Date: Wed, 29 Dec 93 19:59:04 PST
From: Info-Hams Mailing List and Newsgroup <info-hams@ucsd.edu>
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Precedence: Bulk
Subject: Info-Hams Digest V93 #1522
To: Info-Hams
Info-Hams Digest Wed, 29 Dec 93 Volume 93 : Issue 1522
Today's Topics:
cw waivers (3 msgs)
For Sale: icom IC-W2A, ac
License Arrived in 8 1/2 weeks
Mail
Maxton and Newwell
Missing 13-year old ham
Ramsey kits not too good?
Repeater database?
US License Examination Opportunities Scheduled 12/29/93 to 4/5/94
Where are all the young enthusiasts?
Send Replies or notes for publication to: <Info-Hams@UCSD.Edu>
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Problems you can't solve otherwise to brian@ucsd.edu.
Archives of past issues of the Info-Hams Digest are available
(by FTP only) from UCSD.Edu in directory "mailarchives/info-hams".
We trust that readers are intelligent enough to realize that all text
herein consists of personal comments and does not represent the official
policies or positions of any party. Your mileage may vary. So there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 29 Dec 93 21:51:12 GMT
From: att-out!cbnewsj!k2ph@rutgers.rutgers.edu
Subject: cw waivers
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1993 22:51:16 GMT
From: usc!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: cw waivers
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
In article <CItDq4.Fxx@cbnewsj.cb.att.com> k2ph@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (The QRPer) writes:
>
>I fail to understand how anybody could equate operating CW with
>lying in a bed of nails. Unless they've been smoking the Christmas
>wreath. Some day you must explain this to me, Gary. Do you really
>think that people torture themselves just to get awards?
Sure, Type As will go to extreme lengths to be competitive. They'll
go for 48 hours without sleep with an infernal beeping device clamped
to their heads. They'll risk drowning in killer surf, climb rockfaces,
get shot at by Vietnamese patrol boats, anything, for that last point.
They'll ignore their families, shutting themselves up in small stuffy
rooms for days on end, just for one more contentless 599 exchange.
>Incredible.
Isn't it?
>Wise up, Gary. Hundreds of thousands of amateurs throughout the
>world think CW is fun. They are not being tortured.
Oh, masochists by definition love their pain. They don't recognize
their behavior as an illness. They do have to have a streak of
sadism too, though, to want to impose their hell on others.
>Oh yes, you do understand that DXing and contesting are two very
>different things, right? Your original post seemed somewhat confused
>about that.
They're both compulsive activities done for score. Contests are usually
shorter and with different ways of counting points. DXing is postal card
collecting with a masochistic twist, and a maximum score of 319. It's an
obsessive compulsive behavior.
Gary
--
Gary Coffman KE4ZV | You make it, | gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary
Destructive Testing Systems | we break it. | uunet!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary
534 Shannon Way | Guaranteed! | emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary
Lawrenceville, GA 30244 | |
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 02:33:22 GMT
From: netcomsv!netcom.com!jfh@decwrl.dec.com
Subject: cw waivers
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
k2ph@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (The QRPer) wrote:
>It does seem a bit silly, in 1993, to give a CW test the same level of
>importance as the written test, doesn't it?
I'd prefer options, take a code test or take a digital operation test (or
whatever).
>I wonder if we couldn't
>include CW questions on an overall test for a given license class,
>instead of making it a separate test element. Or wouldn't that be in
>conformance with international treaty?
My understanding is that the international treaty specifies neither the
speed nor the method of testing. If the FCC wants to give us a printed
copy of a code sample to translate at our leisure, that's probably within
the letter of the law.
--
----------------------------------------------------
Jack Hamilton POB 281107 SF CA 94128 USA
jfh@netcom.com kd6ttl@w6pw.#nocal.ca.us.na
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1993 14:56:13 GMT
From: usc!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!iat.holonet.net!crystal!andy.miskell@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: For Sale: icom IC-W2A, ac
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
How Much do you want for ICOM?
Andy Miskell
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 00:40:48 GMT
From: pacbell.com!pb2esac!jaminge@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: License Arrived in 8 1/2 weeks
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
FYI: took the no-code tech test 10-24, license was issued 12-21.
Next question is what to call KE6DTC...
Guess I could call it "Dump The Code".
That ought to start a war instantly ;-)
--
John Minger KE6DTC "Society is like a stew. If you
Glendale, CA don't keep it stirred up, you get a
<jaminge@pb2esac.com> lot of scum on top." -Edward Abbey
------------------------------
Date: 27 Dec 93 21:21:00 GMT
From: sgigate.sgi.com!sgiblab!wetware!rhohan!express@rutgers.rutgers.edu
Subject: Mail
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
Hi michael. Just saying hello.... I hope I got my address right.
------------------------------
Date: 29 Dec 1993 13:59:58 -0800
From: olivea!apple.com!apple.com!not-for-mail@uunet.uu.net
Subject: Maxton and Newwell
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
oo7@astro.as.utexas.edu (Derek Wills) writes:
>kchen@apple.com (Kok Chen) wonders:
>>Eh? Has someone finally solved the Unified Field Theory problem
>>while I was asleep?
> Yes! See, Newton says that everything continues in a straight
> line...
[ explaination of curl, that is divergent from norm, omitted ... ]
Actually, Sir Isaac omitted to take into account jerks (third
derivative of position w.r.t. time), which results in the emissions
you hear on 14.313.
> And if you hear a slight "thump" whenever you key your transmitter,
> that's Newton's Third Law - action and reaction.
The "thump" I usually hear is from my downstairs neighbour complaining
of TVI each time I key down. Wait, I guess that *is* Newton's third
law :-).
Errr, Derek, what is a key? :-) It is only half a word. The other
half, obviously, is "board."
> I'm surprised you didn't know all this, what with your being an
> Extra class ham and all that,
Mea culpa, I will return my license to the FCC pronto.
I gauss I did poorly with my Maxwell studies because they hertz my
brain, faraday and everynight. Even thinking about it gives me a
headache, I need to walk all the away around the pillbox to get an
aspirin. The reason I really don't believe Maxwell is because he
claims that Adm. Perry never visited the magnetic monopole.
>Derek "Isaac" Wills (AA5BT, G3NMX)
Shucks, I was expecting you to sign Isaac Wills, F.R.S., K.B.E. :-)
Kok Chen, AA6TY kchen@apple.com
Apple Computer, Inc.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 93 20:19:49 -0400
From: psinntp!wlnntp.psi.com!usenet@uunet.uu.net
Subject: Missing 13-year old ham
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
I'd also like this picture to post on the AOL Ham Radio Club areas.
>DATE: 28 Dec 93 20:26:49 GMT
>FROM: Bob West 917-6362 <rlwest@pcsol1.dseg.ti.COM>
>
>You have probably already seen on this Digest:
>
>> NATHAN TAYLOR, WZ1W (MISSING CHILD) UPDATE
>>
>> Even though two federal agencies are now involved in the hunt,
>> there are still no leads to the whereabouts of Nathan Taylor,
>> WZ1W. Nathan is the thirteen year old ham from Gardner
>> Massachusetts who ran away from home last August 27th. ...[etc.]
>
>Does anyone have a scanned picture that can be posted as a GIF or JPG file?
>
>--
>=============================================================================
>Bob West WA8YCD Internet: rlwest@dseg.ti.com
>=============================================================================
>
Terry M. Stader, KA8SCP, America Online (AOL) Ham Radio Club Host
Macintosh Amateur Radio Software List Maintainer
Internet: tstader@aol.com or p00489@psilink.com
Packet: KA8SCP@WA1PHY.#EMA.MA.USA.NOAM
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 02:51:05 GMT
From: netcomsv!netcom.com!wa2ise@decwrl.dec.com
Subject: Ramsey kits not too good?
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
Went out and got the Ramsey packet TNC kit (P-IBM), the one that connects
to an IBM PC. Coms with Baycom packet program. Built it, and I can get
the PC to communicate with this kit, I can even do a CONNECT to myself.
But I CANNOT get the damn thing to decode any packets from a radio reciever.
I tried 3 different radios (an HTX202, ICu2AT, and IC02AT). Tried many
levels of volume. nothing. I can see the LEDs blink and flicker, but no
decodes. Tried with the squelch open (so it wouldn't damage the leading
part of the recieved packets). nothing. Manual made mention that the
modulation control in a Ramsey 2 meter kit has an effect on recieve. So;
I tried adjusting the modulation trimmer in the P-IBM kit, to make the
transmit audio sound the same level as ones I hear from the outside
world. nothing. Been using an external antenna about 50 feet from my
kit and PC all this time. Recieved packets sound clean. Only thing
I might suspect is the kit's crystal may be at the wrong freq?
Next week, after I fly back to my apartment in Silicon Valley, I can
do some tests using my KPC2 tnc.
Anyone get this thing to actually work?
Past experence with Ramsey kits: FM10, didn't work untill I reduced
the vo;tage on the IC used to generate the stereo signal. Even then,
not all that great performance.
Also had a shortwave converter (converts a 1 MHz block of a SW band to MW)
worked, but no image rejection
I don't think I will get anymore Ramsey kits, performance and quality
to me isn't good enough. The TNC kit should be designed to work under
a wide variation of audio quality, not be excessively fussy.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 03:45:45 GMT
From: library.ucla.edu!agate!iat.holonet.net!bwilkins@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: Repeater database?
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
mkb@cs.cmu.edu (Mike Blackwell) after my editing writes:
:
: Suppose I write a geographical database with a really whizzy graphical
: front end, searching and planning capabilities, made to run on a
: laptop or PDA. It includes the ARRL repeater directory database. Just
: what I want while travelling,
:
: Feedback is appreciated, before I waste too much time...
:
: Mike Blackwell -- ke3ig -- mkb@cs.cmu.edu
You don't propose any thing different than already exists...in the paper
edition. Lets make this a new and real product.
I really don't care where the repeater is located...I want to know the
geographic areas that I can reliably communicate either on my
handy-scratchy or my 30 watt mobile. Sinse you are offering a graphic
interface you could show coverage maps of repeaters overlaid on a good
highway map. An interface to gps could enhance your product. How about a
descripter file of the type of use , times of local nets and news broadcasts.
Your listing of the 250 repeaters in the San Francisco Bay Area is
meaningless if it just reflects what is in the ARRL Directory. Many of the
local repeaters are listed as closed but are in fact quite open to the
travelling amateur. Some repeaters are low level 25 mile coverage machines
that can be quite popular. Other repeaters are high level 150 mile
repeaters that have no usage at all. I have seen repeaters go from vary
active to next to nothing in a matter of months. In essence we do not have
the user base to support 250 repeaters in this area.
When ever I travel I scan the bands for activity and key words so I know
that I can add something to the discussion. Maybe you could add the voice
recognician feature as well as the active scan feature to your interface.
With out the added features I think your product would only appeal to
statistitions and wanabe repeater coordinators...certainly not to any of
us that want to find a good QSO on the bands or make an emergency call.
bob
--
Bob Wilkins n6fri voice 440.250+ 100pl san francisco bay area
bwilkins@cave.org packet n6fri @ n6eeg.#nocal.ca.usa.na
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1993 12:24:42 MST
From: usc!math.ohio-state.edu!cyber2.cyberstore.ca!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!alberta!nebulus!ve6mgs!usenet@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: US License Examination Opportunities Scheduled 12/29/93 to 4/5/94
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
AMATEUR RADIO EXAMINATION OPPORTUNITIES
*****************************************************************
Special Note: Amateur Radio licenses usually arrive between 8 and
10 weeks after the test session. The FCC considers their
processing time to be 90 days--from the date they receive the
application. The FCC usually receives the application one
to two weeks after the test session (once the VE Team and the
coordinating VEC have completed their processing).
Note: Codeless Technician to Technician w/HF upgraders (who pass a
Morse code test) will not receive a new license from the FCC.
The existing Technician license plus the CSCE conveying the Morse
code test credit is the only documentation issued for use of
the additional HF privileges.
*****************************************************************
The following test session information is provided by the
ARRL/VEC for the upcoming six to eight week period. For
further information, please contact the test session CONTACT
PERSON at the telephone number provided. If necessary, you
may contact the ARRL/VEC at 203-666-1541 x282 for additional
information. Electronic mail may be forwarded to the ARRL/VEC
via USENET at "bjahnke@arrl.org" or via MCI Mail to
MCI ID: 215-5052.
Although the test session information presented here does
not indicate whether walk-ins are accepted or not, most test
sessions do allow walk-ins. We encourage you, however, to
always contact the CONTACT PERSON at the telephone number
provided so that the VE Team is aware that you be attending
the test session.
STILL NEED TO PREPARE FOR YOUR EXAM?
If you would like information on how to become licensed; or
how to locate Amateur Radio clubs, instructors, licensing
classes and/or Novice examiners in your area; please contact
the ARRL Educational Activities Department (EAD) at 203-666-
1541 x219. The EAD can also provide information on
recommended study materials. Electronic mail may be forwarded
to the ARRL EAD via USENET at "rwhite@arrl.org" or via MCI Mail to
MCI ID: 215-5052.
EXAM LISTINGS - DEFINITION OF FIELDS
STATE
Test Date,VEC,City,,Contact Phone,Contact Person
The SECOND field in the following listing specifies the VEC
which is coordinating this examination. This single-character
designator denotes the VEC as defined below. An "A" (for example)
indicates that this examination is coordinated by the ARRL/VEC.
For further information on any examinations listed, or if you do not
find any examinations listed for your area, you may contact
any of the coordinating VECs below.
A = ARRL/VEC, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; (d) 203-666-1541
The 1993 Test Fee is $5.60 (1994 test fee will be $5.75).
X = Anchorage ARC, 2628 Turnagain Parkway, Anchorage, AK 99517;
(d) 907-786-8121, (n) 907-243-2221 (or) 907-276-5121
(or) 907-274-5546
C = Central Alabama VEC, 1215 Dale Dr SE, Huntsville, AL 35801;
205-536-3904
N = Charlotte VEC, 227 Bennett Ln, Charlotte, NC 28213;
704-596-2168
D = Great Lakes ARC VEC Inc., PO Box 273, Glenview, IL 60025;
708-486-8019
E = Golden Empire ARS, PO Box 508, Chico, CA 95927; No phone.
G = Greater Los Angeles ARG, 9737 Noble Ave, Sepulveda, CA 91343;
818-892-2068, 805-822-1473.
J = Jefferson ARC, PO Box 24368, New Orleans, LA 70184-4368; No phone
K = Koolau ARC, 45-529 Nakuluai St, Kaneohe, HI 96744;
808-235-4132
L = Laurel ARC Inc., PO Box 3039, Laurel, MD 20709-0039;
(d) 301-572-5124, 301-317-7819, (n) 301-588-3924
M = The Milwaukee RAC Inc., 1737 N 116th St, Wauwatosa, WI 53226;
414-774-6999. Test fee for 1993 is $5.00.
H = Mountain ARC, PO Box 10, Burlington, WV 26710; 304-289-3576,
301-724-0674
P = PHD ARA Inc., PO Box 11, Liberty, MO 64068; 816-781-7313
R = Sandarc-VEC, PO Box 2446, La Mesa, CA 91943-2446; 619-465-3926
S = Sunnyvale VEC ARC, PO Box 60307, Sunnyvale, CA 94088-0307;
408-255-9000
T = Triad Emergency ARC, 3504 Stonehurst Pl, High Point, NC 27265;
919-841-7576
W = Western Carolinas ARS VEC, 5833 Clinton Hwy - Suite 203,
Knoxville, TN 37912-2500; 615-688-7771.
The 1993 Test Fee is $5.60 (1994 test fee will be $5.75).
5 = W5YI-VEC, PO Box 565101, Dallas, TX 75356-5101; 817-461-6443
The 1993 Test Fee is $5.60 (1994 test fee will be $5.75).
EXAMINATION OPPORTUNITIES OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES:
01/10/94,A,Australia,,089-531-305,Maury Hatfield
01/08/94,A,Belgium,,32-1143-9164,Ronald Torfs
01/08/94,A,Germany,,49-0-67253462,Stephen Hutchins, KN6G
01/23/94,A,Papua New Guinea,,,Kyle Harris KE9TZ
01/10/94,A,Russia,,095-450-3205,Ed Kristky
01/08/94,A,St Croix - US Virgin Islands,,809-778-3156,Frank Jaeger
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 93 21:38:40 EST
From: news.sprintlink.net!dg-rtp!salzo!chuck@uunet.uu.net
Subject: Where are all the young enthusiasts?
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
heinzl@wile.lkg.dec.com (Carl G Heinzl) writes:
> I've heard several stories about younger hams not being recognized as
> piers by older hams. I must say that my experience was quite different.
> As a young ham (13 yrs old) back in '73 in Pittsburgh, I was quite
> readily accepted into the two clubs that I joined in the Pittsburgh
> area, the Pittsburgh ATA - amateur transmitter association, and the South
> Hills Brass Pounders and Modulators. Not once did someone brush me
> aside because of my age.
>
> The ATA wasn't a very active club but we had some interesting speakers at
> the monthly meeting at the Buhl Planetarium. I was active enough in this
> club that at the age of 14 I became one of the club directors! The SHBP&M
> was a great club to work field day with at South Park (I'll never
> forget my experiences there), something that no young ham should be
> without!
>
> -Carl- WA3UEN
> President - Very Versatile Business Computer Company of New England
I wish to comment that as a 15 year old (in 1948) I received my call W2ZKK
and joined a ham club in Jamaica NY called The Amateur UHF Club and was
treated very kindly, taken under the wing of several older hams who gave
me pieces of equipment, helped me get set up on 144mh, 220 mh and 420 mh
bands. I am no longer active but still recall the days when i was really
treated wonderful by older hams. I also held office later on.
Chuck Salzmann OS/2 Fanatic - Unlike My Wife, OS/2 DO(e)S Windows
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1993 03:23:37 GMT
From: usc!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!moe.ksu.ksu.edu!osuunx.ucc.okstate.edu!olesun!gcouger@network.ucsd.edu
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
References <2fqeid$bf6@panix.com>, <CIsrIL.Kz6@sugar.NeoSoft.COM>, <1993Dec29.171920.21048@ke4zv.atl.ga.us>
Subject : Re: Repeater database?
In article <1993Dec29.171920.21048@ke4zv.atl.ga.us>,
Gary Coffman <gary@ke4zv.atl.ga.us> wrote:
>In article <CIsrIL.Kz6@sugar.NeoSoft.COM> jreese@NeoSoft.com (Jim Reese) writes:
>>
>>I'd be real interested in how you guys handle this issue. The Texas VHF-FM
>>Society has debated it in several meetings lately. Their main objection to
>>releasing the data is that it might be used to create a publication which
>>would be sold. This not so much the problem as the source of the data wouldn't
Do we really need the data from the cordinaters? If each of us would send in
the repeaters in his own area in a standard format using grid squares for
location should be close enough for this project, it would make a data base
in short order. We could also include other freqauencies of interest and it
would be a pretty neat deal. Just submit a list of grid square you intend to
pass through and it will give you back a list of frequencies in the order
of the grid squares you sent.
Just a thought
Gordon AB5Dg
/* Gordon Couger */
/* Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering */
/* Oklahoma State University */
/* 114 Ag Hall, Stillwater, OK 74074 */
/* gcouger@olesun.agen.okstate.edu 405-744-9763 day 624-2855 evenings */
/* I Speak only for myself and not for anyone else */
------------------------------
Date: (null)
From: (null)
It does seem a bit silly, in 1993, to give a CW test the same level of
importance as the written test, doesn't it? I wonder if we couldn't
include CW questions on an overall test for a given license class,
instead of making it a separate test element. Or wouldn't that be in
conformance with international treaty?
--
----------------------------------------------------
Bob Schreibmaier K2PH | UUCP: ...!att!mtdcr!bob
AT&T Bell Laboratories | Internet: bob@mtdcr.att.com
Middletown, N.J. 07748 | ICBM: 40o21'N, 74o8'W
------------------------------
Date: 29 Dec 1993 14:12:39 -0800
From: galaxy.ucr.edu!library.ucla.edu!agate!apple.com!apple.com!not-for-mail@network.ucsd.edu
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
References <CIpoCt.BCz@cbnewsj.cb.att.com>, <1993Dec29.171134.20931@ke4zv.atl.ga.us>, <CItEn0.HM@cbnewsm.cb.att.com>
Subject : Re: cw waivers
jeffj@cbnewsm.cb.att.com (jeffrey.n.jones) writes:
>In article <1993Dec29.171134.20931@ke4zv.atl.ga.us> gary@ke4zv.atl.ga.us (Gary Coffman) writes:
>>
>>Someone using manual Morse is like someone who prefers 300 baud modems
>>when 9600 baud units are cheap and available. I frankly don't understand
>>the affinity for slow torture. Why not use drums and smoke signals if
>>you're trying to recreate the past?
>Kind of hard to hold a conversation at 5 wpm... 8-)
That is because you did not Huffman encode your drum beats, like
them Pactor boys. In fact, if you use spread spectrum drums, you
won't even have to worry about the artillery shells.
Beware the tone deaf! You will never pass the 20 wpm drum test
that is designed to keep off the riff-raff.
(Do I *really* have to add a smiley??? :-)
73,
Kok Chen, AA6TY kchen@apple.com
Apple Computer, Inc.
------------------------------
End of Info-Hams Digest V93 #1522
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