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"Mike" =3D=3D Mike Coslo writes:

[...]

Mike And there you have one of the more interesting dilemmas to the
Mike ARS.

Mike Is a brand new Extra, who has never been on HF, even accept
Mike Elmering? Or will they insist that the conventions that have
Mike been developed over the years are not applicable to them.

Some do, some don't. I know my limitations, and I accept assistance
and information from those who can help me.

Mike This is not as far-fetched as it may seem. I tried to help out a
Mike new Extra in a contest once. I knew he did not have any HF
Mike experience at all, yet he wanted a bare minimum of help. After
Mike showing him where the PTT was, and how to change bands, I
Mike started to explain the structure of a contest QSO. He
Mike interrupted me after the first sentence with a "not to be rude,
Mike but I'll take over now". I came back the next morning and saw
Mike the results of his work. Six QSO's! He was woring at the rate of
Mike 1 QSO per hour under *good* band conditions!

This is the opposite of my first HF contest experience -- just over a
year ago at Field Day. The group I was with was very gentle to new
contesters, to the point that they had written down precisely what we
were to say, what we needed to ask for, even to the point of reminding
us to wish other stations "good luck". This year's Field Day was the
first year that I ran a contest station unattended, and I was able to
provide some assistance to Technicians who wanted to work HF. It was
a good feeling, and I look forward to learning more if only to share
that knowledge with others.

Mike Even in my own experience, I know that I had my extra before I
Mike should have. I went from General to Extra in a little over 6
Mike months.

I went from Technician to Extra. I had my Technician ticket for two
years, and had only actually operated for six months before
upgrading.

Mike I would propose that there be at least a year wait before
Mike upgrading to Extra. Ya just can't gain enough operating
Mike knowledge in less time.

It's a good suggestion, but not something I'd like to see in FCC
regulations. Mileage may vary.

Jack.
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Jack Twilley
jmt at twilley dot org
http colon slash slash www dot twilley dot org slash tilde jmt slash
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