In article ,
says...
There you go again. Don't wonder who I am, go enjoy ham radio.

and tell people they need to learn code.

SC

RadioGuy wrote:

I know who you are!!!!!

Would you care to share that with the rest of us? C'mon, spill the
beans. We're dying to know if "slow" even has a license. :-)

One Hung Low wrote in
. net:


RadioGuy wrote:

I know who you are!!!!!

Would you care to share that with the rest of us? C'mon, spill the
beans. We're dying to know if "slow" even has a license. :-)



RadioGuy is like a little hyperactive poodle. He runs around, barks, maybe
nips at your heels but not much because he scared of his shadow and he
craps everywhere, but he's basically harmless and answers to Papa Dog.

I just wish he'd stop humping my leg.

SC

RadioGay wrote in
:

In article ,
says...
wrote in
oups.com:


Slow Code wrote:
wrote in

The late Dick Carrol/W0EX prided himself on being able to send
code so poorly that even a computer code reader couldn't copy him.
This was in order to prevent unworthy No-Code Technicians from
eavesdropping on him.

BTW, all the other Pro-Code Extras were good with it, coming up
with cool, old-timey sounding excuses for such bad behavoir.
"Banana Boat Swing" and "unique fist" were heard. A ham needn't
try to produce CW that meets the Morse Code specification for
dots, dashes, inter-dot/dash spacing, inter-character spacing, and
inter-word spacing.




He was pro-code but he wasn't trollish like me or WA8ULX were.

At least you admit you're nothing but a troll. A useless low life peice
of nothing troll.

I believe in CW, but I'm not as Ruthless as I sound.

Yes you are. You hate everyone who isn't like you. You are the biggest
bigot around.

I love to toss out
things and then listen to everyone gasp.

You love to try and **** off the world and you do a good job.

ROFL.

Don't you mean rolling on the floor drunk in your own filth!!

I know, I know, it's
sadistic...

Yup, I've heard you're into that know.

but it's fun, and maybe some will see and figure out the point of it.

Theres no point to what you do and if you think there is you are truely
ready for the sanitarium.


When you get a hard-on for someone you really get a hard-on.

I don't know who you think I am but I feel sorry for them.

SC

RadioGuy wrote in
:

In article .net,
says...
"Dr.Ace" wrote in
:


"Thats Right_ 20wpm" wrote in message
...
Slow Code is the kind of guy that everybodys hates on the air. He is
the Jammer because no one listens to him.


Probably because he doesn't have an amateur radio license .
Ace - WH2T




Tnx, 73, good luck in the contest.

SC

You know you don't have a license.

RG

PS - I know who you are!


You haven't got a clue.

If RRAP were Wheel of Fortune, I'd tell you to buy a vowel.

SC

RadioGuy wrote in
:

In article ,
says...

There you go again. Don't wonder who I am, go enjoy ham radio.

and tell people they need to learn code.

SC


I know who you are!!!!!


You haven't got a clue. Now turn on your CB, maybe your no-code
friends are calling. When you get tired of crapping on the group
Learn CW.

SC

wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
Half of all USA licensed amateurs are licensed under a Code-Free
license.

You mean the Technician? If so, they are a considerable amount less
than half.

40% is more like it.

49.5% according to your very own postings.

You are mistaken, Brian.

No, I'm not.

Yes, you are, Brian. You just won't admit it.

The Technician license does not make up 49.5% of US hams. The total of
Technicians and Technician Pluses reaches about that level. (All
Technician Pluses are Morse Code tested).

The FCC did away with the Technician Plus class of license.

When?

As of October 30, the number of current, unexpired FCC issued amateur
radio licenses was:

Novice: 24,155
Technician: 287,293
Technician Plus: 34,851
General: 131,966
Advanced: 70,602
Extra: 108,545

Total 657,412.

FCC still counts Technician Plus separately from Technician.

The current number of Technicians amounts to 43.7006017...% of the
total. That's not half. Some of them are code-tested, too.

They are all Technicians now.

That is an untruth.

FCC still counts Technician Plus separately from Technician. The number
of Technician Plus licenses is shrinking as Technician Pluses are
renewed as Technician, expire, or upgrade.

The Technician license has no requirement for a
code exam.

Yet some Technicians have passed a Morse Code test, and have some HF
privileges.

Should a Technician wish to use what were once Technician
Plus priveleges, they're on their own to show eligibility.

Which requires that they retain a document showing their qualification.
Like keeping a copy of their old Technician Plus license.

However, that's not the point. FCC still counts Technician Plus
separately from Technician. The number of Technician Plus licenses is
shrinking as Technician Pluses are renewed as Technician, expire, or
upgrade.

In addition, many hams whose licenses say "Technician" are code tested
and have some HF privileges. These include:

- all Tech Pluses who have renewed since April 15, 2000
- all Novices who have upgraded to Technician
- all Technicians who have passed Element 1, but not the written exam
for General

Welp, that's something we'll just have to live with. It's also the
reason I upgraded to General.

Bully for you.

btw, no US amateur radio license is "code-free". All of them can use
Morse Code.

And they can all use CWGet.

But they don't.

Probably most of the coded licensees never looked back when
they learned the code to get past a licensing hurdle, don't use code,
and couldn't if their lives depended on it.

That's not a given at all.

I would expect you to say something like that.

Remember the ARRL survey that was debated so much here?

The one where as a member, I did not receive a ballot?

The one that Mike Deignan characterized as "substantive?"

Yes, I recall the survey. Looked as if it had been developed by a
bunch of dems hoping to influence the outcome of an election.

You mean like this:

http://www.rawstory.com/showoutartic...s/15869924.htm

btw, next Tuesday I get to choose between Curt Weldon and Joe Sestak.
Which do you think I should vote for?

Who did you vote for last time?

Doesn't matter. The choice last time wasn't the same, anyway.

Which candidate do you think I should vote for?

It showed that
less than 40% of those hams who were asked never used Morse Code. And
it included licensees from all license classes, not just those who had
passed code tests.

Add to that those who rarely used code.

Why?

Even if someone rarely uses it, that means they still remember it and
can use it at some level.

It means they don't like it and they have to struggle through it.

Not necessarily.

An amateur could "rarely" use Morse Code because they "rarely" get on
the air. Or because they use some other mode a lot more.

It
means they are perfect candidates for CWGet.

So?

Sure there are those who learned just enough to pass the Morse Code
test and then never used it - just as there are those who just enough
to pass the *written* tests and then never used it

Heck, your buddy Len couldn't even get the length of a 73 MHz
quarter-wave whip antenna right, and he's a "PROFESSIONAL"!

And you couldn't even get the distance to the moon,

You are mistaken.

Right.

Glad to see you admit your mistake.

So put all USA licensed amateurs in fron of a station equipped with a
morse code key and with CWGet and total their scores.

I presume you mean "contest scores"

Why?

Why not? They're operating in a CW Contest. Why wouldn't you total
their scores?

What's the point?

The same point that you and W3RV are making when you kick around SSB vs
CW in your field day and other scores.

What point is that?

W3RV and I actually participate in Field Day, and actually make the
scores we claim. The QSOs are real.

Why is it that comparing scores is only something that you can do?

You can compare scores all you want. How many points did you make in
last year's Field Day?

Who is going to set up and pay for all those stations? What sort of
stations would they be - HF, VHF, UHF? What sort of antennas, rigs,
computers?

Think about it.

I did. That's why I'm asking the question.

Do you think the taxpayers should subsidize amateur radio stations?

Who sets up your field day station? Who pays for it?

Depends on whether I'm operating solo, or as part of a group.

The Morsemen

Who are they?

There used to be four of them...

can bandy about the CQ WW and Field Day CW vs SSB contest
scores all they want without having to standardize station equipment.
I bring up a scenario and NOW station equipment must be standardized.

Who said anything about standardizing station equipment? Not me.

Yes, you. You!

That's another untruth. Show where I said that - I don't think you can.

I simply want to know where all those stations are supposed to come
from.

Where do stations come from now?

Don't you know?

Any ham who wants to operate Morse Code using CWGet or some other
software can do so right now - if they have a station that includes
rig, antenna, and computer.

Yep. I can finally agree with something you said.

So a version of the experiment you describe can happen in every
contest. But it doesn't.

Many, many, many amateur just aren't interested in morse code, and
many, many, many amateurs just aren't interested in contests.

Then your experiment won't happen.

But if we were able to have have 100% participation and every amateur
were offered a manual morse code key and a downloaded copy of CWGet....

Offered by whom? Who would pay for those things and set them up? How
would you get 100% participation?

Yet I don't know of any amateur radio contesters who operate that way.
Do you?

Nobody knew of anyone who operated amateur radio as in Larry Rolls
"Only CW can save the situation" but I NEVER ONCE saw your objection to
it.

So what? I don't read everything written to rrap. Larry hasn't posted
here in *years*.

Sure he has. He's posted as himself and he's probably posting as
someone else.

You mean "Slow Code"? That's probably WA8ULX.

I bring up a scenario and NOW you have a problems with how contestors
operate.

Not at all.

I just don't see anyone using CWGet to operate a contest - even though
they could. Heck *you* could. Why don't you?

I don't enjoy morse code.

Then what is your point?

A simple, real-world challenge. What's the problem?

The problem is that there isn't 100% participation in field day.

So?

It fails to meet the requirements of my scenario.

It's not about *your* impossible scenario.

The requirements for US amateur radio license have been slowly but
steadily reduced for more than 25 years now.

Just 25 years?

I wrote "more than 25 years".

I guess you forgot about the "Conditional" license
where hams get an upgrade from their buddy.

What does that mean?

Besides, the Conditional stopped being issued about 30 years ago.

Yep, but nobody ever claimed that amateur radio was being dumbed down.
The USA amateur service has a proud history of it.

How was it "dumbing down" to eliminate the Conditional?

Jeez you're thick.

No, Brian, I'm not "thick". You just did a poor job of explaining.

No, you vectored off when it was clear that the creation of the
Conditional Class license using the "buddy-system" of testing was the
original dumbing down of the ARS.

Another untruth by you.

Why was the creation of the Conditional a "dumbing down"? It had the
same test requirements as General.

It was dumbing down to create such a license class.

Why? The Conditional and its predecessor Class C go back to before the
FCC.

So there's a long, long tradition in the dumbing down of the amateur
radio service.

Why was it a "dumbing down"?

Not just the code tests
but also the writtens. That's not the fault of those taking the tests.

No, of course not. It's not anyones fault except the FCC that they put
offices so far away from ham's residences.

??

The reason FCC stopped doing testing was to save money.

It doesn't cost the FCC anything for an amateur to show up for testing,
unless you want to claim that the examinees got to file a voucher for
their travel.

Actually it cost FCC a lot of money to do testing.

It was the travel distance that was key in the creation of the
Conditional license, not the desire for the FCC to save money.

I was writing about the reason the FCC stopped doing license testing
for *all* license classes. That's part of the reduction in
requirements.

Then you strayed off the subject.

Another untruth.

Try to stay on the subject.

I am on the subject. You're trying to change it.

If you choose to comment on somthing I say, then confine it to what I
said.

Why? You're not the moderator.

Besides, you don't confine your comments to what someone else said. Why
should others confine their comments to what you said?

If you stick with that simple concept, you'll do OK.

First off, they had to have offices with test facilities. The office
they had in Philadelphia back when I took my exams was on the 10th
floor of the Custom House at 2nd and Chestnut. Lots of square feet of
prime real estate just for the exam room.

Then there was the time of the examiners, all of whom worked for FCC.
Pay and benefits. At least two people per office, three days a week.
Times the number of offices all over the country.

Then add the FCC folks who revised the exams, duplicated them, and
distributed them to the various offices all over the country. And the
cost of doing all that.

The VE system eliminated all that expense. All FCC has to do now wrt
amateur license testing is to look over the QPC submissions and approve
them. And occasionally retest somebody.

That's all wunnerful, but you vectored off of the subject.

Nope.

Maybe next
time you'll be able to cut and paste something germane to the subject.

The subject was the reduction in license requirements by FCC giving
over the testing to VEs.

Nope. I twas the creation of the Conditional License.

Why was that a "dumbing down"?

Eliminating Element 1 will not save the FCC any expense. Keeping it
will not cost them anything, either. Maybe that's why it's taking them
so long.

Maybe. But they didn't even make the effort to define Morse Code in
the rules for the last 3 R&Os.

Why should they? Is there any doubt?

There appears to be. The ARRL VEC and other VECs are giving el 1 exams
at 13-15WPM when Part 97 says 5WPM.

The Morse Code test consists of 5 minutes of Morse Code. How many words
are in those tests?

At 5 wpm, there would be 25
At 13 wpm, there would be 65
At 15 wpm, there would be 75

(A word is 5 characters)


Yet they tell you that the exam myst be
5WPM, and you've got all these VEs getting to define what that means.

It's not a problem to anyone with common sense.

It appears to be a violation of Part 97.

Only to someone without common sense.

They replaced
their paid examiners with unpaid volunteers.

Good thing there wasn't a union.

Why?

Are you anti-union?

No. Are you?

Do you favor scabs?

Bandages are better.

It's basic knowledge, pure and simple. Most of the people I know don't use
any of the theory either but it is part of the basic knowledge set. I've
used ohm's law only a couple of times in the 14 years I've been licensed.
I've used the dipole equation half a dozen times. I've never used smith
charts. One could get by without the theory but having learned it, I can
choose where I want to focus my attention in amateur ration.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

Dee, you have a Ham Husband to take care of the Ohm's Law and Theory
end of your station, so it's no wonder you have no real use for it..

Brian, do you think that using a false sexist claim is somehow going to
cause you to win the debate?

No false sexist claim.

It's a sexist claim to assume that Dee's husband takes care of the
Ohm's Law and Theory
end of her station

Why? She said she hardly, if ever, used it. Somebody's got to be
doing it?

You're presuming she's not doing what needs to be done, and is
dependent on someone else to deal with the theory. I don't think that's
the case at all.

If I considered your opinion to be wrong, do I get to call you a liar?

Why would you do that?

Have I ever called *anyone* here a liar?

You're making that up, right?

I'm asking a question.

Have I ever called *anyone* here a liar?

W3RV uses his sister to put up antennas for him
these days.

That's an untruth.

Where do you get that idea?

Hmmm?

I've put up antennas with W3RV. Or rather, I helped out a little, since
he had it all worked out on his own. No sisters involved.

He does know quite a lot about antennas, particularly the practical
side. He even knows that a quarter wave at 73 MHz is a lot longer than
three and one quarter inches....

Prolly for illegal operation. He has no authorization in that area.

Actually, he does. Part 95 remote control, same as your buddy Len. And
everybody else.

Part 95 requires no authorization, so he doesn't.

Incorrect. Part 95 authorizes everyone, as long as they meet the
requirements.

And knowing his
background, he'd probably violate the Part 95 rules.

Why?

"One Hung Low" wrote in message
. net...


Would you care to share that with the rest of us? C'mon, spill the beans.
We're dying to know if "slow" even has a license. :-)

The Magic 8 Ball say's "No Way" .
Ace - WH2T

From: on Tues, Oct 31 2006 5:52
pm

wrote:
From: on Tues, Oct 31 2006 4:17 am

wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
Dee Flint wrote:

[ etc., etc., etc.... :-) ]

Half of all USA licensed amateurs are licensed under a Code-Free
license.

You mean the Technician? If so, they are a considerable amount less
than half.

40% is more like it.

49.5% according to your very own postings.

You are mistaken, Brian.

No, I'm not.

Half of all USA licensed amateurs are licensed under a Code-Free
License.

Ooops. Without inserting the word "TEST" in "Code-free" will
automatically alert Mighty Macho Morseman Miccolis to run off
again with his "helpful correction of mistakes." :-)

The Technician license does not make up 49.5% of US hams. The total of
Technicians and Technician Pluses reaches about that level. (All
Technician Pluses are Morse Code tested).

The FCC did away with the Technician Plus class of license. They are
all Technicians now. The Technician license has no requirement for a
code exam. Should a Technician wish to use what were once Technician
Plus priveleges, they're on their own to show eligibility.

Miccolis can't seem to understand the LAW. No matter how
often it is explained to him, he falls back on the Speroni
'definition' of 'What Technicians Are.' Of course, AH0A
is a PCTA morseman of unchangeable ideas.

Half of all USA licensed amateurs are licensed under a Code-Free
License.

Tsk, Mighty Macho Morseman Miccolis will HAVE to "reply" with
his "helpful correction of mistakes" a la the mighty macho
morseman style of "knowing what is best for amateur radio"
(as He sees it...).

Miccolis also insisted that ENIAC was "the first electronic
computer" because he got brainwashed by Moore School PR,
being in eastern PA. Funny thing, but the LAW was decided
in the early 1970s by a Federal Court trial and the Atanasof-
Berry Computer of 1939-1942 was declared "first."


btw, no US amateur radio license is "code-free". All of them can use
Morse Code.

And they can all use CWGet.

...and they can all toss their morse keys into the dumpster. :-)

Half of all USA licensed amateurs are licensed under a Code-Free
License.

True enough...and the OTHER half had to take a morse code TEST
to get that AMATEUR license.

btw, next Tuesday I get to choose between Curt Weldon and Joe Sestak.
Which do you think I should vote for?

Who did you vote for last time?

...and why in hell should WE care?

I just don't get it.

Miccolis must think the rest of us live in HIS reality
(or rather ego-geographic-center-of-the-universe). In
another week we Californians (about 30 million of us)
will be voting on a number of state and local issues.
"Weldon and Sestak" don't seem to be on that ballot.

And you couldn't even get the distance to the moon,

You are mistaken.

Right.

If'n Jimmie he say "mistaken" he be da Judge! He be da Law!

:-)

I'm not buying it.

Neither am I.

Half of all USA licensed amateurs are licensed under a Code-Free
License

A mere 17 years ago there was no such thing as a "code-free"
(meaning No Morse Code TEST) amateur radio license.

You've repeatedly claimed that I mis-stated the distance from Earth to
the moon on rrap.
Show us where I did that - if you can.

I don't think you can, because it did not happen. If I did it, show us.

Otherwise you're just making things up.

You're making that up.

Miccolis ought to move to L.A. and get in the make-up biz.
Lotsa money to be made here in the entertainment capitol
of show business. Especially around Halloween time...:-)

God knows the "Professional" PCTAs can't Kiss and Make-Up.

It must be a violation of their "professional" code of
ethics? :-)

Usually to those kind of folks I just tell them to
Kiss my ass. I've given that up on my MD's advice,
he say I might catch something dangerous... :-)

and you're a "professional."

I've never claimed to be a professional astronomer.

What? Only astronomers get to calculate path loss in space?

A quarter-million-mile distance was in all the newspapers
since the Apollo Program began. Perhaps he thinks only
astronomers read newspapers? :-)

Only "Professional" Astronomers can write space articles in teh
newspapers.

Riiiight. :-)


Len claims to be a "PROFESSIONAL in radio-electronics" (whatever that
is) but he messes up on the length of an antenna for a radio service he
has claimed to use.

How can you be sure?

Tsk. Miccolis is hell-bent on character-assassination lately.
I make a typo in a message and he makes it into a HEADLINE
STORY charging some kind of ineptitude! :-)

It was obviously a typo. But Jim and Dave put on their stupid face
allatime.

True enough. They don't have ONE consideration that I saw
my error and posted my own correction of it.

On every 'QWERTY' keyboard there is one key with an
(unshifted) apostrophe and a (shifted) double-quote.
In the shorthand version of dimensioning, a foot is
denoted by the suffix of an apostrophe while an inch
is denoted by the suffix of double quote. As an
example, my height can be written 5' 10" or, in longer
form, five feet ten inches. In rapid typing (I learned
touch-typing in middle school) it is possible to make
a mistake in too much pressure on the Shift key and
inadvertently type in the double-quote.

But...in the Grand Inquisitor manner of the might macho
morsemen, a type by an NCTA is a CAPITAL OFFENSE,
punishable by a lifetime of message comments about that
typo...and NEVER acknowledging that it was corrected!


Not only that, his Waffen SS buddie has to chime in like it
is a capital offense! :-)

Tsk, Miccolis is now under Typo Alert Status, condition Red.
Each and every typo HE makes will be FEATURED INEPTITUDES of
his own! Regardless of his 'explanations' of his typos, he
will be charged with violations of all mankind! :-)

Chimes against humanity!

HAR!!! :-) [Heil went to 'Ding Dong School'? :-)]

That's all in the sense of "justice, fair play, common sense,
(etc.)" to "HELP" others. :-)

Jim is so helpful. I recall asking for the formula to calculate a coil
to match an end-fed half-wave antenna to 50 ohm coax. Then I got told
right off that I should have a different kind of antenna and then the
stomp fest began.

I remember. Somewhere along that line, Reg Edwards' ready-to-
go small computer program was mentioned. Reg is a UK ham of
long time and has a bunch of small programs made just for many
particular amateur radio applications. If you still have a
need, I'll dig out his URL and post it here. Reg appears in
rec.radio.amateur.homebrew once in a while.


The Morsemen

Who are they?

There used to be four of them...

The "Four Morsemen of the Apocalypse." :-)

There's only two now. A sign of the times.

They can't see the signs!


Many, many, many amateur just aren't interested in morse code, and
many, many, many amateurs just aren't interested in contests.

Blasphemy! Heresy! The Church of St. Hiram may begin
the Inquisition with you tied on the stake, Brian!

Are they getting bored with Copernicus?

Could be...all the NCTA must appear as Galileo to them...


I don't enjoy morse code.

We can only, repeat ONLY, "see" what Miccolis sees. All else
is a 'mistake.'

But I really don't enjoy morse code.

According to Mighty Macho Morseman Miccolis, anyone trying
morse code "WILL" like it! :-)

[at least he didn't go balls-out and say what he must have
meant..."anyone trying morse code SHALL like it" :-) ]


Why? The Conditional and its predecessor Class C go back to before the
FCC.

So there's a long, long tradition in the dumbing down of the amateur
radio service.

By all those olde-tyme morsemen REFUSING to allow modernization
of the US amateur radio service in going to, and trying out NEW
modes, methods, and lobbying for UPDATING the ARS regulations.

BTW, Miccolis hasn't existed since AFTER the end of WW II, let
alone the creation of the FCC in 1934...but he is "knowledgeable"
by "experience" of all those old pioneers (in his heart he knows
he is 'right').

He feels a special kinship with them, and through that kinship he has
served in other ways.

I get the impression he really, Really, REALLY want to BE
THERE doing that "pioneering."

But, he really, Really, REALLY wasn't there doing that...


Miccolis hadn't learned to read yet when the amateur SSB boom
began...over two decades AFTER the commercial and military
radio world had begun using SSB for long-haul HF comms.

An OSU Alum put SSB radios in airplanes. Oh, what was his name?

Art Collins? :-) Hmmm...I thought he went to ISU, not OSU.

USAF SAC was the igniter of the single-channel SSB use and
Collins Radio of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, got the contracts.

Never mind that RCA Corporation ALSO got the contracts and
supplied single-channel SSB on HF to the USAF. Collins had
the more-savvy-PR and started selling to the commercial world
and to amateurs. Collins Radio got started with Art making
transmitters to-order before WW II. RCA didn't go the full-
on route of marketing, probably too busy doing the bigger
thing with television.

He
has NO direct experience to the radio world of the 1950s
except in some juvenile way. He wasn't working for a living
among amateurs who were divided about the SSB issues nor was
he party to some of those amateurs' (of long standing then)
rather abject ignorance of basic modulation concepts. [John
Carson of AT&T had published the mathematical proof in 1915,
the basis of the 'phasing' concept...the rest of the radio
world accepted Carson's proof and those specializing in FM
adopted "Carson's Rule" on FM modulation index]

He sure was a funny guy. I used to stay up late to watch him.

Ahem. John Carson of AT&T wasn't the same as Johnny Carson
of NBC Tonight Show fame. :-) But I am a fan of both...

Miccolis never tuned up any SSB transmitter in the early 1950s
as I had to do, never QSYed one. Not on HF and sure as hell
not IN the military (he never served). Neither did he tune
up or QSY any RTTY of MUX TTY transmitter on HF in that time
frame. But...he "knows" all about it by reading about it in
QST and the ARRL Handbook.

He can tell you all about the contributions that the ARS made during WW
II, except that the ARS wasn't authorized during WW II.

...not to mention that Miccolis never ever served in any
military. :-(


"CW gets through when nothing else will." One of the 1930s
era MYTHS, born when hams were trying out DSB AM in days
before WW II. "CW" does NOT 'get through' better than PM
or some of the other modes, but the DUMBED-DOWN morsemen
just can't understand that. They think that OOK CW is
"smart!" 1906 thinking in the year 2006. Ptui.

Sam Morse desinged his code to be marked on a tape with a pen.

True enough and recorded history of 1844. On some history
website there is a digitized image of the famous "What hath
God wrought" message marked on tape. Smithsonian?

Alfred Vail, benefactor of Morse, came up with a CHANGE of
"morse code" from the original all-numbers scheme to the
representation of each English letter to a dot-dash combo.
About the same time Morse and the Vail railroad works
just couldn't make a reliable pen mechanism.

Radio was tried in 1895 by Marconi in Switzerland, using only
the presence of a radio signal. In 1896 Marconi sent simple
character groups in morse code for a public demonstration in
Italy. In the same year Aleksandr Popov in Russia. 1896 is
FIFTY-TWO YEARS AFTER the first Morse-Vail Telegraph System
debuted in Baltimore, MD. This 'morse code' thing was rather
mature by 1896.

The point about 'morse code' is that it was technologically
SIMPLE. An electrical circuit is either on or off. Early
radio was technologically SIMPLE. Transmitters' "RF output"
was either on or off. Morse code was used because the two
SIMPLE things were compatible. It is total bull**** to
imagine that morse code had some kind of "state-of-the-art"
magic at the beginning. It was technologically CONVENIENT,
established (in wireline comms), and mature (lots of
morse code operators after 52 years of use worldwide).



I've never met anyone from tha FCC. I saw Riley at Dayton. Ed Hare,
too, but I don't confuse the ARRL for the FCC like lotsa hams do.

You must mean the 'Dayton Hamvention?' :-) Gotta be EXACT
in everything in here lest the mighty macho morsemen try to
be "helpful" with their "mistake corrections"!

Sometimes I think the ARRL confuses itself with all those
"official" things it has. It's a clever descriptor for
whatever they are describing, gives it some glow of
'authority.'


[Apparently Miccolis thinks ALL the FCC does is to regulate
amateur radio?!? He is blissfully UNaware of the fantastic
growth of ALL radio services in the last half century. He still
won't acknowledge the COLEM

There's a famous ARS VEC who is also COLEM. They had me take sumptin
that looked surprisingly like an Amateur Advanced exam, then I got a
GROL in the mail.

You mean the 'W5YI Group?' :-)

Mighty macho morseman Miccolis probably thinks Fred is
a Golem, not a COLEM. :-)


(who do privatized testing of non-
amateur radio operator licenses) nor of the privatized PLMRS
frequency coordinators nor of the fact of reduced paperwork and
licensing of the private maritime radio users (Long Beach is at
the heart of the maritime import-export top harbor and in the
center of dozens of large marinas). The FCC is concerned with
regulation of ALL US civil radio services, not just amateur.]

I don't think they realize that.

...or they don't care to acknowledge it.



Then he gets caught and he bleats, "Show me where? Provide
the posting!" He has been "hurt" or maybe "insulted" when
folks disagree with him, poor guy.

Only Jim can feel strongly about the ARS.

Miccolis belongs to another ARS: Archaic Radiotelegraphy
Society.


There appears to be. The ARRL VEC and other VECs are giving el 1 exams
at 13-15WPM when Part 97 says 5WPM.

"It's for newcomers' own good" is probably the morsemen's only
good-enough answer.

That's exactly what they say. "Thank you sir, may I have another?"

[ "What? You want 'more!?!" :-) ]

Ultimately, they've confused a "Learning Method" with a REGULATORY
requirement.

Sigh...ain't it da troot?


REAL attorneys can comment on whether or not I am "mistaken."
Miccolis hasn't been admitted to a Legal Bar Association
yet and is unqualified to comment on law. But, he WILL
comment on that AS IF he IS the law...("truth, justice,
and the American way" spoken by SuperHam)

Booo.

It's important to deny access to prospective amateurs based upon
something so ill defined. "Keeps the riff-raff out."

Yes, all must do as the Morsemen do, marching in ranks to
the morse drum-beat! All not with the Hive Mind are
"riff-raff," bottom-river-scum...etc., etc.

All must do 1906 thinking in the year 2006! :-(

wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
wrote:
Half of all USA licensed amateurs are licensed under a Code-Free
license.

You mean the Technician? If so, they are a considerable amount less
than half.

40% is more like it.

49.5% according to your very own postings.

You are mistaken, Brian.

No, I'm not.

Yes, you are, Brian. You just won't admit it.

The Technician license does not make up 49.5% of US hams. The total of
Technicians and Technician Pluses reaches about that level. (All
Technician Pluses are Morse Code tested).

The FCC did away with the Technician Plus class of license.

When?

As of October 30, the number of current, unexpired FCC issued amateur
radio licenses was:

Novice: 24,155
Technician: 287,293
Technician Plus: 34,851
General: 131,966
Advanced: 70,602
Extra: 108,545

Total 657,412.

FCC still counts Technician Plus separately from Technician.

The current number of Technicians amounts to 43.7006017...% of the
total. That's not half. Some of them are code-tested, too.

They are all Technicians now.

That is an untruth.

FCC still counts Technician Plus separately from Technician.

Of course they do. They used to be Tech Plusses, a distinctly
different class of license.

The number
of Technician Plus licenses is shrinking as Technician Pluses are
renewed as Technician, expire, or upgrade.

They're Technicians now, perhaps they just don't know it. They'll find
out soon enough

The Technician license has no requirement for a
code exam.

Yet some Technicians have passed a Morse Code test, and have some HF
privileges.

So?

Should a Technician wish to use what were once Technician
Plus priveleges, they're on their own to show eligibility.

Which requires that they retain a document showing their qualification.
Like keeping a copy of their old Technician Plus license.

Or a copy of a CSCE 1a.

However, that's not the point. FCC still counts Technician Plus
separately from Technician.

So? They were once a distinctly different license class. No more.

The number of Technician Plus licenses is
shrinking as Technician Pluses are renewed as Technician, expire, or
upgrade.

Oh, well.

In addition, many hams whose licenses say "Technician" are code tested
and have some HF privileges. These include:

- all Tech Pluses who have renewed since April 15, 2000
- all Novices who have upgraded to Technician
- all Technicians who have passed Element 1, but not the written exam
for General

Welp, that's something we'll just have to live with. It's also the
reason I upgraded to General.

Bully for you.

Thank you.

btw, no US amateur radio license is "code-free". All of them can use
Morse Code.

And they can all use CWGet.

But they don't.

And not too many are left that use CW at all.

Probably most of the coded licensees never looked back when
they learned the code to get past a licensing hurdle, don't use code,
and couldn't if their lives depended on it.

That's not a given at all.

I would expect you to say something like that.

Remember the ARRL survey that was debated so much here?

The one where as a member, I did not receive a ballot?

The one that Mike Deignan characterized as "substantive?"

Yes, I recall the survey. Looked as if it had been developed by a
bunch of dems hoping to influence the outcome of an election.

You mean like this:

http://www.rawstory.com/showoutartic...s/15869924.htm

btw, next Tuesday I get to choose between Curt Weldon and Joe Sestak.
Which do you think I should vote for?

Who did you vote for last time?

Doesn't matter. The choice last time wasn't the same, anyway.

Which candidate do you think I should vote for?

Which one do you think you should vote for?

It showed that
less than 40% of those hams who were asked never used Morse Code. And
it included licensees from all license classes, not just those who had
passed code tests.

Add to that those who rarely used code.

Why?

Even if someone rarely uses it, that means they still remember it and
can use it at some level.

It means they don't like it and they have to struggle through it.

Not necessarily.

Yes, absolutely! ;^)

An amateur could "rarely" use Morse Code because they "rarely" get on
the air. Or because they use some other mode a lot more.

Are you among the Deignan's that call that survey "substantive?"

It
means they are perfect candidates for CWGet.

So?

Sure there are those who learned just enough to pass the Morse Code
test and then never used it - just as there are those who just enough
to pass the *written* tests and then never used it

Heck, your buddy Len couldn't even get the length of a 73 MHz
quarter-wave whip antenna right, and he's a "PROFESSIONAL"!

And you couldn't even get the distance to the moon,

You are mistaken.

Right.

Glad to see you admit your mistake.

Like on CW, it's easy to get the wrong message even when you can spell
out the whole word in complete sentences.

So put all USA licensed amateurs in fron of a station equipped with a
morse code key and with CWGet and total their scores.

I presume you mean "contest scores"

Why?

Why not? They're operating in a CW Contest. Why wouldn't you total
their scores?

What's the point?

The same point that you and W3RV are making when you kick around SSB vs
CW in your field day and other scores.

What point is that?

W3RV and I actually participate in Field Day, and actually make the
scores we claim. The QSOs are real.

Did you standardize operating stations?

Why is it that comparing scores is only something that you can do?

You can compare scores all you want.

Do I dare?

How many points did you make in
last year's Field Day?

Those weren't the score I was going to compare.

Who is going to set up and pay for all those stations? What sort of
stations would they be - HF, VHF, UHF? What sort of antennas, rigs,
computers?

Think about it.

I did. That's why I'm asking the question.

Do you think the taxpayers should subsidize amateur radio stations?

Who sets up your field day station? Who pays for it?

Depends on whether I'm operating solo, or as part of a group.

Both? Either?

The Morsemen

Who are they?

There used to be four of them...

can bandy about the CQ WW and Field Day CW vs SSB contest
scores all they want without having to standardize station equipment.
I bring up a scenario and NOW station equipment must be standardized.

Who said anything about standardizing station equipment? Not me.

Yes, you. You!

That's another untruth. Show where I said that - I don't think you can.

This is what I said, including one typo: "So put all USA licensed
amateurs in fron of a station equipped with a morse code key and with
CWGet and total their scores."

I said nothing about standardizing stations. YOU brought it up.

I simply want to know where all those stations are supposed to come
from.

Where do stations come from now?

Don't you know?

Do you? You asked the question.

Any ham who wants to operate Morse Code using CWGet or some other
software can do so right now - if they have a station that includes
rig, antenna, and computer.

Yep. I can finally agree with something you said.

So a version of the experiment you describe can happen in every
contest. But it doesn't.

Many, many, many amateur just aren't interested in morse code, and
many, many, many amateurs just aren't interested in contests.

Then your experiment won't happen.

Of course it won't. It's hypothetical.

But if we were able to have have 100% participation and every amateur
were offered a manual morse code key and a downloaded copy of CWGet....

Offered by whom? Who would pay for those things and set them up? How
would you get 100% participation?

Why do you ask?

Yet I don't know of any amateur radio contesters who operate that way.
Do you?

Nobody knew of anyone who operated amateur radio as in Larry Rolls
"Only CW can save the situation" but I NEVER ONCE saw your objection to
it.

So what? I don't read everything written to rrap. Larry hasn't posted
here in *years*.

Sure he has. He's posted as himself and he's probably posting as
someone else.

You mean "Slow Code"? That's probably WA8ULX.

GrayJL?

I bring up a scenario and NOW you have a problems with how contestors
operate.

Not at all.

I just don't see anyone using CWGet to operate a contest - even though
they could. Heck *you* could. Why don't you?

I don't enjoy morse code.

Then what is your point?

Put a morse code key and a copy of CWGet in front of every USA licensed
amateur, turn them loose in a CW contests, and total their scores.

A simple, real-world challenge. What's the problem?

The problem is that there isn't 100% participation in field day.

So?

It fails to meet the requirements of my scenario.

It's not about *your* impossible scenario.

You allowed Roll/K3LT an impossible scenario...

The requirements for US amateur radio license have been slowly but
steadily reduced for more than 25 years now.

Just 25 years?

I wrote "more than 25 years".

I guess you forgot about the "Conditional" license
where hams get an upgrade from their buddy.

What does that mean?

Besides, the Conditional stopped being issued about 30 years ago.

Yep, but nobody ever claimed that amateur radio was being dumbed down.
The USA amateur service has a proud history of it.

How was it "dumbing down" to eliminate the Conditional?

Jeez you're thick.

No, Brian, I'm not "thick". You just did a poor job of explaining.

No, you vectored off when it was clear that the creation of the
Conditional Class license using the "buddy-system" of testing was the
original dumbing down of the ARS.

Another untruth by you.

You vectored off.

Why was the creation of the Conditional a "dumbing down"? It had the
same test requirements as General.

It wasn't performed in front of a steely-eyed FCC examiner after a 9
hour drive uphill both ways.

It was dumbing down to create such a license class.

Why? The Conditional and its predecessor Class C go back to before the
FCC.

So there's a long, long tradition in the dumbing down of the amateur
radio service.

Why was it a "dumbing down"?

It was a change that allowed people who were unwilling to put forth an
effort to join the amateur service. Smaller effort means they won't
value their license and start misbehaving. It's an extension of the
riff-raff argument.

Not just the code tests
but also the writtens. That's not the fault of those taking the tests.

No, of course not. It's not anyones fault except the FCC that they put
offices so far away from ham's residences.

??

The reason FCC stopped doing testing was to save money.

It doesn't cost the FCC anything for an amateur to show up for testing,
unless you want to claim that the examinees got to file a voucher for
their travel.

Actually it cost FCC a lot of money to do testing.

It was the travel distance that was key in the creation of the
Conditional license, not the desire for the FCC to save money.

I was writing about the reason the FCC stopped doing license testing
for *all* license classes. That's part of the reduction in
requirements.

Then you strayed off the subject.

Another untruth.

OK, I'll let you slide this once. Don't let anyone tell you that I'm
not a nice guy.

Try to stay on the subject.

I am on the subject. You're trying to change it.

If you choose to comment on somthing I say, then confine it to what I
said.

Why? You're not the moderator.

Besides, you don't confine your comments to what someone else said. Why
should others confine their comments to what you said?

Look, you come on here and try to change the parameters of my
"impossible" scenario, you want to tell me all about something I'm not
discussing, then you tell my I'm making stuff up and telling untruths.
I don't appreciate it. If you can't behave, you'll just have to put me
in your killfile.

If you stick with that simple concept, you'll do OK.

First off, they had to have offices with test facilities. The office
they had in Philadelphia back when I took my exams was on the 10th
floor of the Custom House at 2nd and Chestnut. Lots of square feet of
prime real estate just for the exam room.

Then there was the time of the examiners, all of whom worked for FCC.
Pay and benefits. At least two people per office, three days a week.
Times the number of offices all over the country.

Then add the FCC folks who revised the exams, duplicated them, and
distributed them to the various offices all over the country. And the
cost of doing all that.

The VE system eliminated all that expense. All FCC has to do now wrt
amateur license testing is to look over the QPC submissions and approve
them. And occasionally retest somebody.

That's all wunnerful, but you vectored off of the subject.

Nope.

Maybe next
time you'll be able to cut and paste something germane to the subject.

The subject was the reduction in license requirements by FCC giving
over the testing to VEs.

Nope. I twas the creation of the Conditional License.

Why was that a "dumbing down"?

It produced a reduction in effort, i.e., dumbing down.

Eliminating Element 1 will not save the FCC any expense. Keeping it
will not cost them anything, either. Maybe that's why it's taking them
so long.

Maybe. But they didn't even make the effort to define Morse Code in
the rules for the last 3 R&Os.

Why should they? Is there any doubt?

There appears to be. The ARRL VEC and other VECs are giving el 1 exams
at 13-15WPM when Part 97 says 5WPM.

The Morse Code test consists of 5 minutes of Morse Code. How many words
are in those tests?

At 5 wpm, there would be 25
At 13 wpm, there would be 65
At 15 wpm, there would be 75

(A word is 5 characters)

Not all words are 5 characters, unless your working with random groups
of five.

Yet they tell you that the exam myst be
5WPM, and you've got all these VEs getting to define what that means.

It's not a problem to anyone with common sense.

It appears to be a violation of Part 97.

Only to someone without common sense.

What would you say about someone who intentionally trips over a typo?

They replaced
their paid examiners with unpaid volunteers.

Good thing there wasn't a union.

Why?

Are you anti-union?

No. Are you?

Do you favor scabs?

Bandages are better.

It's basic knowledge, pure and simple. Most of the people I know don't use
any of the theory either but it is part of the basic knowledge set. I've
used ohm's law only a couple of times in the 14 years I've been licensed.
I've used the dipole equation half a dozen times. I've never used smith
charts. One could get by without the theory but having learned it, I can
choose where I want to focus my attention in amateur ration.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

Dee, you have a Ham Husband to take care of the Ohm's Law and Theory
end of your station, so it's no wonder you have no real use for it..

Brian, do you think that using a false sexist claim is somehow going to
cause you to win the debate?

No false sexist claim.

It's a sexist claim to assume that Dee's husband takes care of the
Ohm's Law and Theory
end of her station

Why? She said she hardly, if ever, used it. Somebody's got to be
doing it?

You're presuming she's not doing what needs to be done, and is
dependent on someone else to deal with the theory. I don't think that's
the case at all.

If I considered your opinion to be wrong, do I get to call you a liar?

Why would you do that?

Have I ever called *anyone* here a liar?

You're making that up, right?

I'm asking a question.

Have I ever called *anyone* here a liar?

You're making that up, right?

W3RV uses his sister to put up antennas for him
these days.

That's an untruth.

How can you be sure?

Where do you get that idea?

Hmmm?

I've put up antennas with W3RV. Or rather, I helped out a little, since
he had it all worked out on his own. No sisters involved.

He does know quite a lot about antennas, particularly the practical
side. He even knows that a quarter wave at 73 MHz is a lot longer than
three and one quarter inches....

Prolly for illegal operation. He has no authorization in that area.

Actually, he does. Part 95 remote control, same as your buddy Len. And
everybody else.

Part 95 requires no authorization, so he doesn't.

Incorrect. Part 95 authorizes everyone, as long as they meet the
requirements.

99.9% of everyone don't know the requirements. How are they
authorized?

And knowing his
background, he'd probably violate the Part 95 rules.

Why?

He got his start in amateur radio OPERATION without a license.

RadioGuy is like a little hyperactive poodle. He runs around, barks, maybe
nips at your heels but not much because he scared of his shadow and he
craps everywhere, but he's basically harmless and answers to Papa Dog.

I just wish he'd stop humping my leg.

SC