"Real Ham" wrote in message ...
In article , Disgusted wrote:

I bailed out of the ARRL 14 years ago when it started to become clear
that the
Leagues agenda was tending more toward a policy of supporting lower
licensing
stardards (CB'er Ham). A pool of trained, capable radio operators
means
something to me and I could no longer stand to be a part of an
organization
that was moving to disregard that section of Part 97.

It was a life membership too.

Ham radio started going into the toilet shortly
after Dick Bash published his infamous "study
guides". Later after the ARRL went crying to the
FCC to publish the question pools (to put Dick Bash
out of business because *his books* were out-selling
the ARRL study guides 10 to 1 at hamfests and mail
order) it sealed the "initial cycle of dumbing down" for
Amateur Radio - and we are now where we are today
as a DIRECT result of the same.

All because *one ham* in Alaska managed to singlehandedly
'step on the proverbial toes of a publishing company' in Newington
Conn. and in their response, they decided to not only throw out
the baby with the bathwater, but also rip the tub out of the wall
and toss it out the 2nd story window...

These are the true facts of the matter.

On Sat, 30 Aug 2003 1:04:40 -0500, mezmerized cows wrote
(in message ):

Ham radio started going into the toilet shortly
after Dick Bash published his infamous "study
guides". Later after the ARRL went crying to the
FCC to publish the question pools (to put Dick Bash
out of business because *his books* were out-selling
the ARRL study guides 10 to 1 at hamfests and mail
order) it sealed the "initial cycle of dumbing down" for
Amateur Radio - and we are now where we are today
as a DIRECT result of the same.

All because *one ham* in Alaska managed to singlehandedly
'step on the proverbial toes of a publishing company' in Newington
Conn. and in their response, they decided to not only throw out
the baby with the bathwater, but also rip the tub out of the wall
and toss it out the 2nd story window...

These are the true facts of the matter.


That's very sweet but exactly what does it have to do with shortwave
/listening/?

A lot of hams seem to think that SWLers are - automatically - interested in
ham stuff.

I doubt that the hams that crosspost into rec.radio.shortwave realize how
badly they make hams look.



Gray Shockley
--------------------------
Entropy Maintenance Technician
Tao Chemical Company
--------------------------

http://www.cybercoffee.org/
Vicksburg, Mississippi US

In article , "mezmerized cows"
writes:

Ham radio started going into the toilet shortly
after Dick Bash published his infamous "study
guides".

And FCC declined to go after him for what was clearly an illegal activity.

Later after the ARRL went crying to the
FCC to publish the question pools

When did that happen? Reference please. Publishing the question pools became
necessary to create the VEC system.

(to put Dick Bash
out of business because *his books* were out-selling
the ARRL study guides 10 to 1 at hamfests and mail
order) it sealed the "initial cycle of dumbing down" for
Amateur Radio - and we are now where we are today
as a DIRECT result of the same.

When did that happen? Reference please.

All because *one ham* in Alaska managed to singlehandedly
'step on the proverbial toes of a publishing company' in Newington
Conn. and in their response, they decided to not only throw out
the baby with the bathwater, but also rip the tub out of the wall
and toss it out the 2nd story window...

Alaska?

What was this ham's call?

These are the true facts of the matter.

References?

The facts that I have seen documented are these:

1) In the 1970s, Mr. Bash gathered information by asking people who had just
taken ham exams to tell him what they remembered. By doing this over time and
with many people, he was able to reconstruct a close facsimile the actual
then-current FCC exams without ever seeing them or copying them.

2) FCC was aware of Bash's activities and methods but chose, wt the highest
levels, not to prosecute him.

3) Some prospective hams bought "Bash books" because they perceived it to be an
easier way to pass the written tests.

4) In the early 1980s, (about a decade after the appearance of the first Bash
books) FCC created the VEC and QPC systems, and turned over testing for
amateur licenses to them. This was done primarily to save FCC money and time,
because they could get volunteer hams to do work previously done by paid FCC
personnel.

5) The VE fees collected go to pay for expenses (postage, duplication, facility
rental, etc.).

73 de Jim, N2EY

"Disgusted" wrote in message
...

I'd take it to the next ARRL Board of Directors meeting and beat the ****
out of them!

According to the same 1930 ARRL Handbook, "The Wouff-Hong is amateur radio's
most sacred symbol and stands for the enforcement of law and order in
amateur operation." The Wouff-Hong's nearest analog is the old-fashion but
still effective can opener. Now every can opener requires an initial
insertion point, and (if you picture the human anatomical form) you can
choose between upper and lower points. The object is to open up the
miscreant and expose his evil to himself. This requires the subject to be
supine and all opening to be done on the front side, where the victim can
indeed see the results: the exposure of his own evil. The beauty of the wood
Wouff-Hong lies in the fact that it leaves splinters in places from which
they cannot be removed. Thus is the scoundrel reminded for life of his
misdeeds and what lies ahead if any one of them should ever be repeated.

"Michael Reynolds" wrote in message
.. .
"Disgusted" wrote in message
...

I'd take it to the next ARRL Board of Directors meeting and beat the
****
out of them!

According to the same 1930 ARRL Handbook, "The Wouff-Hong is amateur
radio's
most sacred symbol and stands for the enforcement of law and order in
amateur operation." The Wouff-Hong's nearest analog is the old-fashion but
still effective can opener. Now every can opener requires an initial
insertion point, and (if you picture the human anatomical form) you can
choose between upper and lower points. The object is to open up the
miscreant and expose his evil to himself. This requires the subject to be
supine and all opening to be done on the front side, where the victim can
indeed see the results: the exposure of his own evil. The beauty of the
wood
Wouff-Hong lies in the fact that it leaves splinters in places from which
they cannot be removed. Thus is the scoundrel reminded for life of his
misdeeds and what lies ahead if any one of them should ever be repeated.

Every culture has it's dark spots, this is amateur radios. Some think it's
fun to joke about. It's pretty sickening, if you ask me. Anyone who has
truly studied what man is capable of doing to man during the Medieval period
or The Spanish Inquisition know this.

--
73 de Bert
WA2SI

Dick Carroll ) writes:
Bert Craig wrote:

"Michael Reynolds" wrote in message
.. .
"Disgusted" wrote in message
...

I'd take it to the next ARRL Board of Directors meeting and beat the
****
out of them!

According to the same 1930 ARRL Handbook, "The Wouff-Hong is amateur
radio's
most sacred symbol and stands for the enforcement of law and order in
amateur operation." The Wouff-Hong's nearest analog is the old-fashion but
still effective can opener. Now every can opener requires an initial
insertion point, and (if you picture the human anatomical form) you can
choose between upper and lower points. The object is to open up the
miscreant and expose his evil to himself. This requires the subject to be
supine and all opening to be done on the front side, where the victim can
indeed see the results: the exposure of his own evil. The beauty of the
wood
Wouff-Hong lies in the fact that it leaves splinters in places from which
they cannot be removed. Thus is the scoundrel reminded for life of his
misdeeds and what lies ahead if any one of them should ever be repeated.

Every culture has it's dark spots, this is amateur radios. Some think it's
fun to joke about. It's pretty sickening, if you ask me. Anyone who has
truly studied what man is capable of doing to man during the Medieval period
or The Spanish Inquisition know this.

I think his description of the Rite of the Woulf Hong is a bit stretched, in
fact quite a bit.
My take on it was that it was a tool from which only a gentle prod in a certain
part of the anatomy was all that would be needed to correct the miscreant.
Maybe the thought of things to come if he didn't straighten up and fly right
was the main impetus.

This is an old thread, and I already basically said as much. It's
"too unspeakable" to mention how the Wouff Hong is used because the
threat is better than the application. There is no application, it's
just smoke and mirrors.

But that people are now describing quite graphically how they think the
Wouff Hong is supposed to be used may be a reflection of how things have
changed. In the twenties when it was originally cooked up, the idea
was to prod hams into being more careful about how they operated. The
chastisement was in The Old Man talking about the lids, not in the threat
of doing damage to the lids. Suggesting, but never stating, that the
Wouff Hong was used in a terrible fashion was more for the sake of fun,
to not take a serious issue too seriously. The whole thing was basically
Hiram Percy Maxim saying "I'm disappointed in some of the operating taking
place today".

That sort of thing has less power today, sadly. I'm not sure if
it's the make up of the hobby, or the make up of society.

So now the Wouff Hong is being portrayed as a weapon, by itself,
rather than as some pseudo-ritual connected with trying to get hams
to be better operators. The true meaning of the Wouff Hong is gone,
when likely it is needed more than ever. Not because there is
bad operating, but because it was part of a history and community
that when lost, may lead to hams not being so concerned with good
operating.

Michael VE2BVW

Dick Carroll wrote in message ...
Bert Craig wrote:

"Michael Reynolds" wrote in message
.. .
"Disgusted" wrote in message
...

I'd take it to the next ARRL Board of Directors meeting and beat the
****
out of them!

According to the same 1930 ARRL Handbook, "The Wouff-Hong is amateur
radio's
most sacred symbol and stands for the enforcement of law and order in
amateur operation." The Wouff-Hong's nearest analog is the old-fashion but
still effective can opener. Now every can opener requires an initial
insertion point, and (if you picture the human anatomical form) you can
choose between upper and lower points. The object is to open up the
miscreant and expose his evil to himself. This requires the subject to be
supine and all opening to be done on the front side, where the victim can
indeed see the results: the exposure of his own evil. The beauty of the
wood
Wouff-Hong lies in the fact that it leaves splinters in places from which
they cannot be removed. Thus is the scoundrel reminded for life of his
misdeeds and what lies ahead if any one of them should ever be repeated.

Every culture has it's dark spots, this is amateur radios. Some think it's
fun to joke about. It's pretty sickening, if you ask me. Anyone who has
truly studied what man is capable of doing to man during the Medieval period
or The Spanish Inquisition knows this.

I think his description of the Rite of the Woulf Hong is a bit stretched, in
fact quite a bit.
My take on it was that it was a tool from which only a gentle prod in a certain
part of the anatomy was all that would be needed to correct the miscreant.
Maybe the thought of things to come if he didn't straighten up and fly right
was the main impetus.

Your take sounds a heckuva lot better, Dick. Thanks, I was in rant
mode and the graphic description kinda struck a nerve.

--
73 de Bert
WA2SI

In article , "Michael Reynolds"
writes:

"Disgusted" wrote in message
...

I'd take it to the next ARRL Board of Directors meeting and beat the ****
out of them!

According to the same 1930 ARRL Handbook, "The Wouff-Hong is amateur radio's
most sacred symbol and stands for the enforcement of law and order in
amateur operation." The Wouff-Hong's nearest analog is the old-fashion but
still effective can opener. Now every can opener requires an initial
insertion point, and (if you picture the human anatomical form) you can
choose between upper and lower points. The object is to open up the
miscreant and expose his evil to himself. This requires the subject to be
supine and all opening to be done on the front side, where the victim can
indeed see the results: the exposure of his own evil. The beauty of the wood
Wouff-Hong lies in the fact that it leaves splinters in places from which
they cannot be removed. Thus is the scoundrel reminded for life of his
misdeeds and what lies ahead if any one of them should ever be repeated.

So, not only were the Founding Fathers of the ARRL anal retentive, but
they exhibited some kind of perverse fascination with sodomy and
inflicting suffering on those who did not think/do as they did.

Not a good thing to found a radio activity hobby on...

LHA

Bert Craig wrote:

Every culture has it's dark spots, this is amateur radios. Some think it's
fun to joke about. It's pretty sickening, if you ask me. Anyone who has
truly studied what man is capable of doing to man during the Medieval period
or The Spanish Inquisition know this.



Even in modern times in places. Even if Saddam didn't have any weapons
of mass
destruction or give any help to Usama's gang, it's a good thing Saddam's
henchmen are no longer
around to use wouff hong like devices on people they dont like.

Did we have this amount of trouble occupying Germany and Japan after WW2?