Subj : HamData Callsign Updates To : Daryl Stout From : Barry Martin Date : Fri May 27 2022 07:41:00 Hi Daryl! DS> that's the extent of "help" we can provide. BM> Right, otherwise you'd be taking the test for them. DS> We looked at the current exams, and WE, as examiners, would DS> have trouble doing the tests without studying. If renewing one's DS> ham radio license also meant re-testing, the hobby would've died DS> out long ago. That's not good. I'd expect to take a test some review studying but not a full-blown colege-graduation type of test. It seems like they are testing on things that don't nned to know the details but do need the information. I'd use my 'Black Box' knowledge: I know there are various types of coax cable, Hams use the 52ê, TV reception uses 72ê, there are sub-types within those. Probably good to know those basics but I wouldn't have to know the detail of the thickness of the insulation core is 2.1 mm. DS> Never mind that there is now a $35 additional fee payable to DS> the FCC for a new or renewed amateur radio license, or a vanity DS> callsign change request (in addition to the fee that the VE Team DS> may charge). That $35 fee is payable to the FCC within 10 days of DS> the email they send...or the new or renewed license grant is DS> canceled, or the vanity callsign request is denied. I can see a reasonable fee to cover the necessary paperwork; otherwise it's nickle-and-diming which is wrong. DS> There is no DS> fee for a license upgrade from the current license to a higher DS> license class, a sequential callsign change request, or an DS> administrative change (change in name, email, mailing address, DS> phone number, or a club or repeater trustee). Many hams have DS> complained about that...but in some parts of the world, the DS> license fee for the term of the license is in the hundreds of DS> dollars...so $35 for a 10 year term is a bargain. It is! Breaks down to $3.50 per year! OTOH that hundreds of dollars fee charged by other countries is either a really bad exchange rate to the U.S. dollar or inflation or bribery to the officials. DS> And, I've seen DS> these same hams lay down 1 or more $100 bills at a big hamfest to DS> buy a brick of a large number of prize tickets, and they don't DS> bat an eye. Of course, if you win a high dollar radio, you more DS> than made your money back, especially if you can find someone DS> willing to buy it off of you. Different purchase considerations. I'd spend $100 on a party-size snack tray (cheese, crackers, etc.) but I'd not spend the same $100 on a case of booze -- the difference is I rarely drink but I do eat! (Probaby not the best couter-example but was trying to think of something to match your $100 reference.) DS> When they still had the Morse Code requirement (it was reduced DS> 22 years ago, then eliminated entirely 15 years ago), some DS> individuals studied the Morse Code ONLY to pass the Morse Code DS> exam...and never touched a keyer or used it again. There were DS> originally 3 tests...5 WPM for Novice or Technician, 13 WPM for DS> General or Advanced, and 20 WPM for Amateur Extra. The 13 and 20 DS> WPM exams were dropped in April, 2000...and the 5 WPM exam was DS> dropped in late February, 2007. But since they dropped the Morse DS> Code, ironically, it caused a surge in folks wanting to learn and DS> use it...as now they were learning it because they WANTED to, and DS> NOT because they HAD to. Wanting to learn something is alsways better than having to learn something! Wonder if they use Morse code like a 'secret language'? I'm thinking of that semi-joke where kids don't understand the cursive writing of their grandparents. DS> The funniest stories I recall on the Morse Code in the over 30 DS> years I have been a licensed amateur radio operator, are as DS> follows (I may have told these before, but they're still funny). DS> 1) I asked a local ham radio operator (who passed away several DS> years ago) what his secret was to learning Morse Code. He replied DS> "I learned all the dirty words first". I laughed, and said DS> "Well, you can't say them on the air...but if it helps, more DS> power to you". So that's how the 'beep!' got started to cover audio outbursts! DS> 2) A ham radio club in Dallas was using the VoIP mode of Echolink DS> (VoIP uses traditional RF and internet for communication) to DS> teach a Morse Code class. The first characters they taught formed DS> the S expletive...I thought "I'll be damned!!" . But, when you DS> looked at the dot and dash pattern of the Morse Code characters, DS> it made perfect sense. They could have used 'this' or 'hits'! DS> 3) Several guys were at a restaurant table in Annapolis, DS> Maryland, using Morse Code to tell dirty jokes to each other at DS> the table. This drop dead, gorgeous, beautiful, curvaceous DS> () female walked up to them, and sternly admonished DS> the group "You boys need to watch your language. I teach CW DS> (Morse Code) at the Naval Academy across the street!!", and DS> walked out. They were as red as tomatoes!! The problem with speaking in a non-native language is there are other non-natives! DS> The second one had these 2 guys at a truck stop, and another DS> good looking waitress (just like the ones noted before ), DS> walked up to them, and asked for their order. One said he wanted DS> a cheeseburger, and the other said he wanted "a quickie". The DS> waitress, obviously annoyed, said "Sir, this may be a truck stop, DS> but I will not tolerate that kind of language here. I'll be back DS> in a few minutes, and we'll try again". DS> So, a few minutes elapses, and she returns, again asking for DS> their order. The first guy again says he wants a cheeseburger, DS> and the second guy says he wants "a quickie". Enraged, the DS> waitress slapped the guy so hard that it knocked him out of the DS> booth on to the floor, and she stormed away. The guy in the next DS> table over said "Uh...that's pronounced 'quiche'". If only the poor guy had been told of the correct pronunciation before or during the first ordering. But then wouldn't make a decent joke! DS> The thing is, all hobbies are dying. The "old guard" is DS> literally dying off, and we can't get young people (new blood) DS> into it. BM> Unfortunately yes, or at least it appears that way. The "kids" seem BM> to be more interested in staring at their phones, looking at what other BM> people are doing. Will admit that statement is flawed: a lot of kids BM> are active in sports and music. DS> In looking through the file areas last night, I saw a meme DS> where these 2 crows noted this scarecrow in the field, and one DS> wondered if it was a human there instead. The other replied "It's DS> fake...he doesn't have a cellphone in his hand up to his ear". I've seen that one also. And one can't always assume the kids are listening/watch "junk": for all we know the kid would have recorded the class and is reviewing. We used to do the same thing: it was called taking notes. BM> Similar format changing around here, though we a bit of a spin in that BM> two stations changed frequencies several years back. Local very BM> popular country station was originally assigned to a restricted power BM> frequency while the declining in popularity oldies station was on a BM> full power frequency. They eventually got approved to swap BM> frequencies; the country station gained additional audience and even BM> more popularity while the oldies station continued to wane -- I think BM> the oldies station eventually changed formats. DS> There used to be an oldies station here years ago, KAUL (with DS> AU the chemical element symbol for "gold"), meaning they had the DS> music of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, including big band and swing. DS> Unfortunately, the country-western, rock, and talk radio stations DS> did much better, and the station eventually went off the air for DS> lack of listeners and advertisers. Clever on the element symbol, but wonder how many listeners got it? ....I can't talk intelligently about local/regional radio for the past few years as I essentially don't listen. Have Pandora playing here in the Computer Room. When I was working my commute was 12-15 minutes. Local stations playing the type of music I liked just didn't cut it so did the 'DX Thing" and found a couple I liked about 50+ miles from here. Actually had made a long wire antenna in the Computer Room to pick up one and then they changed formats! :( BM> Why am I thinking of the whaling stories? "Thar she blows!!" DS> There you go, blubbering again. Argh! You krill me! BM> And make sure the blade is sharp so it cuts the cardboard and not slide BM> and cuts you. DS> With being on Eliquis, I'd bleed like a stuck pig. But, at DS> least now, they don't have difficulty getting blood out of me at DS> a blood draw. They just have to find a vein that won't roll over DS> or collapse on itself. Drizzle-drizzle-drizzle! I had a draw several years ago which required multiple tubes: by the last one I was barely getting blood into the tube. I don't watch the actual puncture but am sort of fascinated by the flow into the vial. On the last I was sort of kidding with the phlebotomist/nurse doing the draw and cheering on the vein to complete the draw. DS> ... Sign in Restroom: Toilet Out Of Order. Use Floor Below. Well if you insist! ¯ BarryMartin3@ ® ¯ @MyMetronet.NET ® .... Loser: window washer on 44th floor who steps back to admire his work. --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .