Glenn Ashmore wrote in
news:WIeoc.12640$Lm3.1248@lakeread04:
Doug Dotson wrote:
I have agree with that. But I found that learning the stuff was
alot easier than memorizing all the questions in the test
bank.
Maybe you are left brained and I am right. Take that Back! Probably
the other way around. :-) I found the written easy but only passed the
code test by the grace of a generous examiner.
I've been a ham since 1957, so I guess that makes me an old-timer, now.
I've always felt sorry for the many very nice people who would make great
hams, but were too dyslexic or had other physical problems that prevented
them from learning the STUPID, unnecessary code most old hams used as
punishment and in their attempt to keep the ham bands for themselves.
As to the anti-CB myth nonsense you ALWAYS see in any kind of discussion
like this, some of the best hams in Charleston were once illegal CBers
running 5KW on CB for years. The argument didn't wash then, and is a moot
question now as CBers, just like many of us inactive hams, are carrying
around full-duplex cellphones with unlimited service and are using
internet, instead of radios, to chat around the world. The ARRL's chief
VEC examiner, here, who is also the FCC's own volunteer GROL examiner now,
was once the "Mud Duck" on CB running several KW into stacked Telrex beams
at 90'. He's one of the most active hams in SC and is a great asset to ham
radio, no matter what his past history in CB was. Over half my radio club
membership has CB to thank for getting them into ham radio in the first
place.
Ham radio is dying of old age and curmudgeonry (sp?). Go to any hamfest
and estimate the average age of the crowd. My guess is around 60, now.
These are the guys who grew up with tube radios and are scared to death of
computers/internet/new technology. Most young people shrug their shoulders
and say, "I swapped full-motion color video with Werner in Berlin this
morning. Why would I want ham radio?" And, he'd be right. He no longer
needs ham radio to talk to the world. Morse code requirements have been
killing ham radio, slowly but surely, since Morse code became moot with the
invention of AM, FM and SSB. If you hear any old farts prompting the same
old line that CW can get through when all else fails, then go download
Winwarbler from:
http://www.qsl.net/winwarbler/
install it and tune your SSB receiver to 14.070 Mhz USB. In the 4 Khz
bandwidth of any SSB receiver, you'll find lots of PSK31 digital mode QSOs
going on in 31 Hz of total bandwidth from 10-20 watt transmitters around
the world. PSK31's tones and any cheap PC's sound card can decode and
display perfect text on a signal so weak YOU can't make it out, even with a
narrowband receiver listing to just the one station! Use any SSB receiver,
this free software (which can simultaneously monitor THREE conversations at
once!) with the headphone jack of the receiver plugged into your computer
sound card line input and give it a try, whether you are a ham or not.
PSK31, PSK63 were invented by hams for hams. It's simply the finest
digital mode we ever had and is SO efficient in spectrum usage. It's
faster than you can type.
I, for one old ham, am glad the world is finally coming to its senses and
getting rid of manual code requirements they should have dumped after WW2.
73 Larry W4CSC aka KN4IM, WB4THE, WN2IWH when I was 11.
Leaving for sea tonight so won't be replying to this message....
Best of luck to all those coming into ham radio! For me, it's been a
helluva great ride these past 47 years!
NNNN (We always put that at the end of important-looking teletype messages
to impress everyone.)
SK