On Mar 27, 12:44�pm, "AF6AY" wrote:
On Mar 27, 5:28?am, "Alun L. Palmer" wrote:
wrote groups.com:

On Mar 19, 9:13?pm, Dave Heil wrote:
wrote:
On Mar 19, 6:42?pm, Dave Heil wrote:
wrote:
On Mar 19, 8:33?am, "an old friend" wrote:
On Mar 18, 12:12 pm, "Alun L. Palmer" wrote:
" wrote
roups.com:
Blimey! You got a callsign! I didn't think it would ever happen.
Welcome aboard. Alun N3KIP

he did just as he said he would years ago

I did NOT "do as I said years ago."
Ah yes, neophyte. What the Gs call 'nippers'.

A nipper is a child - on air we call them 'harmonics'. Oddly enough, we
refer to both spurii and children as 'sprogs' also.

73 de Alun, N3KIP, G8VUK

* *Alun, for an obvious Anglophile
doesn't know much. *

"Nipper" is quite accurate in your case, Len. Your behavior
here is often that of an overtired, spoiled chiled ;-)

* *One of the problems that created the total spam in this newsgroup
* *is the "newsgroup bloggers" such as
vainly trying to find
* *an outlet for his unrepentant evangelism for morse code mode...and
* *trying to pretend he is one of the olde-tymers in hamme raddio.

Len, you told us back on September 22, 2006 that when the
Morse Code test was eliminated you would leave this
newsgroup. But here you are, griping and snipling and
complaining because someone dares to disagree with you.

So typical.

* *I don't pretend to be one of those "auld hammes" but I've been IN
* *and ON radio since early 1953...in many radio services, including
* *being a third-party guest of several licensed amateurs during
* *live contacts.

So what? Anyone can observe. Anyone can say a few words
into the microphone as a guest.

spite is so long-lasting and ever-present
* *that he feels compelled to continue his denigrations.

What denigrations, Len?

Do I call you by your last name or insulting diminutive nicknames?

*No matter.
* *After the first weeks of that years ago, he is no more than the
* *usual computer-modem communicator whose ego has been
* *deflated and thus tries to "get back" at his imaginary "enemies."

There you are, Len, projecting your own behavior and motivations
onto others. Says it all, really.
* *---

* *On February 23rd of 2007 there was a sedate "revolution" in U.S.
* *amateur radio and the elimination of the code test from all license
* *class examinations. *

A revolution? Hardly.

In 1990, it became possible to get a US amateur license of any
license class with only a 5 wpm Morse Code test and a medical
waiver. The waiver required only a simple doctor's note.

On Feb 14 1991, the Technician class license lost its Morse Code
test.

On April 15, 2000, all Morse Code testing except 5 wpm was
eliminated in the USA.

That obviously HURT many of the egos of
* *the olde-tymers who now prided themselves (inordinately) on their
* *mastership of morse and, more importantly, being "better than
* *average amateurs" for having gained the amateur extra class
* *license. *They loved the status, the rank, the privileges, the
* *prestige and were not above shoving it on all "lesser" beings in
* *the hobby. *

You're projecting again, Len.

That was morally wrong but one cannot say that to
* *these mighty macho morsemen without repercussions for at
* *least a decade's worth of spite on their part.

What was morally wrong, Len? Accomplishing something that
you had not?

Is it wrong to be proud of an accomplishment?

* *The "revolution" happened but few took part. *At most the changes
* *taking place were a lot of class upgrades in the USA. *There was
* *NO ground-swell of "no-coders" and "CB-types" suddenly filling the
* *HF bands with "bad behavior." *[the bad behavior was already there
* *and alive from the already-tested-in-morse-code licensees]

Really?

Was ex-KG6IRO Morse Code tested?

You are right about one thing, Len: Almost nobody came.

We were told many times that the Morse Code testing was
stifling "growth". That many "otherwise qualified people" were
being kept out of amateur radio by the "barrier" of even a 5 wpm
Morse Code test.

We were told that a bright and shining New Era would dawn when
it went away.

Yet the number of US hams as of March 27 2007 is *less* than it was on
Feb 22. 2007.

Perhaps that's just a daily anomaly. We shall see. But it's clear
there's
no flood of new people at all. So much for the "barrier".

* *The "revolution" had already begun in 1991 with the creation of
* *the no-code-test Technician Class. *That single category is the
* *ONLY class responsible for keeping the total number of USA
* *amateur licensees from falling drastically in numbers. *

You've made that same, tired old mistake for years, Len. It's just
wrong.

Let's face
* *it, the "actuarial tables" WILL have their way with ALL human
* *endeavors, no exceptions.

So what?

*USA amateur radio was growing in
* *age all along but its greying members were busy, busy denying
* *it while trying to forget about their own mortality, hearkening
back
* *to a time when they were young and the world (to them) was new.

Yet it was *you* who proposed *banning* anyone under the age of
14 from amateur radio in the USA.

The US population has been getting older. Median age in 2000, as
measured by the census, was over 39 years - up by more
than four years since 1990. Americans are living longer, having
fewer children, and having them later in life.

* *Those olde-tymers were too busy making themselves feel
* *"important" to notice that CHANGES were happening in the
* *hobby. *Such denial is one of the first signs of decay in any
* *human endeavor...but they denied that, mightily.

Who denied changes, Len? Not me. Some changes are good,
others aren't.

You resisted changes to the zoning in your neighborhood. You
didn't want it to CHANGE from the way it was when you bought
your house there. Let the others go someplace else - *you*
wouldn't accept that change!

It happened anyway.

* *I didn't really consider getting an amateur radio license until
* *February 17th of this year.

Your own words prove that to be completely false, Len.

For example, back on January 19, 2000, you wrote:

"I'm going for Amateur Extra "out of the box." "

(handy link to the post)

http://tinyurl.com/c5qyv

That was soon after the dropping of all but the 5 wpm code
test. You have called it a "throwaway line" and "taken out of
context" but never said what that's supposed to mean.

Anyone who bothers to click on the link and read what you
wrote can see what you clearly intended. KB9RQZ remembers
it clearly - is he wrong? Is everyone else who read your
"out of the box" boast also wrong?

Or were you just lying to us then?

But that's not the only example

Back on July 15, 2005, you wrote these words in one
of your long insulting diatribes:

"Tried to learn morse for 13 WPM back in the early 60s, reached about
8 WPM, and GAVE UP. "

(handy link)

http://tinyurl.com/25opue

Anyone who bothers to click on the link and read what you
wrote can see what you clearly intended. You were trying
to reach 13 wpm so you could get a General or Conditional
class US Amateur Radio license.

Or were you lying about 8 WPM?

Back then, some classes of US license only
required 5 wpm Morse Code. But a "Novice" or "Technician"
weren't good enough for you then. Or now.

*I'd had (and still do) a commercial
* *license since March 1956.

But not an amateur license. Not a license that would permit
you to have your own amateur station, nor a license that
would permit you to operate another's amateur station.

But, it would be, I thought, a FUN
* *hobby in my retirement years. *

It's been fun for me these past 40 years. No need to
wait for retirement at all.

I don't need the experience to
* *"further my career" (I've had one, reasonably successfully) or
* *"give back" anything to anybody.

All besides the point. The truth is that you did consider
getting an amateur license long before Feb 17 2007. Otherwise,
why were you trying to learn 13 wpm in the 1960s?
Why did you make your "out of the box" claim in 2000?

*I was not interested in
* *"emergency work" or volunteerism in radio...I am a volunteer
* *in other things.

OK, fine. Nobody says you have to volunteer.

The truth is that some amateurs do volunteer and do provide
emergency and public service communications. You may
deny that fact, but it's still true.

*Neither am I interested in advancing the state
* *of the radio art just for the sake of saying I am advancing the
* *state of the radio art.

IOW, you're not going to build anything despite all your running
down of other's accomplishments.

*Theory and construction are simply part
* *of the fun, of being able to legally try out some experiments
* *which are fun to do in themselves.

Sounds like you're rationalizing being an 'appliance operator', Len.

*Hobbies are about personal
* *enjoyment for its own sake...although many pervert their own
* *desires to "be someone" by taking up certain hobbies in order
* *to brag about it.

Gee....who does the most bragging here....why, that would be
*you*, Len!

* *Was the license exam "hard?" *No. *On the most objective
* *comparison, it would be on the order of college-level quarter
* *tests in first or second year of formal study...some memorization
* *of regulations and new terms and procedures specifically about
* *amateur radio practice. *To anyone who has been IN radio (of
* *almost any kind) for a decade, it was not difficult. *Test element
* *4 question pool contains about 16 times the minimum specified
* *number of 10 (as regulated by the FCC) questions and the
* *"hard" part could be said to be in trying to spot the distractors
* *in phrasing/syntax obviously put there by the VEC QPC. *The
* *"hard" part might be the waiting between elements while a
* *group of 20 goes through its required tests and grading, most
* *of whom were applicants for Technician and General class
* *licenses in my exam group. *By observation I was the only
* *one going "extra out of the box"...and apparently the only one
* *in the experience of that ARRL VEC test team to have done
* *so...at least recently.

So?


* *Did that test experience and license grant "make me better?"
* *Not really. *What I knew I already knew about radio in general,
* *from theoretical to original design to operating. *The only thing
* *unique in USA amateur radio is the regulations and the on-air
* *procedure. *Otherwise it is no "better" than any other radio
* *service...who all have their own specific regulations and
* *procedure and jargon.

So?


* *I enjoy some minor prestige in the sequential call assignment
* *for "newbies" who have achieved amateur extra. *It yields a lot
* *of freedom in operating the bands below 23 cm..no real
* *restrictions based on Class of license. *It gains some attention
* *from dealers of amateur radio equipment, some good and some
* *bad considering I ask pointed questions about certain products
* *and have always been a "hard sell" for salesmen. *:-)

It's not like your actually going to build any radios, Len.

* *It should be a lot of FUN.

It *is*, Len. It's been FUN for me for 40 years - so far.

It's interesting that you say "it should be a lot of FUN" - speaking
of the
future.

Do you have your Amateur Radio station set up yet? Made any
interesting contacts yet?

*Except in this (and similar) newsgroups
* *where the emphasis seems to be on general in-fighting of the
* *"establishment" versus (or is that 'verses' waxing poetic?) those
* *seeking change.

Kinda like people not wanting the zoning in their neighborhood to
change, ever? Not wanting "APARTMENTS" anywhere near them,
even though said "APARTMENTS" were actually in-law suites?
Not wanting a 15 acre piece of *private* land to be
developed because doing so might 'ruin their view'?

*I have the advantage of knowing other amateurs
* *from past acquaintenceship and work experience and already
* *have made "contacts" with some of those.

Using Amateur Radio?

*No "elmering" needed
* *among friends.

Ah yes, Len already knows it all.

*Real friends, not the false labels of those
pretending
* *to be "friends."

In other words, you've had the license a month but haven't done
anything with it. That's OK...you don't have to do a thing except
follow the rules.

* *In this first month of the "revolution," it is like "they gave a
war*but nobody showed up." *:-) *

Yep. All those folks who were going to be hams and bring the New
Era...

Wouldn't it be nice if all wars
* *were like that?

Sure would be. Some of us were saying that 40+ years ago, too.

Jim, N2EY