[ARC5] US Morse Exam History...Commercial versus mateur (OT)

[Richard Knoppow]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Wiley" <jwiley at gci.net>
To: "David Stinson" <arc5 at ix.netcom.com>
Cc: "ARC-5 List" <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2012 4:53 PM
Subject: Re: [ARC5] US Morse Exam History...Commercial 
versus mateur (OT)


>
>
> Not true.  If you have an Extra class that was originally 
> issued before the advent of 5-WPM code for the Extra, all 
> you have to do is show the examiner the license (or a 
> copy) showing the original issue date.  Since your license 
> was originally from 1978, that will do the trick.
>
>
> On a related but slightly different topic, I would be 
> interested to find out how many of us on here do happen to 
> have either a first or second class telegraph ticket? 
> Mine must be one of the newer ones, having received it 
> about 2 years ago.  My Extra is from 1974, and I was 
> originally licensed as a Novice in 1959.
>
>
> I used KPH out of San Francisco for code practice.  Their 
> nightly recap of the day's news, sent at (I believe) 24 
> WPM, made for excellent practice, and because it was the 
> day's news, checking for correct copy was pretty easy. .
>
>
> - Jim, KL7CC
>

     KPH was also my principle source of code practice.  The 
press transmissions were made twice a day, in the evening, 
first from the east coast stations WCC and WSL and three 
hours later from KPH and KFS. Same AP (later UPI) press on 
all although the formatting was a little different. KPH 
always preceded each item by sending ITEM: and of course the 
famous "ditter" when the tape ran out for SP.  I also used 
to tape record code groups from the Navy and play them at 
half speed. There were faster than the press, probably 30 
WPM, maybe more. I mostly copied NPG which could always be 
heard.
     These days if I want practice I have to use W1AW or the 
Koch trainer I have in my computer which works from any text 
file.
     The psycology of Morse is intresting: people who can 
read very well sometimes have awful fists and vice-versa. 
Also, commercial ops could take traffic on a typewriter 
while holding a conversation and have no idea of what they 
were typing. I wonder how this works.


--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
dickburk at ix.netcom.com