Subj : Re: Other Ham Radio News To : Barry Martin From : Daryl Stout Date : Thu Oct 21 2021 09:54:00 Barry, DS> The site was back up today. BM> That's good! ...No explanation, as usual? Technology, phooey!! BM> When one door closes and another door opens, you're probably in prison. My name is J.L. Byrd. I ran into a fellow ham radio operator at the pharmacy the other day. I know his 2 brothers...one from ham radio and square dancing, a second one is a caller out in Colorado...and his parents are presidents of the state square dance federation. They are a sweet couple, having met while teenagers in a square dance club. They have been dancing nearly 50 years, and have been marrried for 45...with 4 kids, and 12 grandkids. Both of them are "characters", and his wife is a "nut", with a wild sense of humor. The "suffix" of this ham's callsign is YZP -- I tell hams to use the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) phonetics when checking into a net...but to "pick some alternate phonetics, or these jokers will pick some for you". Basically, with friends like us, you don't need any enemies. Case in point...one ham gave this guy "Your Zipper Protruding". :P His reponse?? "Well played, sir". Mine is Whiskey X-Ray Four Quebec Zulu" (it's a vanity callsign). The alternate phonetics are "Whistled X-ings (crossings) for Quiet Zones". Some railroads use W for the whistle post, and X for the railroad crossing ahead. Either way, it's for the engineer to sound the horn (two long blasts, one short blast, and a long blast) to warn vehicles and people at the grade crossing that a train is approaching. But, in some communities, they have it as a QZ (quiet zone). This is where the horn is NOT sounded, unless they are meeting another train, or if someone is trying to beat the train across. The law of physics wins every time...a 12,000+ ton freight train will easily crush a 1-2 ton vehicle. I do a trains and railroads net on amateur radio every Friday. Then, on the third Saturday, I do a food net. Two things that ham radio operators (and everyone else) love to do, are talk and eat. The second set of alternate phonetics is "Wild X-Citing Four Qui-Zines". Now, quizine is not how you spell "cuisine" (although there is a submarine sandwich place named "Quizno's")...but in Louisiana, they spell Fido (for a dog) as Phideaux -- so, there you are. Daryl, WX4QZ .... I am Porky of Borg. You will be as-s-s-sim, as-s-s-sim, oh, forget it. === MultiMail/Win v0.52 --- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (454:1/33) .