Subj : Re: Side Effects Of This To : August Abolins From : Daryl Stout Date : Sun Feb 07 2021 19:38:00 August, AA> :O Based on all the health ailments you've been describing over AA> the years, I thought you were much older than me. I'm actually AA> older than you by a few years. :O While I'm over 60 now, many of the folks I know in amateur radio are much older than I am...so, I'm considered "a puppy"...but, I am weaned, and potty trained. AA> There's enough interest to warrant a weekly report? Yes...for both a net I run, and a net that a ham in Ohio runs. AA> The closest I ever got to comms over radio was with some walkie AA> talkies that supported custom crystals. Once I learned how to AA> open the radios and replace the crystals with other ones, I AA> could essentially skip the more common freqs in order to have a AA> more private channel between them. I was hoping that the AA> solution could help my parents on the farm (one at home base, AA> and the other one in the barn or in the field). But I could AA> never get my dad excited about keeping the radio with him at the AA> ready. My mom on the otherhand was all for it! A lot has changed in amateur radio since I first got licensed (these are related to US Ham Radio licenses): 1) The FCC removed the 5 wpm Morse Code requirement for the Technician Class license in 1991...that's how I got in. The 5 wpm Morse Code test still remained for the Novice Class license...but with the No Code Technician Class license, you had to take the written exam for both the Novice and Techician Class licenses, but didn't have to take a Morse Code test. However, if you wanted the Novice Class privileges on the HF bands (Morse Code on portions of 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters, and limited voice and data on a small portion of 10 meters), you had to pass the 5 wpm Morse Code test. 2) In 2000, the FCC stopped issuing new Novice and Advanced Class ham radio licenses, but holders of these could still renew these at the appropriate time. At the same time, they dropped the 13wpm Morse Code requirement for the General and Advanced Class licenses, and the 20 wpm Morse Code requirement for the Amateur Extra Class license. The 5 wpm Morse Code requirement was eliminated entirely in 2007. Many "old time ham radio operators" thought that taking away the Morse Code requirement woudld drop the number of people learning it...yet, the opposite occurred, as they were learning Morse Code because they wanted to, and NOT because they had to...and they discovered it was FUN!! One ham radio operator (who passed away several years ago), told me that his secret to learning Morse Code was that "he learned all the dirty words first" . Indeed, there was a group of 4 older male hams at a restaurant in Annapolis, Maryland...telling each other dirty jokes in Morse Code (we also call it "CW" for "continuous wave). Anyway, this drop dead gorgeous, curvaceous female walked up to them...and sternly admonished "You boys need to watch your language. I teach CW at the Naval Academy across the street!!", and walked out. They were as red as tomatoes!! I was listening to a Morse Code class, and the first word they taught was the S word (and it wasn't "snow" ). But, when you looked at the Morse Code pattern for it, then it made perfect sense!! 3) Normally, a US Ham Radio license is good for 10 years...and one can renew only within 90 days before expiration, or up to 2 years after expiration. You could not "get on the air" if the license was expired, but you didn't lose your callsign or privileges if you renewed during that time. If one didn't renew, they lost everything (license and callsign). However, it used to be that you had to take everything again...both written and Morse Code tests. Years ago, that meant a 5, 13, and a 20 wpm Morse Code exam (although it was felt if you could do 20 wpm, you could do 5 and 13 wpm)...plus written exams for the Novice, Technician, General, Advanced, and Amateur Extra. Former Novice or Technician class licensees can get back on the air by passing the Technician class written exam, where they'd get a Technician Class license, and a new callsign. For former General, Advanced, or Amateur Extra Class licensees could get back on the air by providing proof of the former license, and passing the Technician Class written exam. Since there are no more Advanced Class licenses issued, those were downgraded to General Class license. So, these would either get a General or an Extra Class license, once they passed the Technician Class exam. In all cases, a Morse Code exam was no longer required...and they could apply for their former callsign, if it was still available, under the "vanity callsign system". Now, the FCC recently ruled that there will be a $35 fee for a new, renewed, or upgraded ham radio license... a callsign change (sequential or vanity), a request for a rule waiver, or a request for an STA (special temporary authority), and that'd be for every time they did such a transaction. However, it won't be in effect until 30 days after it has been in the Federal Register, and that posting hasn't occurred, as of Feb. 7, 2021. Originally, there was a large fee for a vanity callsign (it was dropped a few years ago), and all you had to pay was the fee at the exam session, depending on the Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) group doing the session. Some were free, but some were $15 per exam. Now, if you passed an exam, you could take the next one in line at no charge. But, if you failed an exam, you had to pay another fee, as long as the exam had a different set of questions. You could do that as long as you had the money, and the VE Team had the time and resources (exam books) to do such. I remember at one session I did years ago, this one ham was trying to upgrade to the next license class (I can't recall if it was for General or Amateur Extra). But, each time, he was bringing the test book, answer sheet, and the money up to the VE Team (he also ran a shop selling ham radio related items, but he wanted the privileges to operate on HF). Anyway, I asked him what his wife would say about this, and he growled "This is a business expense...shut up!!" All of us roared in laughter!! However, COVID-19 has greatly affected many exam teams with doing testing. They have either lost the exam site, or have had to switch to low-contact, in person testing (such as doing it in a parking lot, but several examiners are there, so each candidate is monitored to be sure they're not cheating)...or they're doing remote testing. Other teams like mine, where most of the members have medical issues have put testing on hiatus for now. AA> When I worked for Marconi, in Montreal, while they were still in AA> the original iconic building, there was a ham club that operated AA> radio of all kinds on the top floor. That sounded intriguing, AA> but I seemed to be overworked or just wanted to go home after a AA> long day - so I never bothered to join the club. It causes the "purists" (who feel that any form of internet radio is not ham radio) angst...but the VoIP modes offer those who are in situations where they can't have RF gear (medical facilities, or in residential communities that prohibit such), the chance to still get on the air...where their license isn't "just a sheet of paper". AA> When I dabbled in CB radio (via the walkie talkies) I eventually AA> realized that spontaneous chatter over the radio with whomever AA> was out there (CQ CQ ..) wasn't for me. One of our first phone AA> lines to the house was a party line for many years - and AA> although it was kinda funny to be able to pick up on someone's AA> telephone convos on the phone, I didn't like the interruptions AA> when I was legitimately using the phone myself. CQ is from the words "seek you", which is what ham radio operators use to call other stations to "work them". There is a thing called "contesting" (there's one every weekend), plus so many different modes, that there's literally something in the hobby for everyone. My niches are doing license exams, new ham forums at hamfests (most of those have been canceled due to COVID-19), and traffic nets. I run at least 5 nets every week. AA> So, except for the technology behind ham radio and all that, I AA> don't see the excitement of just picking up unknown/random AA> chatter out there. I don't get on the air except for nets I run, or for a "sked"... a pre-arranged time with another ham to chat (or "chew the rag" -- it sounds better than "masticating the towel" ). I've been licensed 30 years now, and started it just a few months after I first started my own BBS on a Radio Shack Model 100 laptop. I no longer have the computer, but still have the program in the BBS files area. Daryl, WX4QZ, UALR Ham Radio Club VE Team Liaison .... Ham Radio QRP: When you care enough to give the least. === MultiMail/Win v0.52 --- SBBSecho 3.11-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (618:250/33) .