Breaker' breaker'radio check. Anybody still doing cb radio chat? Skip and power amps? lol. Just checking in from Maryland. Just knock if you can hear me!! Whizardmagic Cave

---
■ Synchronet ■ Whizardmagic Cave - 73.86.207.34

Re: radio check
By: Tim to All on Mon Jan 16 2023 09:31 pm

Breaker' breaker'radio check. Anybody still doing cb radio chat? Skip
and power amps? lol. Just checking in from Maryland. Just knock if you can hear me!! Whizardmagic Cave

the CB band is absolutely full of people. I just can't understand a word any of them say.

DaiTengu

...Hello, he lied.

---
■ Synchronet ■ War Ensemble BBS - The sport is war, total war - warensemble.com

Re: radio check
By: DaiTengu to Tim on Tue Jan 17 2023 09:22 am

Re: radio check
By: Tim to All on Mon Jan 16 2023 09:31 pm

Breaker' breaker'radio check. Anybody still doing cb radio chat? Skip and power amps? lol. Just checking in from Maryland. Just knock if you hear me!! Whizardmagic Cave

the CB band is absolutely full of people. I just can't understand a word an of them say.

DaiTengu

...Hello, he lied.

Yes I enjoy listening time to time. Great skip. Weather conditions, weather conditions. 10-4

---
■ Synchronet ■ Whizardmagic Cave - 73.86.207.34

Re: radio check
By: Tim to All on Mon Jan 16 2023 09:31 pm

Breaker' breaker'radio check. Anybody still doing cb radio chat?
Skip and power amps? lol. Just checking in from Maryland. Just knock if you can hear me!! Whizardmagic Cave

Still have a President McKinley SSB in my truck. It's pretty quiet these days. Use it most for the weather and to tell truckers hauling gravel they have rocks following them down the highway. :-)

.

Mick Manning
Bad Poetry Blues (badpoet.synchro.net:2300) gopher://centralontarioremote.com:70

---
■ Synchronet ■ BluesNet Blues Network - badpoet.synchro.net:2300

Re: radio check
By: Mickey to Tim on Tue Jan 17 2023 06:37 pm

Re: radio check
By: Tim to All on Mon Jan 16 2023 09:31 pm

Breaker' breaker'radio check. Anybody still doing cb radio chat? Skip and power amps? lol. Just checking in from Maryland. Just knock if can hear me!! Whizardmagic Cave

Still have a President McKinley SSB in my truck. It's pretty quiet these day Use it most for the weather and to tell truckers hauling gravel they have ro following them down the highway. :-)

.

Mick Manning
Bad Poetry Blues (badpoet.synchro.net:2300) gopher://centralontarioremote.com:70

Cool I have a Digital Uniden Bearcat 880 and a Cobra LTD Classic as base stations in house. I jump on time to time. Get some good skip still. I enjoy it. 10-4

---
■ Synchronet ■ Whizardmagic Cave - 73.86.207.34

Re: radio check
By: DaiTengu to Tim on Tue Jan 17 2023 09:22 am

Re: radio check

The reason you can't understand them is that a lot of them have absolutely no clue as to how their radio works! They chain preamplified mikes into compressors and reverb/effects boxes resulting in splatter into third adjacent channels, and making themselves loud and unintelligible. And it seems that more and more of them are passing the dumbed-down no-code exams, and setting up shop on 75 meters.

"SAVE HAM RADIO! BRING BACK THE CODE TEST!"

73 de,
Ted K4TML

Re: radio check
By: Ted Long to DaiTengu on Mon Jan 30 2023 12:18:36

"SAVE HAM RADIO! BRING BACK THE CODE TEST!"

Passing a code test proves almost nothing except that one is capable of memorizing patterns of beeps and boops. At best it shows dedication. That's not nothing, but it's also a weird way to filter out the lids.

If you want more knowledgeable and skilled people in the hobby, seems to me you should be arguing for more technical and theory questions on the exams.

I love ham radio but I find morse code tedious. Learned it once and have since forgotten almost all of it. Should I turn my license in?

---
echicken
electronic chicken bbs - bbs.electronicchicken.com
---
■ Synchronet ■ electronic chicken bbs - bbs.electronicchicken.com

Re: radio check
By: Ted Long to DaiTengu on Mon Jan 30 2023 12:18 pm

The reason you can't understand them is that a lot of them have absolutely no clue as to how their radio works! They chain preamplified mikes into compressors and reverb/effects boxes resulting in splatter into third adjacent channels, and making themselves loud and unintelligible.

Yes, that was the joke.

And it
seems that more and more of them are passing the dumbed-down no-code exams, and setting up shop on 75 meters.

"SAVE HAM RADIO! BRING BACK THE CODE TEST!"

Oh, you're one of them gatekeepers. You know, the ones that would rather see ham radio die a death of attrition rather than let in young people that could contribute and progress the hobby.

I'm one of them "dumbed-down no-code" licensees. Anyone who came to this hobby in the last 16 years was not required to learn a lick of morse code, but quite a few of them eventually did.


I've done a lot of listening on 75m, and all I've heard is old men talking about their colonoscopies, spreading conspiracy theories, and bitching about "those damn kids" that are on "their lawns".

Code proficency has nothing to do with how well or how poorly you operate a radio. Every person in the US passed the same basic test or set of tests. They haven't changed that much in the last 20+years.

Today it makes no difference if the code you know is CW, or Python. And there is no reason for it. If you want to learn, great! fantastic! If not, there's tons of other things to do on the radio.

Don't be a gatekeeper, Ted. It's a bad look.

DaiTengu

...Could you continue your petty bickering? I find it most intriguing.

---
■ Synchronet ■ War Ensemble BBS - The sport is war, total war - warensemble.com

Quoting Daitengu to Ted Long <=-

"SAVE HAM RADIO! BRING BACK THE CODE TEST!"

Oh, you're one of them gatekeepers. You know, the ones that would
rather see ham radio die a death of attrition rather than let in young people that could contribute and progress the hobby.
I'm one of them "dumbed-down no-code" licensees. Anyone who came to
this hobby in the last 16 years was not required to learn a lick of
morse code, but quite a few of them eventually did.

I've done a lot of listening on 75m, and all I've heard is old men
talking about their colonoscopies, spreading conspiracy theories, and bitching about "those damn kids" that are on "their lawns".
Code proficency has nothing to do with how well or how poorly you
operate a radio. Every person in the US passed the same basic test or
set of tests. They haven't changed that much in the last 20+years.
Today it makes no difference if the code you know is CW, or Python.
And there is no reason for it. If you want to learn, great!
fantastic! If not, there's tons of other things to do on the radio. Don't be a gatekeeper, Ted. It's a bad look.

Hi there, I am just an SWL listener. I do hear morse on the bands.
Although I may be tuned in to it as I was a Morse intercept operator
in the US Army and when I hear it, my fingers start to hit the keys.

Once I got out of the service, I found there wasn't much call for
morse operators. Maybe in the Maritime service but not much else.

I am not a licensed HAM, just an avid fan. I learned morse so many
years ago, and I don't really see it being used much anymore that I
think making new users test would probably be a deterrent.

Just my opinion...

Cougar


... Sure, he's cute. But can he *type*?

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20

I love ham radio but I find morse code tedious. Learned it once and
have since forgotten almost all of it. Should I turn my license in?

I've known some hams who learned CW so they could pass the exam and
upgrade their license. Once done, they never used a keyer again.

I tried the 5 WPM CW exam once for grins, but failed it. Had I filled
in the blanks, I might have passed it...but it's a moot point now.

Daryl, WX4QZ

... Ham Radio Messages And Replies Will Be Sent In Morse Code.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas

Re: radio check
By: Cougar428 to DAITENGU on Wed Feb 01 2023 11:43 am

Hi there, I am just an SWL listener. I do hear morse on the bands. Although I may be tuned in to it as I was a Morse intercept operator
in the US Army and when I hear it, my fingers start to hit the keys.

Once I got out of the service, I found there wasn't much call for
morse operators. Maybe in the Maritime service but not much else.

I am not a licensed HAM, just an avid fan. I learned morse so many
years ago, and I don't really see it being used much anymore that I
think making new users test would probably be a deterrent.

CW is still incredibly popular on the amateur bands. Just because people don't have to learn it to get their license, doesn't mean they don't learn it.

It's been 16+ years since the requirement to learn, and be proficent in morse code was a requirement to get a higher level ham radio license. Some people still lament the fact that the requirement was dropped, and are convinced that any operator who was licensed without having to learn CW is a "lid" and they're killing ham radio.

There are 767,863 licensed amateurs in the USA right now. A cursory google search seems to indicate anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 amateurs are added per year. If we do the napkin math, that'd mean 300,000-480,000 (licenses last 10 years) of those 767,863 were licensed since the morse code requirement was completely dropped. More than half.

Gatekeepers such as the guy I was replying to originally are a dying breed.

DaiTengu

...It's always the OVERtakers who keep the UNDERtakers busy.

---
■ Synchronet ■ War Ensemble BBS - The sport is war, total war - warensemble.com

Quoting Daitengu to Cougar428 <=-

CW is still incredibly popular on the amateur bands. Just because
people don't have to learn it to get their license, doesn't mean they don't learn it.

You are correct of course, as I mentioned I do hear it on the bands
and I am tempted to start copying. If I have a keyboard in front of
me, my fingers hit the keys as I hear the characters. Kind of
strange after all these years, but it took me 9 months to learn
initially.

When learning I hit a point where if the code went faster than
22cpm, I would hear doubles. Once I got past that it was smooth
sailing.

Thanks,

Cougar


... Surly to bed, and surly to rise.

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20

Quoting Daryl Stout to Echicken <=-

I love ham radio but I find morse code tedious. Learned it once and
have since forgotten almost all of it. Should I turn my license in?

I've known some hams who learned CW so they could pass the exam and upgrade their license. Once done, they never used a keyer again.

I tried the 5 WPM CW exam once for grins, but failed it. Had I
filled in the blanks, I might have passed it...but it's a moot point
now.

Hi there, I learned CW for my MOS in the Army (O5H10). I had to
pass at 25 CPM and it took me a while. Some people drummed out
because they would hit a wall and not be able to copy any faster.

Granted, this was copying not sending.

In the army I did use my skill to copy CW, but also used it on a
mobile CW jammer. When I got out of the service, I didn't find much
of a market for CW operators. That was 35 years ago, but I can
still copy morse, my fingers hit the keys when I hear the
characters. No thinking involved.

I hear CW on the bands (just an SWL listener, I don't have a
license). It seems pretty regular, so HAMS must still be using it.

Cougar


... My other computer is a Commodore 64.

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20

This will be a long reply, but you struck a nerve (hi hi).

Oh, you're one of them gatekeepers. You know, the ones that would
rather see ham radio die a death of attrition rather than let in young people that could contribute and progress the hobby.

The young people nowadays are more enamored into their tablets and smartphones, and couldn't give a rats rear end about the history, current state, or future of ANY hobby. Another hobby I'm in, square dancing, is
the exact same way.

As a side note, there are "dancing hams"...their National Square Dance Convention (R) (NSDC) usually falls on the same weekend as Field Day every year. When I was able to attend (from 1986 to 2002...although I wasn't licensed until August, 1991), I'd run into these fellow hams. We'd pick
a simplex frequency to decide where to square dance (we all liked the same callers), eat (of course...H.A.M. stands for "Have Another Meal", and you don't call us "late for dinner" (hi hi)), sightsee, etc. With the out of
band receive on our HT's, we could monitor the weather, in case thunderstorms were nearing the area (that happened at more than one convention), and alert folks if severe weather was approaching. Lightning can strike from 20 to
nearly 500 miles from the parent thunderstorm (that has been documented).

At the 1997 NSDC in Orlando, Florida...the last night of the convention,
I was taking the shuttle bus from the Orange County Convention Center back
to the hotel to change clothes for the evening dancing. Just before we got
to my hotel off of International Drive, a tropical thunderstorm broke...and
the driver quipped "looks like they're evacuating the water parks". That brought raucous laughter from the bus passengers...but, you really don't
need to be in the water with lightning around.

Anyway, we got to my hotel off of International Drive (one of the main
drags down there), and at the entrance to the hotel was a removable sign
that said "STOP! SECURITY CHECK". Now, I can deal with that, as you don't
want non-guests in the hotel. Well, behind the sign in his car was the
security guard, and he wouldn't move his car or the sign. The NSDC starts
on the Wednesday afternoon, and went the next 3 days through the evening
of the 4th Saturday in June...so he should've known the bus was to be let
in.

Yet, the guard wouldn't move his car or the sign, and our bus ended up getting "boxed in", with that sign at the front, and from the traffic on International Drive at the back. The driver hit the horn, and the guard
did nothing. When the driver got out to ask the guard to move the sign, without any warning the guard punched the driver in the face, knocking
him to the ground!! The ladies on the bus started screaming (can you
blame them??).

Another guard pulled the guard who had assaulted the bus driver off
of him. By this time, the driver, bloodied and disoriented, staggered
back to the bus. I stepped off the bus, fired up my HT, found a local repeater, keyed it up, and said "QST!! QST!! QST!! MAYDAY!! MAYDAY!!
This is N5VLZ (my first callsign), Portable 4. I have Emergency Traffic.
Can anyone copy?? Over".

Static crash from a close lightning strike...nothing. So, I did it
again. On the second time, a ham radio operator in Kissimmee heard me,
and I gave him the info. He called 911, sending the police department
and paramedics to the scene. The driver ended up being taken by ambulance
to an area hospital, and the guard was arrested, based on the reports
given. I did "return the repeater to normal use" after I got finished.

The Good Lord was watching over me for 2 reasons. First, the guard had
a gun, and he could've shot me dead...and second, I had a metal antenna
on the HT, which was a perfect lightning rod. I had already experienced indirect lightning strikes when I was 3 and 16 in Miami, and I didn't
want the third time to "be the charm". With the nervous system damage,
my hands shake like I have Parkinson's disease, so there's no way I could operate a keyer properly.

After I got back on the bus, the folks said "You saved his life", and
I said "This is what amateur radio operators prepare for...emergency communications". I was shaking so bad from the adrenaline rush when I
got back to the Orange County Convention Center, that I couldn't dance;
so I headed back to the hotel to pack up to fly back to Little Rock the
next morning.

As a side note, the previous September, I was flying to Dallas for a
square dance weekend, but there were tornadoes in Arkansas during that afternoon and evening (Skywarn was what got me into ham radio in 1991,
and I've been doing traffic nets ever since). Well, the flight got
delayed, and I finally got down to Dallas, but my bags were still on
the ground in Little Rock. Southwest Airlines delivered the luggage
the next morning. On Sunday, on the way back, they got into an oversell situation (more tickets had been sold than there were seats available). Figuring I could get another flight out, as there were several between
Dallas and Little Rock, I chose to get "bumped". But, the next flight
was much smaller, and I ended up spending the night in Dallas, at the
airlines expense. But, the travel voucher I got made the roundtrip
fare to Orlando only $17!! Now, that's how to be a frugal cheapskate
(hi hi).

Back to the incident, it ended up going to a jury trial, and the
state of Florida flew me back there on Easter Weekend (it was NOT my
idea of a Florida vacation). I mentioned my work with amateur radio
and emergency communications, and my last statement to the attorneys
was that "I was siding with the bus driver...because we had no trouble
the first 3 days of the convention...and I saw no reason why I should
change my stance now". From what I understand, the guard was convicted
of aggravated assault, and there was also a civil suit against the
hotel and security company, but I didn't hear of the outcome.

Yet, having the memory of saving someone's life with amateur radio,
you never forget that.

I'm one of them "dumbed-down no-code" licensees. Anyone who came to
this hobby in the last 16 years was not required to learn a lick of
morse code, but quite a few of them eventually did.

I am one of them as well...and originally planned on staying with the Technician Class license. Five months after my wife died in April, 2007,
for grins (or gits and shiggles (hi hi)), I decided to try and upgrade
with HamTestOnline. I studied 2 hours a day for 2 weeks, and passed it.
The Volunteer Examiners asked if I wanted to upgrade to Extra, and I
said "Yes, but not today". Back to HamTestOnline for 2 hours a day, and
13 days later, I *barely* passed the Amateur Extra exam...but "a win by
1 is as good as a win by 10". I did try a 5 WPM CW exam before that requirement was ended, but failed the test. Had I filled in the blanks,
I might have passed it, but it's a moot point now. HamTestOnline was
the best money I ever spent in ham radio.

Shortly thereafter, I became a Volunteer Examiner with ARRL/VEC, and
have been a VE Team Liaison for 15 years. It has been the most rewarding
thing I've ever done in the hobby. While I had to become an Amateur Extra
to be a VE Team Liaison, when I'm on the air for nets, I operate in the Technician privileges, as I enjoy them.

I've done a lot of listening on 75m, and all I've heard is old men
talking about their colonoscopies, spreading conspiracy theories, and bitching about "those damn kids" that are on "their lawns".

I've heard of the same thing...and that's not what ham radio is about.
As Linus Van Pelt of "Peanuts" noted, "I don't discuss religion, politics,
or The Great Pumpkin". The last time I operated HF was on Memorial Day
Weekend 2009, aboard the Arkansas And Missouri Railroad Troop Train, with
a 20 meter hamstick, and an Icom 718, from a restored 1927 Harlan and Hollingsworth passenger car, from a very cramped conductor's cabin. There
is a hyperlink in my ham radio bio, off of the first hyperlink on my QRZ profile...where you can see me operating 20 meter HF railroad mobile.

With medical conditions now (congestive heart failure), and the high occurrence of lightning here during thunderstorms, I operate "internet
radio" (no RF gear), but when I noted this at a hamfest forum I did back
in 2020 (details below), I said "at least my license isn't just a piece
of paper", and I got an ovation for it!! I've known several hams who
spent the time and money to study and get their license, but they don't
do a thing in the hobby. To me, that's a waste of time.

Now, one of the local area TV meteorlogists is also a ham radio operator,
but he and his wife work, and they have 2 young boys. He puts church,
family, and job, first...and I can NOT fault him for that at all. Plus,
the Warnings Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service
in North Little Rock is also a ham radio operator.

Code proficency has nothing to do with how well or how poorly you
operate a radio. Every person in the US passed the same basic test or
set of tests. They haven't changed that much in the last 20+years.

And, there's nothing in the Question Pools about things like On The Air Etiquette. I prepared a PowerPoint Presentation, called "You're Licensed:
Now What??", and did that at an area hamfest 3 years ago, before Covid-19
shut everything down. I recently updated the file, and converted the
PowerPoint Presentation to PDF format. It's available at the first
hyperlink off of my QRZ bio, along with Excel Spreadsheets of selected
D-Star, Echolink, and D-Rats Nets...plus PDF files related to ham radio.
Folks can use the info, as long as I'm given credit for it.

Today it makes no difference if the code you know is CW, or Python.
And there is no reason for it. If you want to learn, great!
fantastic! If not, there's tons of other things to do on the radio.

Plus, the nets cover several subjects besides amateur radio. The QuadNet Array (https://openquad.net) has several nets during the week...some of
them include nets for the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA),
the Young Operators Digital Voice Net (run by a 14 year old young lady,
whose parents are also licensed...she passed her Technician, General, and Amateur Extra (no-code) within 3 months at only 9 years of age), plus nets
on RV's and Camping, Trains And Railroading, Astronomy, Food, plus the Multimode Digital Voice Net, and the HotSpot Raspberry Pi, Single Board Computer (SBC) and ZumSpot Net, among others. I don't know much about a Raspberry Pi...but a pineapple upside down cheesecake sounds awfully good
right now (hi hi).

During the week, I personally run 3 nets for the QCWA...their CQ100
VoIP Net, their Sunflower Net (sponsored by QCWA Chapter 79 in Wichita, Kansas), and their Digital Net. I also do the HotSpot Raspberry Pi
SBC and ZumSpot Net, the Trains Net, and the once a month Food Net.
You have plenty of ham radio operators that check into nets, but it's
like pulling teeth to get them to volunteer to be Net Control, a club
officer, or a hamfest worker. When folks complained about the way I
did things, I asked if they wanted to do the work. They immediately backpedaled, saying "No Way"...so I said "It's Put Up Or Shut Up".

Plus, I'm not holding a gun to anyone's head to make them checkin
to my nets. I want them to do it, because they WANT to, and NOT because
they have to...and the same thing applies to CW. Within 2 weeks either
side of when the FCC dropped the 5 WPM CW exam in late February, 2007
(the 13 and 20 WPM CW exams were dropped in April, 2000; with only the
5 WPM CW exam remaining), VibroPlex (who makes CW keyers) had their
phones "ringing off the wall". Folks are finding out that CW IS FUN,
and they are learning it because they WANT to, and NOT because they
HAVE to. When the CW requirement was in place, I knew several hams
who did CW long enough to pass the exam. Afterwards, they never used
a keyer again.

There is something in amateur radio for everybody...and things that
you may love in the hobby, others couldn't care less about. For me,
contesting was never my cup of tea. My niches are doing traffic nets, ragchewing, license exams, and doing forum presentations for new hams.
Plus, I don't spend every waking moment with my hobbies (ham radio,
square dancing, or the BBS). I do the very minimum required, then quit
for the day, as burnout can become a real threat in a hurry.

The one thing that burns me up are these "Net Hoppers", who I refer
to as "Hi, Bye, and QSY". It's "Net Control, please checkin [callsign],
[name], [location], no traffic, short time"...and NOT a minute later,
they are doing the SAME THING on another net. In those Excel Net List spreadsheets noted earlier, one night of the week has 6 nets meeting
at the same time!! Another ham radio operator, who's involved in CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) wondered "Do they even have a life
outside ham radio??". Hams need to face the fact that "the world, ham
radio, and nets, don't revolve around anyone...you, me, or anyone else."
There is no prize, bonus, award, certificate, etc., for seeing how many
nets you can check into, in a day or evening. To me, hams who are doing
this are in the hobby for their ego.

Lastly, another file I have on that hyperlink off of my QRZ bio, is
a lengthy file on ham radio humor. If you can't laugh, after reading
the items in that file, then as the late Jerry Clower noted, "You need
to go home and look in the mirror, and see what everyone else has been
laughing at all these years".

Daryl, WX4QZ

... Do NOT try to cure this ham. - DE WX4QZ
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas

Hi there, I learned CW for my MOS in the Army (O5H10). I had to
pass at 25 CPM and it took me a while. Some people drummed out
because they would hit a wall and not be able to copy any faster.

Granted, this was copying not sending.

It's easier to send, than it is to copy. I knew one ham who was so
adept at CW, that he could be talking with several hams in his shack,
while a CW QSO was going on in the background. During the conversation
with other hams, he interrupted with "Hang on a minute"...then reached
over, and starting sending CW to the other ham on the frequency. When
he was done, he said "Sorry about that...I had to reply!!". I saw this
with my own eyes!! We were amazed that he could multi-task like that.

My description of multi-tasking is either walking and chewing gum,
or reading in the bathroom. <G>

I hear CW on the bands (just an SWL listener, I don't have a
license). It seems pretty regular, so HAMS must still be using it.

Even though in the US, when the FCC dropped the Morse Code requirement
(first dropping the 13 and 20 WPM CW exam on April 15, 2000...then doing
away with the 5 WPM CW exam on Feb. 23, 2007), it has caused a surge in
folks wanting to learn and use CW. They were now doing it because they
WANTED to, and NOT because they HAD to. I also have known several hams
who learned CW just so they could pass the license exam (when CW was required)...after that, they never touched a keyer again.

Vibroplex, who makes CW keyers...for 2 weeks either side of the FCC
dropping the 5 WPM CW exam back in February, 2007...their phones were
literally "ringing off the wall" for folks wanting to purchase keyers!!

I asked one ham years ago what his secret was to learning CW, and he
said "I learned all the dirty words first!!" <G>. After I quit laughing,
I said "Well, you can't say or key that on the air...but if it helps,
more power to you!!". The next week, I was monitoring an Echolink (VoiP)
node, of one of the clubs...and they were teaching CW over the air. The
four letters they highlighted formed the S expletive (So Happy It's
Thursday <G>). I thought "I'll be d@mned!!"...but when you looked at the
dot and dash pattern, it made perfect sense!!

However, the funniest experience I heard of, was in Annapolis, Maryland,
at a local restaurant. Four male hams were at the table, telling each
other dirty jokes in CW. This drop dead gorgeous, beautiful, curvaceous
female <WHISTLE!><BG> walked up to them, and STERNLY ADMONISHED them,
saying "You boys need to watch your language!! I teach CW at the Naval
Academy across the street!!", and walked out!! The four was as red as
tomatoes (and that's a true story!!).<G>

Now, there are programs where you can send and receive CW at your
computer, without even having a rig or a keyer to do it with.

On another note, I never took a typing course in high school. But, by
being a BBS Sysop since December, 1990, I became a touch typist. The
SPCK (Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Keyboards) has me on their
10 most wanted list...for typing the letters off the keys on the keyboard,
from hitting the keys so hard!! <G>

Daryl, WX4QZ

... BAR CODE: Electronic device to help locate bars.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas

There are 767,863 licensed amateurs in the USA right now. A cursory
google search seems to indicate anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 amateurs are added per year. If we do the napkin math, that'd mean
300,000-480,000 (licenses last 10 years) of those 767,863 were licensed since the morse code requirement was completely dropped. More than
half.

Unfortunately, there are also many of these who study to take the license exam, then never get on the air. To me, that made the studying a colossal
waste of time on their part.

One of the central Arkansas TV meteorologists, is licensed, with his late father's callsign. But, with his work at the TV station (I believe his wife works there as well, but I don't know if she's licensed or not), and with
his duties at home (they have 2 sons), he doesn't have time to get on the
air.

I can NOT fault him at all for that...he is putting job and family first. After all, ham radio is supposed to be a HOBBY...but there are some out
there who feel "it's an obsession". Or, more like "it's necessary for survival". In that regard, as ARRL (R) notes "When All Else Fails...", it's true. But, I thought of the meme that noted "Coffee is essential for one's survial. The dinosaurs didn't have it, and look what happened to them!!" <G>.

Daryl, WX4QZ

... Bad restaurant: When a hospital map is on the back page of the menu.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas

When learning I hit a point where if the code went faster than
22cpm, I would hear doubles. Once I got past that it was smooth
sailing.

At a ham radio event in central Arkansas several years ago, there
was a CW Shootout at High Noon. Two hams were doing CW at 55 WPM!!
To me, that's just a blur!!

I also think back to the episode on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno"
on May 13, 2005. Ken Miller and Chip Margelli, were dressed up as two
railroad telegraph operators, and they went up against Ben Cook, and
his friend Jason (Ben was the world's fastest text messager (SMS),
typing a 160 character message in 57 seconds).

Chip was the sender of the CW at 29-30 WPM, and Ken was the receiver;
and CW was DONE before the text messagers entered the last 2 words!!
The phrase: "I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance!!". <G>

There was a woman, Jennifer, who incorrectly predicted that text
messaging would be faster than CW. She walked away with a couple of
tickets to a Thai Restaurant, anyway.

Daryl, WX4QZ

... Back Up My Hard Drive? How do I Put it in Reverse?
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas

Quoting Daryl Stout to Cougar428 <=-

Hi Daryl - thanks for your reply!

while a CW QSO was going on in the background. During the conversation with other hams, he interrupted with "Hang on a minute"...then reached over, and starting sending CW to the other ham on the frequency. When
he was done, he said "Sorry about that...I had to reply!!". I saw this with my own eyes!! We were amazed that he could multi-task like that.

This person does sound amazing! I bet they loved the hobby!

When I had to copy, I had to listen carefully to the one stream
coming in or I would miss characters. This was also my primary job.
There were many operators who concentrated on one signal at at time.

Even though in the US, when the FCC dropped the Morse Code
requirement (first dropping the 13 and 20 WPM CW exam on April 15, 2000...then doing away with the 5 WPM CW exam on Feb. 23, 2007), it has caused a surge in folks wanting to learn and use CW. They were now
doing it because they WANTED to, and NOT because they HAD to.

Again, these people are part of the group who love the hobbby. I
listen in on the bands, and there are alot of great conversations
about the hobby or equipment in general. Seems that most of them
are doing because they are really interested in it. I still love to
listen, but don't think I would have the patience for all the
equipment.

over the air. The four letters they highlighted formed the S expletive
(So Happy It's Thursday <G>). I thought "I'll be d@mned!!"...but when
you looked at the dot and dash pattern, it made perfect sense!!

Yeah, nine dits and a dah in order of course. In the service, I
mostly copied groups of characters, but would occasionally capture a
word (which really made me sit up). I would copy, others would
interpret.

STERNLY ADMONISHED them, saying "You boys need to watch your language!!
I teach CW at the Naval Academy across the street!!", and walked out!!

When I trained, none of the instructors were female. They would get
you started, but the training was a tape turned on and transmitted
to all the earphones at each intercept station. Testing was
individual and not as a group.

Now, there are programs where you can send and receive CW at your computer, without even having a rig or a keyer to do it with.

Yeah, once I got out of the service - I found there wasn't much call
for commercial operators unless it was in the maritime industry.
Seems crazy I learned all that stuff and outside of the services
there wasn't any call for it.

On another note, I never took a typing course in high school. But,
by being a BBS Sysop since December, 1990, I became a touch typist. The SPCK (Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Keyboards) has me on
their 10 most wanted list...for typing the letters off the keys on the keyboard, from hitting the keys so hard!! <G>

I learned touch typing as a part of the MOS training. Crazy thing
about the services. They spent all that time training me to copy
morse and had me specialize in Chinese cut characters only to send
me to Europe where I didn't copy any Chinese. Crazy when you think
about it. Crazy my fingers can still hit the keys when I hear the
code too.

Thanks Daryl!

Cougar

... Kiss my ASCII

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20

Quoting Daryl Stout to Cougar428 <=-

I also think back to the episode on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno"
on May 13, 2005. Ken Miller and Chip Margelli, were dressed up as two railroad telegraph operators, and they went up against Ben Cook, and
his friend Jason (Ben was the world's fastest text messager (SMS),
typing a 160 character message in 57 seconds).

Now you got me interested, I'm going to have to see if I can find
that episode somewhere and watch it!

Cougar


... Life's Law: NOTHING ever happens until it does.

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20

Re: Re: radio check
By: Daryl Stout to Cougar428 on Thu Feb 02 2023 05:03 pm

I also think back to the episode on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno"
on May 13, 2005. Ken Miller and Chip Margelli, were dressed up as two railroad telegraph operators, and they went up against Ben Cook, and
his friend Jason (Ben was the world's fastest text messager (SMS),
typing a 160 character message in 57 seconds).

Chip was the sender of the CW at 29-30 WPM, and Ken was the receiver;
and CW was DONE before the text messagers entered the last 2 words!!
The phrase: "I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance!!". <G>

the Long Island CW club has that video linked on their website. Underneath they mentioned there were a few errors :D

DaiTengu

...The House of Lords is a model of how to care for the elderly.

---
■ Synchronet ■ War Ensemble BBS - The sport is war, total war - warensemble.com

Now you got me interested, I'm going to have to see if I can find
that episode somewhere and watch it!

Since there are copyright issues involved, you may have a hard time
finding it.

The only thing I found on it was this 30 minute clip from it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRuRE-Bwk1U

Here's the full story from the ARRL Website:

CW OPS WHIP WHIPPERSNAPPER TEXT MESSENGERS ON NATIONAL TV

It may have been Friday the Thirteenth, but it was a lucky day for Morse code--and particularly for veteran CW contest ops Chip Margelli, K7JA,
and Ken Miller, K6CTW.

During a May 13, 2005 appearance on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
the pair was able to pass a message using good old fashioned Morse code
more rapidly than a pair of teenaged text messengers equipped with modern cellphones.

The victory, which replicated a similar challenge that took place
recently in Australia, has provided immense encouragement to Amateur
Radio's community of CW operators, who been ballyhooed the achievement
all over the Internet. The text messaging team consisted of world text-messaging champ Ben Cook of Utah and his friend Jason. Miller
said afterward in a reflector posting that "the CW team won fairly
handily".

"Ben was just getting ready to start entering the last two words when
I was done," he said on the Elecraft reflector in response to various
questions he's received following the TV appearance. "I already knew
that 28-30 WPM would easily keep us in front of even the current world
[text messaging] record holder, and also it is the fastest speed that
I can make nice readable copy on paper with a 'stick' [pencil]."

Miller said it was decided he'd be on the receiving end, because he
wasn't distracted by the noise in the studio.

Margelli recalls that he was sending at 29 WPM. "I believe the goods
were suitably delivered," he told ARRL. "CW and old guys rule!"

What the viewing public didn't know was that Margelli and Miller had,
in Miller's words, "smoked 'em every time" during three pre-program
rehearsals. Even so, during the real thing, when Miller raised his
hand to signal he'd copied the CW message successfully, Jason's jaw
dropped.

None of the players had any idea of the text they'd be sending, Miller
noted. The message? "I just saved a bunch of money on my car
insurance."

As with many Tonight Show bits, this one involved a member of the
audience, a young woman named Jennifer who predicted -- incorrectly
as it turned out -- that text messaging definitely would top
170-year-old Morse code. She walked away with a gift of restaurant
tickets anyway.

Margelli says the CW team used Yaesu FT-817 transceivers -- one of his
own, and another owned by Dan Dankert, N6PEQ. Backup units -- not
needed -- were provided by HRO; Margelli's wife Janet, KL7MF, manages
an HRO store. They ended up using 432.200 MHz as an operating frequency
in order to avoid RFI from the plethora of TV equipment in the studio,
and to avoid interfering with NBC's gear. They ran the little
transceivers at their lowest power level and with the antennas
disconnected -- although they were mounted on the back of each unit
-- no problem given the close proximity involved. Margelli sent with
a Bencher paddle.

To add a little atmosphere to the affair, NBC producers attired Margelli
and Miller to look like 19th-century-era Western Union or railroad Morse telegraphers. The costumes came complete with green visors, white shirts, sleeve garters, vests and bow ties. The teenaged SMSers wore T-shirts
and jeans.

Cook told Leno that he'd managed to send a 160-letter message to his
friend using his cell phone's short message system (SMS) -- the formal
term for text messaging -- in 57 seconds.

A member of the Morse Telegraph Club and a QRP enthusiast, Miller said
he'd been using CW for 38 years. Margelli told Leno he'd been using
Morse "for 43 years in ham radio," a phrase Leno echoed. That was the
only plug Amateur Radio got during the appearance on the show's "Dinner
for 4" segment. Miller says that during rehearsal, the pair had come up
with a few lines to promote ham radio and telegraphy, but they were cut
during the final dress rehearsal, in the interest of making the segment
fit its allotted time slot.

During the Australian competition in April, a Morse team consisting of 93-year-old former post office telegrapher Gordon Hill -- the sender --
and 82-year-old Jack Gibson -- the receiver -- topped 13-year-old SMSer Brittany Devlin. In that event, Hill spelled out the message in full,
while Devlin used text-messaging shorthand. In that competition, held
at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Hill took 90 seconds to send the
message, 18 seconds faster than Devlin's message took to reach her
friend's cell phone.

Miller encouraged all who enjoyed the CW-vs-text messaging segment on
NBC to contact The Tonight Show, to let the producers know about it --
with an eye toward having the network schedule a more elaborate segment
"next time."

"Thanks for the kind comments from all," Miller concluded, advising
"let's keep on having fun!--It is a hobby after all."

Commented Margelli to ARRL: "I completely agree with my fantastic
teammate, Ken Miller. It was a lot of fun, just like ham radio, and
the show also delivered an important, if subtle, message about the
benefits of the 'basic' communication infrastructure that Amateur
Radio provides."

**

Daryl, WX4QZ

... Ham Radio Messages And Replies Will Be Sent In Morse Code.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas

This person does sound amazing! I bet they loved the hobby!

He does. I don't remember who he is, but it was neat being around him,
and he had been licensed for years.

Again, these people are part of the group who love the hobbby. I
listen in on the bands, and there are alot of great conversations
about the hobby or equipment in general. Seems that most of them
are doing because they are really interested in it. I still love to listen, but don't think I would have the patience for all the
equipment.

I operate "internet only", much to the angst of the "purists". But,
with being a heart patient (congestive heart failure), and on a fixed
income (disability), I can't afford all the extra gear and accessores.
Plus, electronics, etc., was never my forte'.

When I trained, none of the instructors were female. They would get
you started, but the training was a tape turned on and transmitted
to all the earphones at each intercept station. Testing was
individual and not as a group.

When the examiner teams did the Morse Code testing, it was from a
recording. I didn't get licensed until the US FCC dropped the Morse
Code requirement.

I learned touch typing as a part of the MOS training. Crazy thing
about the services. They spent all that time training me to copy
morse and had me specialize in Chinese cut characters only to send
me to Europe where I didn't copy any Chinese. Crazy when you think
about it. Crazy my fingers can still hit the keys when I hear the
code too.

I rarely look at the keyboard when I'm typing.

Thanks Daryl!

You're welcome.

Daryl

... Disk Failure: (W)arm Boot, (C)old Boot, (S)teel Toe Boot?
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas

the Long Island CW club has that video linked on their website.
Underneath they mentioned there were a few errors :D

The look on Jason's face when Ken (receiving the CW) raised his
hand, was priceless!!

Daryl, WX4QZ

... H.A.M. Radio Operator: H)ave A)nother M)eal.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas

Re: Re: radio check
By: Daryl Stout to DaiTengu on Mon Feb 06 2023 10:58 am

the Long Island CW club has that video linked on their website.
Underneath they mentioned there were a few errors :D

The look on Jason's face when Ken (receiving the CW) raised his
hand, was priceless!!

I just went back and re-watched it. I'd be willing to bet if they did it today, text would be done in a fraction of the time. They were using the old 12-button flip phone in that video.

DaiTengu

...A husband is what is left of the lover after the nerve has been extracted.

---
■ Synchronet ■ War Ensemble BBS - The sport is war, total war - warensemble.com

Quoting Daryl Stout to Cougar428 <=-

Now you got me interested, I'm going to have to see if I can find
that episode somewhere and watch it!

Since there are copyright issues involved, you may have a hard time finding it.

Here's the full story from the ARRL Website:

Thanks Daryl! I found it on the ARRL website, they had the snipped
of the send and recieve and the CW ops winning. It was entertaining!

During the Australian competition in April, a Morse team consisting of 93-year-old former post office telegrapher Gordon Hill -- the sender
-- and 82-year-old Jack Gibson -- the receiver -- topped 13-year-old
SMSer Brittany Devlin. In that event, Hill spelled out the message in full, while Devlin used text-messaging shorthand. In that competition, held at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Hill took 90 seconds to send
the message, 18 seconds faster than Devlin's message took to reach her friend's cell phone.

That one sounds interesting also, I'll have to see if I can find it.
Thanks for the entertainment...

Cougar

... I call things as I see them; If I didn't see them, I make them up!

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20

Quoting Daryl Stout to Cougar428 <=-

I operate "internet only", much to the angst of the "purists". But,
with being a heart patient (congestive heart failure), and on a fixed income (disability), I can't afford all the extra gear and accessores. Plus, electronics, etc., was never my forte'.

I have had 'paricarditis' twice now. Felt like I was having
congestive heart failure. First time I was in the hospital for 3
days, second time for a week. The doctors were unable to tell me
what happened. They said it was most likely a virus.

So hopefully you are taking it easy now. I still have problems as I
get older due to the scarring the infection caused. I don't think I
could say I know how you feel though. I think the issue will cause
my life to be shorter, but you can't dwell on things. Gotta live in
the here and now.

Best regards (and health to you) Daryl.

Cougar

... If it works, rip it apart and find out why!

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20

I have had 'paricarditis' twice now. Felt like I was having
congestive heart failure. First time I was in the hospital for 3
days, second time for a week. The doctors were unable to tell me
what happened. They said it was most likely a virus.

I'm on Lasix, which wasn't my pee-rogative (pun intended), but I've
known folks who've had CHF for years.

So hopefully you are taking it easy now. I still have problems as I
get older due to the scarring the infection caused. I don't think I
could say I know how you feel though. I think the issue will cause
my life to be shorter, but you can't dwell on things. Gotta live in
the here and now.

None of us is getting any younger. My late father, for years, said he
was 19, and I believed him!! When I passed him, "I smelled a rat"...and
my late wife said "There's something rotten in Denmark, and it isn't the codfish!!". So, the joke got to be "You're 19, and your son is 42?? There
must be something in the water!!". <G>

Best regards (and health to you) Daryl.

Thanks. Getting old isn't for sissies...and if you call me a sissy,
I'll hit you with my purse. <G>

Daryl, WX4QZ

... "Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?" -Edgar Bergen
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas

Thanks Daryl! I found it on the ARRL website, they had the snipped
of the send and recieve and the CW ops winning. It was entertaining!

The grin on Ken Miller's Face when he got the message, followed by the
jaw dropping of Jason, when he realized CW had won, was priceless. Then,
Chip Margelli, "hammed it up" by blowing off his hot little CW hands. <G>

That one sounds interesting also, I'll have to see if I can find it. Thanks for the entertainment...

It has been nearly 16 years since the FCC dropped the Morse Code
requirement for US Ham Radio License Exams...but from what I've seen,
CW is as popular as ever. Folks are learning it because they WANT to,
and NOT because they HAVE to.

Daryl, WX4QZ

... "Do you, Sysop, take this BBS, to be your wedded spouse?"
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas

Tim wrote to All <=-

Breaker' breaker'radio check. Anybody still doing cb radio chat?
Skip and power amps? lol. Just checking in from Maryland. Just knock
if you can hear me!! Whizardmagic Cave

Haven't touched CB in a long time - that being said haven't talked on
HAM in a long time either...



... I lost my job as a stage designer. I left without making a scene.
--- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ Final Zone BBS - final-zone.net - finalzone.ddns.net

Jimmy,

Haven't touched CB in a long time - that being said haven't talked on
HAM in a long time either...

For one ham, CW stands for "chicken wings", as that's a dish he loves to
eat (hi hi)...because HAM stands for "Have Another Meal", and you don't
call us "Late For Dinner" (hi hi).

It's a good thing that we don't have to have a minimum of on the air time anymore, never mind constant logging. I log only during my nets, which is
the only time I'm on the air anymore. I rarely get a sked request, and it's rare I just "check into a net". With my net schedule, my "net weekend" is Wednesday and Thursday"...I do 2 nets on Friday, 2 nets on Saturday, 1 net
on Sunday, 2 nets on Monday, and 1 on Tuesday.

Daryl, WX4QZ

... I took an IQ test, and the results were negative.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas

Re: Re: radio check
By: Jimmy Anderson to Tim on Thu Mar 09 2023 05:29 pm

Haven't touched CB in a long time - that being said haven't talked on

Nobody has :/... But me, maybe. Nobody ever responds to my "BREAKER ONE NINE"s.

---
■ Synchronet ■ TIRED of waiting 2 hours for a taco? GO TO TACOPRONTO.bbs.io

Daryl Stout wrote to Jimmy Anderson <=-

Haven't touched CB in a long time - that being said haven't talked on
HAM in a long time either...

For one ham, CW stands for "chicken wings", as that's a dish he loves
to eat (hi hi)...because HAM stands for "Have Another Meal", and you
don't call us "Late For Dinner" (hi hi).

:-)

It's a good thing that we don't have to have a minimum of on the air time anymore, never mind constant logging. I log only during my nets, which is the only time I'm on the air anymore. I rarely get a sked request, and it's rare I just "check into a net". With my net schedule,
my "net weekend" is Wednesday and Thursday"...I do 2 nets on Friday, 2 nets on Saturday, 1 net on Sunday, 2 nets on Monday, and 1 on Tuesday.

Well I never set one up in the house - had to have a lot of work done on
the house, and still haven't 'unpacked' stuff we had to box up, and I'm
doing some of the 'finish work' myself, so...

HAM just hasn't been a priority...



... Capt'n! The spellchecker kinna take this abuse!
--- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ Final Zone BBS - final-zone.net - finalzone.ddns.net

Phigan wrote to Jimmy Anderson <=-

Re: Re: radio check
By: Jimmy Anderson to Tim on Thu Mar 09 2023 05:29 pm

Haven't touched CB in a long time - that being said haven't talked on

Nobody has :/... But me, maybe. Nobody ever responds to my "BREAKER ONE NINE"s.

Any truckers passing through that you hear?




... Friends are the spice of life! Are you hot or mild?
--- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ Final Zone BBS - final-zone.net - finalzone.ddns.net

Re: Re: radio check
By: Jimmy Anderson to Phigan on Fri Mar 24 2023 08:01 pm

Any truckers passing through that you hear?

None. And every time I see a trucker with CB antennas, I ask them about their radio.. they say they don't ever turn it on, if they even still have one hooked up.

---
■ Synchronet ■ TIRED of waiting 2 hours for a taco? GO TO TACOPRONTO.bbs.io

Re: Re: radio check
By: Phigan to Jimmy Anderson on Tue Mar 28 2023 07:49 pm

None. And every time I see a trucker with CB antennas, I ask them about their radio.. they say they don't ever turn it on, if they even still have one hooked up.

Plenty of truck traffic on CB in the NY metro area, all the way down to Philly. 6 and 9 tend to be chit chat channels, 19 for traffic alerts. No one puts calls out anymore except a few hardcore DX chasers though.
---
■ Synchronet ■ .: realitycheckbbs.org :: scientia potentia est :.

None. And every time I see a trucker with CB antennas, I ask them about their radio.. they say they don't ever turn it on, if they even still
have one hooked up.

I know a few hams who are OTR truck drivers...Jeff, KC0JC...Randy, K5NDX... Tom, VE9DS...are the three who come to mind. I've met Jeff and Randy in
person.

Daryl, WX4QZ

... UPS merging with Federal Express -- new name: Fed-Ups.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas

Phigan wrote to Jimmy Anderson <=-

Re: Re: radio check
By: Jimmy Anderson to Phigan on Fri Mar 24 2023 08:01 pm

Any truckers passing through that you hear?

None. And every time I see a trucker with CB antennas, I ask them about their radio.. they say they don't ever turn it on, if they even still
have one hooked up.

Didn't know that - glad I didn't take the time or money to install one. :-)





... COMMAND: A suggestion made to a computer.
--- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ Final Zone BBS - final-zone.net - finalzone.ddns.net