On Thu, 10 Apr 2014 20:00:37 EDT, "Howard Lester"
wrote:

"Foxs Mercantile" wrote

I got my Novice license in 1967. Same routine. Upgrade or die.
It was fun at 5 WPM and every QSO was special. "Oh hey, I'm
talking to a guy 100 miles from here. Pant pant."

Getting my code speed up to 13+ so I could upgrade was painful.

Everyone's different, and everyone has a different experience of it all.

WhenI was first licensed in 1998, General required 13 wpm and Extra 21
wpm. I decided to get the no-code Tech. In 2000, the FCC lowered the
code speed to 5 wpm for both General and Extra. I decided that I
could do that, and upgraded to Extra.

I have never used CW on the air.

I became a Volunteer Examiner, and I had to administer code tests. We
had to monitor the code playing on the boombox to make sure that it
was correct. Fortunately, we had the text of the message in front of
us. I remember reading ahead on the text and thinking: "There is a Z
coming along soon. What the heck is the code for Z? Oh, now I
remember."

Also, I rarely operate HF. I tried some DX SSB, and did not care for
it, primarily because I could not separate the 2 to 3 voices I was
hearing all at once. My only ham shack is my auto, with VHF/UHF.

"Different strokes for different folks."

Dick Grady, AC7EL