I guess I should have mentioned this earlier. If any of you fancy a short break over here this weekend then I can recommend http://www.nationalhamfest.org.uk

It's run by my club. When I say "my" club, it's not actually mine.... It's the club I'm a member of.

My job this year is to provide the floor plans for the main hall layout, I usually end up with that job because we have a big printer at work.

Karyn
The Morse test was dropped about 10 years ago 

Oh... Guess I've been away from it for a while. 

rwreynolds

Karyn
The Morse test was dropped about 10 years ago 

Oh... Guess I've been away from it for a while. 

First the FCC dropped the code for Technician Class back around 1991; still kept it for General, Advanced and Extra. It wasn't until more and more countries dropped the code that the FCC finally dropped it for all license classes.
 
PS: Actually there were 6 classes of amateur radio licenses in the US: Novice, Conditional, Technician, General, Advanced and Extra class. Novice got rolled into Technician and the FCC dropped Conditional. At one time you had to go to an FCC office (on the US East Coast that would be DC, Philadelphia, NYC and I think Boston) to take the ham radio license test and the Conditional was available for those that either because of distance or some disability could not make it to an FCC Field Office as they were known back in the day. Too many people abused the system and FCC dropped the Conditional. Then they started allowing hams to administer the test to other hams but at first the one administering the test had to be Extra class, and that got changed.

Karen, yeah... the different license levels have more access to the bands. Techs are limited to certain areas of several bands..... Generals get wider access and for Extra, everything is open.   I don't think power plays into it, just the parts of the band you can legally work.
 
 
As far as CW, I hated it then, and have no desire to learn it now. I have heard that for some of the more practiced folks in the art of Morse Code, it becomes more like a language than a code with dots and dashes. Just like we look at a series of letters and don't see the letters, we see a complete word, and moreover, a complete sentence. I've heard the folks who are really adept with code, describe it in that same manner.
 
I remember going to Norfolk or Virginia Beach to set for my 3rd class radio-telephone back in the 70's.

At some point the FCC made some changes to the licensing and you had to make some sort of application in order to keep your current license. No testing or anything, just something telling them your call sign so you could keep it after the change. I wasn't paying attention and lost mine. I do remember that it was KB4MRL however. 2X3 I think they called it because as you moved through the classes your call sign would get smaller.
 
Yeah, technician was as far as I went. I was more interested in computers back then. I took my test in New Orleans. I want to say that was in maybe '86 or '87 actually. I only took it because it was a big deal among the other techs at WLO. At that time I was more interested in computer/test equipment interfacing. Using GPIB to get our IBM PC AT talking to a Tektronix 5000 series storage scope fascinated me for some reason. lol...

Wow! That is cool. I may give it a try. The code tripped me up way back when. I settled for being an SWL. I had 50 countries verified back in the 60s, I lost most of the QSLs but I still have some. A lot of the countries do not exist anymore. Does BPL cause you any problems? I know there was a big worry about it when they were debating the implementation.
Congratulations Herb!
 
Julien

You guys must have more to say than I do...  But I guess you'll be more popular during Armageddon, ya? 

rwreynolds
At some point the FCC made some changes to the licensing and you had to make some sort of application in order to keep your current license. No testing or anything, just something telling them your call sign so you could keep it after the change. I wasn't paying attention and lost mine. I do remember that it was KB4MRL however. 2X3 I think they called it because as you moved through the classes your call sign would get smaller.
 
Yeah, technician was as far as I went. I was more interested in computers back then. I took my test in New Orleans. I want to say that was in maybe '86 or '87 actually. I only took it because it was a big deal among the other techs at WLO. At that time I was more interested in computer/test equipment interfacing. Using GPIB to get our IBM PC AT talking to a Tektronix 5000 series storage scope fascinated me for some reason. lol...

You still have to file an application with the FCC at license renewal time except that now it's done online. You can still do it the paper way but they prefer online. Simple and you only have to do it every 10 years. As to callsigns - you get to keep your original one if you want or you can file for a vanity callsign. You also used to have to change your callsign if you moved to a different area; NJ is area 2 and Vermont is area 1, for example.