"Guy" wrote in message
news:RDMqe.15605$mC.15053@okepread07...
Scott in Baltimore wrote:

I still always travel with channel 19 in the truck. It still works
better
than a radar detector. Today, I'm frustrated with hams. Back then, my
ham
friends were techies. It's hard to find a techie on the ham bands
now-a-days.

How do hams become techies when all they have to do is memorize some
answers to a preprinted test? I'm for making it an
essay/fill-in-the-blank
test. Drop the code. Don't do away with code-only portions of the band.

Code shouldn't be forced on you, but it shouldn't be brushed away.

I wasn't allowed to use a calculator until I was a sophomore in college.
Reason: What if you don't have a calculator later and you need to figure
something out? You gotta learn how to interpolate with the tables in the
back of the book first! Now calculators are less than $5. Now, when I
figure out some simple math problem in my head, nobody gives a crap.

I wasn't allowed to operate two meters with out first knowing morse code.
Reason: When voice doesn't work, CW will get through! Now cell phones
are
free if you sign up for a minimum contract. Now, when I talk about a CW
contact I made recently, nobody gives a crap.

I passed my extra test more than 20 years ago. If I took it today, I'd
fail
it. Why did I have to take it and pass it more than 20 years ago? Why
have a test at all today? There is no difference between putting a CB on
the air and putting any ham gear on the air today.

Where are today's challenges?



Hello, guy

The fact is that folks should posses some minimal knowledge lest they
conflict with other folks.

There was no regulation of radio back in the early 1900s. No need. Once
radio started taking off, there had to be some coordination or stations
would be jamming each other.

Same with automobiles. At first, no licensing and no laws. Then, when some
horses became scared of a horseless carriage, they put into effect 5 mph
speed limits in some areas. Sometimes, someone had to walk ahead with a
flag to warn folks that a horseless carriage was coming! Eventually, laws
were formed to maximize usage to *everyone*. Otherwise, what if there were
no stop lights, stop signs, and no rules about which side of the road to
drive on?

Orville and Wilbur Wright didn't have to apply to anyone for a license to
fly. There were no laws at the beginning of aircraft. Only once a number
of planes were flying did they start to regulate it. For obvious reasons
LOL.

As to taking your test, why would you have a problem today? I had last been
on the air in 1969 and let my license drop around 1981 (not sure of the
exact year). When I retook it in 1993, I passed the extra first time
around.

If you have copied code past 13 words per minute, you won't forget it. You
might get a bit rusty, but can pick it back up. In my case, I didn't brush
up. Nor on theory either. The basics remain the same; I've been into
computers since 1976, so any questions on gates, cpus, memory, etc. is a
no-brainer.

Of course I missed some questions on where bands were. They've added a
couple. You don't need 100%; in fact, I didn't feel like extracting square
roots by hand (I can, but it is a pain - I'm not talking guessing here), so
I simply checked off some answers. I knew I had already passed that portion
so who cared.

As to no difference; perhaps not to put it on the air, but to understand
what emission you are using and where you can and can not use it may just
make a tad bit of difference.

I have to laugh about folks joking about IRLP and Echolink. I've used my
440 HT to chat with Australia with *no Internet* involved. All rf path,
courtesy of a 10 meter link. Of course, that wasn't really a challenge; I
simply heard the Aussies there.

What is fun is having the ability to change mode in a heartbeat. One guy on
a 440 repeater was squaking that everyone should *have* to use Morse. Since
the repeater owner was in the group, I asked his permission and got it.

40 words per minute MFM sent over the repeater. Shut him up in a hurry.

Is there a difference? I know one guy who *knows* so LOL.

73 from Rochester, NY
Jim

Hey, Jim, my Echolink fake radio is on.

Jim Hampton wrote:

Hello, guy

The fact is that folks should posses some minimal knowledge lest they
conflict with other folks.

I'm still trying to figure out the difference between learning morse code
and not using it and not learning morse code and not using it. How can
someone who doesn't learn it and doesn't use it conflict with others in an
area dedicated to morse code?


There was no regulation of radio back in the early 1900s. No need. Once
radio started taking off, there had to be some coordination or stations
would be jamming each other.

Yes, back when there was no store bought gear. Yes, back when you had the
challenge and the pleasure of building it and the sense of accomplishment
of operating it yourself.


Same with automobiles. At first, no licensing and no laws. Then, when
some horses became scared of a horseless carriage, they put into effect 5
mph
speed limits in some areas. Sometimes, someone had to walk ahead with a
flag to warn folks that a horseless carriage was coming! Eventually, laws
were formed to maximize usage to *everyone*. Otherwise, what if there
were no stop lights, stop signs, and no rules about which side of the road
to drive on?

Yes, for the safety of others.


Orville and Wilbur Wright didn't have to apply to anyone for a license to
fly. There were no laws at the beginning of aircraft. Only once a number
of planes were flying did they start to regulate it. For obvious reasons
LOL.

Yes, for the safety of others.


As to taking your test, why would you have a problem today? I had last
been on the air in 1969 and let my license drop around 1981 (not sure of
the
exact year). When I retook it in 1993, I passed the extra first time
around.

If you have copied code past 13 words per minute, you won't forget it.
You
might get a bit rusty, but can pick it back up. In my case, I didn't
brush
up. Nor on theory either. The basics remain the same; I've been into
computers since 1976, so any questions on gates, cpus, memory, etc. is a
no-brainer.

Sure, multiple guess questions on computers to operate today's ham gear
makes sense. But to test for CW? I'm still searching for a valid reason
to keep doing so. All I've seen so far is, "why not?" or "to show you're
qualified." Is it solely to limit the number of people who can operate
voice on HF--but people are afraid to say this out loud?

Yes, I was copying code at 35 WPM (about as fast as I could pencil it on
paper) at one time. Right now, I can copy 13 solid. Yes, I could easily
increase it again with just a little bit of practice.


Of course I missed some questions on where bands were. They've added a
couple. You don't need 100%; in fact, I didn't feel like extracting
square roots by hand (I can, but it is a pain - I'm not talking guessing
here), so
I simply checked off some answers. I knew I had already passed that
portion so who cared.

Yes, you are aware of some practical strategies in passing a multiple guess
test. This is part of the coaching that occurs for most potential hams
these days.


As to no difference; perhaps not to put it on the air, but to understand
what emission you are using and where you can and can not use it may just
make a tad bit of difference.

Why only a practical test for CW? Why not a practical test for any of the
digital modes or using a satellite or how to DF a fox or how to set up a
radio?


I have to laugh about folks joking about IRLP and Echolink. I've used my
440 HT to chat with Australia with *no Internet* involved. All rf path,
courtesy of a 10 meter link. Of course, that wasn't really a challenge; I
simply heard the Aussies there.

What is fun is having the ability to change mode in a heartbeat. One guy

or a practical test on switching modes on one of today's radios?

on
a 440 repeater was squaking that everyone should *have* to use Morse.
Since the repeater owner was in the group, I asked his permission and got
it.

40 words per minute MFM sent over the repeater. Shut him up in a hurry.

Is there a difference? I know one guy who *knows* so LOL.

73 from Rochester, NY
Jim

I'm still waiting for someone to give me a convincing reason why we continue
to test element 1a.

Guy

On Sat, 11 Jun 2005 09:11:03 -0500, Guy wrote:

HarryHydro wrote:

Hi Folks:
Just remeniscing and old realistic CB walkie talkie I had. It had
the metal ground-straps on the side and it could talk 2.4 miles (just
measured on a map) with an S7. My Wife just picked up two similar
walkie-talkies at a yard sale for $5! I was wide-eyed at the size of
the thing! I remember when I was a kid wanting one of these
walkie-talkies so bad that I got the dimensions and made a cardboard
model to see 'how it felt holding one'! Wow! Thinking back! Anyone
ever routinely talk further on a CB walkie talkie?
The guy I use to talk to frequently in South Toms River was
Electro-Express. I - you guessed it - was Hydro! (hydrofoil) He'd
say, "The only walkie-talkie I know that'll talk that far is Hydro's".
I currently use a Johnson Messenger Viking. Yes, I know it's
2005.. ;-) This radio talks and sounds nice too!

Take Care!
Hydro

I was somewhere between 8 an 10 years old when I got my first pair of CB
walkie-talkies for Christmas or my birthday back in the early 70s. This
was the results of my parents recognizing a talent for electronics in me
back then. By then, I'd put together a myiad of electronic projects like
crystal radios, alarms, mosture detectors, dc motors, light detectors, etc.
These little CB walkie-talkies were in little plastic blue briefcase-style
boxes, less than 1 foot by 1 foot. You'd open them up, extend the
telescopic antenna and turn it on. Ony one channel (14) and 100
milliwatts. They'd only work for about a block. I was hooked then.

My father saw my frustration with them after he'd tell me stories of back
when he was stationed in Morocco working the other side of the world with a
Heathkit DX-40, a Hammurland receiver, and a knife switch to a long-wire
antenna.

After he retired from the Air Force, he commuted to school. We set up a 4
watt mobile into a ground plane strapped to the chimney and put an
identical mobile rig in his Datsun B210 with a base loaded whip. And then
we waited for our CB license to come from the FCC. KCN-6537! Not amazing
I still remember that, we used it. We were scared to death of the law back
then. Back in the mid-70s, when he took off for school, I'd talk to him
until he was out of range. When he came home on Friday's, I'd be at that
radio waiting to hear him and talk him in. Range was about 13 miles. It
was fun! Back in the 70's, the locals in Louisiana made it difficult
because their pleasure was to maliciously interfere with us. Then one day,
he came home and showed me the window had been smashed and his CB was gone.
At 12 years old, I became frustrated with CB. At 13 I became a ham. After
my father saw me get a ham license, he passed his test soon after I did
again, after letting his ham license expire years ago. I started off with
an "N" in my call sign. Still have that call sign, but I made "extra" back
when you had to pass a 20 WPM morse code test.

When I was waiting for my "N" call sign, I put together a 6L6
oscillator/transmitter and borrowed an old tube-type receiver. My first
few contacts in the novice band of 40 were miraculous to me--100s of miles
away!. I was hooked at 13. Soon after, I put together a 6146 transmitter
for a few more watts. Wow, I was fascinated. Sure was fun back then.
Both my mother and father became nervous when they found out about the
exposed plate voltage. I mounted that 6146 on top of the aluminum box so I
could see the filiment glow and the plate connector was bare metal. My
father finally broke down and bought an Yaesu FT-101. Wow! A radio that
put out 180 watts AND a VFO AND all bands AND all MODES! I remember making
sure it wasn't putting out more than 75 watts--that would have been
breaking the rules. It didn't get any better than that. I still have that
radio. Needs new tubes (and of course the modification for the available
replacement tubes).

I still always travel with channel 19 in the truck. It still works better
than a radar detector. Today, I'm frustrated with hams. Back then, my ham
friends were techies. It's hard to find a techie on the ham bands
now-a-days.

Yup, sure was fun back then. It's a new era today.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.


I miss those days. I enjoyed working with tubes (even if I got shocked
by them a few too many times). Radio was cooler, there was less
competition from "other" tech devices. The people were cooler, less
vulgar, and a lot more fun

Dave
"Sandbagger"

Remember back then there was not the cussing and name calling as what
goes on now. In ham there is not near the abusive crud going on as on
the CB freq's. Don't know why but it is there.

I wish that we didn't have to use a 10,000 watt kicker, even with a
durned good antenna, to talk to the end of the block. And I put it in
about the good antenna cause if you have a radio that won't get out
without a kicker, it, once put in front of a kicker, all kinds of
pitiful noises come out of it. It makes it hard to understand them and
they keep others that have decent talking sets from enjoying what could
be a really decent hobby for the price.

On 14 Jun 2005 03:37:15 -0700, "Cliff" wrote:

Remember back then there was not the cussing and name calling as what
goes on now. In ham there is not near the abusive crud going on as on
the CB freq's. Don't know why but it is there.

I wish that we didn't have to use a 10,000 watt kicker, even with a
durned good antenna, to talk to the end of the block.

Hell, we were glad when we could do that with .1 watt, and a 36"
telescopic. Of course there wasn't as much QRN on the band and those
weak signals could travel farther before being lost in the (lower)
ambient noise.


And I put it in
about the good antenna cause if you have a radio that won't get out
without a kicker, it, once put in front of a kicker, all kinds of
pitiful noises come out of it. It makes it hard to understand them and
they keep others that have decent talking sets from enjoying what could
be a really decent hobby for the price.

Human beings (especially males) tend to look at life as a series of
challenges or competitions. Think about sports, NASCAR, etc. There's
an almost irresistible drive to be the best you can be at something,
or at least better than the next guy. On CB, that sense of competition
is what drives people to run gobs of excessive power. It's not that
they actually expect to talk consistently over 200 miles. They just
want to be the only one heard in a 10 mile radius when they key up.
The big dog as it were. Being a "Mud Duck" is akin to being a physical
wimp.

Dave
"Sandbagger"

Just getting back into CBing, what is a "Mud Duck" and "keyclown" and
"keyclown amps"?
Thans, Dave.

You mean before the group's owners, the AKC, prohibited ebay auctions
and ratted out keyclown amps and illegal radios,

I had a really large Lafayette walkie talkie back in 1978. I wish I
still had it.