments submitted on 98-143.
Got that Alun? Got that Miccolis? Got that Heil?
Good, now DROP that 8-year-old "subject" and quit
all trying to pin some kind of moral-ethical "rep" on
me. I'm starting to get a bit ****ed off here.
Anyone who wants to pin some kind of "immorality"
rap on me can save up for legal fees (the billing
ain't cheap). I can afford legal billings. I can't
afford that kind of ROI "fun" to get a ham license.
It ain't worth THAT.
Alun, if you feel you've been "misunderstood," then
I would suggest you check your own syntax on what
you say in here. There be all sorts of trolls eager
to pop up from under their bridges, ready to talk
trash and nonsensical "charges" of perfidy here.
They will take the slightest thing out of context
and manufacture (indeed custom-make) something
entirely different than what was originally written.