CW will go next

Tue Apr 2 10:03:56 EST 1996

>  Only hope is
> CW tests will be replaced by some technical tests with real teeth to act as
> a way to keep our bands from becoming as did the CB bands, completely lawless
> and world wide, as in Indonesia now.
>
>Jim,  AH6NB
>jreid at aloha.net

Yes, Jim!  I've been saying this for a long time.  I've never bought into the 
"CW will keep out the riff-raff" argument.  I'm teaching a license class now, 
and CW is not causing fear among any of my students.  If we truly want the tests
to do a "gate keeping" function (and for reasons of political impact some may 
argue that we do not, in order to increase our numbers)... but if we want to
erect a suitable barrier to entry into "the club" then it ought to be in the 
form of a theory exam with meaningful content, along with periodic retesting on 
state-of-the-art technology.  I would be happy to submit a few DSP questions to 
the question pool.

BTW - I am not kidding - this is my real opinion - the above is not a joke.

*** flame shields up ***

73, Dave NG0X 
NCCC CM87xi
david_b_curtis at ccm.sc.intel.com

>From k7fd at teleport.com (John Nicholson)  Tue Apr  2 18:12:07 1996
From: k7fd at teleport.com (John Nicholson) (John Nicholson)
Date: Tue, 2 Apr 1996 10:12:07 -0800 (PST)
Subject: CW will go next
Message-ID: <199604021812.KAA20723 at desiree.teleport.com>

AH6NB wrote:

>About the year 2005 or so,  CW as a test for an amateur license will probably
>be gone,  world wide,  if things go as they might at WARC 99.  Only hope is
>CW tests will be replaced by some technical tests with real teeth to act as
>a way to keep our bands from becoming as did the CB bands, completely lawless
>and world wide, as in Indonesia now.

        Technical tests? We already have those. If the future 
        modes of communication will be primarily voice and digital, why not
        diction and typing tests? Ever count the number of 'and-uhs' you hear
        on SSB? And some of those typo's on pactor and rtty, yikes...  :)

        John the Typist

>From Danny Eskenazi <k7ss at wolfenet.com>  Tue Apr  2 18:23:09 1996
From: Danny Eskenazi <k7ss at wolfenet.com> (Danny Eskenazi)
Date: Tue, 2 Apr 1996 10:23:09 -0800 (PST)
Subject: 96 CQ WPX SSB - 10 Meters
Message-ID: <199604021823.KAA21348 at wolfe.net>

Congratulations of your superb effort on 10 meters!!  
You have the TRUE ESSENCE of contesting down!
Just about anyone can sit and push F1 over and over...but Ive gotta commend
your skill and
perserverance in doing a single 10 at the bottom of the cycle!!

You are either truley enlightened or truly mad and I cant seem to find where
you fit on that scale.......butd I'll bet its leaning towards the
enlightened end of the graph...

I hope you get the ten meter trophy for your shack wall...you really deserve
it! 
there should be a trophy for gumption!!

I can recall entering single ten in the ALL ASIA contests in June at the
bottom of the cycle and feeling a great elation in finding ONE JA to
log.....so I can relate to your weekend....

Why TEN and the bottom of the cycle???     Cuz its there!!!

Keep up the good work

73 de Danny K7SS

(Next time bust into those local QSOs....look what it would have done for
your score!!)

At 12:38 PM 4/2/96 -0500, you wrote:
>SPECIAL NOTE: If your score was over 10K, don't even bother to read this.
>
>Call: WB4HFL
>Mode: SSB
>Category: Single Operator-Low Power
>Band: 10 (only)
>QSO: 65
>QSO Pts: 188
>Pts/Q: 2.9
>Prefixes: 35      
>Score: 6580
>Time: 19.5 hours! (that's right, see below)
>
>Equipment: TS850, TS830, Heil HC4, JPS NIR-10, Ameco PT-3 preamp, 4 ele. at
>50 ft. (hanging in tree, no tower to distort pattern!) fixed South, 3 ele. at
>55 ft. (in another tree) fixed WSW.
>
>Looking at all of the all-band scores, it looks like just about everyone gave
>up on 10 meters.  Propogation, when it existed, was only to the South.  I was
>never able to get any type of run going, so S&Ped pretty much the whole time.
>
>Missed 4 multipliers Friday night when I decided not to break into a group of
> local rag chewers.  Lesson Learned!!  I did hear KP4XS and KE5FI for a brief
>time Saturday but could not get them to hear me.  Only worked two stateside
>stations, a W4 in VA and a local WB4 here in Raleigh.  Everything else was in
>South America, mostly Argentina (40 LUs).
>
>Althought CT says I only worked 6.8 hours, there was a lot of time spent
>listening to atmospheric noise and stations I had already worked.  0000 -
>0300, Friday night, couple of local ragchewers, nothing else!  1200 - 1400
>Saturday morning, a few weak meteor (comet?) scatter bursts, nothing else!!
> 1600 - 2200 Saturday, rates were 6, 12, 9, 13, & 2 (eat your heart out
>guys!, hi).  0000 - 0300 Saturday night, NO local ragchewers, NOTHING ELSE!!!
> 1200 - 1400 Sunday morning, a few short bursts, someone's 20 meter 2nd
>harmonic (verified with second rig), nothing else!!!!  1730 - 2100 Sunday,
>rates were 9, 9, 3, 2!  2300 - 2345 Sunday, nothing new heard, I QUIT!  
>
>73,
>Henry Pollock - WB4HFL
>henrypol at aol.com
>
>