Right. Its the era of the “giveaway” licences! To think I took an actual Extra test in the early 80’s and my license looks the same as any other today! Congratulations to anyone who wants to use their brain. Ken
What??? Can't anybody post something out here without someone ELSE bitch'n about his or her comment??? It's sorta like one racial group saying they're more important than another race??? Hmmm!!! It seems as if the "1st Amendment" is truely going the way of the "DO-DO bird"!!!
Well I am kind of proud of getting my Extra and passing my 20 wpm which I did in 1997. That 20 wpm was not an easy slog and took me a lot of practice.When I got my Extra only 10% of Hams were Extra now it's at 53% so not so special or "Extra" anymore. I do a lot of >50 Mhz contesting and when you are doing weak signal work that Charlie Whiskey comes in mighty handy, the decibel gain is huge. I have a lot of satisfaction in what it took to get my Extra "way back when" and that's all I need.
That's fine if you are proud of past accomplishments. I'm just confused on how someone (not necessarily meaning any one here) calling someone that got their Extra license in the last 10 or 20 years an "Extra Lite" adds to their pride. It seems to me that using "Extra Lite" in any context is just making the user of that term look like a petty and bitter old man. 53%? Where is that coming from? Using numbers from Hamdata it's more like 20%. http://www.hamdata.com/fccinfo.html That's still pretty "extra" to me. Your mileage may vary I guess. 53% is more like the combined numbers of Novice and Technician, and they are 2 or 3 written exams away from Extra. Is that an argument for learning Morse code? If so then whatever. If this is an argument for restoring the Morse code testing then that's a rather empty argument. Not every licensed Amateur will want to work weak signals, and not every licensed Amateur should want to. That's great but current licensing standards should not detract from your past accomplishments. If people want to take pride in achieving 20 WPM in Morse code then there are better ways in showing this accomplishment than a license from the FCC. If one still needs to have this documented by the FCC then go get the commercial radiotelegraph license, that still requires 20 WPM Morse code testing and it shows in the FCC database. No need to mess with the Amateur radio licensing for one to get the FCC to certify this accomplishment.
Congratulations Ryan..hope you will pass the next exam. 33 years ago i was qso with Darrel , KB6RXF when he was 10 years old.
Permission granted. In 1955, I had to send and receive Morse code via sound or flashing light, or by semaphore (signal flags, one in each hand), in order to become a First Class Scout in boy scouting. Our assistant scoutmaster had retired as a Master Chief Quartermaster from the USN, and he was the best teacher we could have hoped for. Our whole troop - even most of the Tenderfoots - knew enough Morse to thoroughly baffle a group of "radio amateurs" today.
I learned code in the Boy Scouts when I earned one of my merit badges. No big deal to learn code when you are young. As I remember, you had to send and receive code by sound using a key and also by light using a flashlight. Also remember having to be able to send and receive morse code using flags. I was in the fourth grade and we would send code to each other using pencil taps. Really did confuse the teacher.
Congratulations Ryan , best wishes for your exam later this month , just as with your Morse just keep reading understanding , even using your Morse as cues to the answers to your exam relax you will do well G1XZL / ZL2SCI
I think one has to be young to be able to learn it. I'm a middle aged old fart and when I tried to learn the code, it's just impossible. The old brain box is already as stuffed full as it's going to get and it isn't going to let anything more in. 73s
I think there's a lot of truth to that actually. I learned guitar at 9 and still play fluently and well - I can even still play tunes I learned in my guitar classes 50 years ago! But when I was 35 and wanted to take up piano, no amount of effort on my part would make much of any of it stick! Nothin' doin'. After 6 months I gave up and went back just playing guitar. Same with Morse - I learned at 13 years old - self-taught, from a book, just out of boredom! I got my General at 14, and used CW as my only mode for 20 years until I got my Extra in 1997 (on my birthday!). But I'm 90% sure that if I'd put off learning Morse until about the time I tried to learn piano, it would have been a VERY different story and outcome for me. Morse is just another language - just like French and Spanish or for that matter, music. And it's long-known that the best years to learn languages is in your youth when your brain is the most open to it. Dave W7UUU
