wrote:

...
sadly in being winter and Icey I doubt I will much of an HF set up on
the air before spring (which is often late apr round here although I
have a ten metter setup now
Regards,
JS
http://kb9rqz.blogspot.com/


Mark:

Well then, perhaps 28.105 one day? Ya never know, ya just never know ...

Regards,
JS

On Jan 25, 11:22*am, John Smith I wrote:
wrote:* ... * *Maybe...just maybe...FCC 06-178 can throw some water on
* *the dying embers of what was once US amateur radio. *It could
* *rise like the Phoenix from the ashes. *Maybe. *At least it is
* *COLD water that might wake a few of these olde-tymers up.
* *Most will not, though, mumbling through toothless gums
* *about the Greater Glory of Morsemanship and how it once
* *saveed the Titanic in 1912.* ...

Len:

You do see my vision!

Yes, the phoenix! *Only this will be a much different bird, resurrected
in the image of the interent ...

I just hope it ain't like the bird I flip... :-)

LA

wrote:

...
amazing tha I even ran into a ham over in Marquette which is basicaly
out fo range and was asked if I knew KB9RQZ made for an interesting
conversation
...

Quite a few years ago now, I had an old set of stacked 6 element yagis,
I believe mosley (maybe hygain?) made 'em? Once the CB craze was over,
these things were just laying about gathering dust, bought it at a yard
sale for a few bucks. Assembled it, modified it and mounted it 50 ft up.

My xmitter back then was a "laboratory amplifier" (1 - 1Ghz) capable of
a kw out on hf. Max input was 100 mw for full output. I drove it with
a wide band vfo with variable output. (basically a signal generator)
Can't remember what rcvr I was using.

On a good day, sunspots, I could chat 'em up in Australia on ten ... and
around here, they'll tell ya 10 meters is only local! LOL

Ya never know, ya just never know ... that beam is now gathering weeds
and dirt behind a shed.

Regards,
JS

From: on Thurs, Jan 25 2007 2:06 pm

On 25 Jan 2007 10:58:25 -0800, " wrote:
On Jan 25, 8:41 am, John Smith I wrote:
wrote: ...

[now watch all the Amatur Standartenfuhrers hitch up their
armbands, march in with their jackboots, and try to pull off
a Krystallnacht on those not loving the olde tymes... :-) ]

in all seriousness I am concerned about that but in 29 days we will
see

the forces for good could use your help Len on air and you might have
fun doing it

Mark, there are NO "forces for good" nor of "evil" at work
here. This newsgroup is just discussion by individuals.

There have been, as John Smith I explained, LITTLE men
trying to be bigger than they are, attempting to "rule"
over others by overt denigration of their opponents.

Amateur radio is a hobby activity, has always been so, and
will probably always be that way. By the physics of radio
with its propagation of electromagnetic waves never obeying
that of any human laws or proclamations, the emitters of
those waves must be regulated. Part of that regulation is
the licensing process. A license is merely an authorization
by a federal government to follow the regulations set forth
by said federal government.

An amateur radio license was NEVER a certificate of academic
excellence, did not bestow its grant holder with "special
powers" or "majesty" or anything superhuman. However, that
implication has been long held by many in some kind of odd
fantasy within the minds of the fantasy lovers. Most of
those have been desperately looking for something, anything
to "prove" (inconclusively) that they were "better" than
others. However much they expostulate that, it really isn't
so, not even when they possess all sorts of certificates
suitable for framing. But...the largest amateur radio
membership organization has constantly been promoting
class distinction, competitiveness, playing on the "I am
better than you" spirit of so many. Such reinforces the
fantasy beliefs among the core membership who look to the
self-defined "leaders" for guidance. The down-side of that
is that the same organization has not accepted the half of
all amateur licensees, perhaps more than half, that did
not recognize the organizations' definition of itself.

Is there "fun" for all to re-create what was "fun" for long-
ago self-defined masters of the airwaves? No. Is it "fun"
for me to "try" communicating by radio? Hardly. I began
such communicating 54 years ago (exactly so in the first
week of February), first in the military, then much, much
more as a civilian, over many parts of the EM spectrum than
are allocated to amateurs, using modes that aren't allocated
to amateurs. I say that as a matter of fact, not to prove
I am "better" than any amateur. I simply did it. Mostly
for getting the money for food and shelter, but sometimes
just for my own amusement at the way different radio forms
and protocols work. I find the technology of radio and
electronics fascinating, so much so that I long ago changed
my life goals and career. I became a professional FIRST,
THEN thought about becoming an amateur. I've changed my
mind about the latter many times. Has that been a
denigratable moral-ethical offense? :-) To some of the
little men in here, most assuredly! They have branded me
morally deficient (to use more delicate descriptions of
what they've really said). :-) I "had" to do it exactly
as they "instructed" me to do it. Oddly enough, that was
very close to what these "instructors" had done.
Sunnuvagun! :-)

Those little men and their "charges" can be just shined off.
They are not the ultimate judge, have no authority except
what their internal fantasies proclaimed to themselves
inside their heads. It is very difficult to "respect" such
individuals (despite their mighty certificates), half-truths
of "accomplishments" and general inability to get along with
anyone but their own "elite" kind.

Now, in truth, there are thousands of radio amateurs having
their own fun on the amateur radio bands, far far more than
the bigots and control-freaks in here demanding instant
respect and admiration for their (ho-hum) mighty works. I
already know dozens who are licensed radio amateurs, good
people in person despite being in opposition to some of my
personal viewpoints about the hobby. We all have viewpoints
on many things, yet that isn't a barrier to maintaining
real, person-to-person friendships. The little men in here
don't understand that or they do not bother with it in their
quest to denigrate and defame those not of their ilk.

Matters not now. My quest in here has only been to eliminate
the code test for a US radio license. That was accomplished.
What I personally do for myself now is unimportant and should
not be a subject of further talk. The little men, the
denigrators, the control-freaks will find new targets for
their wrath and personal frustration venting. Matters not to
me. They are what they've made themselves to be...smaller
than before.

Regards,
LA

On Jan 25, 9:26*am, Cecil Moore wrote:
wrote:

Your recollections are correct, Cecil, with minor corrections to the
Conditional distance. Which changed right around the time you got the
license, as did the retest rules.

Thanks Jim, for the history lesson.

You're welcome, Cecil. Thanks for reading.

The old Conditional was preceded by the Class C, which was essentially
the same license with a different name. Early 1930s until the 1951
restructuring.

Some folks think that the 1964-65 rules Conditional changes really cut
into the growth of US ham radio. After those changes, a ham who wanted
a renewable license with HF privileges pretty much had to go to an FCC
exam point unless s/he lived *way* out in the boonies. Just getting to
the exam could be a major journey, depending on where you lived.

I was lucky - all I needed was decent shoes and a couple of subway
tokens. Three quarters of a mile to the 69th Street Terminal, the
Market-Frankford Subway-Elevated to 2nd Street, and a block south to
the US Custom House.

73 de Jim, N2EY

wrote:
Just getting to
the exam could be a major journey, depending on where you lived.

Come to think of it - my parents drove me to the Houston
FCC office for my Novice exam so at that time the distance
limit was still 125 miles. A year later, when my Novice
expired, I was eligible to take the Conditional by mail
because the distance limit had been reduced to 75 miles.
I have lost track of exactly when I got those licenses
but that knowledge should help to bracket the dates.
Thanks again, Jim.
--
73, Cecil http://www.w5dxp.com

wrote:
From: "an old friend" on Fri, Jan 19 2007 10:42 pm

wrote:
From: Mike Coslo on Fri, Jan 19 2007 4:27 pm
I too am a sad to see Morse code testing go away, espcially from a
historical view, but I fear that some of the superior attitudes, and
sometimes outright misrepresentation put forward by some hams regarding
how much better a vetting process the old old system was is going to be
a greater threat to the ARS than any code test elimination ever was.
I really can't understand WHY some "vetting" process
was needed. A hobby is an avocation, NOT an occupation.
Survival of amateur radio never did depend on "how well
anyone sent code" nor was the country in danger if some
sent it badly...neither was it more secure if some
could send it "perfectly."
realy Len as I understand It was ONCE vital to the ARS in 1908
certainly but somewhere betwen that date and 1950 that ended

Yes, it very definitely ended - insofar as REALITY of
the times is concerned.

I can't speak with life experience about 1908 but, in
1950 I was a Junior in High School and had already
fooled around with "radio" in various forms, some WW2
surplus conversions, some homebuilt. 1950 is 56
years ago. :-)

By 1950 many things in "radio" had happened. The
military networks had converted to teleprinter for
the vast bulk of long-distance communications on HF
during WW2 and, with US military now all over the
globe, a definite "Cold War" needed quicker comms.
The public had gotten a taste of "on the scene" radio
in 1940 with Edward R. Murrow's broadcasts from
London DURING the "Blitz." Television broadcasting
was exploding in scope and availability of TV receivers
all over the nation. The US Army had already proved
the viability of using the moon as a reflector of
radio waves ("Project Diana" in 1946). US Public
Safety radio services were busy converting to VHF FM
voice for police, fire departments, ambulances,
state patrols. AT&T was busy with the first trials
of long-distance microwave relay of television and
hundreds of voice circuits on a single microwave link.
Single-channel SSB had come into reality courtesy of
the new Strategic Air Command's need for reliable
long-distance voice communications for their
bombers...a different version of multi-voice-
channel "SSB" in worldwide use since the 1930s.
Metallurgists and physicists were busy trying to
produce a new gadget called a "transistor" in
quantity, having to invent all sorts of things
needed to make them economically feasible. The
experimenters in crystal growth were beginning to be
successful in making large, pure, man-made crystals
of quartz and those methods would also be used in
making germanium and silicon ultra-pure later. FM
audio broadcasting was expanding under new
regulations and a US realignment of allocations
above 30 MHz. Standardization of FM stereo broad-
casts was still being worked out and the NTSC was
being called together again to work out color TV
broadcasting standards; the "fight" between CBS and
RCA methods had come to an impasse (industry didn't
really like either one). Radar was, of course,
already proven and was expanding in civilian
applications. Raytheon, in some lab trials with
old S-Band magnetrons, discovered that one could
heat foods with controlled microwave energy and
the first of the "Radaranges" had been born (they
would - foolishly? - sell that concept and brand
name to Amana). Civil airways communications were
close to standardizing worldwide on the US military
pioneering of VHF communications and radionavigation
systems...already given a baptism of fire with the
Berlin Blockade of 1948 and the intense Allied air
cargo supply effort to keep that city alive. Air
to ground radiotelemetry was already being used
during tests of new aircraft and was being adapted
for missle testing and guidance (using mostly
captured German V2 rockets). The old IFF
(Identification Friend or Foe) L-band transponder
system for aircraft of later WW2 was being improved
and standardization for civilian applications being
done by a newly-re-formed ARINC. The USN was busy
pioneering TACAN at L-band and was having success
with that (especially for carrier-based aircraft);
TACAN would eventually be adopted for the military
and a civilian form, DME (Distance Measuring
Equipment) was being tested. Civilian radio-
navigation testing of VOR (Very high frequency
Omnidirectional Range) was successful, an easy-
to-use directional navigation aid that would work
in small general aviation aircraft. The maritime
world wasn't happy with LORAN so some other systems
were being tried out such as DECCA. The USN would
eventually prove out the prototype that would
become GPSS for the whole world. Up-and-coming
UK science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke (an
engineer on RAF work with radar-assisted landing
in WW2) had already written up a three-satellite
worldwide radio communications relay system in
Wireless World magazine and lots of folks were
beginning to have deep thoughts about that...no
worries about "MUF" or other HF propagation quirks
since it wouldn't depend on ionospheric bounce.

In 1950 the ARRL was busy promoting the glory and
majesty of the "epitome" of radio communications,
on-off keying CW as "vital" to maintain a "pool of
trained radio operators" in the USA via ham radio.
Oh, and a very few smart amateur radio hobbyists
(who were also engineers and educators at their
day jobs) were trying to explain SSB theory in
the pages of QST. There was great resistance to
this new-fangled SSB in the rank and file of
amateur brass pounders then, and apparently there
still is... :-)

Okay, so it is 57 years later. What do we have in
the world of "radio?" Communication satellites
are busy working 24/7, their equatorial orbit spaces
already FILLED, supplying us with speed-of-light
comms over carriers of TV, voice, data, and the
part of the international backbone of the Internet.
Land-based microwave radio relay is being replaced
by fiber optic cable handling digitized anything
at GigaHertz rates...under the oceans too. One in
three Americans now has a cell phone, a little two-
way radio tied into the telephone system, something
never really envisioned in 1950 despite the early
"walkie-talkies." Cell phones can now contain
digital cameras and little calculators, play hours
of digitally-recorded sound. All of that enabled
by the enormous technology explosion of the solid-
state ear beginning about 1960. Digital TV is now
a reality, both broadcast as well as cable. We
have stereo FM broadcast, even multi-channel audio
with "storecast." "Shortwave" broadcasters are
transmitting digital audio on HF, something pooh-
poohed as "impossible" by certain "radio experts."
The old 500 KHz worldwide maritime emergency
frequency is all but dead, replaced by Inmarsat-
relayed GMDSS...a system conceived and approved by
the maritime community. No more dramatic morse
messages from stricken ships, now its a quick,
almost-anyone-can-use-it data message that will be
picked up worldwide. GPS is, of course, a proven
reality and many different models of receivers
can be purchased at consumer electronics stores.
The aviation community is considering replacing
the 1955-standardized-worldwide civil airways
radionavigation with GPS, possibly a hybrid using
microwaves for the approach guidance. RFID is now
a reality, able to track everything at store
portals and, with implants, animals and people.
Private boat owners can add HF SSB to their harbor
and inland VHF radio equipment, many models, even
some made entirely in the USA (SGC in Puget Sound),
no big "test" needed. Almost every long-distance
truck operator has at least one CB radio on board
and that has been so for decades. Police and fire
department personnel can carry VHF or UHF two-way
radios on their person for instant communications.
In some police departments their VHF and UHF
radios have two-way data transmission capability
via "computer" terminal equipment in patrol cars.
WLANs (Wireless Local Area Networks) have been a
reality for a decade, used in large offices and
businesses spread over a large area, even in
factories (with all their inherent RFI from
motors, etc.). Homes can be networked wirelessly.
Cordless telephones, once operating solely on
49 MHz, have expanded to the 5 GHz ISM band (once
a seeming impossibility a half century prior)
and with security through on-line digital
encryption. Anyone watching team sports on TV
can see the ubiquitous Motorola logo on headsets
of coaches, little wireless two-way radios that
are similar to the $50 per pair FRS and GMRS
handie-talkies sold in consumer electronics stores.
The US military has highly secure digital radios
(low VHF range up through mid-UHF, almost jam-
proof) for small-unit land comms (voice and/or
data) and in relay with air and sea support;
they've had that since 1989. The military has
long had the 225-400 MHz band for AM airborne
voice comms and has peripheral equipment to adapt
it for secure digital voice and data. Of course,
the military has had precision GPS since 1980
(they pioneered and paid for it). NASA has
radio equipment for tracking and receiving data
(including imagery) from very distant space
probes and, in the late 1960s, enabled us to see
the first humans set foot on the moon in real
time, audio and video. Radio even relayed real-
time biometric data from astronauts on their way
to and from the moon. US submarines still use
VLF radio to communicate while submerged, all
using encrypted data (not morse code)...very slow
speed data but also very secure and automatically
recorded at the ship.

In early 2007 the FCC will finally END the "need"
to test for morse code skill to get any amateur
radio license. They did this despite the
insistence of olde-tymers that one "HAD" to test
for morse in order to "qualify" to enter the
"service" of US amateur radio. I'm not sure
where and what these olde-tymers imagine US ham
radio is, but they just don't realize the entire
rest of the radio world has long since dropped
morse code as any requirement for communications.
Amateur radio has always been a HOBBY, nothing
more, nothing less.

Morsemanship "vital" to the nation? No way.
Morsemanship "necessary" for emergency work? No
way. Morsemanship "needed to provide a pool of
trained radio operator for national defence?"
No way. Morsemanship "necessary" for government
licensing purposes? No way, even back in 1990.
Morsemanship an absolute must for ham radio? No,
that was always a figment of the old morsemen's
imagination, implanted there by ancient tales of
emotional glory of the distant PAST.

I'm glad you wound it up, Len. My eyes were starting to glaze over.
Radio transmission has always been done at the speed of light.
We've fast forwarded as you've suggested. You still have no amateur
radio license.


It is excellent that the FCC is finally getting around
to modernizing the US amateur radio regulations.

You could have skipped the boring part and just posted the sentence
above. Why bury the point of your post at the very end?

Dave K8MN

On Jan 25, 6:36 am, "KH6HZ" wrote:
"Mike Coslo" wrote:
Well, there are plenty of people who get through life kinda like
that.

There are. If they have a ham license, are they aiding in fulfilling any
portion of 97.1 ?

Is scarfing up a dozen callsigns fufilling any portion of Part 97?

On Jan 25, 7:52*pm, Cecil Moore wrote:
wrote:
Just getting to
the exam could be a major journey, depending on where you lived.

Come to think of it - my parents drove me to the Houston
FCC office for my Novice exam so at that time the distance
limit was still 125 miles. A year later, when my Novice
expired, I was eligible to take the Conditional by mail
because the distance limit had been reduced to 75 miles.
I have lost track of exactly when I got those licenses
but that knowledge should help to bracket the dates.

Here's an exact date, Cecil:

June 10, 1954

On that date, the "Conditional distance" was reduced from 125 miles to
75 miles "air-line" from a quarterly examining point.

Also on that date, FCC stopped giving routine Novice and Technician
exams at FCC exam sessions, and instead gave the job to volunteer
examiners. After that date, Novice and Technician exams wouyld be done
by mail regardless of distance from and FCC exam point.

In those days there were three FCC offices in Texas - Houston, Dallas
and Beaumont. Houston and Dallas gave exams on a weekly schedule, while
Beaumont was a sub-office that.gave exams by appointment. Exams were
also given four times a year in San Antonio.

Of course, in Texas, it's not at all difficult to be more than 75 miles
from all four of those offices.

The reason cited for the changes was that the FCC exam sessions were
overloaded with amateurs taking the exams, and the FCC had almost
overrun its 1953 budget for giving exams. In those days there were no
license fees to defray the cost.

This overload happened even though the FCC had stopped giving the
Advanced exam 18 months earlier (end of 1952) and there were few
applicants for the Extra because that license did not convey any
additional operating privileges. Also, the "retest if you move closer"
rule had been dropped in 1952, yet the FCC exam sessions were brusting
at the seems..

Thanks again, Jim.

You're welcome, Cecil. Hope that helps pin down the date.

---

btw, in those days the FCC did not give credit for license exam
elements previously passed unless they were passed in front of an FCC
examiner. If a Novice who had gotten the license by mail went for the
Technician, s/he had to do the 5 wpm code again. If a by-mail
Technician went for the General or Conditional, s/he had to do the
written exam again even though, back then, all three of those license
classes used the same written test.


73 de Jim, N2EY

If anyone has questions about how the license manual questions and
material have evolved through the years, I have the 1938, 1940, 1947,
1955, 1963, 1973, 1974 and 1975 ARRL License manuals and would be happy
to field questions.

Dave K8MN