[Fists] Re: One Day to Extra Class

[Richard A. Stern]

I agree. I felt proud of earning my EXTRA ticket the hard way.It meant
something a few years back, You really knew basic electronic and radio
principles. The old test reminded me of the Basic Electronic and Electrical
course I had to complete before I started 'A' School in the navy. You
weren't able to memorize answers, Something had to sink in if you passed the
test.
The country is sacrificing skill that we need in order to be productive. I'm
not saying Morse Code is going to make the country productive. That is
silly! However, it is the exercise our minds need to keep us on our toes.
We've let a lot of skills go to other countries so they could be
competitive. Look at the steel industry. We had a lot of people working in
that industry. There are young Adults out there haven't skill to add in
their heads. Everything has been tainted with the slur of GEEKISM . It's
been hard for young kids to think of math and science in a good frame of
mind with out "peer pressure" making them break out into a cold sweat. I
know, I raised three children.

The dumbing of America started near the end of the Viet-Nam Era. I think
everybody was abit overdosed by listening to all the intellectualizing and
found that "turn on, tune in and dropout is much easier. Now alot of our
young people are just overdosed. Look what the kids are emulating...Where
did the fashion came from that alot of kids are wearing now.

Wearing  pants way down and almost falling off came from having to surrendur
the belt, while enjoying a stay at county detention center or correctional
facility. When released then the street knew you where cool. It's a slippery
slope we walk on. This is a worn out dialoge that goes no where. All, I know
is knowledge is power. 'Don't look now, Captain Kirk, but the dilithum
crystals are losing power!' And what is it about having stereo's pumping out
200dB of bass inside a car with the windows rolled up. Good-God! no wonder
there are whales getting lost. I just get flash backs from them. Every once
and a while it reminds me of ship's sonar.

Where is this leading me. Oh yaaa! the dumbing down of Ham radio. What can
you or I do about it? There's gold in those frequencies and the gold rush is
on! So,"Move over GrandPa! I'm driving... The GRAPES of Wrath are coming..."

end of ranting.............de NW3N

PS I'm glad I had the option of taking "colledge algebra" in high school
Some others took Calculus but they were geeks.


----- Original Message -----
From: "ken cubilo electric" <kce@chartermi.net>
To: "Jim Reid" <jimr.reid@verizon.net>; <fists@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, April 20, 2002 6:41 AM
Subject: [Fists] Re: One Day to Extra Class


> This is just the tip of the iceberg coming. I too can't believe this. I
> was well into my second year of engineering studies and already had the
> radiotelephone ticket before I took the extra exam.There is no way
> somebody is gonna memorize all the answers for all the elements in that
> time frame.I have two things that keep me in ham radio right now
> 1. I use all CW and have a excellent time with the other cw guys
> 2. I still feel that getting the ticket the hard way was a
> accomplishment
>    to be proud of and I can really look myself in the face in the mirror
>    every morning and know I really did it.
> I sure hope this madness stops soon, but have you ever looked at the
> extra exam questions? I think some of them used to be on the old general
> and novice tests no kidding. We have to have a group to represent ham
> radio that's only interested in ham radio's future instead of their back
> pockets. But to really answer the question I think it stinks.
> 73 ken w8ob
> putting impedance in the path of short cuts to knowledge but getting
> badly trampled hi.
>
>
>
> Jim Reid wrote:
> >
> > I am shocked at the following report from the ARRL!
> > I  am sending this to a fairly wide distribution with this
> > question:  is this where Amateur Radio really wants
> > to be going?  Or do you think the following is just
> > great and wonderful??
> >
> > >From today's ARRL Letter:
> >
> > "New York's Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club--LIMARC
> > --reports its first "one-day Extra" licensing upgrade class was
> > such a success that it's scheduled additional sessions for later
> > this spring. LIMARC recently attracted two dozen students to its
> > first Extra class license study short course, and nearly all who
> > attended walked away with their Extra tickets.
> >
> > "....the session involves seven hours of
> > intensive study. Five instructors taught the nine Extra examination
> > subelements, which include FCC rules, operating procedures, radio
> > propagation, Amateur Radio practices, electrical principles, circuit
> > components, practical circuits and antennas and feedlines.
> >
> > When the session ended, 20 of the 24 applicants had passed
> > Element 4. "
> >
> > All in  a "one-day"  short course.
> >
> > Wow,  I am impressed.  Took me an entire semester in engineering
> > school to learn how to solve all those impedance,  complex
> > plane,  R+/- jX problems.  And 20 of these guys learned how
> > to do those,  along with all that other stuff,  and STILL the same
> > day took and passed the Extra license exam????
> >
> > Maybe what  those five instructors "taught" was the answers
> > to the questions on the test to be given that day???  At least
> > one enquiring mind would like to know!  I believe what is
> > being reported is not possible and still be legitimate,  unless
> > those 20 guys had way above genius IQ's.  Or maybe,  they
> > all have "perfect recall" memories.
> >
> > Guess I was a real slow learning;  I was years getting the education,
> > experience and UNDERSTANDING under my belt before I went
> > for the Extra.  Oh yes,  also had to pass the 20 wpm CW test
> > that same day,  but that isn't needed anymore.  Maybe it was
> > getting to 20 wpm CW that took me all that time,  no,  don't
> > think so.  Just took me awhile to learn/understand what the
> > meaning of the stuff on the Extra Class license was all about.
> >
> > Yes,  what does the Extra Class license mean anymore??
> >
> > Just a bit disappointed,
> >
> > 73,  Jim KH7M
>
> --
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