W2LJ's Blog - QRP - Do More With Less.

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A word of advice

Posted: 23 Feb 2016 07:03 AM PST
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This past Saturday, I served as a Volunteer Examiner at the finish line of
a "Ham Cram". The Middlesex County Office of Emergency Management offered
the day long session in order to allow CERT members from various
municipalities throughout the county the chance to earn their Technician
licenses. There were twelve participants, and at the end of the day, half
of them had earned their licenses.

All of these people were all enthusiastic and determined to become Amateur
Radio operators. So what went wrong? Why wasn't there a higher success
rate? What went wrong was a lack of lead time and mis-communication. Some
had learned of the Ham Cram session only three days beforehand. The
information about the session was directed to the participants through
their local municipal OEM directors. Middlesex County OEM did their due
diligence by sending out the information in plenty of time, but we all know
that information that goes through the chain-of-command can travel
particularly slowly, especially if the "powers that be" aren't all that
familiar with the information they are passing on. Not realizing that this
information was time sensitive proved to be a major handicap.

For those of you who are not familiar with the term, or the concept, a Ham
Cram is defined as a six or more hour long session where prospective Hams
are crammed with the info they need to earn their license. Think of the
all-nighters you may have endured before a particularly tough exam in
college. The concept is the same.

The problem with the Ham Cram concept is that many people think they can
walk into one as a blank page, and will then walk away as a book filled
with all the knowledge they need to pass the license exam.

For the Ham Cram concept to work (and it works remarkably well if
implemented correctly), the students need to get their hands on a license
manual and read and study for six to eight weeks prior to the Cram session.
The Ham Cram session educator needs something to work with. It's highly
improbable that someone can walk "cold" off the street and earn their
ticket after only six hours of cursory study - unless of course, you have a
photographic memory.

Again, going back to the "all-nighter" session in college. That exam prep
marathon came after an entire semester of classes. You were, in essence,
reviewing what you had hopefully learned throughout the proceeding months.
We all know that if you waited until that evening to crack open a book,
then you were toast.

Or if you want to think of it another way, the Ham Cram instructor is like
a diamond cutter. With a raw diamond he can produce a work of art. Give him
a piece of coal and he'll be out of his element. So if you know of a
prospective Ham and he or she is talking about participating in a Ham Cram,
then the sagest advice you can impart upon them is that they should begin
the studying process WAY in advance (weeks/months). Then they'll arrive at
the Ham Cram as a rough diamond ready to be polished into a prized jewel.

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!