[CW] Dissing the ARRL

Thu, 8 Jan 2004 11:04:59 -0600

Gang,
At the risk of repeating myself to some degree and also perhaps of
"repeating" a similar story, a brief story on my experience...

I learned the code from the Boy Scout Manual (age 13).  A friend had a KOB
that was loaned to me...no code oscillator, so I simply made the "sounds"
with my mouth as I was learning to code by sending on the (probably Bunnell
KOB) key.

My folks had a Zenith or RCA (or?) console radio that had the shortwave
bands on it.  I remember hearing many interesting signals, including what I
later learned to be "multiplex/multichannel" HF transmissions.  I even
thought maybe that was high speed CW at the time and wondered why I couldn't
hear anything that sounded like what I was learning.  THEN, one day I
happened across the wonderfully strong signal from NSS.  This was the first
CW I ever copied and still can hear that "thump" CW (no BFO)
V V V   V V V  V V V  de  NSS  NSS  NSS  W W W.  I honestly believe that
being able to "decipher" that was the encouragement that I needed.  I
remember even getting my Mom and Dad to watch me as I copied the
above....sounds silly I know but after all I was a 13 year old country boy.

I later found a ham that told me what I needed to do to get a ham radio
ticket.  I got a used license manual...wore out the pages (memorized most of
the Novice stuff),  visited his shack (SX-99 receiver) and homebrew
transmitter (6AG7/6L6) and sat beside him while he CQ'd and made a QSO,
writing everything out so that I could try to make sense of the dots and
dashes.  Eventually (to his satisfaction) I was ready to take the test.  My
Dad drove us both the Atlanta (3 hours drive each way), for me to take the
test before the FCC examiners.  Bingo, I passed the Code test with flying
colors, but was not sure about the theory.  After a 6 week wait (or maybe
longer), I got that small envelope from the FCC with my novice ticket in it
WN4FOA in April 1954...I still have the original ticket.  About 8 months
later I went to Atlanta again (thanks to my hardworking Dad) and took the
General....I failed the theory.   Eventually passed on the next trip.

Hard work...but worth every minute of sweat and tears.  This April will be
50 years....I still value every QSO (almost all CW) as much as my first QSO.
What a wonderful hobby.

My first rig was an S38C and a 6AG7/6L6 right out of the handbook.  My
antenna was a dipole fed with zip/lamp cord...one crystal  (3742kHz).  SWR
(?) didn't have a clue...it was probably 3 years before I had a piece of
coaxial cable.  You don't want to know what my first connector looked
like...just let me say, I didn't know there was such a thing as a reducer
(for RG59)...I thought the holes in the PL259 were for the "pigtails" I made
out of the coaxial shield and carefully managed to get a pigtail out of each
hole!  Soldered with a big soldering iron (guess 250 watts or more).  I
managed to melt the phenolic insulation around the center pin to where it
would wobble around like it was surrounded with a marshmellow, hi.

Well that was the way it was with me..if this was boring for some, I
apologize.  I enjoyed reading the stories and tales told by others on this
great reflector.

Somehow I can't help but feel sorry for many of the newer hams that didn't
have these "embarrassing" experiences.

See you on the bands..
Tony. W4FOA
Chickamauga, GA

From: <[email protected]>
To: "David J. Ring, Jr." <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>;
<[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 7:31 AM
Subject: Re: Re: [CW] Dissing the ARRL

> I was one of those hams who had to drive to Detroit from Northern Michigan
to take the test.  I failed the theory for my General, twice!  Each time, I
had to ask my father to consider driving me 3 1/2 hours back to Detroit in
hopes that this time I would pass.  He always supported me and drove the
distance.
>
> I learned the code with a friend.  He and I would pass notes back and
forth to each other throughout the school day and we refused to use
"English".  All our notes were in code and the teachers had no clue what the
messages were.  In time, we could translate the messages by simply reading
the code and not having to look up each letter.
>
> I now operate around 30 WPM and sometimes more, and, I am an Extra.  I
value my license and I do not take it lightly.
>
> Sean
> W8OKN
> >
> > From: "David J. Ring, Jr." <[email protected]>
> > Date: 2004/01/07 Wed PM 11:05:59 EST
> > To: <[email protected]>,  <[email protected]>
> > 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
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > CW mailing list
> > [email protected]
> > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/cw
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> CW mailing list
> [email protected]
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/cw