[Elecraft] Slow Code Watering Holes? (OT)

[N2EY at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/10/06 10:45:41 PM Eastern Daylight Time, aa4lr at arrl.net 
writes:


> On Jun 26, 2006, at 7:57 PM, Mike Morrow wrote:
> 
> > The magic of the Novice bands seemed to start failing when higher  
> > power and VFO operation were sanctioned and when Novice licenses  
> > became renewable.
> 
> Nope. I was licensed as a Novice from November 1975-1977, and during  
> that time there was lots of low-speed CW - VFO controlled, and during  
> the summer of 1976, power levels went to 200 watts PEP.
> 
> I think end of Novice activity came when the no-code Technician was  
> adopted.

In my experience it was a gradual thing. The rise of repeaters on VHF/UHF 
made the Tech more attractive, because it gave 2 meter and 440 privileges. The 
Novice didn't. Many hams I knew in the late '70s and early '80s wither started 
with Tech or rapidly upgraded to it. This was even more common after the 
General written was split in two in 1987

> 
> Hopefully, the FCC will get around to passing the new regulations and  
> Novices and Tech's with CW will be able to use the majority of the CW  
> bands on 80, 40 and 15m, just like it was in the old-old days before  
> incentive licensing.
> 

??????

Techs did not have *any* HF privileges until the 1970s. 

Novices only had small slices of 80, 40 and 15 meters before 1968. In fact, 
the original 1951 Novice did not have any 40 or 15 meter privileges at all! 40 
and 15 were added in the 1950s.

In 1967, when I was a Novice, the Novice HF privileges were 3700-3750, 
7150-7200, and 21100-21250. 75 watts input maximum, crystal control only.

73 de Jim, N2EY