Not necessarily, Brian, but studying for an amateur ticket gets kids
fired up about learning. I can certainly see Jim's point about kids
becoming interested in geography, the sciences and math. It didn't work
toward interesting me in geometry though. I was caught reading QST
hidden within my open geometry book.

Should have been a copy of Playboy..... ;-)








For the first few weeks of my interest, my dad actively discouraged me
with talk of amateur radio being a passing fad for me. He had visions
of mounds of equipment gathering dust in a closet. My mother encouraged
me and was able to convince my father that some of the meager family
income should be spent on a transmitter for me if I earned the money for
the receiver from my paper route.

My dad had and has no technical abilities whatever. My mother was
deathly afraid of electricity and wouldn't even clean my ham shack. She
just knew that lightning was going to enter the house via my antennas.


Reminds me of the story about some little old lady sueing the trolley
company
because they caused a lightning bolt to run thru her bedroom late at night.
What probably happened was the trolley pole comming off the wire causing
an arc to flash. She must have went nuts during a real thunderstorm....

We once had lightning take out a tall tree in the back yard late one night.
Wooden shrapnel all over the back yard; good thing nobody was outside
when that happened. SOme of the light bulbs that were on blew out.
This was back in the early 60's, before line operated solid state
equipment was at all common. The tube stuff (all of which was off)
didn't mind.

At which age did you pass an amateur radio license exam, Leonard?



Never tried, snarly dave.

I passed my First Phone exam on the first try in Chicago at an FCC
field office in March 1956. Never looked back.



Then learning the 5 wpm and getting the extra should be a walk in the
park then.
It took me about a month to learn 5 wpm and I'm no good at such motor
skills.

Len Over 21 wrote:

In article , Dave Heil
writes:

Len Over 21 wrote:

In article ,
(William) writes:

Larrah, at what age did you pass the Extra exam elements?

Mental or physical age? :-)

At which age did you pass an amateur radio license exam, Leonard?

Never tried, snarly dave.

Well, there you have it.

I passed my First Phone exam on the first try in Chicago at an FCC
field office in March 1956. Never looked back.

I don't care about your commercial ticket. I asked about your amateur
radio license. Maybe you should look back.

Now Larrah, the self-professed paragon of determination and moral
virtue, once bragged and carried on that his "summa cum laude"
standings in post-service college would get him any top spot job
in human resources after graduation. He now drives a bus.

What has that to do with his amateur radio license and why is it of
concern to you?

Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

You bragged *four* years ago that you'd get "an Extra right out of the
box". You still have not even the most basic amateur radio license.

Q.E.D.

Please continue your civil debate on morse code elimination.

As soon as you show the way, snarly dave.

So far you haven't exhibited much civility in that regard.

I didn't state that as my "only purpose" here, Leonard. You did.

Dave K8MN

In article , "Jim Hampton"
writes:

Thanks for the info, Jim.

Check out the book "Radio Rescue", though. True story.

Yes, I suspect the youngest would be girls since
males tend to mature at a later age.

If at all.

Check the posts in the newsgroup for
proof of that ;)

The oldest regular poster here is the least mature, for a start.

73 de Jim, N2EY

In article , Dave Heil
writes:

Brian Kelly wrote:

(N2EY) wrote in message
.com...

I think you're over-preaching to the choir again here James.

And there is no better way to help a child learn than to get them
interested in the subject. Geography? Time zones? Math, science,
technology? An interest in ham radio helps with all of those.

Her folks shepherded her into ham radio beacause ham radio is a great
way for kids to learn geography??

Not necessarily, Brian, but studying for an amateur ticket gets kids
fired up about learning. I can certainly see Jim's point about kids
becoming interested in geography, the sciences and math. It didn't work
toward interesting me in geometry though. I was caught reading QST
hidden within my open geometry book.

I got caught reading a text on electricity. Book was open to the page about
polyphase induction motors, and I had to explain the meaning of a rotating
magnetic field and a squirrel cage rotor to the teacher. In 5th grade.

I never got any help in the ham radio area from my folks. So I was
delayed a few years in getting started.

Nothing unusual about that. A huge percentage of all of us kid hams
didn't have any particular "parental support" when we became hams. All
my folks cared about was that whatever it was that I was doing with a
soldering iron in the cellar didn't result in the Henny Carr the town
cop dragging me home by the scruff of my neck *again* for commiting
some bush-league juvenile atrocity or another. Worked for them and it
worked for me.

For the first few weeks of my interest, my dad actively discouraged me
with talk of amateur radio being a passing fad for me. He had visions
of mounds of equipment gathering dust in a closet. My mother encouraged
me and was able to convince my father that some of the meager family
income should be spent on a transmitter for me if I earned the money for
the receiver from my paper route.

My dad had and has no technical abilities whatever. My mother was
deathly afraid of electricity and wouldn't even clean my ham shack. She
just knew that lightning was going to enter the house via my antennas.
Both parents saw value in amateur radio as a wholesome activity, one
which would nurture an interest in science and possibly lead to a career
in electronics.

'zactly.

Frankly, it was kinda surreal reading Larry's diatribe about that family. We've
been subject to years of
Dr.-Laura-points-of-light-republican-cloth-coat-family- values lectures, and
then a family actually does ham radio together and the kid gets no credit.
Bleah.

I know Janie. Her father was Jesse Bieberman W3KT who is still a
legend. Honer Roll top-ender for decades, phone and cw dx contester,
25wpm with a straight key for 48 straight. Vice Director of the
Atlantic Division for decades and one of the most powerful voices in
Newington in those days. Ran the W3 buro single-handed also for
decades.

...and ran the W3KT outgoing QSL forwarding service for a number of
years.

Yup, great guy, original 1x2 holder, the works.

73 de Jim, N2EY

In article ,
(Len Over 21) writes:


who were amateur radio operators, and almost no exposure to other hams
as a result. Young Mattie has an Extra-class ticket, and the same
privileges
as I do, but that's where our "equality" ends. She has to melt quite a few
pounds of 60/40 rosin-core, and make several thousand CW and digital
QSO's, to get close to me!

Larrah, NOBODY is as good as you...by your own definition.

Lennie:

Yup -- there are many who are a lot better. Sorry, but when we're
talking about amateur radio operators, you're not one of them!

Literally.

Are you electronically connected here and formerly on FIDONET
BECAUSE no one could "come close to you?"

Uh, no -- mainly because I have a computer with a modem! I'm sort of
surprised that you didn't know how that worked!

Try regular bathing. It might help.

Bathing my computers? Now that you mention it, they are a bit dusty...
but I doubt that tossing them into the bathtub would do them any good.

(Oooops, guess I just left you an opening you can drive a Kenworth with
a 53' trailer through! Oh, well -- you need all the help you can get!)

73 de Larry, K3LT

In article , ospam
(Larrah TyRoll the Wonder Ham) writes:

In article ,
(Len Over 21) writes:

who were amateur radio operators, and almost no exposure to other hams
as a result. Young Mattie has an Extra-class ticket, and the same
privileges
as I do, but that's where our "equality" ends. She has to melt quite a few
pounds of 60/40 rosin-core, and make several thousand CW and digital
QSO's, to get close to me!

Larrah, NOBODY is as good as you...by your own definition.

Lennie:

Yup -- there are many who are a lot better. Sorry, but when we're
talking about amateur radio operators, you're not one of them!

Literally.

No kidding? You got soma come loud ratings in college for all
that reasoning? Did you get a brain cell graft or something.

Here's a Clue, bus driver: The FCC doesn't require a single
commissioner or staff to hold amateur radio licenses in order to
MAKE the amateur radio regulations or enforce them.

Are you electronically connected here and formerly on FIDONET
BECAUSE no one could "come close to you?"

Uh, no -- mainly because I have a computer with a modem! I'm sort of
surprised that you didn't know how that worked!

I'm surprised you know how to dial into an ISP without using morse
code. Modems don't have morse keys.

Try regular bathing. It might help.

Bathing my computers? Now that you mention it, they are a bit dusty...
but I doubt that tossing them into the bathtub would do them any good.

Using them the way you do doesn't do anyone much good.

(Oooops, guess I just left you an opening you can drive a Kenworth with
a 53' trailer through! Oh, well -- you need all the help you can get!)

Not really needing your "help," sweatbreath.

You just keep tawking tuff to the group on how you got all those great
grades in college and could get any personnel job you wanted...all
through the dedication and resolve that made you Wonder Ham with
morse code.

You never used any 63/37 solder? Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Have you learned to solder yet?

LHA / WMD

In article , Robert Casey
writes:

At which age did you pass an amateur radio license exam, Leonard?

Never tried, snarly dave.

I passed my First Phone exam on the first try in Chicago at an FCC
field office in March 1956. Never looked back.

Then learning the 5 wpm and getting the extra should be a walk in the park
then.
It took me about a month to learn 5 wpm and I'm no good at such motor skills.

Gosh, olde-tymer, I've walked in many fine parks in my time but not
a single one of them required any morse code proficiency to walk.

Never saw any "Keep Off The Code Keys" signs either.

Birdies in the trees chirped "tweet, tweet," not "beep, beep."

You must have lived in different cities than I.

"Motor skills" I learned as a teenager, got my first drivers license
without having to test for morse code. In Illinois...obviously a
regressive state, right? :-)

Psycho-motor skill I learned in middle school (we called it
"junior high school" back then before educational PC) was typing
at tested maximum of 60 WPM. On typewriters that had no key
markings. :-)

None in the typing class had to copy any morse code. More's
the pity, right? I later cruised on 60 WPM Teletypes just dandy.

Now, let's concentrate on WHY there's still a morse code test for
an AMATEUR radio license...and WHY it must remain law forever
and ever. Or, at least until the last PCTA has their code key
forcibly removed from their cold, dead fingers.

Is morse code not so wonderful that the feds have to keep the
morse test in law so that cute little seven-year-olds can have
radio playmates? Or forty-seven-year-olds and older?

Ever wonder why morse code is the SECOND most used mode
on HF, a distant second behind voice? All the HF hams had to
test for code but so few continued to use it. I guess it must not be
so wonderful, so popular after all.

Morse code gets through when everything else will...

LHA / WMD

In article , Dave Heil snarly
aka "Mr. Warmth" writes:

Len Over 21 wrote:

In article , Dave Heil

writes:

Len Over 21 wrote:

In article ,
(William) writes:

Larrah, at what age did you pass the Extra exam elements?

Mental or physical age? :-)

At which age did you pass an amateur radio license exam, Leonard?

Never tried, snarly dave.

Well, there you have it.

Have what? I don't have any amateur license. Got several others.

I passed my First Phone exam on the first try in Chicago at an FCC
field office in March 1956. Never looked back.

I don't care about your commercial ticket. I asked about your amateur
radio license. Maybe you should look back.

Snarly dave, I don't care about your amateur wonderfulness and
vindictiveness and bigotry to non-amateurs. I'm a pro, like it or no.

You do NOT get to choose anything about what anyone is "supposed"
to say, to reply to, or anydamnthingelse. You keep thinking you do
every time you put on the SS uniform with the monocle. Try keeping
the armband off, it's so 40-ish.

Shave the head and learn to smile. That will make you more like
Colonel Klink. Lose several pounds too.

Now Larrah, the self-professed paragon of determination and moral
virtue, once bragged and carried on that his "summa cum laude"
standings in post-service college would get him any top spot job
in human resources after graduation. He now drives a bus.

What has that to do with his amateur radio license and why is it of
concern to you?

What have you to do with anything? :-)

Tsk, tsk, tsk, snarly dave, all you seem to do is try to fight with
others who don't bow down and kiss your asterisk.

Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

You bragged *four* years ago that you'd get "an Extra right out of the
box". You still have not even the most basic amateur radio license.

Q.E.D.

Ah, so in "correct" amateurism, any statement anyone says in the
past MUST be kept forever and ever? Even casual throwaway
mentions? :-)

I changed my mind, sweetums. Stuff it. :-)

I saw the way you acted in here and didn't want to become a snarly
dave clone. Or a gunnery nurse.

Please continue your civil debate on morse code elimination.

As soon as you show the way, snarly dave.

So far you haven't exhibited much civility in that regard.

I didn't state that as my "only purpose" here, Leonard. You did.

So, snarly dave, your purpose in here is to make nasty to everyone
that doesn't agree with you and kiss your asterisk?

I'm very glad the State Department never had you on any official
negotiating team. We would all be nuclear toast, clicking counters
for a very long half-after life.

Snarly dave, I'm just trying to discuss the morse code test issue.
You keep trying to turn all of this into some personal vendetta by
making all that nasty. Is that what all the extra ham lifers do?

LHA / WMD

Len Over 21 wrote:

In article , ospam
(Larrah TyRoll the Wonder Ham) writes:

Lennie:

Yup -- there are many who are a lot better. Sorry, but when we're
talking about amateur radio operators, you're not one of them!

Literally.

No kidding? You got soma come loud ratings in college for all
that reasoning? Did you get a brain cell graft or something.

Here's a Clue, bus driver: The FCC doesn't require a single
commissioner or staff to hold amateur radio licenses in order to
MAKE the amateur radio regulations or enforce them.

N2EY: "Besides, here's a simple, plain fact:

No matter what job, educational level, employer, or
government/military service that a radio amateur has, if said radio
amateur opposes Mr. Anderson's views, he/she will be the target of Mr.
Anderson's insults, ridicule, name-calling, factual errors, ethnic
slurs, excessive emoticons and general infantile behavior."


Not really needing your "help," sweatbreath.

You just keep tawking tuff to the group on how you got all those great
grades in college and could get any personnel job you wanted...all
through the dedication and resolve that made you Wonder Ham with
morse code.

Entertain us with your credentials once again, won't you, Len. Then
tell us about that "Extra right out of the box". After more than seven
years of posting your diatribes in an amateur radio newsgroup, you're no
closer to obtaining even the most basic no-code amateur radio license.

Dave K8MN