Tony,

I see, yeah that would have made things a bit tough. I have been through TL>similar, so I feel for you.

Thanks. Hard to believe she has been gone over 10 years now.

Sounds like it would be fun to help out too. I don't mind doing a bit of wo TL>for such an event.

When you work the registration table, you get to see everyone who
comes in. Otherwise, you may not see them at all. At the All Arkansas
Hamfest in Little Rock (now a small fraction of what it once was), the
only ones I usually see are the Volunteer Examiners (VE's), and those
taking the exams.

As a side note, we ask for "examinees" or "candidates", and NOT "test-ees"...unless "they have the balls to take all 3 exams
(Technician, General, and Amateur Extra) in one shot" (hi hi). Some have actually "done the trifecta"...and even though Morse Code was removed
from the U.S. Amateur Radio License Requirements over 10 years ago,
that's still quite a bit to study for.

One examinee, who went from Zero To Extra, was asked by the VE Team
Leader afterwards "What do you do for a living??". When he replied "I'm currently unemployed", the Liaison growled "You have too much time on
your hands" (hi hi).

Yeah, definitely need more people to step up. It's interesting how differen TL>cultures do it. I did find there were certain fringe benefits to helping at TL>hamfests too. You get to see what's for sale. I had been known to cruise t TL>tables making a mental note of anything interesting, once I had finished my TL>setting up, but before the doors opened, so I could do a raid on the TL>interesting bargains. :D Definitely worth doing!

Same here. I will buy some prize tickets to support the hamfest, but
since I have antenna prohibitions, that means no RF gear. So, *IF* I win something, I'll sell it. At the Huntsville (Alabama) Hamfest, they offer
"a brick of 250 tickets" for $100...and folks were laying down $100
bills like it was nothing. But, if you win a nice rig, you already have
more than your money back. However, for the poor hams like me, when you
only buy $20 worth of tickets, you're at a bit of a disadvantage.

When I went to the Shreveport, Louisiana Hamfest last year, I camped
out at the Arklatex D-Star Table. But, there is such a huge demand for
both dealer and flea market tables this year, that I likely will have to
camp out in the food court area. When I go to hamfests, I either help
with testing, have eyeball QSO's, or feed my face at the food trough.
After all, on the air, if we're not talking shop (ham radio), we're
talking about FOOD (hi hi).

I said to myself the other day, "Self..." <G>

They give you a nice padded room for that. ;)

That's like the one about "The Bathtub Test".

During a visit to the mental asylum, I asked the director "How do you determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized??".

He replied "Well, we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a
teacup, and a bucket to the patient, and ask him or her to empty the
bathtub".

"Oh, I understand", I said. "A normal person would use the bucket,
because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup".

"No", said the director. "A normal person would pull the drain plug.
Would you like your bed near the window??!!" (hi hi).

þ OLX 1.53 þ Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film.

LOL so true. :D

Here's a related one (in the tagline).

Daryl


(Continued to next message)
---
þ OLX 1.53 þ The wheel's spinning, but the hamster's dead.
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Daryl Stout wrote to TONY LANGDON <=-

Thanks. Hard to believe she has been gone over 10 years now.

Yeah, it never leaves you though. :/

Sounds like it would be fun to help out too. I don't mind doing a bit of

o

for such an event.

When you work the registration table, you get to see everyone who
comes in. Otherwise, you may not see them at all. At the All Arkansas Hamfest in Little Rock (now a small fraction of what it once was), the only ones I usually see are the Volunteer Examiners (VE's), and those taking the exams.

True. I'm more a backroom helper, setting up the stalls for the vendors, PA, etc. :)

As a side note, we ask for "examinees" or "candidates", and NOT "test-ees"...unless "they have the balls to take all 3 exams
(Technician, General, and Amateur Extra) in one shot" (hi hi). Some

Haha, that's nuts. :D

have actually "done the trifecta"...and even though Morse Code was
removed from the U.S. Amateur Radio License Requirements over 10 years ago, that's still quite a bit to study for.

I did the theory, regs and 5WPM Morse in one hit. Tried the 10WPM a bit later, got the send, just missed out on the receive.

One examinee, who went from Zero To Extra, was asked by the VE Team Leader afterwards "What do you do for a living??". When he replied "I'm currently unemployed", the Liaison growled "You have too much time on
your hands" (hi hi).

LOL yeah, that helps! :)

Same here. I will buy some prize tickets to support the hamfest, but since I have antenna prohibitions, that means no RF gear. So, *IF* I
win something, I'll sell it. At the Huntsville (Alabama) Hamfest, they offer "a brick of 250 tickets" for $100...and folks were laying down
$100 bills like it was nothing. But, if you win a nice rig, you already have more than your money back. However, for the poor hams like me,
when you only buy $20 worth of tickets, you're at a bit of a
disadvantage.

Yeah I like to support the raffles too. Haven't won anything for a while, but there was a period when I won several in a row. :)

When I went to the Shreveport, Louisiana Hamfest last year, I camped
out at the Arklatex D-Star Table. But, there is such a huge demand for both dealer and flea market tables this year, that I likely will have
to camp out in the food court area. When I go to hamfests, I either
help with testing, have eyeball QSO's, or feed my face at the food
trough. After all, on the air, if we're not talking shop (ham radio), we're talking about FOOD (hi hi).

Yeah, I am not much of a foodie, I'm afraid, usually talk shop, though in my case, sport often comes up, and not as a spectator! :D My activities stand out as a rarity in the ham community. :)

I said to myself the other day, "Self..." <G>

They give you a nice padded room for that. ;)

That's like the one about "The Bathtub Test".

LOL, I'd have picked the "sane" answer. :D


... Internal consistency is more highly valued than efficiency.
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Tony,

Thanks. Hard to believe she has been gone over 10 years now.

Yeah, it never leaves you though. :/

That's true. But, I have all the wonderful memories that no one can
take away.

True. I'm more a backroom helper, setting up the stalls for the vendors, PA TL>etc. :)

My Mom and I had attended several of the Clive Cussler Collectors
Society Conventions in recent years...in Denver, Colorado...San Diego, California...and Scottsdale, Arizona. The late Wayne Valero used to be
the visible person at the convention, as president of the group (he
died from a rare illness awhile back), but Bruce Kenfield (not sure if
that's his last name or not), preferred to work in the background. One
year, the group gave "thank you cards" to Bruce and Wayne...but Bruce's
was bigger, as "he did more work in the background", which he preferred.
When Wayne noted that Bruce's card was bigger, some "smart aleck nut"
yelled out "Size DOES matter!!" -- it brought the house down!! <G>

As a side note, we ask for "examinees" or "candidates", and NOT "test-ees"...unless "they have the balls to take all 3 exams (Technician, General, and Amateur Extra) in one shot" (hi hi). Some

Haha, that's nuts. :D

Lately though, we've had examiners, but no candidates. And, apparently
now, if no one tests, the examiners don't get credit for showing up. To
me, that's going to make examiners less likely to show up, and you have
to have at least 3 examiners to conduct the session in the first place.
I'm going to try and confirm that tomorrow.

Before 1982, in the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
did exams in an area (usually a State Capitol) 3 times a year, in the
Federal Building downtown. You HAD to pass the Morse Code Test
FIRST...or it was "see you in 4 months"...you couldn't even take the
written exam. And, back then, there were no Question Pools published in advance, and the tests were fill in the blank, and NOT multiple choice.
Plus, you had to draw things like schematic diagrams, oscillators, etc.
With nervous system damage from 2 lightning strikes, I'd never have a
steady enough hand to do that. Had the Volunteer Examiner Coordinator
(VEC) groups not been created, ham radio would've died off in the U.S.
25 years ago.

have actually "done the trifecta"...and even though Morse Code was removed from the U.S. Amateur Radio License Requirements over 10 years ago, that's still quite a bit to study for.

I did the theory, regs and 5WPM Morse in one hit. Tried the 10WPM a bit lat TL>got the send, just missed out on the receive.

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

One examinee, who went from Zero To Extra, was asked by the VE Team Leader afterwards "What do you do for a living??". When he replied "I'm currently unemployed", the Liaison growled "You have too much time on your hands" (hi hi).

LOL yeah, that helps! :)

That ham is very active in the Faulkner County Club in Conway, about
30 miles northwest of Little Rock.

Yeah I like to support the raffles too. Haven't won anything for a while, b TL>there was a period when I won several in a row. :)

I like the scrolling name badges that I got on Amazon. Yet with ham
radio operators, our first name is our first name, and our last name is
our callsign. We have NO CLUE as to what their REAL last name is. :P

we're talking about FOOD (hi hi).

Yeah, I am not much of a foodie, I'm afraid, usually talk shop, though in my TL>case, sport often comes up, and not as a spectator! :D My activities stand

(Continued to next message)
---
þ OLX 1.53 þ Windows: Just another pane in the glass.
þ Synchronet þ The Thunderbolt BBS - wx1der.dyndns.org

Daryl Stout wrote to TONY LANGDON <=-

Yeah, it never leaves you though. :/

That's true. But, I have all the wonderful memories that no one can
take away.

Indeed, that's the wonderful part. :)

True. I'm more a backroom helper, setting up the stalls for the vendors,

A

etc. :)

aleck nut" yelled out "Size DOES matter!!" -- it brought the house
down!! <G>

;)

Lately though, we've had examiners, but no candidates. And,
apparently now, if no one tests, the examiners don't get credit for showing up. To me, that's going to make examiners less likely to show
up, and you have to have at least 3 examiners to conduct the session in the first place. I'm going to try and confirm that tomorrow.

That's a worrying trend. :/

Before 1982, in the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) did exams in an area (usually a State Capitol) 3 times a year, in the Federal Building downtown.

In Australia, it was the then DOTC who ran exams 4 times a year in the state capital cities (not sure where else). I had to go to Melbourne to sit my exam.
The system changed in the 1990s with the WIA taking over running exams, and exams became both much more frequent and much easier to acesss across the country.

You HAD to pass the Morse Code Test
FIRST...or it was "see you in 4 months"...you couldn't even take the

Here, Morse was no more "important" than the other tests, you could still pass the other tests, and that may or may not get you a licence (e.g. "Limited" - a VHF/UHF/SHF only ticket that had been around since the 1950s).

written exam. And, back then, there were no Question Pools published in advance, and the tests were fill in the blank, and NOT multiple choice. Plus, you had to draw things like schematic diagrams, oscillators, etc. With nervous system damage from 2 lightning strikes, I'd never have a steady enough hand to do that. Had the Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) groups not been created, ham radio would've died off in the U.S.
25 years ago.

Yeah, the tests evolved along similar lines here, except we still don't have a publicly available question pool. That's still closed.

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

No chance to fill in the blanks in our tests. It was "pens down" the moment the message had ended. :)

I like the scrolling name badges that I got on Amazon. Yet with ham radio operators, our first name is our first name, and our last name is our callsign. We have NO CLUE as to what their REAL last name is. :P

LOL, that's pretty normal. :)


... An aquarium is just interactive television for cats.
--- MultiMail/Win32 v0.49
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þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ telnet://vert.synchro.net

Tony,

That's true. But, I have all the wonderful memories that no one can take away.

Indeed, that's the wonderful part. :)

Yep. More than once, she made me eat humble pie and salted crow. <G>
She wanted to be a ham radio operator, but had "mic fright". I told her
(as I tell other examinees in this frame of mind), "You can do the
digital modes, where your computer does all the work for you...you don't
have to say a word on the air".

aleck nut" yelled out "Size DOES matter!!" -- it brought the house down!! <G>

;)

That's like when the former Warnings Coordination Meteorologist at the
local National Weather Service was doing a Skywarn Training Course at a
local ham radio club meeting. He was having a problem getting the slide projector to work, and he grumbled "This thing takes awhile to warm up".
One of the XYL's (both she and her OM were licensed, and in attendance), quipped "Sounds a lot like my husband!!".

Again, it brought the house down...and proved that "with friends
like those, you don't need any enemies". <G>

That's a worrying trend. :/

It is. I can understand cancelling for bad weather, or a lack of
examiners (we have to have a minimum of 3)...but a lot of examinees (and
at times, examiners) have last minute conflicts come up.

The system changed in the 1990s with the WIA taking over running exams, and
exams became both much more frequent and much easier to acesss across the TL>country.

That's the one thing going for it. In central Arkansas, either in
Pulaski County (Little Rock), Saline County (Benton, southwest of Little
Rock), Faulkner County (Conway, northwest of Little Rock), or Lonoke
County (Cabot, northeast of Little Rock), there's a license exam session
at least once a month in one of those areas. I think exams in Jefferson
County (Pine Bluff) are on an "on demand" basis.

Yeah, the tests evolved along similar lines here, except we still don't have TL>publicly available question pool. That's still closed.

Oh, wow.

No chance to fill in the blanks in our tests. It was "pens down" the moment TL>the message had ended. :)

Reminds me of the SAT and ACT tests in school. When you heard "STOP!!
PUT YOUR PENCIL DOWN!!", you were swearing under your breath.

I like the scrolling name badges that I got on Amazon. Yet with ham radio operators, our first name is our first name, and our last name is our callsign. We have NO CLUE as to what their REAL last name is. :P

LOL, that's pretty normal. :)

Yet, we make like we have known them for ages...but we don't know them
from Adam!! And, what's funnier, is that we make a mental image of the
people we talk to on the air...but when we meet them for "an eyeball
QSO", they don't look at all like we envisioned!!

Daryl, WX1DER

---
þ OLX 1.53 þ How do they get Teflon to stick to the pan??
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Daryl Stout wrote to TONY LANGDON <=-

Yep. More than once, she made me eat humble pie and salted crow. <G>
She wanted to be a ham radio operator, but had "mic fright". I told her (as I tell other examinees in this frame of mind), "You can do the
digital modes, where your computer does all the work for you...you
don't have to say a word on the air".

Hehe, someone has to keep you in line. ;)

slide projector to work, and he grumbled "This thing takes awhile to
warm up". One of the XYL's (both she and her OM were licensed, and in attendance), quipped "Sounds a lot like my husband!!".

ROFLMAO!!! :D

Again, it brought the house down...and proved that "with friends
like those, you don't need any enemies". <G>

That's a worrying trend. :/

It is. I can understand cancelling for bad weather, or a lack of examiners (we have to have a minimum of 3)...but a lot of examinees
(and at times, examiners) have last minute conflicts come up.

Yeah, one wonders. I know if I had something like that, I don't let anything short of life and death matters get in the way.

session at least once a month in one of those areas. I think exams in Jefferson County (Pine Bluff) are on an "on demand" basis.

Yeah I think exams here are on demand.

Yeah, the tests evolved along similar lines here, except we still don't

ave

publicly available question pool. That's still closed.

Oh, wow.

Yeah the idea of an open question pool never caught on here. I don't mind, I prefer to teach people how to understand the material, rather than how to pass the test. :)

No chance to fill in the blanks in our tests. It was "pens down" the

oment

the message had ended. :)

Reminds me of the SAT and ACT tests in school. When you heard "STOP!! PUT YOUR PENCIL DOWN!!", you were swearing under your breath.

Yep same thing with our Morse test. :)

Yet, we make like we have known them for ages...but we don't know
them from Adam!! And, what's funnier, is that we make a mental image of the people we talk to on the air...but when we meet them for "an
eyeball QSO", they don't look at all like we envisioned!!

Yes, guessing what someone looked like is a fun pastime in our hobby, though with everyone being on Facebook and the like, it's becoming rarer.


... Scratch & Sniff .\\essage: Scratch Here --->²²²²²²²²<---
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þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ telnet://vert.synchro.net

Tony,

Hehe, someone has to keep you in line. ;)

That's what she said, too. LOL

slide projector to work, and he grumbled "This thing takes awhile to warm up". One of the XYL's (both she and her OM were licensed, and in attendance), quipped "Sounds a lot like my husband!!".

ROFLMAO!!! :D

They are still married, AFAIK. :)

Yeah, one wonders. I know if I had something like that, I don't let anythin TL>short of life and death matters get in the way.

I tell folks that "ham radio (like BBSing) is a HOBBY...and it should
NEVER take place over things like church, family, health, job, etc.

Yeah I think exams here are on demand.

Two of the examiners in Saline County (southwest of Little Rock)
stopped being liaisons, as "there wasn't enough demand for sessions, and
it was hard to get test sites, let alone other examiners". I test in
Saline County 4 times a year...and in Pulaski County (Little Rock)
several times a year. I'd rather the onus be on the examinees to come
test.

No one showed up at a session this past Saturday...but with the U.S.
Entry Level License (Technician) changing question pools and exams on
July 1 of next year...if they "modernize" the Technician exam like they
did the Amateur Extra last year (with the digital modes), we're going to
get slammed with folks wanting to test. Nothing like a question pool
change to get folks to come and test.

Yeah the idea of an open question pool never caught on here. I don't mind, TL>prefer to teach people how to understand the material, rather than how to pa TL>the test. :)

I used HamTestOnline, to go from Technician to General in 14 days, and
from General to Amateur Extra 13 days later...although the time I had
the official license grant in hand until I passed the Amateur Extra exam
was only a week!! It was the BEST MONEY I ever spent in amateur radio.

They offer a 2 year subscription (the price varies, depending on which license exam(s) you're going for), but they cover the questions AND
explain the concepts...WHY a certain answer is CORRECT. So, one's
actually LEARNING SOMETHING, and NOT just memorizing answers. They offer
a money back guarantee as well...details are on their website.

Reminds me of the SAT and ACT tests in school. When you heard "STOP!! PUT YOUR PENCIL DOWN!!", you were swearing under your breath.

Yep same thing with our Morse test. :)

More like ... .... .. - <G>

Yes, guessing what someone looked like is a fun pastime in our hobby, though TL>with everyone being on Facebook and the like, it's becoming rarer.

Well, not everyone is on Facebook, but I've found it easier to stay in
touch. In fact, I found a ham in western Arkansas, who I had known for
years. He was a fellow railfan, and used to be heavily into packet. When
I saw his callsign in his profile, I said "Yep...that's him".

Daryl

---
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Daryl Stout wrote to TONY LANGDON <=-

Hehe, someone has to keep you in line. ;)

That's what she said, too. LOL

Why am I not surprised? :D

They are still married, AFAIK. :)

Good to see, gotta be able to laugh at yourself. :)

Yeah, one wonders. I know if I had something like that, I don't let

nythin

short of life and death matters get in the way.

I tell folks that "ham radio (like BBSing) is a HOBBY...and it should NEVER take place over things like church, family, health, job, etc.

Well, I do beg to differ on one point. I don't put church on that high priority (in fact, I left it altogether decades ago, after careful consideration). The rest, yep, they're the important things.

Yeah I think exams here are on demand.

Two of the examiners in Saline County (southwest of Little Rock)
stopped being liaisons, as "there wasn't enough demand for sessions,
and it was hard to get test sites, let alone other examiners". I test
in Saline County 4 times a year...and in Pulaski County (Little Rock) several times a year. I'd rather the onus be on the examinees to come test.

That the clubs here do is package things up, so they run the study sessions then offer exams when candidates are reado. These exams are, of course, open to anyone, so other people can register their interest for the next session.

No one showed up at a session this past Saturday...but with the U.S. Entry Level License (Technician) changing question pools and exams on
July 1 of next year...if they "modernize" the Technician exam like they did the Amateur Extra last year (with the digital modes), we're going
to get slammed with folks wanting to test. Nothing like a question pool change to get folks to come and test.

Interesting.

Yep same thing with our Morse test. :)

More like ... .... .. - <G>

LOL yep! :D

Yes, guessing what someone looked like is a fun pastime in our hobby,

hough

with everyone being on Facebook and the like, it's becoming rarer.

Well, not everyone is on Facebook, but I've found it easier to stay
in touch. In fact, I found a ham in western Arkansas, who I had known
for years. He was a fellow railfan, and used to be heavily into packet. When I saw his callsign in his profile, I said "Yep...that's him".

Yeah, it is certainly easier to stay in touch these days. :)
... Beerware: if it works, buy yourself a beer.
--- MultiMail/Win32 v0.49
þ Synchronet þ Freeway BBS in Bendigo, Australia.

Tony,

Hehe, someone has to keep you in line. ;)

That's what she said, too. LOL

Why am I not surprised? :D

I even brag about that. <G>

They are still married, AFAIK. :)

Good to see, gotta be able to laugh at yourself. :)

That's the thing...if you can NOT laugh at yourself, you have a lot of problems. Refer to the time "I got lost in a hamfest parking lot, and
had to have 3 blind hams direct me out" <BG>.

Or one night, I was talking via Skype to a former Sysop and his wife,
about questions with my BBS (at the time, I was running Virtual
Advanced (VADV32)).

In the conversation, I said "If I need help, I'll give him a ring...", meaning I'd call him on the landline. He was like many other Sysops I've
run into...willing to help a fellow Sysop solve a problem, but NOT to
the point of "doing all the work for them". If I can be shown the basic
syntax of the setup, I can take care of the rest myself.

Without missing a beat (both of them are smart-@$$e$), he said "You're
not my type!!", and his wife added "Man, you're a cheap date!! You want
to go right to the wedding!!". I was so embarrassed!! :P

At times, he can be more sarcastic than his wife. Along that line, I
saw a T-shirt the other day that noted "Sarcastic Comment in 3.....2.....1....." -- he NEEDS that shirt!! <G> Having worked in
silkscreen printing for almost 20 years, I look for neat T-shirts. I
even had one made up that had the following:

FRONT: "The Thunderbolt BBS -- tbolt.synchro.net"

BACK: "Have You Hugged Your Sysop Today??"

Unfortunately, the shirt got torn big time, and I had to throw it out.
I'm going to have to see about getting some new ones made. But, besides "business cards", that's a great way to promote and advertise ones BBS.
While I can print my own business cards, I'd have to find a local
silkscreen printing T-shirt shop to do it. The place I originally worked
at for 18 years, didn't have a minimum requirement, but you "paid
through the nose, and out the wazoo" if you only wanted "1 shirt". Other
shops require at least a 1 to 3 dozen minimum, or they won't even talk
to you!! And, one of the shops in the area is "union"...the one I worked
at was not, and a family business...I had met the owners through square dancing.

Well, I do beg to differ on one point. I don't put church on that high V>priority (in fact, I left it altogether decades ago, after careful V>consideration). The rest, yep, they're the important things.

That is your choice.

That the clubs here do is package things up, so they run the study sessions V>then offer exams when candidates are reado. These exams are, of course, open V>to anyone, so other people can register their interest for the next session.

Some allow walk-ins, some require pre-registration, and some permit
both. But, it's like working in a restaurant...you never know how busy
your shift is going to be. I've had a whole slew of examiners, and very
few examinees...and had the minimum amount of examiners, and we get
slammed with examinees!! The one reason I made one session I do as "no walk-ins" is that the room only holds 25 people...and with the
examiners, you only have so much room for examinees. And, even at
hamfests (where I offer to help with testing), I've seen it with very
few examinees, and other times, with nearly 40 candidates!! Talk about
writers cramp with all the paperwork!!

I like digital man's script for the amateur radio exams for the U.S.
and Canada that are part of Synchronet 3.16 -- I moved them to the Ham Radio/Weather Doors category. As noted, the U.S. Technician Class

(Continued to next message)
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Daryl Stout wrote to VK3JED <=-

Why am I not surprised? :D

I even brag about that. <G>

Haha

They are still married, AFAIK. :)

Good to see, gotta be able to laugh at yourself. :)

That's the thing...if you can NOT laugh at yourself, you have a lot
of problems. Refer to the time "I got lost in a hamfest parking lot,
and had to have 3 blind hams direct me out" <BG>.

Haha yep. :D

Without missing a beat (both of them are smart-@$$e$), he said
"You're not my type!!", and his wife added "Man, you're a cheap date!!
You want to go right to the wedding!!". I was so embarrassed!! :P

ROFLMAO!!! :D Lucky they didn't try that with me, I'd have probably carried the joke even further. :D

Well, I do beg to differ on one point. I don't put church on that high
priority (in fact, I left it altogether decades ago, after careful
consideration). The rest, yep, they're the important things.

That is your choice.

Yep, I have my reasons, but suffice to say it wasn't a snap decision, more a process and a journey. :)

few examinees, and other times, with nearly 40 candidates!! Talk about writers cramp with all the paperwork!!

That's a nice problem to have though! :)

I like digital man's script for the amateur radio exams for the U.S.
and Canada that are part of Synchronet 3.16 -- I moved them to the Ham Radio/Weather Doors category. As noted, the U.S. Technician Class

I haven't looked at those.


... People are always available for work in the past tense.
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Tony,

Without missing a beat (both of them are smart-@$$e$), he said "You're not my type!!", and his wife added "Man, you're a cheap date!! You want to go right to the wedding!!". I was so embarrassed!! :P

ROFLMAO!!! :D Lucky they didn't try that with me, I'd have probably carried TL>the joke even further. :D

With friends like hams (and Sysops), I don't need any enemies. <G>

few examinees, and other times, with nearly 40 candidates!! Talk about writers cramp with all the paperwork!!

That's a nice problem to have though! :)

It is...but we never know how many will show up.

I like digital man's script for the amateur radio exams for the U.S. and Canada that are part of Synchronet 3.16 -- I moved them to the Ham Radio/Weather Doors category. As noted, the U.S. Technician Class

I haven't looked at those.

It's for the 3 U.S. exams (Technician, General, and Amateur Extra),
and I think the 2 Canadian Exams (Basic and Advanced). Just for fun, I
tried the Technician exam again the other day (no real need to, as I'm
an Amateur Extra Class licensee), and I definitely would have to review
if I wanted to do that again.

In the U.S., the Question Pools and Exams change every 4 years, to go
with changes to technologies, operating modes, etc. -- adding new items,
and removing obsolete ones. I'm not sure what it's like in other
countries.

Yet, we get candidates who come in who have study guides that are OBSOLETE...then they complain that "they never saw these questions".
Unless a question has been withdrawn for being vague, etc. there is a
CHANCE that it WILL appear on the exam. I have yet to see a new Question
Pool release (I became a Volunteer Examiner in October, 2007), that did
NOT have ANY changes to it after it came out. Most end up having a
certain amount of questions with errors in grammar, punctuation,
wording, etc. -- and they have to be replaced, or removed. It's just
like updating BBS software.

Daryl

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Daryl Stout wrote to TONY LANGDON <=-

With friends like hams (and Sysops), I don't need any enemies. <G>

LOL yep. :)

It is...but we never know how many will show up.

True. :)

I like digital man's script for the amateur radio exams for the U.S. and Canada that are part of Synchronet 3.16 -- I moved them to the Ham Radio/Weather Doors category. As noted, the U.S. Technician Class

I haven't looked at those.

It's for the 3 U.S. exams (Technician, General, and Amateur Extra),
and I think the 2 Canadian Exams (Basic and Advanced). Just for fun, I tried the Technician exam again the other day (no real need to, as I'm
an Amateur Extra Class licensee), and I definitely would have to review
if I wanted to do that again.

really? I could pass our Advanced exam at the drop of a hat with a likely mark of 98-100% for theory, and not far behind for regs. I did try a US Extra, pretty much 100% on the theory questions, the regs hit and miss, because you have a number of weird rules. :)

In the U.S., the Question Pools and Exams change every 4 years, to go with changes to technologies, operating modes, etc. -- adding new
items, and removing obsolete ones. I'm not sure what it's like in other countries.

No idea how the questions change.

Yet, we get candidates who come in who have study guides that are OBSOLETE...then they complain that "they never saw these questions". Unless a question has been withdrawn for being vague, etc. there is a CHANCE that it WILL appear on the exam. I have yet to see a new
Question Pool release (I became a Volunteer Examiner in October, 2007), that did NOT have ANY changes to it after it came out. Most end up
having a certain amount of questions with errors in grammar,
punctuation, wording, etc. -- and they have to be replaced, or removed. It's just like updating BBS software.

I'm not particularly sensitive to the questions used, I'm one for learning teaching the principles behind the exam, not the specifics of the questions.


... The advantage of exercising every day is that you die healthier.
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Tony,

tried the Technician exam again the other day (no real need to, as I'm an Amateur Extra Class licensee), and I definitely would have to review if I wanted to do that again.

really? I could pass our Advanced exam at the drop of a hat with a likely m TL>of 98-100% for theory, and not far behind for regs. I did try a US Extra, TL>pretty much 100% on the theory questions, the regs hit and miss, because you TL>have a number of weird rules. :)

I did good on the rules, regulations, propagation, and RF safety. But,
when it came to the math, electronic theory, etc. I went down in flames. Electronics was never my forte' -- although I know that as little as
1500 milliamps (if even that) will do you in...and I know the "formula"
for the color codes on a resistor. <G>

No idea how the questions change.

In the U.S., General, Advanced or Extra Class hams, can submit
questions for the Technician Pool (which changes again on July 1, 2018). Advanced or Extra Class hams can submit questions for the General Pool
(which changes again on July 1, 2019)...but only Extra Class hams can
submit changes for the Extra Class pool (which changes again on July 1,
2020). The pools change every 4 years in the cycle...Technician the
first year, General the second year, Extra the third year, then they
take a year off (like it was in 2017).

I'm not particularly sensitive to the questions used, I'm one for learning TL>teaching the principles behind the exam, not the specifics of the questions.

Nowadays, it's boiled down to just "memorizing answers on a multiple
choice test". With HamTestOnline, it also covers the concepts (why the
answer is what it is), so you're actually learning something.

But, with so many countries having dropped the Morse Code, the bottom
line is that the hobby (with so many others) is dying...and it's like
pulling teeth getting new blood, as it were, into them. In a way, BBSing
is the same way. There used to be far more BBS's than there are now.
Over 20 years ago, one (now former) Sysop got so angry that a friend
shared their logon. So, he shut down the BBS, and apparently got rid of
all the computer stuff.

Daryl

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Daryl Stout wrote to TONY LANGDON <=-

I did good on the rules, regulations, propagation, and RF safety.
But, when it came to the math, electronic theory, etc. I went down in flames. Electronics was never my forte' -- although I know that as
little as 1500 milliamps (if even that) will do you in...and I know the "formula" for the color codes on a resistor. <G>

I see. I confess, when I originally sat my exams, I was more than halfway through an electronics engineering degree, so I did have a good head start! :)

Nowadays, it's boiled down to just "memorizing answers on a multiple choice test". With HamTestOnline, it also covers the concepts (why the answer is what it is), so you're actually learning something.

Yeah I'm not a fan of teaching the test, I prefer to teach concepts then relate those back to the test.

But, with so many countries having dropped the Morse Code, the bottom line is that the hobby (with so many others) is dying...and it's like

I disagree with your cause and effect. Since the Morse requirement has dropped, I've noticed that not only have we had more hams (mostly entry level) take up the hobby, but Morse itself has become more interesting to many, because it's now an interest to pursue, not something you have to do to get your ticket.

pulling teeth getting new blood, as it were, into them. In a way,
BBSing is the same way. There used to be far more BBS's than there are now. Over 20 years ago, one (now former) Sysop got so angry that a
friend shared their logon. So, he shut down the BBS, and apparently got rid of all the computer stuff.

BBSing is a bit different, and I'm not quite sure where it will go. Currently, it's being kept alive by those of us who were around as sysops back in the day, but who knows what the future will bring?


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