[SOC] CW on cel phones

[Ian C. Purdie]

On this topic and kids and CW.

I remember, in I think 1970's, maybe 80's when they first introduced a 
Novice Band into Australia.

For some inscrutable reason the then written exam paper, IMHO, was 5 X 
harder than the full license.

Now some of the examiners [civil employees] from back those days were 
old cohorts of my OM, WW11 and even before, including the fellow [Chief 
Radio Inspector] ho rang me 40+ years back to tell me how and why I'd 
"failed" the written exam.

Some junk about how a "smart alec 20+ year old kid wanted to dazzle the 
examiner with his 1960's knowledge of 'inverters' using new transistor 
technology, forgetting phasing of feedback windings etc, when any other 
fool would have spent 90 seconds drawing an old "reed inverter".

True

Then the OB went on to solemnly say it was "impossible for anyone to 
learn CW at 5 wpm"

Given he spent most of his life between age 15 to 50 as a "professional 
telegraphist", noted for 60 wpm and, my CW skills are ultra-krap I 
wasn't in a position to disagree.

HOWEVER

I flogged him on the exam which was replicated in our AR magazine 
"Amateur Radio".

Remember I said this was 5 X harder than a full license exam.

Allowed exam time? 3 hours

Ian's time for 100 multiple choice questions?

Yep folks, I completed it in under 600 seconds.

OB said: "Hah, you got 3 wrong". All about prorogation and MUF, his big gig.

Why was that Novice exam so hard?

Personally I thought because some people, including my OM, were very 
right up themselves.

Why this diatribe? It was about kids I think. About opportunity.

To this very day we still build barriers to kids nor only entering our 
hobby but in so many other areas of life.

There are millions of kids who would love to enter our hobby, if only as 
an entry point to more exotic forms of electronics.

To quote my SK OB in his last days:

"Yeah, I suppose it's not real flash holding a sked on 40m each morning, 
discussing who among us left has died, what's attacking the roses and 
the lettuce".

That was in the late 1980's, the romance of AR died for me. I never, 
ever want to do that jazz.

Folks, let us not be like that, encourage kids. Yep they'll soon want to 
learn other junk. As much as I personally love glowing tubes and even 
better, space, valves and components I can actually see I'm not 
[hopefully] mired in the past.

Make it among your new years resolutions to introduce a new kid to the 
hobby. He/She may not turn out as you hoped but they just may get a 
taste for a Phd in Physics which will ultimately benefit all.

[RIGHT OF REPRINT TO ALL]


Thanks! :)

Ian C. Purdie - VK2TIP
http://www.electronics-tutorials.com/