(Len Over 21) wrote in
:

In article . net,
"Avery Hightower" writes:

RAC Bulletin 04-22E - Industry Canada Gazette Notice DGRB-003-04 on
Morse Code.

On Saturday, 28 August, 2004, Industry Canada published Canada Gazette
Notice DGRB-003-04 - Consultation on "Recommendations from Radio
Amateurs of Canada to Industry Canada Concerning Morse Code and Related
Matters", and invited comments. Amateurs have sixty days in which to
respond.

The RAC Proposal deals with the WRC-2003 decisions concerning Morse as
a mandatory qualification for HF operation in the Amateur Service. RAC
has recommended that Industry Canada delete the mandatory requirement
for Morse testing but leave it as a voluntary qualification as it may
be required for reciprocal operation in those countries retaining a
Morse requirement.

Amateurs should address comments to Industry Canada as directed in the
Notice. RAC recommends that Canadian amateurs endorse this proposal.

Amateurs with questions for RAC should direct them to their regional
RAC Director.

The Notice is available at:

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/inter.../sf06456e.html

Thank you for the link!

Any Canadian radio amateurs care to comment on that?



I'm not Canadian, but I think it fails to follw the KISS principle. They
want to add an Intermediate licence to their Basic and Advanced. Why don't
they just abolish the 'Plus' categories (i.e. plus Morse)? That would be
much simpler.

Alun, N3KIP

"Alun" wrote in message
...
I'm not Canadian, but I think it fails to follw the KISS principle. They
want to add an Intermediate licence to their Basic and Advanced. Why don't
they just abolish the 'Plus' categories (i.e. plus Morse)? That would be
much simpler.

Alun, N3KIP

1) Perhaps things aren't always that simple.

2) Perhaps they see some value in it, hence "plus Morse."

--
73 de Bert
WA2SI

"Bert Craig" wrote in message .net...
"Alun" wrote in message
...
I'm not Canadian, but I think it fails to follw the KISS principle. They
want to add an Intermediate licence to their Basic and Advanced. Why don't
they just abolish the 'Plus' categories (i.e. plus Morse)? That would be
much simpler.

Alun, N3KIP

1) Perhaps things aren't always that simple.

2) Perhaps they see some value in it, hence "plus Morse."

Great! More immigration into the USA where Morse is sacred.

Mr. Bush, Put up that Wall!

In article , Alun
writes:

(Len Over 21) wrote in
:

In article . net,
"Avery Hightower" writes:

RAC Bulletin 04-22E - Industry Canada Gazette Notice DGRB-003-04 on
Morse Code.

On Saturday, 28 August, 2004, Industry Canada published Canada Gazette
Notice DGRB-003-04 - Consultation on "Recommendations from Radio
Amateurs of Canada to Industry Canada Concerning Morse Code and Related
Matters", and invited comments. Amateurs have sixty days in which to
respond.

The RAC Proposal deals with the WRC-2003 decisions concerning Morse as
a mandatory qualification for HF operation in the Amateur Service. RAC
has recommended that Industry Canada delete the mandatory requirement
for Morse testing but leave it as a voluntary qualification as it may
be required for reciprocal operation in those countries retaining a
Morse requirement.

Amateurs should address comments to Industry Canada as directed in the
Notice. RAC recommends that Canadian amateurs endorse this proposal.

Amateurs with questions for RAC should direct them to their regional
RAC Director.

The Notice is available at:

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/inter.../sf06456e.html

Thank you for the link!

Any Canadian radio amateurs care to comment on that?



I'm not Canadian, but I think it fails to follw the KISS principle. They
want to add an Intermediate licence to their Basic and Advanced. Why don't
they just abolish the 'Plus' categories (i.e. plus Morse)? That would be
much simpler.

I'm not Canadian either as a "Carbo-American," but I think the "plus"
category is a sop to the existing Canadian mighty morsemen.
Canada must have its share of olde-fahrt hamme morsemen and
those must be "satisfied."

I have to agree with Hans Brakob in that our northern neighbor in
Norse America is doing the right thing for their future. Modernization
is long overdue. [excuse me...NORTH America...;-) ]

Industry Canada has much simpler regulations for their radio
amateurs but accomplish the same thing in the hobby.

On 01 Sep 2004 20:09:31 GMT, (Len Over 21) wrote:

snip

The Notice is available at:

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/inter.../sf06456e.html

Thank you for the link!

Any Canadian radio amateurs care to comment on that?



I'm not Canadian, but I think it fails to follw the KISS principle. They
want to add an Intermediate licence to their Basic and Advanced. Why don't
they just abolish the 'Plus' categories (i.e. plus Morse)? That would be
much simpler.

I'm not Canadian either as a "Carbo-American," but I think the "plus"
category is a sop to the existing Canadian mighty morsemen.
Canada must have its share of olde-fahrt hamme morsemen and
those must be "satisfied."

I am - and fully agree with your observation that there are -um-
a fair number of 'old school' amateurs up here, who do not believe in
the abolishment of the Code Test (approximately a third of the
respondents to the RAC survey on this subject). The RAC proposal
attempts to meet the needs of both the "Pro Morse" and "No Morse"
factions of the hobby - in quite an interesting way. Both sides win -
either path leads to a full HF-access Amateur license.

Now dat's a typically Canadian solution, eh?

I believe that the proposal is a good one - inasmuch as it provides
access to HF without the requirement of Morse testing. It does
recommend that Morse testing be made available should the applicant
desire it - I have no problem with that. Status quo - or not. Your
choice.

It recommends raising the pass marks on the exams - good idea, most
believe that they are way too low right now (60% is a pass on both the
Basic and Advanced tests currently). No issue there.

It is indeed a compromise intended to satisfy both the Morse and No
Morse factions of the hobby - but it does so with considerably more
elegance than the ARRL proposal, in my opinion.

I'm in favour of it - and my comments to that effect have been filed
with IC, as of today.


I have to agree with Hans Brakob in that our northern neighbor in
Norse America is doing the right thing for their future. Modernization
is long overdue. [excuse me...NORTH America...;-) ]

heh.....that brought back memories of Leif The Lucky from grade
school!


Industry Canada has much simpler regulations for their radio
amateurs but accomplish the same thing in the hobby.

Well said. The less regulations, the better the hobby!

......and the less I gotta remember....




73, Leo

PS - WTF is a "Carbo-American"? - never heard that one before!

In article , Leo
writes:

On 01 Sep 2004 20:09:31 GMT, (Len Over 21) wrote:

snip

The Notice is available at:

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/inter.../sf06456e.html

Thank you for the link!

Any Canadian radio amateurs care to comment on that?



I'm not Canadian, but I think it fails to follw the KISS principle. They
want to add an Intermediate licence to their Basic and Advanced. Why don't
they just abolish the 'Plus' categories (i.e. plus Morse)? That would be
much simpler.

I'm not Canadian either as a "Carbo-American," but I think the "plus"
category is a sop to the existing Canadian mighty morsemen.
Canada must have its share of olde-fahrt hamme morsemen and
those must be "satisfied."

I am - and fully agree with your observation that there are -um-
a fair number of 'old school' amateurs up here, who do not believe in
the abolishment of the Code Test (approximately a third of the
respondents to the RAC survey on this subject). The RAC proposal
attempts to meet the needs of both the "Pro Morse" and "No Morse"
factions of the hobby - in quite an interesting way. Both sides win -
either path leads to a full HF-access Amateur license.

Now dat's a typically Canadian solution, eh?

I'm not familiar with that sort of "typicalness." Been in here
in this ultra-conservative retro-tech newsgroup too much. :-)

I would say instead it is a GOOD COMPROMISE and to the
credit of the Radio Amateurs of Canada and Industry Canada.

I believe that the proposal is a good one - inasmuch as it provides
access to HF without the requirement of Morse testing. It does
recommend that Morse testing be made available should the applicant
desire it - I have no problem with that. Status quo - or not. Your
choice.

That's fair and equitable in my viewpoint.

Mighty macho morsemen will disagree and ignite (again) Flame
Wars instead of simple bonfires.

It recommends raising the pass marks on the exams - good idea, most
believe that they are way too low right now (60% is a pass on both the
Basic and Advanced tests currently). No issue there.

That's good in my view.

It is indeed a compromise intended to satisfy both the Morse and No
Morse factions of the hobby - but it does so with considerably more
elegance than the ARRL proposal, in my opinion.

ARRL is not fully into this new millennium. :-)

Some wonder if they ever made it into the last millennium...

I'm in favour of it - and my comments to that effect have been filed
with IC, as of today.

Good on you!

I have to agree with Hans Brakob in that our northern neighbor in
Norse America is doing the right thing for their future. Modernization
is long overdue. [excuse me...NORTH America...;-) ]

heh.....that brought back memories of Leif The Lucky from grade
school!

Norsemen were the first European discoverers of North America.

Settled in what is now Canada (New Foundland) for a while.

Dunno why they left...maybe they objected to speaking French?

:-)

Industry Canada has much simpler regulations for their radio
amateurs but accomplish the same thing in the hobby.

Well said. The less regulations, the better the hobby!

.....and the less I gotta remember....

Band limits and other technical necessities should be enough.

BTW, that electronic test that can run on any PC looked rather
neat! Simple way to do it and the computer does most of the
paperwork as well as keeping a record of it being done and
when.

Learning skills of long ago just to get a license in here and now
is nowhere close to being progressive and just doesn't keep up
with the times.



73, Leo

PS - WTF is a "Carbo-American"? - never heard that one before!

Came from a couple of comic strips running in the L.A. Times as
well as elsewhere. Backlash to the "Adkins Diet" craze. :-)
[or "Atkins Diet" or whatever..."zero carbohydrates"]

BTW, the Olay cosmetics company now has a body wash product
called "Ohm." [just saw it on the shelves at market today] I think
that will meet with some resistance in some U.S. ham circles... :-)

On 02 Sep 2004 04:18:56 GMT, (Len Over 21) wrote:

In article , Leo
writes:

On 01 Sep 2004 20:09:31 GMT, (Len Over 21) wrote:

snip

The Notice is available at:

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/inter.../sf06456e.html

Thank you for the link!

Any Canadian radio amateurs care to comment on that?



I'm not Canadian, but I think it fails to follw the KISS principle. They
want to add an Intermediate licence to their Basic and Advanced. Why don't
they just abolish the 'Plus' categories (i.e. plus Morse)? That would be
much simpler.

I'm not Canadian either as a "Carbo-American," but I think the "plus"
category is a sop to the existing Canadian mighty morsemen.
Canada must have its share of olde-fahrt hamme morsemen and
those must be "satisfied."

I am - and fully agree with your observation that there are -um-
a fair number of 'old school' amateurs up here, who do not believe in
the abolishment of the Code Test (approximately a third of the
respondents to the RAC survey on this subject). The RAC proposal
attempts to meet the needs of both the "Pro Morse" and "No Morse"
factions of the hobby - in quite an interesting way. Both sides win -
either path leads to a full HF-access Amateur license.

Now dat's a typically Canadian solution, eh?

I'm not familiar with that sort of "typicalness." Been in here
in this ultra-conservative retro-tech newsgroup too much. :-)

Hmmm - not good for a guy like you, living in one of the more free
thinking areas of the country....

(an aside ... I have relatives in Redondo Beach - spent a few happy
summers there when I was a teenager learning Californian
philosophy.... and a fair bit of anatomy too, on the beach....wow!


I would say instead it is a GOOD COMPROMISE and to the
credit of the Radio Amateurs of Canada and Industry Canada.

I believe that the proposal is a good one - inasmuch as it provides
access to HF without the requirement of Morse testing. It does
recommend that Morse testing be made available should the applicant
desire it - I have no problem with that. Status quo - or not. Your
choice.

That's fair and equitable in my viewpoint.

Mighty macho morsemen will disagree and ignite (again) Flame
Wars instead of simple bonfires.

That would be typical......unfortunately.

Realistically, this hobby has more than enough breadth to accomodate
the needs of both the Morse and No Morse proponents.


It recommends raising the pass marks on the exams - good idea, most
believe that they are way too low right now (60% is a pass on both the
Basic and Advanced tests currently). No issue there.

That's good in my view.

Mine too. The more knowledge, the better.


It is indeed a compromise intended to satisfy both the Morse and No
Morse factions of the hobby - but it does so with considerably more
elegance than the ARRL proposal, in my opinion.

ARRL is not fully into this new millennium. :-)

Some wonder if they ever made it into the last millennium...

In some ways, only the first quarter of it.....

Frankly, they seem too concerned with playing politics than guiding
the hobby into the future.

The RAC proposal to IC was based on an Internet survey which was open
to all licensed Canadian amateurs (not just RAC members).

The ARRL proposal seems to have been developed autonomously by the
Directors, with little (if any) input from the Amateur community. No
wonder everyone was surprised when it was filed!


I'm in favour of it - and my comments to that effect have been filed
with IC, as of today.

Good on you!

I have to agree with Hans Brakob in that our northern neighbor in
Norse America is doing the right thing for their future. Modernization
is long overdue. [excuse me...NORTH America...;-) ]

heh.....that brought back memories of Leif The Lucky from grade
school!

Norsemen were the first European discoverers of North America.

Yup - long before Columbus got lost and thought this was India!


Settled in what is now Canada (New Foundland) for a while.

Dunno why they left...maybe they objected to speaking French?

....they probably left because they couldn't find jobs

(the unemployment rate in Newfie is a whopping 20% or so - WAY above
the national average of just over 7%!)


:-)

Industry Canada has much simpler regulations for their radio
amateurs but accomplish the same thing in the hobby.

Well said. The less regulations, the better the hobby!

.....and the less I gotta remember....

Band limits and other technical necessities should be enough.

Fully agreed. Up here, bandplans for the various operating modes are
compiled by the RAC, and adhered to by gentlemen's agreement. It is
absolutely legal to operate SSB on 7.100 MHz, or CW on 7.250 MHz, but
it just isn't done! Peer pressure is the only enforcement tool
required.


BTW, that electronic test that can run on any PC looked rather
neat! Simple way to do it and the computer does most of the
paperwork as well as keeping a record of it being done and
when.

It is pretty neat indeed! Free, too!

Normally, one should be wary of free things from the Government....



Learning skills of long ago just to get a license in here and now
is nowhere close to being progressive and just doesn't keep up
with the times.

Again, fully agreed. Especially since the rest of the world is
moving towards the future - we would look pretty silly clinging
steadfastly to the past.




73, Leo

PS - WTF is a "Carbo-American"? - never heard that one before!

Came from a couple of comic strips running in the L.A. Times as
well as elsewhere. Backlash to the "Adkins Diet" craze. :-)
[or "Atkins Diet" or whatever..."zero carbohydrates"]

Got it - we have been bombarded by the "Adkins" diet craze up here
too. It's nothing that a Big Mac and a couple of beers won't fix


BTW, the Olay cosmetics company now has a body wash product
called "Ohm." [just saw it on the shelves at market today] I think
that will meet with some resistance in some U.S. ham circles... :-)

Ooh - that one hurt!





BTW, if we keep this up, you might be in danger of buggering up your
reputation with - ahem - some of the regulars here as a difficult guy
to converse with....

In article , Leo
writes:

On 02 Sep 2004 04:18:56 GMT, (Len Over 21) wrote:

In article , Leo

writes:

On 01 Sep 2004 20:09:31 GMT, (Len Over 21) wrote:

snip

The Notice is available at:

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/inter.../sf06456e.html

Thank you for the link!

Any Canadian radio amateurs care to comment on that?



I'm not Canadian, but I think it fails to follw the KISS principle. They
want to add an Intermediate licence to their Basic and Advanced. Why
don't
they just abolish the 'Plus' categories (i.e. plus Morse)? That would be
much simpler.

I'm not Canadian either as a "Carbo-American," but I think the "plus"
category is a sop to the existing Canadian mighty morsemen.
Canada must have its share of olde-fahrt hamme morsemen and
those must be "satisfied."

I am - and fully agree with your observation that there are -um-
a fair number of 'old school' amateurs up here, who do not believe in
the abolishment of the Code Test (approximately a third of the
respondents to the RAC survey on this subject). The RAC proposal
attempts to meet the needs of both the "Pro Morse" and "No Morse"
factions of the hobby - in quite an interesting way. Both sides win -
either path leads to a full HF-access Amateur license.

Now dat's a typically Canadian solution, eh?

I'm not familiar with that sort of "typicalness." Been in here
in this ultra-conservative retro-tech newsgroup too much. :-)

Hmmm - not good for a guy like you, living in one of the more free
thinking areas of the country....

Oh, there's plenty of independent thinking going on here, trying
to look at all sides to see which one seems best. That I learned
from design work...and trying to do a good job.

(an aside ... I have relatives in Redondo Beach - spent a few happy
summers there when I was a teenager learning Californian
philosophy.... and a fair bit of anatomy too, on the beach....wow!

Southern California was the birthplace of the space shuttle and
the Bikini...not to mention lots of good airplanes along the way.

The beach cities down here (Redondo, Hermosa, etc., etc.) DO
have some very nice views of the, er, ocean... :-)

I would say instead it is a GOOD COMPROMISE and to the
credit of the Radio Amateurs of Canada and Industry Canada.

I believe that the proposal is a good one - inasmuch as it provides
access to HF without the requirement of Morse testing. It does
recommend that Morse testing be made available should the applicant
desire it - I have no problem with that. Status quo - or not. Your
choice.

That's fair and equitable in my viewpoint.

Mighty macho morsemen will disagree and ignite (again) Flame
Wars instead of simple bonfires.

That would be typical......unfortunately.

Realistically, this hobby has more than enough breadth to accomodate
the needs of both the Morse and No Morse proponents.

That should be true but for the outraged ultra-conservatives. Too many
of that group are anal-retentive in trying to keep the status quo.

It recommends raising the pass marks on the exams - good idea, most
believe that they are way too low right now (60% is a pass on both the
Basic and Advanced tests currently). No issue there.

That's good in my view.

Mine too. The more knowledge, the better.

Can't have enough knowledge.

It is indeed a compromise intended to satisfy both the Morse and No
Morse factions of the hobby - but it does so with considerably more
elegance than the ARRL proposal, in my opinion.

ARRL is not fully into this new millennium. :-)

Some wonder if they ever made it into the last millennium...

In some ways, only the first quarter of it.....

Frankly, they seem too concerned with playing politics than guiding
the hobby into the future.

I see it as internal politics, trying to preserve what they have and
who has it.

The league DOES do some good work. The anti-BPL work is
very good. BPL is a threat to ALL who use HF and should
transcend any politics.

For much of the rest of it, I see it as the league trying to survive.
They have failed to gain as much as a quarter of all licensed U.S.
amateurs as members over the last decade-plus. ARRL has
filed U.S. federal income tax showing that they are a $12 million
(in 2002) business. "Tax-exempt" status, yes, but a business
nonetheless. Membership dues aren't enough to keep the
buildings warmed, staff paid, electricity for the equipment bought.
Their major monetary source is QST ad sales (to keep QST afloat)
and PUBLISHING. If they lose that publishing arm they can kiss
their much-heralded free services for members goo-bye. Many in
Newington would be looking for new work.

The RAC proposal to IC was based on an Internet survey which was open
to all licensed Canadian amateurs (not just RAC members).

The ARRL proposal seems to have been developed autonomously by the
Directors, with little (if any) input from the Amateur community. No
wonder everyone was surprised when it was filed!

That's the thing...the entrenched "we know what's best for you
(members) and everyone else" attitude. Many don't agree with that
and haven't joined even if they can afford the small annual dues.

The league got away with that for decades before the Internet went
public in 1991. They did all the interfacing with the FCC, most of
the lobbying, then promoted themselves as the Big Brother of all
U.S. hams. They managed to convince a hard core of Believers
who are outraged and ready to fight anyone who says the least
little negative thing about the league. [witness some of its Believers
in here]

I'm in favour of it - and my comments to that effect have been filed
with IC, as of today.

Good on you!

I have to agree with Hans Brakob in that our northern neighbor in
Norse America is doing the right thing for their future. Modernization
is long overdue. [excuse me...NORTH America...;-) ]

heh.....that brought back memories of Leif The Lucky from grade
school!

Norsemen were the first European discoverers of North America.

Yup - long before Columbus got lost and thought this was India!

He should have bought that Garwin GPS handheld when he had
the chance... :-)

Settled in what is now Canada (New Foundland) for a while.

Dunno why they left...maybe they objected to speaking French?

...they probably left because they couldn't find jobs

(the unemployment rate in Newfie is a whopping 20% or so - WAY above
the national average of just over 7%!)

A definite NOT GOOD situation there. My sympathies with the
workers not working.

Industry Canada has much simpler regulations for their radio
amateurs but accomplish the same thing in the hobby.

Well said. The less regulations, the better the hobby!

.....and the less I gotta remember....

Band limits and other technical necessities should be enough.

Fully agreed. Up here, bandplans for the various operating modes are
compiled by the RAC, and adhered to by gentlemen's agreement. It is
absolutely legal to operate SSB on 7.100 MHz, or CW on 7.250 MHz, but
it just isn't done! Peer pressure is the only enforcement tool
required.

There's a slightly different peer pressure active down here. :-)

Has much to do with personality conflicts and self-righteousness,
much less about actual radio technology.

BTW, that electronic test that can run on any PC looked rather
neat! Simple way to do it and the computer does most of the
paperwork as well as keeping a record of it being done and
when.

It is pretty neat indeed! Free, too!

Rack up some points for the RAC and IC. They deserve applause.

Normally, one should be wary of free things from the Government....


Now, now... :-)

Learning skills of long ago just to get a license in here and now
is nowhere close to being progressive and just doesn't keep up
with the times.

Again, fully agreed. Especially since the rest of the world is
moving towards the future - we would look pretty silly clinging
steadfastly to the past.

In amateur radio technology, the "outsiders," the designers and
manufacturers (mostly off-shore to North America) are the ones
doing it. Names like Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, Panasonic
(Matsu****a), JRC, etc., etc. etc...in HF, VHF, UHF, and now
beginning to get into the microwave region.

I chanced upon a 5.8 GHz cordless phone at Fry's Electronics
(the huge consumer electronics supermarket chain of about a
dozen in this corner of the U.S.). That's pushing into C band,
something impossible to have on the consumer market with
vacuum tubes. Full digital two-way, low-power radio with all the
extra features of the L band cordless units. Affordable stuff.

There are so many cellular telephone subscribers down here that
our Census Bureau reports that one in three citizens has one.
A little, almost minuature, two way radio working at the bottom
of the microwave region! Newer models complete with little
cameras and keyboards built in. Those extras may be fluff to
many but they've all been crammed into that little tiny package.

I'm still incredulous at the amazing leaps forward in technology
since I first began working (way back when tubes were king).
Getting equipment to work reliably at high UHF was an
accomplishment worthy of much praise and doing the same in
the microwave region was almost a miracle. Now its become
an accomplished fact.

Way back when of the 50s, only the well-heeled hams could
afford the near-precisely tuneable Collins rigs with their "PTOs"
that could find their way to better than the nearest Kilocycle,
receive or transmit. All others were stuck with approximations
using squint-read dials and "bandspread" tuning set with the
aid of a 100 KHz crystal "calibrator." Now anyone can get a
direct digital readout down to 10 Hz of the correct frequency.
No sweaty-dah.

It used to be that tuning up a tube transmitter actually took
some finesse and a little experience to do. Now the transistor
PAs don't need it and have automatic protection in case the
VSWR gets too high. Need to match to a "funny" antenna?
No sweat, there's several automatic-tuning tuners on the
market, takes the worry out of getting as much as possible
into the antenna and out to the world. Push-button ease.



73, Leo

PS - WTF is a "Carbo-American"? - never heard that one before!

Came from a couple of comic strips running in the L.A. Times as
well as elsewhere. Backlash to the "Adkins Diet" craze. :-)
[or "Atkins Diet" or whatever..."zero carbohydrates"]

Got it - we have been bombarded by the "Adkins" diet craze up here
too. It's nothing that a Big Mac and a couple of beers won't fix

I'm a supporter of Krispy Kreme myself. :-)

Unfortunately their "two (boxes) for the price of one" on Tuesdays
went kaput with that no-carbo diet. One Tuesday a month would
let us fill up the freezer with the extras...8 seconds in the micro-
wave and there was a warm, yummy KK thing down the hatch.

BTW, the Olay cosmetics company now has a body wash product
called "Ohm." [just saw it on the shelves at market today] I think
that will meet with some resistance in some U.S. ham circles... :-)

Ooh - that one hurt!

I was wondering what inspired Olay's marketing types. I'm sure
that a product named "Farad" or "Henry" wouldn't be good. "Ohm"
is strange but sounds akin to "Ommm, mane padme ommmm..."
chanting. :-)



BTW, if we keep this up, you might be in danger of buggering up your
reputation with - ahem - some of the regulars here as a difficult guy
to converse with....

NOOOOOOOOOOOO?!?!?!?!?!

What makes you say that? :-) :-) :-) :-)

On 03 Sep 2004 05:40:43 GMT, (Len Over 21) wrote:

In article , Leo
writes:

On 02 Sep 2004 04:18:56 GMT, (Len Over 21) wrote:

In article , Leo

writes:

On 01 Sep 2004 20:09:31 GMT, (Len Over 21) wrote:

snip

The Notice is available at:

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/inter.../sf06456e.html

Thank you for the link!

Any Canadian radio amateurs care to comment on that?



I'm not Canadian, but I think it fails to follw the KISS principle. They
want to add an Intermediate licence to their Basic and Advanced. Why
don't
they just abolish the 'Plus' categories (i.e. plus Morse)? That would be
much simpler.

I'm not Canadian either as a "Carbo-American," but I think the "plus"
category is a sop to the existing Canadian mighty morsemen.
Canada must have its share of olde-fahrt hamme morsemen and
those must be "satisfied."

I am - and fully agree with your observation that there are -um-
a fair number of 'old school' amateurs up here, who do not believe in
the abolishment of the Code Test (approximately a third of the
respondents to the RAC survey on this subject). The RAC proposal
attempts to meet the needs of both the "Pro Morse" and "No Morse"
factions of the hobby - in quite an interesting way. Both sides win -
either path leads to a full HF-access Amateur license.

Now dat's a typically Canadian solution, eh?

I'm not familiar with that sort of "typicalness." Been in here
in this ultra-conservative retro-tech newsgroup too much. :-)

Hmmm - not good for a guy like you, living in one of the more free
thinking areas of the country....

Oh, there's plenty of independent thinking going on here, trying
to look at all sides to see which one seems best. That I learned
from design work...and trying to do a good job.

(an aside ... I have relatives in Redondo Beach - spent a few happy
summers there when I was a teenager learning Californian
philosophy.... and a fair bit of anatomy too, on the beach....wow!

Southern California was the birthplace of the space shuttle and
the Bikini...not to mention lots of good airplanes along the way.

The beach cities down here (Redondo, Hermosa, etc., etc.) DO
have some very nice views of the, er, ocean... :-)

What........ocean?


I would say instead it is a GOOD COMPROMISE and to the
credit of the Radio Amateurs of Canada and Industry Canada.

I believe that the proposal is a good one - inasmuch as it provides
access to HF without the requirement of Morse testing. It does
recommend that Morse testing be made available should the applicant
desire it - I have no problem with that. Status quo - or not. Your
choice.

That's fair and equitable in my viewpoint.

Mighty macho morsemen will disagree and ignite (again) Flame
Wars instead of simple bonfires.

That would be typical......unfortunately.

Realistically, this hobby has more than enough breadth to accomodate
the needs of both the Morse and No Morse proponents.

That should be true but for the outraged ultra-conservatives. Too many
of that group are anal-retentive in trying to keep the status quo.

It recommends raising the pass marks on the exams - good idea, most
believe that they are way too low right now (60% is a pass on both the
Basic and Advanced tests currently). No issue there.

That's good in my view.

Mine too. The more knowledge, the better.

Can't have enough knowledge.

That's for sure!


It is indeed a compromise intended to satisfy both the Morse and No
Morse factions of the hobby - but it does so with considerably more
elegance than the ARRL proposal, in my opinion.

ARRL is not fully into this new millennium. :-)

Some wonder if they ever made it into the last millennium...

In some ways, only the first quarter of it.....

Frankly, they seem too concerned with playing politics than guiding
the hobby into the future.

I see it as internal politics, trying to preserve what they have and
who has it.

The league DOES do some good work. The anti-BPL work is
very good. BPL is a threat to ALL who use HF and should
transcend any politics.

True, and they have done a great job of publicizing the threat to HF
and beyond that BPL poses.


For much of the rest of it, I see it as the league trying to survive.
They have failed to gain as much as a quarter of all licensed U.S.
amateurs as members over the last decade-plus. ARRL has
filed U.S. federal income tax showing that they are a $12 million
(in 2002) business. "Tax-exempt" status, yes, but a business
nonetheless. Membership dues aren't enough to keep the
buildings warmed, staff paid, electricity for the equipment bought.
Their major monetary source is QST ad sales (to keep QST afloat)
and PUBLISHING. If they lose that publishing arm they can kiss
their much-heralded free services for members goo-bye. Many in
Newington would be looking for new work.

The RAC proposal to IC was based on an Internet survey which was open
to all licensed Canadian amateurs (not just RAC members).

The ARRL proposal seems to have been developed autonomously by the
Directors, with little (if any) input from the Amateur community. No
wonder everyone was surprised when it was filed!

That's the thing...the entrenched "we know what's best for you
(members) and everyone else" attitude. Many don't agree with that
and haven't joined even if they can afford the small annual dues.

The league got away with that for decades before the Internet went
public in 1991. They did all the interfacing with the FCC, most of
the lobbying, then promoted themselves as the Big Brother of all
U.S. hams. They managed to convince a hard core of Believers
who are outraged and ready to fight anyone who says the least
little negative thing about the league. [witness some of its Believers
in here]


I have!

I'm in favour of it - and my comments to that effect have been filed
with IC, as of today.

Good on you!

I have to agree with Hans Brakob in that our northern neighbor in
Norse America is doing the right thing for their future. Modernization
is long overdue. [excuse me...NORTH America...;-) ]

heh.....that brought back memories of Leif The Lucky from grade
school!

Norsemen were the first European discoverers of North America.

Yup - long before Columbus got lost and thought this was India!

He should have bought that Garwin GPS handheld when he had
the chance... :-)


......or stopped using his sextant as a telescope

Settled in what is now Canada (New Foundland) for a while.

Dunno why they left...maybe they objected to speaking French?

...they probably left because they couldn't find jobs

(the unemployment rate in Newfie is a whopping 20% or so - WAY above
the national average of just over 7%!)

A definite NOT GOOD situation there. My sympathies with the
workers not working.

Mine too. Been there a few times myself (isn't Telecom grand!) -
nothing worse than no job when you want to work!


Industry Canada has much simpler regulations for their radio
amateurs but accomplish the same thing in the hobby.

Well said. The less regulations, the better the hobby!

.....and the less I gotta remember....

Band limits and other technical necessities should be enough.

Fully agreed. Up here, bandplans for the various operating modes are
compiled by the RAC, and adhered to by gentlemen's agreement. It is
absolutely legal to operate SSB on 7.100 MHz, or CW on 7.250 MHz, but
it just isn't done! Peer pressure is the only enforcement tool
required.

There's a slightly different peer pressure active down here. :-)

Has much to do with personality conflicts and self-righteousness,
much less about actual radio technology.


Yeah, I see that alright!

BTW, that electronic test that can run on any PC looked rather
neat! Simple way to do it and the computer does most of the
paperwork as well as keeping a record of it being done and
when.

It is pretty neat indeed! Free, too!

Rack up some points for the RAC and IC. They deserve applause.

Normally, one should be wary of free things from the Government....


Now, now... :-)

Learning skills of long ago just to get a license in here and now
is nowhere close to being progressive and just doesn't keep up
with the times.

Again, fully agreed. Especially since the rest of the world is
moving towards the future - we would look pretty silly clinging
steadfastly to the past.

In amateur radio technology, the "outsiders," the designers and
manufacturers (mostly off-shore to North America) are the ones
doing it. Names like Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, Panasonic
(Matsu****a), JRC, etc., etc. etc...in HF, VHF, UHF, and now
beginning to get into the microwave region.

I chanced upon a 5.8 GHz cordless phone at Fry's Electronics
(the huge consumer electronics supermarket chain of about a
dozen in this corner of the U.S.). That's pushing into C band,
something impossible to have on the consumer market with
vacuum tubes. Full digital two-way, low-power radio with all the
extra features of the L band cordless units. Affordable stuff.

There are so many cellular telephone subscribers down here that
our Census Bureau reports that one in three citizens has one.
A little, almost minuature, two way radio working at the bottom
of the microwave region! Newer models complete with little
cameras and keyboards built in. Those extras may be fluff to
many but they've all been crammed into that little tiny package.

Not to mention that many of those units integrate several radically
different cellular protocols seamlessly in that package - mine is AMPS
800 MHz analog, D-AMPS (TDMA) 800 MHz digital, and CDMA 1.9 GHz
digital. All in a package that fits in your palm, and runs for a week
on its dinky Li-ion battery. And free, with a three-year cell company
contract!

Unbelievable technology, compared to just a few years ago. Absolutely
phenomenal compared to 20 years ago.


I'm still incredulous at the amazing leaps forward in technology
since I first began working (way back when tubes were king).
Getting equipment to work reliably at high UHF was an
accomplishment worthy of much praise and doing the same in
the microwave region was almost a miracle. Now its become
an accomplished fact.

Way back when of the 50s, only the well-heeled hams could
afford the near-precisely tuneable Collins rigs with their "PTOs"
that could find their way to better than the nearest Kilocycle,
receive or transmit. All others were stuck with approximations
using squint-read dials and "bandspread" tuning set with the
aid of a 100 KHz crystal "calibrator." Now anyone can get a
direct digital readout down to 10 Hz of the correct frequency.
No sweaty-dah.

Absolutely - my car radio has far better frequency stability than most
of the test equipment that I operated back in the 70s.


It used to be that tuning up a tube transmitter actually took
some finesse and a little experience to do. Now the transistor
PAs don't need it and have automatic protection in case the
VSWR gets too high. Need to match to a "funny" antenna?
No sweat, there's several automatic-tuning tuners on the
market, takes the worry out of getting as much as possible
into the antenna and out to the world. Push-button ease.

I still use my old Heathkit SB-400 SSB tube transmitter on the air -
with the antenna tuner, it's a handful to tune up, compared to the
newer rigs. But, if I actually manage to raise someone with it, it's
a minor miracle, and I feel much more a part of the process than if I
simply turned the tuning knob on a more modern unit. Plus, I bought
it DOA and completely overhauled it back to life - as a result, I'm
very familiar with the inner workings of the thing.

My own personal contribution to the past, I suppose.....that, or I'm
too cheap to buy a new rig - or both




73, Leo

PS - WTF is a "Carbo-American"? - never heard that one before!

Came from a couple of comic strips running in the L.A. Times as
well as elsewhere. Backlash to the "Adkins Diet" craze. :-)
[or "Atkins Diet" or whatever..."zero carbohydrates"]

Got it - we have been bombarded by the "Adkins" diet craze up here
too. It's nothing that a Big Mac and a couple of beers won't fix

I'm a supporter of Krispy Kreme myself. :-)

Yup, we have them here too - good stuff! Too good, in fact....


Unfortunately their "two (boxes) for the price of one" on Tuesdays
went kaput with that no-carbo diet. One Tuesday a month would
let us fill up the freezer with the extras...8 seconds in the micro-
wave and there was a warm, yummy KK thing down the hatch.

BTW, the Olay cosmetics company now has a body wash product
called "Ohm." [just saw it on the shelves at market today] I think
that will meet with some resistance in some U.S. ham circles... :-)

Ooh - that one hurt!

I was wondering what inspired Olay's marketing types. I'm sure
that a product named "Farad" or "Henry" wouldn't be good. "Ohm"
is strange but sounds akin to "Ommm, mane padme ommmm..."
chanting. :-)


Heh. This reminds me of the story of Micro Henry, who took Millie Amp
for a ride on his Mega Cycle - ah, the good old college days.....

I managed to locate this classic work of electrical prose at the
following site: CAUTION: Not for the faint of heart or
pathologically moralistic reader ......you know who you are

Title: "The Sex Life Of An Electron"

http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStre...do/goodies.htm

"The Physicists Party" isn't too bad either



BTW, if we keep this up, you might be in danger of buggering up your
reputation with - ahem - some of the regulars here as a difficult guy
to converse with....

NOOOOOOOOOOOO?!?!?!?!?!

What makes you say that? :-) :-) :-) :-)

Oh, just a guess.....




73, Leo

Subject: Canadian No Code Proposal Open For Comment
From: Leo
Date: 9/2/2004 6:44 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

On 02 Sep 2004 04:18:56 GMT, (Len Over 21) wrote:

In article , Leo

writes:

On 01 Sep 2004 20:09:31 GMT, (Len Over 21) wrote:

snip

The Notice is available at:

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/inter.../sf06456e.html

Thank you for the link!

Any Canadian radio amateurs care to comment on that?



I'm not Canadian, but I think it fails to follw the KISS principle. They
want to add an Intermediate licence to their Basic and Advanced. Why
don't
they just abolish the 'Plus' categories (i.e. plus Morse)? That would be
much simpler.

I'm not Canadian either as a "Carbo-American," but I think the "plus"
category is a sop to the existing Canadian mighty morsemen.
Canada must have its share of olde-fahrt hamme morsemen and
those must be "satisfied."

I am - and fully agree with your observation that there are -um-
a fair number of 'old school' amateurs up here, who do not believe in
the abolishment of the Code Test (approximately a third of the
respondents to the RAC survey on this subject). The RAC proposal
attempts to meet the needs of both the "Pro Morse" and "No Morse"
factions of the hobby - in quite an interesting way. Both sides win -
either path leads to a full HF-access Amateur license.

Now dat's a typically Canadian solution, eh?

I'm not familiar with that sort of "typicalness." Been in here
in this ultra-conservative retro-tech newsgroup too much. :-)

Hmmm - not good for a guy like you, living in one of the more free
thinking areas of the country....

Southern California is ANYthing except "free thinking"...

Southern California ia very much a "conform or be scorned" place. I
know...I lived there...twice.

And as for ths NG being "retro-tech", there's only ONE person here who is
trying to "make due" with a 1950's era commercial repairman license and
"experience" from his 1950's era Army enlistment...

Steve, K4YZ