[AMRadio] AM "Ghetto"

[Geoff]

On 11/09/2013 10:33 AM, Donald Chester wrote:
>
>> Restructuring came in April 2000. No new Advanced, Tech Plus or Novice
>> Class licenses would be issued. Code requirements also dropped to 5 wpm.
>> Code eliminated from testing requirement February 2007.
>>
>> Pete, wa2cwa
>
> So, any Advanced licensee had to have passed the 13 wpm code test? I 
> wasn't sure whether or not those changes all occurred in one sweep.
>

Correct, sir Don.  Before one could obtain a Technician license, they 
first had to hold a Novice license, and show proof of it.
Same thing for the Technician, before they could obtain the General.

An Advanced class operator had to have passed the General written test 
and (before there were such things as "Dr's waivers" for supposed 
hearing disorders) the General *must* have passed the 13wpm code test.

It's easy to get confused with all the changes that the FeeCee and the 
Arr(gh)L have perpetrated on the Amateur Community, if one has been 
involved in it for an extended period of time.

My dad (original holder of W5OMR) got a "pinkie" for having a CW QSO on 
~7.020, when he was living in Southern California, in the late 1970's.  
Dad didn't pay too much attention to the 'changes' passed down by the 
'Great White Father' and it's acting Shaman.  After all, dad was a 
"Class A" Amateur Operator!  He HAD full privileges... or so he 
thought.  Gone were the days of Class A ops, and they were 'reduced' to 
'Advanced' class operators, the "new" class of license was the "EXTRA", 
and only those Extras could operate in the lower 25kCs of any band segment.

To say that Dad was "miffed" about it, is a totally severe 
understatement, but it wasn't enough to budge him from upgrading his 
license.
Sadly, I'm not sure that he ever worked CW again, until 1984 when I got 
KA5THB and wanted him to be my first licensed contact.

Regards,
-Geoff/W5OMR