The First Month of the Revolution in USA Amateur Radio
 

On Mar 27, 5:28?am, "Alun L. Palmer" wrote:
wrote groups.com:





On Mar 19, 9:13?pm, Dave Heil wrote:
wrote:
On Mar 19, 6:42?pm, Dave Heil wrote:
wrote:
On Mar 19, 8:33?am, "an old friend" wrote:
On Mar 18, 12:12 pm, "Alun L. Palmer" wrote:
" wrote
roups.com:
Blimey! You got a callsign! I didn't think it would ever happen.
Welcome aboard. Alun N3KIP

he did just as he said he would years ago

I did NOT "do as I said years ago."


Ah yes, neophyte. What the Gs call 'nippers'.

A nipper is a child - on air we call them 'harmonics'. Oddly enough, we
refer to both spurii and children as 'sprogs' also.

73 de Alun, N3KIP, G8VUK

Alun, for an obvious Anglophile Miccolis doesn't know much. Tsk,
you had best "Elmer" him in such things. Or perhaps have him
watch PBS-TV on a 48-hour marathon of BBS telly shows from
the 1970s.

One of the problems that created the total spam in this newsgroup
is the "newsgroup bloggers" such as Miccolis, vainly trying to find
an outlet for his unrepentant evangelism for morse code mode...and
trying to pretend he is one of the olde-tymers in hamme raddio.

I don't pretend to be one of those "auld hammes" but I've been IN
and ON radio since early 1953...in many radio services, including
being a third-party guest of several licensed amateurs during
live contacts. Miccolis' spite is so long-lasting and ever-present
that he feels compelled to continue his denigrations. No matter.
After the first weeks of that years ago, he is no more than the
usual computer-modem communicator whose ego has been
deflated and thus tries to "get back" at his imaginary "enemies."

---

On February 23rd of 2007 there was a sedate "revolution" in U.S.
amateur radio and the elimination of the code test from all license
class examinations. That obviously HURT many of the egos of
the olde-tymers who now prided themselves (inordinately) on their
mastership of morse and, more importantly, being "better than
average amateurs" for having gained the amateur extra class
license. They loved the status, the rank, the privileges, the
prestige and were not above shoving it on all "lesser" beings in
the hobby. That was morally wrong but one cannot say that to
these mighty macho morsemen without repercussions for at
least a decade's worth of spite on their part.

The "revolution" happened but few took part. At most the changes
taking place were a lot of class upgrades in the USA. There was
NO ground-swell of "no-coders" and "CB-types" suddenly filling the
HF bands with "bad behavior." [the bad behavior was already there
and alive from the already-tested-in-morse-code licensees]

The "revolution" had already begun in 1991 with the creation of
the no-code-test Technician Class. That single category is the
ONLY class responsible for keeping the total number of USA
amateur licensees from falling drastically in numbers. Let's face
it, the "actuarial tables" WILL have their way with ALL human
endeavors, no exceptions. USA amateur radio was growing in
age all along but its greying members were busy, busy denying
it while trying to forget about their own mortality, hearkening
back
to a time when they were young and the world (to them) was new.
Those olde-tymers were too busy making themselves feel
"important" to notice that CHANGES were happening in the
hobby. Such denial is one of the first signs of decay in any
human endeavor...but they denied that, mightily.

I didn't really consider getting an amateur radio license until
February 17th of this year. I'd had (and still do) a commercial
license since March 1956. But, it would be, I thought, a FUN
hobby in my retirement years. I don't need the experience to
"further my career" (I've had one, reasonably successfully) or
"give back" anything to anybody. I was not interested in
"emergency work" or volunteerism in radio...I am a volunteer
in other things. Neither am I interested in advancing the state
of the radio art just for the sake of saying I am advancing the
state of the radio art. Theory and construction are simply part
of the fun, of being able to legally try out some experiments
which are fun to do in themselves. Hobbies are about personal
enjoyment for its own sake...although many pervert their own
desires to "be someone" by taking up certain hobbies in order
to brag about it.

Was the license exam "hard?" No. On the most objective
comparison, it would be on the order of college-level quarter
tests in first or second year of formal study...some memorization
of regulations and new terms and procedures specifically about
amateur radio practice. To anyone who has been IN radio (of
almost any kind) for a decade, it was not difficult. Test element
4 question pool contains about 16 times the minimum specified
number of 10 (as regulated by the FCC) questions and the
"hard" part could be said to be in trying to spot the distractors
in phrasing/syntax obviously put there by the VEC QPC. The
"hard" part might be the waiting between elements while a
group of 20 goes through its required tests and grading, most
of whom were applicants for Technician and General class
licenses in my exam group. By observation I was the only
one going "extra out of the box"...and apparently the only one
in the experience of that ARRL VEC test team to have done
so...at least recently.

Did that test experience and license grant "make me better?"
Not really. What I knew I already knew about radio in general,
from theoretical to original design to operating. The only thing
unique in USA amateur radio is the regulations and the on-air
procedure. Otherwise it is no "better" than any other radio
service...who all have their own specific regulations and
procedure and jargon.

I enjoy some minor prestige in the sequential call assignment
for "newbies" who have achieved amateur extra. It yields a lot
of freedom in operating the bands below 23 cm..no real
restrictions based on Class of license. It gains some attention
from dealers of amateur radio equipment, some good and some
bad considering I ask pointed questions about certain products
and have always been a "hard sell" for salesmen. :-)

It should be a lot of FUN. Except in this (and similar) newsgroups
where the emphasis seems to be on general in-fighting of the
"establishment" versus (or is that 'verses' waxing poetic?) those
seeking change. I have the advantage of knowing other amateurs
from past acquaintenceship and work experience and already
have made "contacts" with some of those. No "elmering" needed
among friends. Real friends, not the false labels of those
pretending
to be "friends."

In this first month of the "revolution," it is like "they gave a
war
but nobody showed up." :-) Wouldn't it be nice if all wars
were like that?

73, Len AF6AY

The First Month of the Revolution in USA Amateur Radio
 

On Mar 27, 2:44 pm, "AF6AY" wrote:

In this first month of the "revolution," it is like "they gave a
war
but nobody showed up." :-) Wouldn't it be nice if all wars
were like that?

73, Len AF6AY

They gave a war back in the day... Miccolis didn't show up then,
either.

The First Month of the Revolution in USA Amateur Radio
 

On Mar 27, 5:19�pm, wrote:
On Mar 27, 2:44 pm, "AF6AY" wrote:

* *In this first month of the "revolution," it is like "they gave a war
* *but nobody showed up." *:-) * Wouldn't it be nice if all wars
* *were like that?

They gave a war back in the day... *Miccolis didn't show up then,
either.

True, but he KNOWS ALL ABOUT it. Sigh...and isn't reticent
about chiding volunteer military veterans. :-(

73, Len AF6AY

The First Month of the Revolution in USA Amateur Radio
 

From: on Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:35:58 -0400

Subject: The First Month of the Revolution in USA Amateur Radio

On 27 Mar 2007 10:44:39 -0700, "AF6AY" wrote:
On Mar 27, 5:28?am, "Alun L. Palmer" wrote:
wrote groups.com:

One of the problems that created the total spam in this newsgroup
is the "newsgroup bloggers" such as Miccolis, vainly trying to find
an outlet for his unrepentant evangelism for morse code mode...and
trying to pretend he is one of the olde-tymers in hamme raddio.

and much of the rest because because persons like Jim aet all were
unable to cover in their spam the truth so they looked the other ways
while the assasins

That's one way of looking at it... not really mine, though...


On February 23rd of 2007 there was a sedate "revolution" in U.S.
amateur radio and the elimination of the code test from all license
class examinations. That obviously HURT many of the egos of
the olde-tymers who now prided themselves (inordinately) on their
mastership of morse and, more importantly, being "better than
average amateurs" for having gained the amateur extra class
license. They loved the status, the rank, the privileges, the
prestige and were not above shoving it on all "lesser" beings in
the hobby. That was morally wrong but one cannot say that to
these mighty macho morsemen without repercussions for at
least a decade's worth of spite on their part.

Len you are worng or at best over simplfing

I disagree. I put them as MORALLY *and* ETHICALLY WRONG.

"They" don't like to be told that, but snit on them. "They"
have been trying to force THEIR way on the rest. "They" lost.
TS.

one can say it is wrong You, me, others have done so and by god we
were listened too by the Govt and the very Nation fo the world
sometimes I am turely in awe of what forces were moved and against
such odds

What "forces?" It was just a matter of explaining the
situation in logical LEGISLATIVE terms that the FCC has
always worked with in radio regulation here. Code testing
didn't really have a chance of survival in this modern day
and the FCC already knew of it. If there were any "forces"
at work, it was the uber-traditionalists still thinking in
1930s terms and trying to get "their" way, because "they"
had to do it that way (so everyone else must).

I will now paraphrase Ben Franklin, We were starting a new Ham radio
against haser odds then kinder god would have allowed"

NOT the proper quote, Mark. Forget the wise-words quoting.

Franklin was many things. His biography is fascinating.
Besides being a dirty old man, he was also a free-thinker
unafraid of change. He grew up with strong ties to the
English crown but switched sides on entering middle age.
He was a REBEL with a cause from middle age onwards.


I didn't really consider getting an amateur radio license until
February 17th of this year.

Len you talked about in that famous (or should it now be refered to as
Notorous) post those 7 years ago......

Oh, bull****. That was a throwaway line...but it was something
that Miccolis HAD to keep forever and ever in order to ease
his personal spite later.

Seven years ago I was also retired from an electronics career
as a design engineer, had obtained a First Class Radiotelephone
(Commercial) Radio Operator License in 1956. I'd already been
ON the air operating radios in various radio services, from the
ground, from the air, and from the sea (not far out to sea, but
certainly on water). Had I then really, really "wanted" a ham
license, I could have gotten one. I just didn't see THEN that
doing all that code practice was personally WORTH IT to me.
Just WHAT would an AMATEUR rank-title-status-privilege DO for
ME? I'd already been a pro for years.

but Len from that moment the only doubts I had to you obtain a ham
license shortly after no code was enacted were based on the fact you
might not have lived long enough

"Lived long enough?!?" Good grief, Mark, what do you think
happens when one lives a long time? One day we suddenly turn
into stereotypical "old folks" confined to wheel chairs with
oxygen and intubation/extubation all over?

WE, (said collectively and all-inclusive) can be dead in a
flash through accidents or stroke or heart attacks - or
other things at ANY age. ANY age. NOBODY is immortal.
Not even pro-coders... :-)


I had had my concerns you might of fallen prey to enough of those
detractors added to the occasionaly mind numbing bordom involved to
not manage it but I was indeed wrong and glad to be proven so

Total bull****. THESE neophyte beginners in computer-modem
communications going to psychologically affect ME? Good grief,
I've had 22 1/2 years of practice at that, been a moderator
on BBS public boards, been a co-sysop on two others. I've seen
about all the types of posturing liars and boasters there are
in-person as well as on-line. The group in here is just second-
rate on that kind of thing. The only thing different about this
group is that they have federally-granted amateur radio licenses.
BFD. That doesn't make any of them superhuman...or even
"better than others."

Amateur radio is just a HOBBY. It is supposed to be for personal
enjoyment. The militant arguers in here, the filth-mongers are
just busy, busy trying to wage an amateur Word War III. They
lack the ammunition to do it effectively, cannot use "tactics"
worth a damn. Mark, they pick on YOU because you fall into their
Word War trap by answering nearly ALL of their trolls. You MUST
break away from that habit. It isn't working FOR you. It is
working for THEM...and it has already annoyed the hell out of
the few of us who care to talk about radio regulation policy
and radio.

73, Len AF6AY

*What* Revolution?
 

On Mar 27, 12:44�pm, "AF6AY" wrote:
On Mar 27, 5:28?am, "Alun L. Palmer" wrote:
wrote groups.com:

On Mar 19, 9:13?pm, Dave Heil wrote:
wrote:
On Mar 19, 6:42?pm, Dave Heil wrote:
wrote:
On Mar 19, 8:33?am, "an old friend" wrote:
On Mar 18, 12:12 pm, "Alun L. Palmer" wrote:
" wrote
roups.com:
Blimey! You got a callsign! I didn't think it would ever happen.
Welcome aboard. Alun N3KIP

he did just as he said he would years ago

I did NOT "do as I said years ago."
Ah yes, neophyte. What the Gs call 'nippers'.

A nipper is a child - on air we call them 'harmonics'. Oddly enough, we
refer to both spurii and children as 'sprogs' also.

73 de Alun, N3KIP, G8VUK

* *Alun, for an obvious Anglophile
doesn't know much. *

"Nipper" is quite accurate in your case, Len. Your behavior
here is often that of an overtired, spoiled chiled ;-)

* *One of the problems that created the total spam in this newsgroup
* *is the "newsgroup bloggers" such as
vainly trying to find
* *an outlet for his unrepentant evangelism for morse code mode...and
* *trying to pretend he is one of the olde-tymers in hamme raddio.

Len, you told us back on September 22, 2006 that when the
Morse Code test was eliminated you would leave this
newsgroup. But here you are, griping and snipling and
complaining because someone dares to disagree with you.

So typical.

* *I don't pretend to be one of those "auld hammes" but I've been IN
* *and ON radio since early 1953...in many radio services, including
* *being a third-party guest of several licensed amateurs during
* *live contacts.

So what? Anyone can observe. Anyone can say a few words
into the microphone as a guest.

spite is so long-lasting and ever-present
* *that he feels compelled to continue his denigrations.

What denigrations, Len?

Do I call you by your last name or insulting diminutive nicknames?

*No matter.
* *After the first weeks of that years ago, he is no more than the
* *usual computer-modem communicator whose ego has been
* *deflated and thus tries to "get back" at his imaginary "enemies."

There you are, Len, projecting your own behavior and motivations
onto others. Says it all, really.
* *---

* *On February 23rd of 2007 there was a sedate "revolution" in U.S.
* *amateur radio and the elimination of the code test from all license
* *class examinations. *

A revolution? Hardly.

In 1990, it became possible to get a US amateur license of any
license class with only a 5 wpm Morse Code test and a medical
waiver. The waiver required only a simple doctor's note.

On Feb 14 1991, the Technician class license lost its Morse Code
test.

On April 15, 2000, all Morse Code testing except 5 wpm was
eliminated in the USA.

That obviously HURT many of the egos of
* *the olde-tymers who now prided themselves (inordinately) on their
* *mastership of morse and, more importantly, being "better than
* *average amateurs" for having gained the amateur extra class
* *license. *They loved the status, the rank, the privileges, the
* *prestige and were not above shoving it on all "lesser" beings in
* *the hobby. *

You're projecting again, Len.

That was morally wrong but one cannot say that to
* *these mighty macho morsemen without repercussions for at
* *least a decade's worth of spite on their part.

What was morally wrong, Len? Accomplishing something that
you had not?

Is it wrong to be proud of an accomplishment?

* *The "revolution" happened but few took part. *At most the changes
* *taking place were a lot of class upgrades in the USA. *There was
* *NO ground-swell of "no-coders" and "CB-types" suddenly filling the
* *HF bands with "bad behavior." *[the bad behavior was already there
* *and alive from the already-tested-in-morse-code licensees]

Really?

Was ex-KG6IRO Morse Code tested?

You are right about one thing, Len: Almost nobody came.

We were told many times that the Morse Code testing was
stifling "growth". That many "otherwise qualified people" were
being kept out of amateur radio by the "barrier" of even a 5 wpm
Morse Code test.

We were told that a bright and shining New Era would dawn when
it went away.

Yet the number of US hams as of March 27 2007 is *less* than it was on
Feb 22. 2007.

Perhaps that's just a daily anomaly. We shall see. But it's clear
there's
no flood of new people at all. So much for the "barrier".

* *The "revolution" had already begun in 1991 with the creation of
* *the no-code-test Technician Class. *That single category is the
* *ONLY class responsible for keeping the total number of USA
* *amateur licensees from falling drastically in numbers. *

You've made that same, tired old mistake for years, Len. It's just
wrong.

Let's face
* *it, the "actuarial tables" WILL have their way with ALL human
* *endeavors, no exceptions.

So what?

*USA amateur radio was growing in
* *age all along but its greying members were busy, busy denying
* *it while trying to forget about their own mortality, hearkening
back
* *to a time when they were young and the world (to them) was new.

Yet it was *you* who proposed *banning* anyone under the age of
14 from amateur radio in the USA.

The US population has been getting older. Median age in 2000, as
measured by the census, was over 39 years - up by more
than four years since 1990. Americans are living longer, having
fewer children, and having them later in life.

* *Those olde-tymers were too busy making themselves feel
* *"important" to notice that CHANGES were happening in the
* *hobby. *Such denial is one of the first signs of decay in any
* *human endeavor...but they denied that, mightily.

Who denied changes, Len? Not me. Some changes are good,
others aren't.

You resisted changes to the zoning in your neighborhood. You
didn't want it to CHANGE from the way it was when you bought
your house there. Let the others go someplace else - *you*
wouldn't accept that change!

It happened anyway.

* *I didn't really consider getting an amateur radio license until
* *February 17th of this year.

Your own words prove that to be completely false, Len.

For example, back on January 19, 2000, you wrote:

"I'm going for Amateur Extra "out of the box." "

(handy link to the post)

http://tinyurl.com/c5qyv

That was soon after the dropping of all but the 5 wpm code
test. You have called it a "throwaway line" and "taken out of
context" but never said what that's supposed to mean.

Anyone who bothers to click on the link and read what you
wrote can see what you clearly intended. KB9RQZ remembers
it clearly - is he wrong? Is everyone else who read your
"out of the box" boast also wrong?

Or were you just lying to us then?

But that's not the only example

Back on July 15, 2005, you wrote these words in one
of your long insulting diatribes:

"Tried to learn morse for 13 WPM back in the early 60s, reached about
8 WPM, and GAVE UP. "

(handy link)

http://tinyurl.com/25opue

Anyone who bothers to click on the link and read what you
wrote can see what you clearly intended. You were trying
to reach 13 wpm so you could get a General or Conditional
class US Amateur Radio license.

Or were you lying about 8 WPM?

Back then, some classes of US license only
required 5 wpm Morse Code. But a "Novice" or "Technician"
weren't good enough for you then. Or now.

*I'd had (and still do) a commercial
* *license since March 1956.

But not an amateur license. Not a license that would permit
you to have your own amateur station, nor a license that
would permit you to operate another's amateur station.

But, it would be, I thought, a FUN
* *hobby in my retirement years. *

It's been fun for me these past 40 years. No need to
wait for retirement at all.

I don't need the experience to
* *"further my career" (I've had one, reasonably successfully) or
* *"give back" anything to anybody.

All besides the point. The truth is that you did consider
getting an amateur license long before Feb 17 2007. Otherwise,
why were you trying to learn 13 wpm in the 1960s?
Why did you make your "out of the box" claim in 2000?

*I was not interested in
* *"emergency work" or volunteerism in radio...I am a volunteer
* *in other things.

OK, fine. Nobody says you have to volunteer.

The truth is that some amateurs do volunteer and do provide
emergency and public service communications. You may
deny that fact, but it's still true.

*Neither am I interested in advancing the state
* *of the radio art just for the sake of saying I am advancing the
* *state of the radio art.

IOW, you're not going to build anything despite all your running
down of other's accomplishments.

*Theory and construction are simply part
* *of the fun, of being able to legally try out some experiments
* *which are fun to do in themselves.

Sounds like you're rationalizing being an 'appliance operator', Len.

*Hobbies are about personal
* *enjoyment for its own sake...although many pervert their own
* *desires to "be someone" by taking up certain hobbies in order
* *to brag about it.

Gee....who does the most bragging here....why, that would be
*you*, Len!

* *Was the license exam "hard?" *No. *On the most objective
* *comparison, it would be on the order of college-level quarter
* *tests in first or second year of formal study...some memorization
* *of regulations and new terms and procedures specifically about
* *amateur radio practice. *To anyone who has been IN radio (of
* *almost any kind) for a decade, it was not difficult. *Test element
* *4 question pool contains about 16 times the minimum specified
* *number of 10 (as regulated by the FCC) questions and the
* *"hard" part could be said to be in trying to spot the distractors
* *in phrasing/syntax obviously put there by the VEC QPC. *The
* *"hard" part might be the waiting between elements while a
* *group of 20 goes through its required tests and grading, most
* *of whom were applicants for Technician and General class
* *licenses in my exam group. *By observation I was the only
* *one going "extra out of the box"...and apparently the only one
* *in the experience of that ARRL VEC test team to have done
* *so...at least recently.

So?


* *Did that test experience and license grant "make me better?"
* *Not really. *What I knew I already knew about radio in general,
* *from theoretical to original design to operating. *The only thing
* *unique in USA amateur radio is the regulations and the on-air
* *procedure. *Otherwise it is no "better" than any other radio
* *service...who all have their own specific regulations and
* *procedure and jargon.

So?


* *I enjoy some minor prestige in the sequential call assignment
* *for "newbies" who have achieved amateur extra. *It yields a lot
* *of freedom in operating the bands below 23 cm..no real
* *restrictions based on Class of license. *It gains some attention
* *from dealers of amateur radio equipment, some good and some
* *bad considering I ask pointed questions about certain products
* *and have always been a "hard sell" for salesmen. *:-)

It's not like your actually going to build any radios, Len.

* *It should be a lot of FUN.

It *is*, Len. It's been FUN for me for 40 years - so far.

It's interesting that you say "it should be a lot of FUN" - speaking
of the
future.

Do you have your Amateur Radio station set up yet? Made any
interesting contacts yet?

*Except in this (and similar) newsgroups
* *where the emphasis seems to be on general in-fighting of the
* *"establishment" versus (or is that 'verses' waxing poetic?) those
* *seeking change.

Kinda like people not wanting the zoning in their neighborhood to
change, ever? Not wanting "APARTMENTS" anywhere near them,
even though said "APARTMENTS" were actually in-law suites?
Not wanting a 15 acre piece of *private* land to be
developed because doing so might 'ruin their view'?

*I have the advantage of knowing other amateurs
* *from past acquaintenceship and work experience and already
* *have made "contacts" with some of those.

Using Amateur Radio?

*No "elmering" needed
* *among friends.

Ah yes, Len already knows it all.

*Real friends, not the false labels of those
pretending
* *to be "friends."

In other words, you've had the license a month but haven't done
anything with it. That's OK...you don't have to do a thing except
follow the rules.

* *In this first month of the "revolution," it is like "they gave a
war*but nobody showed up." *:-) *

Yep. All those folks who were going to be hams and bring the New
Era...

Wouldn't it be nice if all wars
* *were like that?

Sure would be. Some of us were saying that 40+ years ago, too.

Jim, N2EY

*What* Revolution? rip Van N2EY been asleep these past few years
 

On Mar 28, 4:31?am, wrote:
On 28 Mar 2007 03:59:16 -0700, wrote:

wht more needs to be said you deny seeing reality Rip and must being
going through life sleep walking

No, Mark, Miccolis just doesn't WANT to face reality...or
anything else that will disagree with His view of everything.

For example, I've said in the past that I will leave this
newsgroup once the code test is eliminated.

News Flash: I CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT THAT! :-)

Somehow, in Miccolis' odd view of life and things, one
CANNOT EVER CHANGE THEIR MIND...about anything
once it is stated!

Remarkable inflexibility. Not a good thing in a technology
area that is constantly changing the state of the art.

Miccolis wants the comfortable, the secure (because he
made it long ago), the unchanging from His point of view.
Apparently Miccolis swore some kind of oath long ago
to FOREVER hold the old, trite, worn-out traditions,
policies that were imprinted on his brain years ago. He
can't abide arguments against that world-view and takes
out his spite on all his challengers.

I like to keep flexible, both in technology and traditional
things. Tradition has its place but is really an emotional
thing that does not necessarily hold forever and ever.
The technological arts have been constantly changing in
ALL electronics ("radio" is a subset of that) since before
the first demonstration of radio as a communications
medium in 1896; the Morse-Vail Telegraph System was
first operational in 1844 and spread throughout the world
yet there is no manual "morse code" telegraph working
in North America today and hasn't been for over 40 years.

Why on earth should the FCC have held to the morse
code exam for an AMATEUR radio license that has
operating privileges BELOW 30 MHz so long? The
rhetorical answer is POLITICS. USA politics. The sort
of politics practiced by a minority group of radio
hobbyists who prefer morse code mode over all other
modes and insist that all newcomers DO AS THEY DID.
Inflexibility with high seasoning of control-freak opinion.
It was nonsense to hold on to the old for so long. The
FCC had enough and removed the code test...which
shows that the FCC is not the staid old government
agency that some think it is. The FCC *is* progressive
but it is also hindered by the politics of opinion (as are
all governmental agencies).

In early February I was thinking of all this politics
nonsense and it was obvious that an opportunity
presented itself to me to add one more radio license
to my life experience. I simply changed my mind
about the whole situation, took the tests, passed all
of them, got another callsign (the PLMRS business
radio had been cancelled) and the now-lifetime GROL
was still intact. Okay, now I'm an amateur extra class
amateur radio licensee. Have I had my "first experience"
"with my own radio" as a result of that? Hardly. Been
there, done that, several different ways long ago. But
some of the unreal argument-for-argument-sake idiots
in here seem to think that a ham license is the ONLY
way one can get such 'experience!' :-)

The inflexible mind-set presented by Miccolis has nothing
to do with the situation on testing (or even newsgrouping)
behavior. It is just his way of GETTING BACK at his
detractors in here. It doesn't work (obviously) but he keeps
on trying. It must be irritating to others. To me it is just a
familiar pattern in all of computer-modem commications
media...their respective egos are just personalizing their
responses and they aren't thinking farther than their own
in-group of similar-activity devotees. I've seen it long ago
and will - no doubt - continue to see it on these venues.

If Miccolis wants to pretend he is Judge and Jury and
Executioner, let him. He can wear black robes and a veddy
English formal wig if he likes. He doesn't have the authority,
doesn't have the judgement, doesn't have much of anything
upon which to "judge" or "sentence" anyone. He is just a
gavel-banger, making a lot of noise because he loves the
noise. "Court" dismissed.

73, Len AF6AY

The First Month of the Revolution in USA Amateur Radio
 

AF6AY wrote:
On Mar 27, 5:19�pm, wrote:

They gave a war back in the day... �Miccolis didn't show up then,
either.

True, but he KNOWS ALL ABOUT it. Sigh...and isn't reticent
about chiding volunteer military veterans. :-(

Neither are you or hot-ham-and-cheese, old sojer. You two act like
you're super citizens whose military service has elevated you above others.

Just a couple of days ago you ridiculed someone who wrote about the
Vietnam War Memorial. You bleated something about Korea. You didn't
serve in Korea during the Korean War. You made up your classic tale of
what it is like to undergo an artillery barrage. Your embellishment of
your military service is legend.

Dave K8MN

*What* Revolution? rip Van N2EY been asleep these past few years
 

From: on Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:00:14 -0400

On 28 Mar 2007 12:14:12 -0700, "AF6AY" wrote:
On Mar 28, 4:31?am, wrote:
On 28 Mar 2007 03:59:16 -0700, wrote:


For example, I've said in the past that I will leave this
newsgroup once the code test is eliminated.

yea and..

News Flash: I CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT THAT! :-)

indeed you did and then you dared to assert your right to do that

Sunnuvagun! Such a revolutionary thought! :-)


Why on earth should the FCC have held to the morse
code exam for an AMATEUR radio license that has
operating privileges BELOW 30 MHz so long? The
rhetorical answer is POLITICS. USA politics. The sort
of politics practiced by a minority group of radio
hobbyists who prefer morse code mode over all other
modes and insist that all newcomers DO AS THEY DID.
Inflexibility with high seasoning of control-freak opinion.
It was nonsense to hold on to the old for so long. The
FCC had enough and removed the code test...which
shows that the FCC is not the staid old government
agency that some think it is. The FCC *is* progressive
but it is also hindered by the politics of opinion (as are
all governmental agencies).

politics and to be fair inertia both of which tend to dominate the
often Torporid rank of the US Govt 'Crats

I have a much lesser view of "inertia" (failure to "get going"
on some problem) that is supposed to be in government. I see
such "inertia" as simply the time required in having to
consider ALL citizens' input, not just one group that thinks
they are the 'only' ones who can be righteous on some viewpoint.

as I said I am sometimes amazed the FCC moved and moved against the
expressed wishes of the ARRL. the total rebuff of the ARRL's efforts
while in this case were good of the ARS makes me have even more
serious doubts about the ARRL's ability to act for the interest of the
ARS

First off, it is pretty clear that the ARRL has "acted" mainly
in the interests of its MEMBERSHIP. In most interpretations of
any membership organization's formal constitution, that IS what
they are obligated to do. They owe NO allegiance to all amateurs
despite their own propaganda.

It should also be clear that the ARRL was standing rather alone
in world opinion on the code test on up to the start of WRC-03.
The IARU wanted amateur radio regulation S25 rewritten to let
each administration decide for themselves whether its applicants
should test for morse code skill. Right after WRC-03 and the
rewriting of S25 (almost all of it), the ARRL remained "neutral"
towards code testing. I.E., they wouldn't commit one way or the
other, perhaps finding the position of the lone opponent to world
opinion being a bit strong and wrong.

When it came to Comments on FCC 05-143, the ARRL proposed a half-
way scheme of some classes having to test for code but other
classes not to test for code. That satisfied no one but those
licensees who were adamantly opposed to code test elimination.
That was no "solution," only a reworded system of class
distinction based on code skills that was just another form of
what already existed.

The ARRL is showing SOME signs of starting to look at the larger
picture of amateur radio in the USA. Not a great deal and one
must look very closely at what it now does and says publicly.
They must try to entice ALL classes to join. There IS attrition
happening in amateur radio ranks. The numbers show the trend has
begun, despite the denial of some. Newcomers are generally
younger and aren't buying "the old guy's club" stuff like the
old guys did when they were young. A dropping membership means
a smaller demographic for selling ads in QST and a lesser income
from the ARRL's huge publications factory. If their income
decreases they will have a tougher time meeting budgets for the
staff and plant and their "free services" to members (only) will
reduce. That has to happen if their membership drops.

My opinion is that the FCC thinks LESS of the ARRL than it might
have two decades or more ago. The FCC isn't fooled by the
political word phrases of Chris Imlay in describing the ARRL.
DC is the heart of political phrases in the USA and those
phrases ARE recognized as such by those working there. Such
political phrases may wow the general populace (as they are
designed to do) but it is difficult to change minds of those
constantly in receipt of them.

This recent favoritism of "robot stations" for data transmission
is viewed as a half-heated attempt to "go modern." It wasn't
thought out well since it is obvious that such automatic stations
are bound to cause interference for the average amateur on the
bands. On some frequencies the QRM from high-power live amateurs
can be bad enough. At least they ARE live and can be identified
and reached...maybe to change their minds. Robots aren't "alive"
and those just do what they are programmed to do.

The "low-cost" "Radio Designer" computer analysis program was
an attempt (I think an honest one this time) to modernize the
potential for electronic breadboarding...for examination of
circuits as well as trying out design models. However, they
didn't SECURE it well enough and the company that made the
prototype didn't support it forever. Right now, a full working
SPICE program with schematic-to-net-list automatic transfer is
offered FREE to anyone wanting to download it from National
Semiconductor's website. It works. I find it most handy for
design as well as checking out others' circuits. National's
SPICE variant is FREE. Not just for radio amateurs but for ALL.
"Radio Designer" has been on the obsolete list for years now.



If Miccolis wants to pretend he is Judge and Jury and
Executioner, let him. He can wear black robes and a veddy
English formal wig if he likes. He doesn't have the authority,
doesn't have the judgement, doesn't have much of anything
upon which to "judge" or "sentence" anyone. He is just a
gavel-banger, making a lot of noise because he loves the
noise. "Court" dismissed.

be fair Len he can indeed sentence us all .. sentence after sentence
after sentence after mind numbing sentence

deny him what you will but please garnt him his thae man can ramble
and roll on and on

YEAH he do! :-) Little nit-picky arguments over minutae, all
design to "prove" his opponents are "wrong." Argue with him on
those things and he will try to turn it around that the arguer
is always wrong. Jay-suss, that gets old fast...it got old years
ago.

I have some some my favoritie colections of his sentenced pulled out
of rapp in file for reading when I need help to sedate my mind after a
particualrly stresfull day

Whatever works for you, Mark. I don't pretend to be a guru.
I've been around the horn a few times in radio, mostly in other
radio services, so I speak from SOME experience. The only thing
"different" in amateur radio is the man-made jargon and procedure.
The theory, the electrons, fields and waves, all work the same
for EVERY radio service. No difference there. Real designers,
real theory folks KNOW this.

The practitioners of amateur radio, at least some, will pound
on the table, get red in the face, hollering that the ONLY way
one can learn "radio" is to become an amateur licensee. That's
totally stupid emotional non-logic. Most of those just haven't
had any real experience in other radio services and the resent
those of us who have done so. Those practitioners want to SHUT
OUT any mention of other radio services as "not applicable" to
amateur radio. That is just compounding the stupidity and
illogic. But, they DO carry on like that and there isn't any
way to stop them. They have their little "clubhouse" and want
to keep it "safe" from those who don't think like they do. :-)

73, Len AF6AY

The First Month of the Revolution in USA Amateur Radio
 

On Mar 28, 7:18�pm, Dave Heil wrote:
AF6AY wrote:
On Mar 27, 5:19?pm, wrote:
They gave a war back in the day... ?Miccolis didn't show up then,
either.

* *True, but he KNOWS ALL ABOUT it. *Sigh...and isn't reticent
* *about chiding volunteer military veterans. *:-(

Neither are you or hot-ham-and-cheese, old sojer. *You two act like
you're super citizens whose military service has elevated you above others.

We HAVE served, robust oberst. We ARE a bit better than
those that NEVER served.

Just a couple of days ago you ridiculed someone who wrote about the
Vietnam War Memorial.

"Ridiculed?!?" NO. Failed to heap gratuitous praise on some
emotional outburst by an UNIDENTIFIED person? YES.

*You bleated something about Korea.

I didn't "BLEAT," robust oberst. I simply stated that the
Korean War has NOT YET been settled. It is in an
almost perpetual state of truce since July, 1953.

*You didn't serve in Korea during the Korean War.

I was assigned to the 8235th Army Unit, a signal
battalion attached to Army Central Command in the
Far East from late January 1953 to January 1956. The
Korean active War was from June 1950 to July 1953.

You made up your classic tale of
what it is like to undergo an artillery barrage.

"Classic?!?" Hardly. The writing wasn't good enough for
the "classic" classification. :-)

*Your embellishment of your military service is legend.

"Embellishment?!?" :-) Are you going to write the
Department of the Army and demand they retract my
Good Conduct Ribbon award? :-)

What I did during my active US Army assignment is
described in the photo essay available at:

http://sujan.hallikainen.org/Broadca...s/My3Years.pdf

The details described therein have been reviewed and
found accurate by three former members of that battalion
and a retired civilian engineer then working for the US
Army. Also available is:

http://sujan.hallikainen.org/Broadca...phabetSoup.pdf

...which is a digitized booklet produced by the signal
battalion showing what the station and facilities were
like in 1962-1963.

What WE do NOT have is the illustrious battle experience
of mighty warrior David Heil *IN* a country at war. Strangely
enough he is most reticent about saying anything on that.
Chances are, those saying nothing detailed were just the
usual REMF trying to pad out their 'histories.'

Len AF6AY

ex-RA16408336, SSgt SigC, US Army (1952-1960)

NB: The "RA" in the old Army Service Number indicates
a voluntary enlistment. A "US" prefix denotes a draftee.

The First Month of the Revolution in USA Amateur Radio
 

On Mar 29, 12:18 am, Dave Heil wrote:
AF6AY wrote:
On Mar 27, 5:19?pm, wrote:
They gave a war back in the day... ?Miccolis didn't show up then,
either.

True, but he KNOWS ALL ABOUT it. Sigh...and isn't reticent
about chiding volunteer military veterans. :-(

Neither are you or hot-ham-and-cheese, old sojer. You two act like
you're super citizens whose military service has elevated you above others.

Heil has no problem denigrating servicemen. Why doesn't he mention
that?

Just a couple of days ago you ridiculed someone who wrote about the
Vietnam War Memorial.

Just a couple of days ago I thanked that individual for his service.
That doesn't mean that I approve of the memorial.

You bleated something about Korea.

You bleated something about running for the Roanoke Division
Directorship. How's your nomination coming?

You didn't
serve in Korea during the Korean War.

You didn't serve in Korea.

You made up your classic tale of
what it is like to undergo an artillery barrage.

Did Len get it wrong? Tell us what it's like.

Your embellishment of
your military service is legend.

Dave K8MN

Your smugness is legendary.