Posts: 112
Joined: 2/16/2005 From: Fairchild, TX USA Status: offline
Hi folks,
Coming to the forums whenever I have a chance is great for me because I know I'm in a spot were I have common interests with the crowd.
What I'd like to know is, are any of you Amateur Radio Operators, or Hams, as we are known in the states and perhaps other countries.
My callsign is KC5RET and I'm a 5 wpm General - First licensed in 1969, continuously licensed since 1995. My wife Teri is KE5RMI - Tech My son Anthony is KE5RMP - Tech My son John is KI4POQ - Tech
If any of you are Hams, please tell me your callsign and license level and what bands you usually work.
Lately I've only been on 2 meters because I've not been able to get my 10 meter antenna strung back up in the trees.
Posts: 112
Joined: 2/16/2005 From: Fairchild, TX USA Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: Zap
I'm not but what does the 5wpm General title signify?
Hi Zap,
A long time ago you had to learn morse code at the speed of 13 Word Per Minute (wpm) before you could pass the General Morse code test. Then they lowered it to 5 wpm, a few years ago. When they lowered the requirement to 5wpm, I was grandfathered in because I had passed the 5wpm requirement at the age of 11 on the Novice class license (no longer available, replaced by Technician or Tech class). Then I took the General written test and passed it about 2.5 years ago.
In short, with morse code requirement being removed completely from the Tech and General classes, you have the following types of licensees.
Novice (from the point when the Novice licenses were made NOT to expire after one year) No code Tech 5 wpm Tech No code General 5 wpm General 13 wpm General etc...
Posts: 3244
Joined: 9/19/2001 From: Under the porch Status: offline
I guess I'm old then, because I had to qualify at 15 groups per minute to pass the Army morse code course. But since hardly anyone uses morse code anymore, I never found much use for it. Amatuer radio is sort of out of fashion these days, especially when the more powerfull transmittters have a habit of bleeding over into comercial radio and TV frequencies. If there's a guy with a shortwave in your neighborhood, chances are everybody knows about it.
Over the years, I've become lousy at copying code due to lack of practice, but I can still send it at near 15 GPM. Bent wire bends best still makes a catchy little tune. And when you see some guy in a movie reading code aloud word by word without writing it down, that's quite a trick. Hardly anyone can do that. You have to concentrate on copying one character at a time.
The record is 75.2 WPM set back in 1939 in Ashville, NC by a Mr. Ted R. McElroy. It's usefullness to everyday people was confirmed in 1966 when prisoner of war Jeremiah Denton morse-blinked the word "Torture" when he was allowed to appear on Television by his North Vietnamese Captors.
Note to future captors : Supply your prisoners with plenty of Visine so they've no excuse for excessive blinking...
I got my intl. licence back in 1986 in the then Yugoslavia. I think the CW requirement for us then was 70 letters (letters not words) per minute. I know there were different requirements for reception (higher) and transmission (lower) but I can't remember which was which.
I was never really into amateur radio after I got the licence though. I remember some guys from my club were fanatically doing CW every night getting DX cards and stuff. It seemed to me like just a different way of doing philately (the stamp collecting), really quite repetitive work, not much fun, not much "techy-ing" and certainly not much what I would call "exploration" (exploration is what got me into amateur radio training course at the first place).
Paradoxically, amateur radio interests me lately, but I wonder what, if anything, are the advantages of the amateur radio in the era of Internet?
Posts: 3783
Joined: 5/15/2005 From: Carson City, NV Status: offline
NW7B - 20 wpm CW back in 1985. Also was a VE but I am inactive with that now. I lost interest in Ham Radio when the worthless QST pushed the no-code licensing through. I am currently off the air.
ORIGINAL: Oleg Mastruko Paradoxically, amateur radio interests me lately, but I wonder what, if anything, are the advantages of the amateur radio in the era of Internet?
You can have people phone in and make it multi-player ?
Morse code has pretty much gone the way of letter writing. I had a radio operator MOS in the Army (Viet Nam era). I remember well humpin' the PR*C*-25 but never was too good at the morse code thing.
Posts: 3783
Joined: 5/15/2005 From: Carson City, NV Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: oldspec4
Morse code has pretty much gone the way of letter writing.
Only because the military and the FCC has made a stupid decision, and people have gotten lazy. It's the same thing with calculators. Should we stop teaching kids how to do math? Not an exact comparison I know, but it gets the point across I hope.
When conditions are rotten and voice, AMTOR, RTTY, and all other digital modes won't get through, a simple QRP (low power) code signal can. In an emergency situation that could mean life or death. You can make a CW transmitter with a tuna can and a few parts connected to a 9v battery. That same tuna can with correct conditions can reach where all other modes can't. Even in perfect conditions, operators have done comparisons by turning down the power for all modes until they could no longer get through to the test location. The last mode that DID get through was CW, or Morse code. That same amount of power could be turned down much further still and the CW still got through.
Amateur Radio is still founded upon emergency communications. The FCC allows us to use the allocated frequencies because of this. We as Hams are supposed to be always ready to lend our station and expertise to help in disasters and emergencies of any kind. Then they take away the requirement for CW in testing because the magazine QST needs more subscriptions, and the FCC granted such. Stupid decision. Simplified reason, but through the years I watched it happen as such.
Now the Ham bands are filling up with CB'ers that want more bandwidth and power. They don't have to take the code tests like they used to.
Posts: 6520
Joined: 2/8/2002 From: Melb. Australia Status: offline
quote:
ORIGINAL: Doggie
I guess I'm old then, because I had to qualify at 15 groups per minute to pass the Army morse code course. But since hardly anyone uses morse code anymore, I never found much use for it.
Well thats not quite correct. You never know when we will be invaded by aliens and will need people with skills like yours, to co-ordinate a counter strike.
_____________________________
Never argue with an idiot, he will only drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
Well thats not quite correct. You never know when we will be invaded by aliens and will need people with skills like yours, to co-ordinate a counter strike.
LOL! We need a game about that.... (full with morse code tapping part)
Posts: 3244
Joined: 9/19/2001 From: Under the porch Status: offline
You're right, Raverdave. I can also do math in my head and use a slide rule for the really complicated stuff. I can change my own tire and make fire without a lighter, too. On the day when society collapses, you young punks will beg people like me to keep you alive. We will rule over you like Pharohs, and you will drop to your knees and thank us for it.
You're right, Raverdave. I can also do math in my head and use a slide rule for the really complicated stuff. I can change my own tire and make fire without a lighter, too. On the day when society collapses, you young punks will beg people like me to keep you alive. We will rule over you like Pharohs, and you will drop to your knees and thank us for it.
He specifically mentioned aliens as the reason for "society collapse" - now how does your Pharaoh scenario fit into that?
ORIGINAL: Doggie You're right, Raverdave. I can also do math in my head and use a slide rule for the really complicated stuff. I can change my own tire and make fire without a lighter, too. On the day when society collapses, you young punks will beg people like me to keep you alive. We will rule over you like Pharohs, and you will drop to your knees and thank us for it.
... or we will use you as slaves, for all the menial work
When you're a bit older you start to realize that knowing how to do something is the one sure way to get stuck with actually having to do it.
Boss : hey, do you know Cobol ? Me: Co-what ? Boss : never mind.
You're right, Raverdave. I can also do math in my head and use a slide rule for the really complicated stuff. I can change my own tire and make fire without a lighter, too. On the day when society collapses, you young punks will beg people like me to keep you alive. We will rule over you like Pharohs, and you will drop to your knees and thank us for it.
He specifically mentioned aliens as the reason for "society collapse" - now how does your Pharaoh scenario fit into that?
In dog years, I'm dead, junior. Back when I was your age we didn't have digital watches; we had to learn how to read a clock.
Right - so when digital clocks don't function anymore and we only have old folks who know how to read a mechanical clock, who do you think will be bothered a dozen times a day by "grandpa, what's the time ?" questions ?