[CW] Dissing the ARRL

[Ron Zond]

Hi Dave and group

This thread reminds me that, for awhile, the Conditional license was
aavailable to people who lived more than 75 miles from a quarterly examining
point.I had to do Conditional (1961), as I couldn't drive (poor vision). In
those days, there was some Conditional bashing. (boxtop license). The 75
mile limit made it easy to abuse the system, hence the 175 mile limit to
which you refer.

Ron
K3MIY
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David J. Ring, Jr." <n1ea@arrl.net>
To: <N2EY@aol.com>; <cw@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 11:05 PM
Subject: Re: [CW] Dissing the ARRL


> Thanks to Jim N2EY for a wonderful recollection of FCC Amateur Radio
> testing.
>
> His information was right on the money!
>
> Several things come to mind that might clarify some things.
>
> The FCC would make "house calls" if you were near enough to a FCC Field
> Office - which were generally located in the big port city of the FCC
> District and you had enough people to take the test.  They did this at
ham
> conventions!
>
> If you lived beyond the "air line distance" of a twice yearly FCC exam - I
> think it was 175 miles from there... you could take a Conditional
(General)
> license.  You had to have three Generals or higher.  But if you upgraded,
> you had to take the General all over in front of the FCC.
>
> If you went to the FCC office to take the General, but failed the code
test
> at 13 wpm - but had enough letters in a row (25) to qualify you for 5 wpm,
> you could continue to take the theory.  If you passed the theory, you
would
> be given a Technician license.  You license would NOT be marked TECHNICIAN
> C - which meant "C" or "Conditional" because it wasn't conditional, you
had
> been examined by the FCC.
>
> All "conditional" licensees - Novice, Technician, Conditional (those were
> the ONLY licenses available by mail) were subject to RESTESTING at the
will
> (whim?) of the FCC.  They had the right to call you into the office, and
> test you.  If you failed, you would be stripped of your license.
>
> The hams in Northern Maine, Upper Penn. of Michigan, and other remote
> places - Alaska - had to travel hundreds of miles - and they could only
take
> the exam TWICE a year!
>
> ALL commercial exams were given by the FCC - and you HAD to go to either
an
> Annual, Semi-Annual, or the District Field Office.  There were NO
exceptions
> to this.  So the guy repairing taxicab radios in a remote place, had to go
> to the FCC for his license.
>
> Sobering isn't it?
>
> 73
>
> David Ring, N1EA
>
>
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