From: "bb" on Tues 21 Jun 2005 03:15


wrote:
From: "Dan/W4NTI" on Sun 19 Jun 2005 22:46
"Jim Hampton" wrote in message

Some folks back then wanted the General but settled for a tech license when
they couldn't pass muster at 13. Unfortunately, if you got on the air back
when, 2 meters was the novice voice band to try and get more activity on 2
meters!) it was possible to *never* work on the code and you were stuck as a
tech. Most likely 6 meters was the band of choice as the best front ends
might have had a 4.5 dB noise figure on 440 MHz. Even 2 meters wasn't all
that busy; Heathkit sixers and twoers were the rigs of the day. I really
wan't familiar with any territory above 30 MHz back then.

When is "back then?" And how can an LOS path be "busy" in a
non-urban area? Picture sitting around waiting for ducting or
temperature inversion to reach out beyond 30 to 40 miles...

The twoers and sixers were rock-bound. Anyway, he said that he wasn't
familiar with VHF.

"Familiarity with VHF" wasn't needed. ALL that counted was getting
the morse code speed UP...that yielded absolute knowledge of all
theory thus guaranteeing rank-status-privilege.

I designed and built an external VFO for a few Sixers. Worked fine.
One of the recipients was showing an olde-fahrt extra how it
operated and olde-fahrt said "Nice, did you build it?" "No," said
my friend and, pointing to me, "He did." "THAT'S ILLEGAL!" shouted
the olde-fahrt. Heh heh heh...the same anal attitudes existed four
decades ago as they do now.

The other choice was to work on your code. The novice license was issued
for one year and was not renewable. I took this choice and it took me a
while to get my code speed up. When I did take the test and pass 13, I was
good for about 18 (which helps when you're nervous and travel 60 miles to
take the test administered by the FCC, not a VEC).

So? I traveled 90 miles by train to the Chicago FCC office for
my First 'Phone test. No snow and I kept my shoes on all the way.

Aha! Gotcha!

You forgot to mention the changes in elevation over changes in
distance!!!

Heh heh heh. In northern Illinois the elevation changes amount
to +/- a yard. Not even close to bragging rights... :-)

However, to kill time waiting for the return train, I saw a
matinee of "Oklahoma." Sat in the balcony, undisturbed. That
was good for a change of a couple stories in height! :-)

Too bad it was a sunny day in Chicago. No snow to brag to
anyone ("uphill both ways through"). Passed no problem,
even with the interruption of a fire drill in the Federal
Building halfway through the test.

[a lot of the anony-mousies won't know what we're talking
about on this subject...they weren't here to see some of the
astounding bragging going on by the late Dick Carroll and
others in here]