"Dave Hall" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 20:36:48 -0400, Vinnie S.
wrote:


You're freaking me out with your CB flashbacks now, Enzo!

At any rate, congrats on the new rig.


I am 38 now. The problem is, it took forever to get to 21 years old. It
only too
2 weeks to get from 21 to 38 years old.

That's the way it seems. The first 15 years goes by like molasses on a
cold day. Then before you know it, you're out of school. Then 21 looms
large just around the corner. Then, in what feels like 2 or 3 years,
you hit 30. Then the next 15 years goes by just as fast as the last 7
or 8.

I've been told by quite a few sage old timers that the older you get,
the faster time seems to go by. I guess it's all relative.

Dave
"Sandbagger"



Dave,

Did you hear the sonic boom last month? I just hit 58 (or did it hit
me?)!!!

Every time I pass a cemetary, I feel like I'm apartment hunting .... :))

73 from Rochester, NY
Jim

"Landshark" wrote in message
.. .

"Steveo" wrote in message
...
Vinnie S. wrote:
On 10 Jun 2005 22:41:04 GMT, Steveo wrote:

Take Care!
Hydro

Hello Hydro.

Walkie talkies used to be fun!

That is what got me started !!!!!!

Vinnie S.

Same here..an Archer something or other iirc. What a beast it
created,
eh?

I think I was in the third grade. A pair of Soundesign Ch 14 kids
walkie
talkies, around 1976 or so.

Dang now I really feel old. I was driving by then!

I hit a CB station (I didn't know what CB
was at that time), and when I talked to someone, that was essentially
it.
I abused those radios pretty badly. But they had little to no range.
It
seemed I talked that one time, and never again hit anyone. But that
didn't keep me from trying 1 million times.

I know what you mean, Vin. I had that old Lafayette tube radio back in
1969, and I had to search to hear anyone, then yell for them 100 times
in
hopes of a response. My Mom is a fairly good seamstress so she even made
me
a jacket with my CB call on the back of it for the coffee breaks.
Thinking
back on it, I was a class A nerd!

Around the 8th grade, I was able to get one of thosetoy base stations,
and talk regularly to someone. But had about 1/4 mile range. I did beg
my
father for a CB, but my parents really didn't support my hobbies at
all.
I had to wait until I got older before I was able to do the hobbies on
my
own. My sophmore year in HS, I finally got my first CB, a TRC-422A.
Still
have it. It seemed that my father finally got sick of me talking about
it, and he finally got me one and a power suplly for Christmas. Of
course, I was delivering papers until I ccould afford a Turner +3 and
a
Starduster. Did that for a couple years. Once I graduated HS, that was
it
until 2 years ago. Then I found you guys. I must admit, I feel like a
kid
again.

Vinnie S.

Well it sounds like you are a kid compared to me, Enzo. It's especially
cool that the hobby still provides good friends like you and many others
here.

Rock on.

Oh he's young compared to you and I Steveo, but he does have
common
sense that some that are older here don't have. Must have something to do
with
up bringing.

Landshark

Wheee ... driving by 1976? Good lord, I have my girl friends initials on my
books along with my ham call sign ... and that was in 1962! I was driving
in 1964. I had my 1st phone and commercial telegraph in 1966 (along with my
extra).

Does this mean I'm more decrepit than you and Mopar, Shark?
:))



73 from Rochester, NY
Jim

"Jim Hampton" wrote:
Does this mean I'm more decrepit than you and Mopar, Shark?
:))

73 from Rochester, NY
Jim

More experienced! :)

Dave Hall wrote:
On 10 Jun 2005 23:06:45 GMT, Steveo wrote:

Vinnie S. wrote:
On 10 Jun 2005 22:41:04 GMT, Steveo wrote:

Take Care!
Hydro

Hello Hydro.

Walkie talkies used to be fun!

That is what got me started !!!!!!

Vinnie S.

Same here..an Archer something or other iirc. What a beast it
created, eh?

I think I was in the third grade. A pair of Soundesign Ch 14 kids
walkie talkies, around 1976 or so.

Dang now I really feel old. I was driving by then!

I had a Sears 100 mW base station. Tuned all 23 channels, plus
shortwave and transmitted in Ch 14. I thought I was working "rare" DX
if I could make it to the end of the neighborhood...


Ha! I kow what you mean!

"hey dad, how far is Parma"?

WOW!! :)

On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 13:18:30 -0400, Dave Hall wrote:

Have it properly aligned by a tech with calibrated equipment.

That's good for you, but not for the other guys who align with a
"galaxy" frequency counter.


Dave,

Do you recoomended a decent Freq counter I can get on ebay for aound $40? They
have a ton of older HP and BK Precisions. I had a Fluke 1900A, but it died on
me, and I am looking to replace it.

Vinnie S.

"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

"Vinnie S." wrote in message
...
On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 13:27:31 GMT, "Landshark"
wrote:


By the way, I don't remember having to take a test to get into college.
I
have a BS in Computer Science and a Masters in Computer Information
Systems.

I am sorry, but this is a poor example. First off, some colleges require a
basic
math/algebra and English test. Even where you don't have to take a test to
get
into college, you still have to take a ton of tests to graduate.


I agree and yes you are correct on basic requirements.

If your point is that you don't need a test to start something, then you
are
correct. But in many skilled professions, jobs, etc, most require some
sort of
test taking or licensing procedure. Please find me a college you can
attend that
will give you a degree for just showing up, and not taking tests.


As long as I paid my bill, they allowed me to go to class.
So what? Are they going to give you a degree because you paid your bill?
Were
by pass the class. you allowed to sit in on advanced classes without
passing earlier
pre-requisites, just because you paid your bill?

Agreed. In 76 when I was at college, for one computer class I had to take
trig or pass a test to take the class.



Vinnie S.

You were answering Guy, correct? You used my post as a qoute, I hope you
know that I agree with you. I'll take resonable arguements, like the one
with Guy
any day of the week over the BS, the others have tried spew.

Landshark

"Guy" wrote in message
news:C_ire.15872$mC.13811@okepread07...
Landshark wrote:

If you can read 20 to 30 WPM, would you want to here somebody
pounding out only 5 WPM? Otherwise would you want to see the bands
allocated to certain speeds? Point being, it would be called a
qualifying
test, to make sure you are able to operate in the mode you test for.

Landshark



I've always been able to read *much* faster than I can copy code. I don't
understand what you're getting at there.

Cool! What I was saying is that even though the code is a basic rate,
wouldn't
you rather have a test with more proficient people, than with people that
aren't
very good, but just enough to get their license?


No need to divide up the freqs for different speeds. Generally, faster is
lower in freq by gentlemen's agreement. Not always, but generally from
what I've seen. FYI, there's currently a proposal to divide up the freqs
based on bandwidth requirements.

Yup I know that, but so is the gentlemen's agreement on 36 to 40 for
sideband
use on cb, but that not always the case.


What's the difference between someone who passed the 5 WPM code test and
has
now forgotten it and someone who never learned 5 WPM? Neither operate the
mode. So why not just have some freqs dedicated to those who want to use
it and quit testing for it? If you can operate voice on 2M, you can
operate voice on HF. Why make people qualify for a mode they have no
interest in? If certain freqs are dedicated to CW, why make someone
qualify for it if they're never going to use those freqs?

Because they at least spent the time to learn it, not take a multiple choice
test and sign their name at the bottom of the paper.


There once was a time when the only way you could qualify for the highest
class ham license was to show you could copy 20 WPM code. Someone stood
up
and said, "Hey, the international requirement is now at 5 WPM." So we did
away with element 1b and 1c. WRC-03 did away with code entirely. So why
are we still testing element 1a?


Don't know, but it's still a requirement to get the upper class license. I
don't agree
with that, but if they were to have a "code" only requirement license, that
would
be fine with me.

Guy

Landshark

Hey, Jim, my Echolink fake radio is on.

"Steveo" wrote in message
...
"Landshark" wrote:
"Steveo" wrote in message
...
Vinnie S. wrote:
On 10 Jun 2005 22:41:04 GMT, Steveo wrote:

Take Care!
Hydro

Hello Hydro.

Walkie talkies used to be fun!

That is what got me started !!!!!!

Vinnie S.

Same here..an Archer something or other iirc. What a beast it
created, eh?

I think I was in the third grade. A pair of Soundesign Ch 14 kids
walkie talkies, around 1976 or so.

Dang now I really feel old. I was driving by then!

I hit a CB station (I didn't know what CB
was at that time), and when I talked to someone, that was
essentially
it.
I abused those radios pretty badly. But they had little to no range.
It seemed I talked that one time, and never again hit anyone. But
that didn't keep me from trying 1 million times.

I know what you mean, Vin. I had that old Lafayette tube radio back in
1969, and I had to search to hear anyone, then yell for them 100 times
in hopes of a response. My Mom is a fairly good seamstress so she even
made
me
a jacket with my CB call on the back of it for the coffee breaks.
Thinking back on it, I was a class A nerd!

Around the 8th grade, I was able to get one of thosetoy base
stations, and talk regularly to someone. But had about 1/4 mile
range. I did beg
my
father for a CB, but my parents really didn't support my hobbies at
all. I had to wait until I got older before I was able to do the
hobbies on
my
own. My sophmore year in HS, I finally got my first CB, a TRC-422A.
Still
have it. It seemed that my father finally got sick of me talking
about it, and he finally got me one and a power suplly for
Christmas.
Of course, I was delivering papers until I ccould afford a Turner +3
and a Starduster. Did that for a couple years. Once I graduated HS,
that was
it
until 2 years ago. Then I found you guys. I must admit, I feel like
a
kid
again.

Vinnie S.

Well it sounds like you are a kid compared to me, Enzo. It's
especially
cool that the hobby still provides good friends like you and many
others here.

Rock on.

Oh he's young compared to you and I Steveo, but he does have
common sense that some that are older here don't have. Must have
something to do with
up bringing.

Landshark

Yea, or mental health.

I hope it's not in the genes ;)

Landshark