"Dee D. Flint" wrote

And it has the unique characteristic that
you can't take advantage of it until you
have acquired a basic skill level.

Unique? What's unique about Morse in that regard. There is no mode which
you can use without some basic skill level in that mode.

73, Hans, K0HB

"KØHB" wrote in message
link.net...
"Dee D. Flint" wrote

And it has the unique characteristic that
you can't take advantage of it until you
have acquired a basic skill level.

Unique? What's unique about Morse in that regard. There is no mode which
you can use without some basic skill level in that mode.

73, Hans, K0HB

None of the other modes requires any skill at all beyond connecting the
pieces per the diagrams and typing on the keyboard or pushing a mike button.
Although typing is a skill, it is not radio specific and the hunt & peck
typist gets by. Virtually anyone can put set up & run in an afternoon once
they have acquired the equipment. The skill requirement to operate other
modes is insignificant. I've operated both RTTY and packet and other
digital modes and found them totally boring but I have had experience with
them and there simply is no specific skill required.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

"Dee D. Flint" wrote:

None of the other modes requires any skill
at all beyond connecting the pieces per the
diagrams and typing on the keyboard or
pushing a mike button. (snip)


Really? You mean all those things I did to get a properly operating
station (putting coax and connectors together, waterproofing, antenna
tuning, SWR tests, ground radials, masts, guy wires, wiring a microphone,
equipment grounding, lightning protection, RF exposure level estimates, and
so on) wasn't really needed and didn't really require any skills to do
properly? Well, I guess I'll just forget about all that stuff in the future.


(snip) Virtually anyone can put set up & run in
an afternoon once they have acquired the
equipment. (snip)


In an afternoon? You mean I wasted all those days it took to get
everything in my station working just right, not counting all the time I've
spent fiddling around to get even better performance since then. Well,
you're obviously a much more gifted operator than I am.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/

In article .net, "Dwight
Stewart" writes:

"Dee D. Flint" wrote:

None of the other modes requires any skill
at all beyond connecting the pieces per the
diagrams and typing on the keyboard or
pushing a mike button. (snip)


Really? You mean all those things I did to get a properly operating
station (putting coax and connectors together, waterproofing, antenna
tuning, SWR tests, ground radials, masts, guy wires, wiring a microphone,
equipment grounding, lightning protection, RF exposure level estimates, and
so on) wasn't really needed and didn't really require any skills to do
properly?

Not at all. Just that all those things (except RF exposure estimate) were
optional and your choice, determined by the technologies you decided to use.

And most of them were not on your license tests. You figured out how to do them
as a matter of practical necessity, not to pass a test.

Well, I guess I'll just forget about all that stuff in the future.

(snip) Virtually anyone can put set up & run in
an afternoon once they have acquired the
equipment. (snip)

In an afternoon? You mean I wasted all those days it took to get
everything in my station working just right, not counting all the time I've
spent fiddling around to get even better performance since then. Well,
you're obviously a much more gifted operator than I am.

I've set up a complete Field Day station in much less than an afternoon. Again,
almost none of the skills needed were on the license tests.

73 de Jim, N2EY

"N2EY" wrote:

(snip) And most of them were not on your
license tests. You figured out how to do
them as a matter of practical necessity, not
to pass a test. (snip)


Actually, most of them (coax, connectors, antenna tuning, SWR tests,
equipment grounding, lightning protection, and RF exposure level estimates)
were in the Novice/Technician question pool I studied (7/1/97~7/1/01
version). Just glancing through the question pool, here are some of the
related questions I stumbled across...

N4A06 ~ N4A11 - Station & antenna grounding
T4A08 ~ T4A16 - Station & antenna grounding
N4C01 ~ N4C11 - SWR measurements
T9B09 ~ T9B12 - SWR measurements
N4A04 ~ N4A05 - Lightning protection
N9A09 ~ N9A13 - Antenna tuning
N9C01 ~ N9C12 - Feed lines (coax and others)
T9C01 ~ T9C03 - Connectors
N0B01 ~ N0C27 - RF Safety (exposure levels)
T0A01 ~ T0C22 - RF Safety (exposure levels)

The study guide I used (Now You're Talking!) pretty much covered the rest
(waterproofing, ground radials, masts, guy wires, and so on). Of course, I
then had to transfer that written information into real world applications.


I've set up a complete Field Day station in
much less than an afternoon. (snip)


Most of us have set up in remote locations, for various purposes.


Again, almost none of the skills needed were
on the license tests.


If true, you must have taken some really basic tests back when you got
your license years ago. The test I took seems much more comprehensive than
what you describe.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/

"Dwight Stewart" wrote in message
link.net...
"Dee D. Flint" wrote:

None of the other modes requires any skill
at all beyond connecting the pieces per the
diagrams and typing on the keyboard or
pushing a mike button. (snip)


Really? You mean all those things I did to get a properly operating
station (putting coax and connectors together, waterproofing, antenna
tuning, SWR tests, ground radials, masts, guy wires, wiring a microphone,
equipment grounding, lightning protection, RF exposure level estimates,
and
so on) wasn't really needed and didn't really require any skills to do
properly? Well, I guess I'll just forget about all that stuff in the
future.


Soldering requires some modest skill but one can hire that done if desired.
The other items are necessary but no skill is required just taking the time
to do it.


(snip) Virtually anyone can put set up & run in
an afternoon once they have acquired the
equipment. (snip)


In an afternoon? You mean I wasted all those days it took to get
everything in my station working just right, not counting all the time
I've
spent fiddling around to get even better performance since then. Well,
you're obviously a much more gifted operator than I am.


Doesn't require a gift merely knowing what to do and when to do it. Most
people don't try to set up the station and all the options at once. They
generally work at it in stages gaining experience as the go.

You will find that most experienced hams could set up a complete station,
including antennas, digital modes etc within a matter of hours. Many do so
for single station operation in Field Day.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

"Dee D. Flint" wrote:

"Dwight Stewart" wrote:
Really? You mean all those things I did
to get a properly operating station (putting
coax and connectors together, water-
proofing, antenna tuning, SWR tests,
ground radials, masts, guy wires, wiring a
microphone, equipment grounding,
lightning protection, RF exposure level
estimates, and so on) wasn't really needed
and didn't really require any skills to do
properly? (snip)

Soldering requires some modest skill but one
can hire that done if desired. The other items
are necessary but no skill is required just
taking the time to do it. (snip)


If you truly believe there is no skill involved to do those things
properly, I suspect you haven't done most of them (at least not properly).


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/

In article k.net, "Dwight
Stewart" writes:

"Dee D. Flint" wrote:

"Dwight Stewart" wrote:
Really? You mean all those things I did
to get a properly operating station (putting
coax and connectors together, water-
proofing, antenna tuning, SWR tests,
ground radials, masts, guy wires, wiring a
microphone, equipment grounding,
lightning protection, RF exposure level
estimates, and so on) wasn't really needed
and didn't really require any skills to do
properly? (snip)

Soldering requires some modest skill but one
can hire that done if desired. The other items
are necessary but no skill is required just
taking the time to do it. (snip)

If you truly believe there is no skill involved to do those things
properly, I suspect you haven't done most of them (at least not properly).

Dwight, morse code proficiency overrules all other things. It doesn't
matter in other skills. Only one thing counts - morse code skill.

LHA

"Dwight Stewart" wrote in message
hlink.net...
"Dee D. Flint" wrote:

"Dwight Stewart" wrote:
Really? You mean all those things I did
to get a properly operating station (putting
coax and connectors together, water-
proofing, antenna tuning, SWR tests,
ground radials, masts, guy wires, wiring a
microphone, equipment grounding,
lightning protection, RF exposure level
estimates, and so on) wasn't really needed
and didn't really require any skills to do
properly? (snip)

Soldering requires some modest skill but one
can hire that done if desired. The other items
are necessary but no skill is required just
taking the time to do it. (snip)


If you truly believe there is no skill involved to do those things
properly, I suspect you haven't done most of them (at least not properly).


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/



Done them many times and done them properly.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

"Dee D. Flint" wrote in message
gy.com...

"KØHB" wrote in message
link.net...
"Dee D. Flint" wrote

And it has the unique characteristic that
you can't take advantage of it until you
have acquired a basic skill level.

Unique? What's unique about Morse in that regard. There is no mode
which
you can use without some basic skill level in that mode.

73, Hans, K0HB

None of the other modes requires any skill at all beyond connecting the
pieces per the diagrams and typing on the keyboard or pushing a mike
button.
Although typing is a skill, it is not radio specific and the hunt & peck
typist gets by. Virtually anyone can put set up & run in an afternoon
once
they have acquired the equipment.

One can also use morse code with a "decoding" sheet to send and
recieve at very slow speeds,

The skill requirement to operate other
modes is insignificant.

The same can be said for morse...unless you want to operate at
other than a basic level. For some reason, this discussion always
seems to presume one must be code literate at speeds well above
even 5 wpm for code to be useful to anyone. If one can "hunt & peck"
via a keyboard, the same can be done for morse using a "cheat sheet"
to send and receive morse at slow speeds.

I've operated both RTTY and packet and other
digital modes and found them totally boring but I have had experience with
them and there simply is no specific skill required.

Even "hunt & peck" requires an ability to use the keyboard
at a very minimal level. You may not think that it is any
skill level at all, but it is.

Cheers,
Bill K2UNK