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Brian Kelly September 17th 04 02:54 PM

PAMNO (N2EY) wrote in message ...
In article ,

(Brian Kelly) writes:

(William) wrote in message


Cecil didn't "switch" anything,

The hell he didn't. He resigned his NCI membership.


Really? I obviously missed that one. Good for him.


After the rules changed, he said that reduction to 5 wpm for all classes was
enough. He resigned his membership in NCI and soon after reduced his
participation here. He's still around in rraa but not nearly as much as
before.


The bottom line is that Cecil and many others are ahead of the power
curve as usual but thee and me and a few other PCTAs are silly enough
to still hang out around here. This USENET group was a huge deal back
when the code test flap was The Big Thing. Which at this point is a
dead topic since the code test is obviously not going away within any
visible timframe if ever. So Cecil, Hare, innumerable others and even
Carl Anderson for cripes sake, the Honcho Maximo of NCI wised up and
bailed out of here long ago leaving us to bicker mindlesssly,
circularly and endlessly with dim lights like Burke and the other
Anderson. WE'RE the RRAP stupids for bothering with any of it
Miccolis.

Sorry you weren't there to join that exercise

No you're not.


Congratulations Burke, you finally got something right.


All were invited. Some of us showed up. And some of us have worked since.

Remember that FD when you worked AC6XG on 20 CW?


Sure, whatta hoot. What was is it . . midnight or so at that hopeless
Clayton Park FD fiasco . . ? 20 had been slowly petering down all
evening and I was in a hurt for Qs but then suddenly the Ether perked
up and there was Jim big and bad at 40wpm. I'll do you a favor and not
get into a description your dismal encounter with my Kent paddles . .
heh . . !

Logged him.

Refresh me here James, I think it was around the time that I logged XG
that I/we started to hear a lot more signals from very far off places
than I/we could hear from US FD stations. So to hell with FD, let's
get back to basics and go dxing I sayithed to self. Worked the JA who
was in some other contest. Logged him too. Apparently Newington did
not disallow that one. They simpy doan give a **** abt FD logs good or
bogus. Then came Balch who finally waddled in out of the gloom of the
parking lot (two hours late as usual) to take over the seat and rolled
his eyes heavenward when he was copying my Q with the VK2 blaring all
over the park from the 940 spkr.

. . worked the German and then the Peruvian but that was it, thus I
blew a one-hour midnite FD WAC for the lack of a Q with an African.
RATZ, not a ZS6 anywhere to be found!

All of 'em, I believe we agree (but check me), were worked with
radiation from the shield of the coax which fed Robert's triband
Mosely aircooled dummy load upon high.

I have not gotten into this topic previously anywhere with anybody
because several years later it still ****es me off the extent that I
can still easily go too ballistic about it and post fodder which
anti-hams would just love. But fuggit, I gotta get it off my chest and
let the chips fall where they might.

I don't remember which of those three Clayton Park debacles we did
together but during one of 'em it was well after sundown, very late,
most of the usual crowd had gone home, activity was down and I was
grinding away but going nowhere in a hurry. I took a break for a pit
stop. On my way back to my seat I first passed a group of the usual
collection of hardcore neighborhood repeater dwellers we both know
bull****ting abt nothing as usual. A few feet later there was young
guy who was clearly having odd problems with the HF xcvr he was using,
some POS or another. So I asked "Are you having problems guy?" "Yes I
am".

The guy was blind, he was not familiar with the POS "they" finally
scheduled him to operate after everybody else had gotten their jollies
off with it earlier at their convenience but he could not diddle it's
controls and get it on the air. I sat with him for some length of
time, maybe 15 minutes or so and guided his hands around the front
panel of the xcvr and got him up and running on some phone band or
another. In the meanwhile the aformentioned collection of bull****ers
wasn't more than eight feet from him throuhout all of it. I gotta tell
you that in all my half century on the bands that was the worst of the
worst of the bad experiences I've had in the game. Madonna was right:
It's a material world. Yes, I fear for the future of ham radio.


. . . . . Ed asked you what your
installation conditions were but you ignored his offer and went back
to mindlessly hammering yer keyboard here instead.

You missed the point, Mr. Kelly.


.. . . yeah, looks like I did . . .

The whole antenna discussion was a classic example of the N0IMD shaggy dog
discussion method.


PLONK.

But of course as we all know you don't have half a brain so
predictably your history has repeated itself. Somebody gotta be the
dunce around here so I guess you'll hafta do until Kim "un-retires"
from RRAP agn.


So you get all fired up - for what?


I very seldom get "fired up" about anything in the usual sense
particularly in this venue but you're right, "dealing with" the likes
of Burke around here is a complete waste of anybody's time.

You can wriggle and you can squirm Burke but you can't help hanging
yourself by your own petard, you were born to shoot both of your feet
as often as you can in public. That's just the way you are.

All depends what you think the goal is. You're thinking the goal is to put up
an antenna. It's not.


Right: PLONK again.

I dumped the bait over the transom, I'm chumming for an on-the-air QSO
with NØIMD via the end-fed wire he claims he has. It's put up or shut
time time again around here. Tally Freaking Ho, this oughta be a real
gooder.

73 de Jim, N2EY


w3rv

Dave Heil September 17th 04 04:35 PM

William wrote:

Dave Heil wrote in message ...
William wrote:

Dave Heil wrote in message ...
William wrote:

Dave Heil wrote in message ...
William wrote:

Dave Heil wrote in message ...
William wrote:

Dave Heil wrote in message ...
N2EY wrote:

btw, thinking of departed rrap folk, it occurred to me that I probably hold the
record for most rrapper's QSO'd. Anybody beat this list?:

K8MN
W4NTI
K0HB
AC6XG
K3LT
K4YZ
W3RV
W6RCA
W0EX
WA2SI

73 de Jim, N2EY

I think you have the record. I've worked four from the list and you.

Dave K8MN

You've worked me a couple of times.

I worked you as K8MN? Nope, not even on SSB. NIL.


Then it must have been another David Heil or a slim with the same name
and QSL manager. Sorry to have mentioned it.

I do not and have not used a QSL manager for my operations as K8MN.


Who is K8MN? I'm talking about David Heil. Ever heard of him? Does
he use a QSL Manager?

Your cutesy-stupid routine can run only so long, "William".

Hello???


Hello, yourself. Any ideas yet on the mystery question: "Who is K8MN"?


Yes. He's a jerk.


I'm certain that it appears that way to a guy such as yourself. Yet you
asked, "Who is K8MN?"

Is that anything like your cutesy-stupid "CQ Magazine as a Membership
Organization" routine?


Maybe you can explain another way that to "rejoin" CQ Magazine.


So you're going to run your cutesy-stupid routine into the ground?

"Strike Twoooo"

Hi, hi!


There is what you write and then there is what you think you write.

Take your time in digesting the material. Soak it all up. Absorb it.

No thanks. Your material is toxic.


It really just makes you feel weak until all of your "cutesy-stupid
genes" have been altered.


Ooooh. How long did it take you?


To write it? Not very long.

I've never sent a "David Heil" QSL.

Given that you have a QSL Manager, I suppose that is possible.


Never one, with or without a QSL manager. Have you sent QSL's using
your name rather than a callsign?


Do your cards not have you name on them?


Sure they do, in small letters. Nobody QSOs "Dave Heil", they work
"K8MN" or "5H3US". "A W4MPY QSL" is also printed on my QSL cards too.
I'm sure that nobody is under the impression that they have worked
"W4MPY".

Just by coincidence, my QSL cards have both my name and my callsign on
them!


There's a step in the right direction. I'm happy for you.

Plus the other usual stuff like my address, county, grid square, etc.


You're coming right along.

All my operations have taken place
from a given spot with a given callsign.

Try mobile operation sometime, Oh Greatest of Hams!


I do that about five days per week. "K8MN/M, Marshall County, West
Virginia" or "K8MN/mobile, Belmont County, Ohio" or "K8MN/mobile in
Wheeling, West Virginia" all work just fine.


Then you shouldn't give misleading information such as, "All my
operations have taken place from a given spot..."


It isn't misleading at all. At any point in any QSO, I'm in a given
spot.
Sometimes the car is moving. Sometimes it is not. Stick around and all
these great mysteries will be revealed.

Another ham on rrap would have called you a liar for that.


No other did. You've as much as done so though.

How about a lengthy yarn about your operation as T5/Brian?


How about a ditty on "how to" on snagging rare, out-of-band, French
Hams on 6M?


I've never operated using my name as a callsign.


I couldn't imagine it. Who would do that?


From your recent posts, I rather imagined that you might.

My operations from any
country on any band, when working any Frenchmen have been totally within
regulations of the applicable governing authority.


Good thing, too.


Yeah, I think it is a good thing. I heed the regulations of the country
in which I operate. It is up to other ops to do the same. None of
those involved is responsible to you.

Sheesh! I think you are more indignant about working me on HF than
you were about me leaving you off of the A1A Op list. Doesn't matter.
You'll always find something to become indignant about.


There is no A1A Op list. You screwed up when you first posted the
material. You told untruths


I made a mistake.


You made several.

when you recently brought up the topic. You
acted as if you didn't believe I could unearth the original post (that
must've cost me ten or twenty seconds) and you've gotten the name of the
club wrong now.


No. I think I my original premise was right. Some amateurs are nice
guys and deserve to be on that list.


An interesting thing about that: You don't get to decide that. Two ops
who are members decide that.

Then there are others who are
jerks and shouldn't be on that list.


You don't get to decide that. Two ops who are members decide that.

How you got on it is a mystery
to me,


I can understand that. I'm sure that a number of things are a mystery
to you.

but I do stand corrected. You did get on the list somehow.


Two ops who are members nominate someone. That is the only way to
become an A-1 Op. Perhaps you should read the qualifications for
membership.
I don't think you'll find anything about suffering fools gladly in
usenet.

Being indignant has naught to do with it. Keeping you
honest has been the problem.


Your cutesy-stupid routine and acting indignant is wearing a little
thin.


Aren't you getting tired of picking up that chip and putting it back on
your shoulder?

Best of Luck.


Your words drip with insincerity.

Dave K8MN

Dave Heil September 17th 04 04:36 PM

William wrote:

PAMNO (N2EY) wrote in message ...

All depends what you think the goal is. You're thinking the goal is to put up
an antenna. It's not.


Yet it's up.


Yep, the jig is up, "William".

Dave K8MN

N2EY September 17th 04 09:55 PM

(Brian Kelly) wrote in message om...
PAMNO (N2EY) wrote in message ...
In article ,

(Brian Kelly) writes:

(William) wrote in message


Cecil didn't "switch" anything,

The hell he didn't. He resigned his NCI membership.

Really? I obviously missed that one. Good for him.


After the rules changed, he said that reduction to 5 wpm for all classes was
enough. He resigned his membership in NCI and soon after reduced his
participation here. He's still around in rraa but not nearly as much as
before.


The bottom line is that Cecil and many others are ahead of the power
curve as usual but thee and me and a few other PCTAs are silly enough
to still hang out around here.


Sort of. Who does most of the posting here, in both number of posts
and length? It ain't me or thee, by a long shot.

This USENET group was a huge deal back
when the code test flap was The Big Thing.


4-1/2+ years ago.

Which at this point is a
dead topic since the code test is obviously not going away within any
visible timframe if ever.


Frankly, I'm amazed that FCC didn't MO&O it out of existence last
summer.

So Cecil, Hare, innumerable others and even
Carl Anderson


Stevenson

for cripes sake, the Honcho Maximo of NCI wised up and
bailed out of here long ago leaving us to bicker mindlesssly,
circularly and endlessly with dim lights like Burke and the other
Anderson. WE'RE the RRAP stupids for bothering with any of it
Miccolis.


Who is bothering? I read a few posts, write a few, discuss interesting
topics with KB3EIA, N8UZE, and some others. Filtering what one reads
works wonders.

Sorry you weren't there to join that exercise

No you're not.

Congratulations Burke, you finally got something right.


All were invited. Some of us showed up. And some of us have worked since.

Remember that FD when you worked AC6XG on 20 CW?


Sure, whatta hoot. What was is it . . midnight or so at that hopeless
Clayton Park FD fiasco . . ?


Yep.

20 had been slowly petering down all
evening and I was in a hurt for Qs but then suddenly the Ether perked
up and there was Jim big and bad at 40wpm. I'll do you a favor and not
get into a description your dismal encounter with my Kent paddles . .
heh . . !

Then I hooked up the bug and chatted w/him. That musta been four years
ago - since then I've done at least 3 non-CP FDs

Logged him.

Refresh me here James, I think it was around the time that I logged XG
that I/we started to hear a lot more signals from very far off places
than I/we could hear from US FD stations. So to hell with FD, let's
get back to basics and go dxing I sayithed to self. Worked the JA who
was in some other contest. Logged him too. Apparently Newington did
not disallow that one.


DX contacts count for FD. They give you a signal report, it counts.

They simpy doan give a **** abt FD logs good or
bogus.


Not true! The QSOs were good. There was one SP handing 'em out 2-3 a
minute later on - remember? They all counted.

Then came Balch who finally waddled in out of the gloom of the
parking lot (two hours late as usual) to take over the seat and rolled
his eyes heavenward when he was copying my Q with the VK2 blaring all
over the park from the 940 spkr.


Yep.

DX qsos count; it's just that DX stations' logs aren't counted
competitively in the listings.

A year or two ago the definition was changed so that FD covers not
just North America but SA too. Which means N2EY/Tierra del Fuego could
compete...

. . worked the German and then the Peruvian but that was it, thus I
blew a one-hour midnite FD WAC for the lack of a Q with an African.
RATZ, not a ZS6 anywhere to be found!


I remember....

All of 'em, I believe we agree (but check me), were worked with
radiation from the shield of the coax which fed Robert's triband
Mosely aircooled dummy load upon high.


Musta been 5 years ago, becuz the next year you brought the halfsize
G5RV to avoid such headaches.

I have not gotten into this topic previously anywhere with anybody
because several years later it still ****es me off the extent that I
can still easily go too ballistic about it and post fodder which
anti-hams would just love. But fuggit, I gotta get it off my chest and
let the chips fall where they might.


I hear ya.

I don't remember which of those three Clayton Park debacles we did
together but during one of 'em it was well after sundown, very late,
most of the usual crowd had gone home, activity was down and I was
grinding away but going nowhere in a hurry. I took a break for a pit
stop. On my way back to my seat I first passed a group of the usual
collection of hardcore neighborhood repeater dwellers we both know
bull****ting abt nothing as usual. A few feet later there was young
guy who was clearly having odd problems with the HF xcvr he was using,
some POS or another. So I asked "Are you having problems guy?" "Yes I
am".

The guy was blind, he was not familiar with the POS "they" finally
scheduled him to operate after everybody else had gotten their jollies
off with it earlier at their convenience but he could not diddle it's
controls and get it on the air. I sat with him for some length of
time, maybe 15 minutes or so and guided his hands around the front
panel of the xcvr and got him up and running on some phone band or
another. In the meanwhile the aformentioned collection of bull****ers
wasn't more than eight feet from him throuhout all of it. I gotta tell
you that in all my half century on the bands that was the worst of the
worst of the bad experiences I've had in the game. Madonna was right:
It's a material world. Yes, I fear for the future of ham radio.


I did not know that story. Makes me sick.

Now watch, somebody will spin it into being *your* fault.

But do not fear for the future of amateur radio too much. Here's why:

Back when you started, and to a lesser extent even when I started, ham
radio was populated mostly by folks who took it very seriously. "Radio
for its own sake" wasn't something most people were interested in. The
license process, operating skill requirements and equipment costs
alone insured that most hams had a considerable personal investment -
and the money was the least of it. Sure, there were some clueless folk
but they either learned or were really frustrated.

Then a bunch of things happened. The cb boom made 2 way radio popular
and practical for lots of folks, the development of ssb and then fm
transceivers and solidstate made the equipment small, less expensive
and easier to use, etc. We got a lot of good hams, of course, but also
a sizable number who are only "sort of" interested, and who don't take
it that seriously, nor have a big personal investment. The whole code
test issue is really just an iceberg-tip for the concept of personal
investment.

Now we have the internet and cheap cell phones and GMRS/FRS. Which
have pulled away a lot of the folks who were "sort of" interested in
ham radio. That's why repeater use and 'honeydew' licensing is down -
much easier to just use the cell phone or FRS.

So the future of ham radio relies on those who are really interested
in radio for its own sake and are a lot more than "sort of"
interested. Those folks are out there, and will continue to be. But
they will not be attracted by lowering the requirements or trying to
make ham radio a sort of rf version of the internet.

. . . . . Ed asked you what your
installation conditions were but you ignored his offer and went back
to mindlessly hammering yer keyboard here instead.

You missed the point, Mr. Kelly.


. . . yeah, looks like I did . . .

The whole antenna discussion was a classic example of the N0IMD shaggy dog
discussion method.


PLONK.


Exactly.

But of course as we all know you don't have half a brain so
predictably your history has repeated itself. Somebody gotta be the
dunce around here so I guess you'll hafta do until Kim "un-retires"
from RRAP agn.


So you get all fired up - for what?


I very seldom get "fired up" about anything in the usual sense
particularly in this venue but you're right, "dealing with" the likes
of Burke around here is a complete waste of anybody's time.


Which is exactly the game.

You can wriggle and you can squirm Burke but you can't help hanging
yourself by your own petard, you were born to shoot both of your feet
as often as you can in public. That's just the way you are.

All depends what you think the goal is. You're thinking the goal is to put up
an antenna. It's not.


Right: PLONK again.


Another technique to watch for is the misremembering of a past event
in order to get your panties in a snarl. Such as the whole Cecil
thing. Or the whole K8MN A1 op thing. Or the way I've been
misquoted/misinterpreted...

I dumped the bait over the transom, I'm chumming for an on-the-air QSO
with NØIMD via the end-fed wire he claims he has. It's put up or shut
time time again around here. Tally Freaking Ho, this oughta be a real
gooder.


Don't hold yer breath. Watch - there will be all kinds of reasons it
won't happen. Like a certain Extra license that is still in its box.

And it will be spun so that somehow it's *your* fault...

73 de Jim, N2EY

Mike Coslo September 18th 04 01:46 AM

Back to the thread, I think that the numbers of hams will continue to
decrease until we are taken out of the limbo we have been in for some
time now.

The prospective amateur has *no* idea at this time if the Morse code
requirement will be kept, how long it will be kept if it is, and when it
will go away if it is discarded.

In as much as most people will not imagine that the changes to come will
take as long as as the will likely take, the net effect will be
potential Hams sitting and waiting for the Morse code to go away.

Its certainly what I would do if I were thinking about getting a
license at this point.

Whatever is done should be done and done quickly. That said, there is a
mile of difference between "should" and "will". I still stand by my
original prediction made some time ago.

Jim, do you still have those dates? I'd be curious to see who has
fallen by the wayside so far.

- Mike KB3EIA -


N2EY September 18th 04 02:26 AM

In article , Mike Coslo
writes:

I think that the numbers of hams will continue to
decrease until we are taken out of the limbo we have been in for some
time now.


What "limbo", Mike? We've had a class of US ham license with no code test for
more than 13-1/2 years now. The maximum code test speed has been 5 wpm for more
than 4 years now - and for a decade before that, medical waivers were
available.

The code test may or may not go away in the next few years/months/decades. The
written exams may change similarly. The various bands may change as well.

I don't think that's the problem.

The prospective amateur has *no* idea at this time if the Morse code
requirement will be kept, how long it will be kept if it is, and when it
will go away if it is discarded.


So? Someone who really wants to be a ham will do what is necessary to pass the
tests at the time.

In as much as most people will not imagine that the changes to come will
take as long as as the will likely take, the net effect will be
potential Hams sitting and waiting for the Morse code to go away.


Maybe some will. I think most interested folks will simply learn enough to pass
the tests and get on with it.

Its certainly what I would do if I were thinking about getting a
license at this point.

But it's not what you did when you got started.

And would you not get *any* license until the code test went away, or would you
just hold off from upgrading?

Whatever is done should be done and done quickly. That said, there is a
mile of difference between "should" and "will". I still stand by my
original prediction made some time ago.


Back in 1989-1990 we were told that a nocodetest ham license was "absolutely
needed for growth". And when it became a reality, we got some short-term growth
for a few years.

Then we were told that the code test had to go for the same reason - and it was
dropped to 5 wpm for all classes in 2000. We got some short-term growth for a
few years - now we're back *below* the level before the restructuring.

I was a ham way back in 1967, when they said incentive licensing would "kill
amateur radio". There were about 250,000 US hams back then. Yet in the 10 years
after incentive licensing took full effect (1969-1979 or thereabouts) the
number of US hams grew by about 100,000, despite poor economic conditions, much
less accessible testing, waiting period for Extra, no code waivers and a code
test for all hams. And no internet or computer-based training methods.

Jim, do you still have those dates?


Which dates do you mean?

I'd be curious to see who has
fallen by the wayside so far.


I'm not sure what you're asking, Mike.

73 de Jim, N2EY



Mike Coslo September 18th 04 03:11 AM

N2EY wrote:

In article , Mike Coslo
writes:


I think that the numbers of hams will continue to
decrease until we are taken out of the limbo we have been in for some
time now.



What "limbo", Mike? We've had a class of US ham license with no code test for
more than 13-1/2 years now. The maximum code test speed has been 5 wpm for more
than 4 years now - and for a decade before that, medical waivers were
available.


Limbo is when a prospective ham thinks that possibly he or she can get
on HF simply by waiting a few months and not having to take any Morse
code test.

Let's compare the situation to when the Governor of PA had the temporary
tax exemption on computers. I think it lasted something like a week.
Guess what happened to computer sales at the local Circuit City, Best
Buy, etc. the week or two before the exemption. When I went in and
looked around, the sales clerk at one store even told me to hold off
until next week.

Seems like a direct comparison to me.


The code test may or may not go away in the next few years/months/decades. The
written exams may change similarly. The various bands may change as well.

I don't think that's the problem.

The prospective amateur has *no* idea at this time if the Morse code
requirement will be kept, how long it will be kept if it is, and when it
will go away if it is discarded.



So? Someone who really wants to be a ham will do what is necessary to pass the
tests at the time.


I'd temper that. If I thought that the Morse requirement would go away
in say, 6 months, I would have waited.

And most people do not expect a long time to pass before it goes away.
I know some people were incredulous when I gave my time to expiry (if
any) in that pool we had a while back.

In as much as most people will not imagine that the changes to come will
take as long as as the will likely take, the net effect will be
potential Hams sitting and waiting for the Morse code to go away.



Maybe some will. I think most interested folks will simply learn enough to pass
the tests and get on with it.

Its certainly what I would do if I were thinking about getting a
license at this point.


But it's not what you did when you got started.


Some things operating there.

There was no code elimination horizon.

I'm skeptical enough and have enough experience that I knew it was going
to be a long time coming

I wanted to get on HF pretty badly.

I'm not afraid of learning something (even though it was admittedly very
hard for me)


And would you not get *any* license until the code test went away, or would you
just hold off from upgrading?


Hard to say. When I originally got my license, I was only planning on
being a Technician, and I was thinking about how to apply Amateur radio
to my other hobby, Amateur astronomy. I really didn't have much interest
in HF at all! then after a field day where I was allowed to operate, I
was hooked. So my experience is likely not typical. In fact, if it
wasn't for the Technician no-code license, I probably wouldn't be a Ham
now. (to my great loss!!)


Whatever is done should be done and done quickly. That said, there is a
mile of difference between "should" and "will". I still stand by my
original prediction made some time ago.



Back in 1989-1990 we were told that a nocodetest ham license was "absolutely
needed for growth". And when it became a reality, we got some short-term growth
for a few years.

Then we were told that the code test had to go for the same reason - and it was
dropped to 5 wpm for all classes in 2000. We got some short-term growth for a
few years - now we're back *below* the level before the restructuring.


It isn't the code or lack of it. It is the limbo state of not knowing
what is going to happen.

I don't think changes will make for growth, except in the short term.


I was a ham way back in 1967, when they said incentive licensing would "kill
amateur radio". There were about 250,000 US hams back then. Yet in the 10 years
after incentive licensing took full effect (1969-1979 or thereabouts) the
number of US hams grew by about 100,000, despite poor economic conditions, much
less accessible testing, waiting period for Extra, no code waivers and a code
test for all hams. And no internet or computer-based training methods.


Of course. Way too much emphasis is put on all the modern conveniences
and the numbers of Hams. I wouldn't care if I had to take the test,
writing on the back of a shovel with a piece of limestone, while Heidi
Klum was trying to distract me. How's that for working her into the
thread! ;^)


Jim, do you still have those dates?



Which dates do you mean?


I'd be curious to see who has
fallen by the wayside so far.



I'm not sure what you're asking, Mike.


Didn't you take a poll of rrap people consisting of guesstimates when
we believed that Morse code would be dropped? I think it was right after
WRC-03. I remember I predicted something like 4 or maybe 5 years.

- Mike KB3EIA -


Steve Robeson K4CAP September 18th 04 09:57 AM

Subject: ARS License Numbers
From: Mike Coslo
Date: 9/17/2004 9:11 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

N2EY wrote:

In article , Mike Coslo
writes:


I think that the numbers of hams will continue to
decrease until we are taken out of the limbo we have been in for some
time now.



What "limbo", Mike? We've had a class of US ham license with no code test

for
more than 13-1/2 years now. The maximum code test speed has been 5 wpm for

more
than 4 years now - and for a decade before that, medical waivers were
available.


Limbo is when a prospective ham thinks that possibly he or she can get
on HF simply by waiting a few months and not having to take any Morse
code test.

Let's compare the situation to when the Governor of PA had the temporary
tax exemption on computers. I think it lasted something like a week.
Guess what happened to computer sales at the local Circuit City, Best
Buy, etc. the week or two before the exemption. When I went in and
looked around, the sales clerk at one store even told me to hold off
until next week.

Seems like a direct comparison to me.


Not by a mile, Mike.

You're talking the difference between someone investing the TIME to STUDY
for a radio license test, and someone saving about $100 to BUY a device that
requires no license to use.

The code test may or may not go away in the next few years/months/decades.

The
written exams may change similarly. The various bands may change as well.

I don't think that's the problem.

The prospective amateur has *no* idea at this time if the Morse code
requirement will be kept, how long it will be kept if it is, and when it
will go away if it is discarded.



So? Someone who really wants to be a ham will do what is necessary to pass

the
tests at the time.


I'd temper that. If I thought that the Morse requirement would go away
in say, 6 months, I would have waited.


There's a lot of folks who waited "6 months", that turned out to be
"years", just to not have to "do something". They'll still be waiting after
the code test does go away. They'll then be waiting for the written test to go
away, and if they imposed a $1.50 fee, they'd be wating for that to go away.
If the FCC required nothing more than a piece of paper saying "pretty please"
and the cost of a stamp, they'd call the FCC collect and ask for a postage free
envelope.

And most people do not expect a long time to pass before it goes away.
I know some people were incredulous when I gave my time to expiry (if
any) in that pool we had a while back.

In as much as most people will not imagine that the changes to come will
take as long as as the will likely take, the net effect will be
potential Hams sitting and waiting for the Morse code to go away.



Maybe some will. I think most interested folks will simply learn enough to

pass
the tests and get on with it.

Its certainly what I would do if I were thinking about getting a
license at this point.


But it's not what you did when you got started.


Some things operating there.

There was no code elimination horizon.

I'm skeptical enough and have enough experience that I knew it was going
to be a long time coming

I wanted to get on HF pretty badly.

I'm not afraid of learning something (even though it was admittedly very
hard for me)


Well THERE ya go, Mike! You just proved what Jim was saying...

Depends on what you want and how badly you want it, whether it's an
Amateur Radio license, an Airman's Certificate, or the highest running score on
Slingo...

And would you not get *any* license until the code test went away, or would

you
just hold off from upgrading?


Hard to say. When I originally got my license, I was only planning on
being a Technician, and I was thinking about how to apply Amateur radio
to my other hobby, Amateur astronomy. I really didn't have much interest
in HF at all! then after a field day where I was allowed to operate, I
was hooked. So my experience is likely not typical. In fact, if it
wasn't for the Technician no-code license, I probably wouldn't be a Ham
now. (to my great loss!!)


I know many EMS/Fire folks and members of CAP who did the very same
thing...They got an Amateur ticket by virtue of thier participation in
"something else". Once they got in there with the rest of us, it was an open
door from then on!

Whatever is done should be done and done quickly. That said, there is a
mile of difference between "should" and "will". I still stand by my
original prediction made some time ago.



Back in 1989-1990 we were told that a nocodetest ham license was

"absolutely
needed for growth". And when it became a reality, we got some short-term

growth
for a few years.

Then we were told that the code test had to go for the same reason - and it

was
dropped to 5 wpm for all classes in 2000. We got some short-term growth for

a
few years - now we're back *below* the level before the restructuring.


It isn't the code or lack of it. It is the limbo state of not knowing
what is going to happen.

I don't think changes will make for growth, except in the short term.


I was a ham way back in 1967, when they said incentive licensing would

"kill
amateur radio". There were about 250,000 US hams back then. Yet in the 10

years
after incentive licensing took full effect (1969-1979 or thereabouts) the
number of US hams grew by about 100,000, despite poor economic conditions,

much
less accessible testing, waiting period for Extra, no code waivers and a

code
test for all hams. And no internet or computer-based training methods.


Of course. Way too much emphasis is put on all the modern conveniences
and the numbers of Hams. I wouldn't care if I had to take the test,
writing on the back of a shovel with a piece of limestone, while Heidi
Klum was trying to distract me. How's that for working her into the
thread! ;^)


I found out I could have my Ham and Heidi too!

Jim, do you still have those dates?



Which dates do you mean?


I'd be curious to see who has
fallen by the wayside so far.



I'm not sure what you're asking, Mike.


Didn't you take a poll of rrap people consisting of guesstimates when
we believed that Morse code would be dropped? I think it was right after
WRC-03. I remember I predicted something like 4 or maybe 5 years.


Ain't that like the FCC...fuss about wanting to get out from under Code
Testing, then when the international treaties that bound them were lifted, they
just got embroiled in an even bigger administrative nightmare to decide if
that's what they really wanted to do!

73

Steve, K4YZ






Steve Robeson K4CAP September 18th 04 10:34 AM

Subject: ARS License Numbers
From: (William)
Date: 9/17/2004 6:00 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

(Steve Robeson K4CAP) wrote in message
...
Subject: ARS License Numbers
From:
(William)
Date: 9/16/2004 5:38 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

(N2EY) wrote in message
...


Someone needs to make it clear to the overall population that
with the reduction of the code requirement to 5wpm across the board

(none
for Tech) that they were supposed to jump into ham radio in

overwhelming
numbers and lead to magnificent growth in the number of hams.


The "Code Test" has not been an issue for over 35% of the Amateur
community for over 13 years now, Brian.

Had you been paying attention...


Steve, have you ever allowed Jim to speak for himself?


If you care to carry on a private conversation with Jim, Brian, may I
suggest private e-mail.

Otherwise you are posting in a public, unmoderated forum, and your
comments are open to all to see, consider and reply to.

Sorry if it irritates or otherwise annoys you, but that's the price you
pay for "freedom of speech"...Having to also endure others "free speech",
whether you like it or not.

Steve, K4YZ






Dee D. Flint September 18th 04 02:06 PM


"Steve Robeson K4CAP" wrote in message
...
Subject: ARS License Numbers
From: Mike Coslo
Date: 9/17/2004 9:11 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

N2EY wrote:

In article , Mike Coslo
writes:


[snip]
And would you not get *any* license until the code test went away, or

would
you just hold off from upgrading?


Hard to say. When I originally got my license, I was only planning on
being a Technician, and I was thinking about how to apply Amateur radio
to my other hobby, Amateur astronomy. I really didn't have much interest
in HF at all! then after a field day where I was allowed to operate, I
was hooked. So my experience is likely not typical. In fact, if it
wasn't for the Technician no-code license, I probably wouldn't be a Ham
now. (to my great loss!!)


I know many EMS/Fire folks and members of CAP who did the very same
thing...They got an Amateur ticket by virtue of thier participation in
"something else". Once they got in there with the rest of us, it was an

open
door from then on!


My entry into ham radio was also by virtue of "something else." My husband
at the time saw classes listed and had always wanted to be a ham (he'd had
relatives who were hams). He said "let's do this together" and basically
dragged me along as I had no interest at the time. Once I got involved in
the class, I found it fascinating and not only got my Tech (with code) but
immediately forged ahead to get my upgrades. Well that husband and I have
parted ways, but I have remained active in ham radio except for the
temporary effects of moving three times.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE



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