In article <895.277F609A@w8grt.fidonet.org>, jim.grubs@w8grt.fidonet.org (Jim Grubs) writes:
>
And I repeate the same. >
> > What does Frank Spicer - totally blind and deaf, and no youngster either
> > - thinkof it? Ask him. He EARNED his Extra.
> > Do you remember Clif Korne, K9EAB, now S.K., the ultra proficient ham in
> > the
> > iron lung? He didn't need a waiver; probably couldn't have got one
> > because
> > he could pass the test without.
>
> So did I, remember? That still doesn't justify the disgusting jokes about
> druggies and being dropped on the head.
>
so did I.
And somewhere I heard a comment that the proportion of higher-class licensees
from the Courage Center in MN is higher than the overall ham population.
Is this significant?
> > The real answer is: It's true that -maybe- some handicapped persons
> > can't pass
> > the code test because of some physical failing.
>
> Maybe? What about dyslexics who can't tell the difference between dots and
> dashes no matter how they are transmitted - sound, light, vibrations, etc.
And because they're dyslectic they're automatically entitled to something -
ham ticket or whatever? That's sort of extreme. What if they're just plain
not smart enough to pass the test? The line has to be drawn somewhere.
>
> > And the whole thing started because Pres. Bush got a bug up his ass and
> > sent
> > a memo to FCC.
>
> Bush got bugged because it took a Arab king to make him aware of the
> insensitivity of his own administration.
This leads directly to the comment (sort of out of context) that now the
A-rabs are running this country. But - *insensitivity of his own administratio>???* Bush seems to have stuck his nose into things without thinking first.
>
> > What credentials does the average MD or DO have for deciding whether you
> > or I
> > can't pass the CW test "because of ***"?
>
> Depends on how well they have the problem explained to them, I guess. If you
> tell a neurologist you're having trouble telling the difference between short
> tones and long tones, he'd probably be able to handle that. If you tell him
> you can't tell the difference between .-.. and ..-. he'd understand that.
>
> > I will repeat: it's a farce. Is your muscular distrophy
> > limiting you
> > more than Frank Spicer's blindness/deafness? Or maybe K3KTH. I haven't
>
> Ding bust it, we're not talking about sensory or motor handicaps. We're
> talking about neurological handicaps that make PERCEPTION and INTERPRETATION
> of sensory input difficult or impossible.
>
Repeating: everyone should be given a license? If he can pass the test, fine.
If he can't, find a friendly quack.
About the full >30 privileges for n/c Techs:
I haven't seen anything specific about ARRL fighting it -- all I've heard from
where I sit is that the directors wanted to see the actual ruling before
commenting. Sorta makes sense. If everyone (possibly excepting you and me)
did that there would be a lot less misinformation circulated. But if any
class of newcomers is not mainstreamed we have the makings of a disruptive
mess. F.E., the Novices on CW always have had their own distinctive language.
10M N/T phone sounds quite a bit different from the other phone bands.
How about the item (1 Jan W5YI report) about putting a stop to re-taking a
test element at the same session over and over again. We don't allow it at
our sessions, but there are some "easy" VE groups around who consistently
pass those who've failed the same test at every other session in the area.
Case in point: WA3xxx made a 35% on an element, and went to X VE session the
very next day and passed.
About the MD/DO contingent giving waivers: The FCC (via W5YI report) used the
certifying for handicapped parking as an example; this has proven to be a
trace better than self-certification, but not much better. You didn't like
my examples (which were taken from real life locally)? Just watch what ends
up getting waivers.
------------------------------
Date: 1 Jan 91 06:41:50 GMT
From: att!emory!rsiatl!jgd@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (John G. DeArmond)
Subject: Ham clubs 'n such (was Re: Rumors of ARRL )
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
allbery@NCoast.ORG (Brandon S. Allbery KB8JRR) writes:
>As quoted from <1759@ke4zv.UUCP> by gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary Coffman):
>+---------------
>| One of my favorite groups specifically
>| eschews Robert in our charter, and we don't charge dues. We find that passing
>| the hat when we need to do something works very well. We don't have a
>| President either, preferring a Lord of Chaos as our leader.
>+---------------
>Unfortunately, I belong to one of those moribund clubs --- there being few
>alternatives. Fortunately, however, there is a growing split in the club and
>I suspect no-code will cause it to come to fruition --- those many of us who
>want to embrace the future will likely end up splitting off and forming our
>own club, leaving the "Retirees on Radio" (my name for the current mess) to go
>to hell in their own handbasket.
Brandon,
Let me suggest an alternative. The favorite group that Gary mentioned is
the one that he and I started about a year ago centered around our new
443.65 repeater here in atlanta (where the REAL hams hang out :-).
We had gotten fed up with the degraded condition of our old club, repeater
and general conversation and decided to do something about it. So we
started brainstorming and looked around at what had worked in other areas.
One of the most successful enthusiast/professional groups in Atlanta is
the Atlanta Unix Users' Group. There is no club, no officers and no
structure. One person, Lindsay Cleveland, handles planning the programs
and scheduling the room. Whenever he needs postage money or whatever, he
announces it at the meeting and we all pass the hat. Conspicuously
absent is the political bickering, the power plays, the cliques and all
the other bad stuff traditionally associated with enthusiast associations.
We decided to take the same approach. I scrounged up a power supply and
chassis, Gary scrounged some duplexers, KM4BA came up with radios
suitable for conversion to repeater service, I fabricated the antenna
mount, KI4XO came up with a network analyzer to tune the assembly with
and a host of others contributed the other misc items. We passed the
hat in order to buy the controller, crystals, antenna and misc hardware.
Since I'm physically the largest of the group :-), I took charge of
fundraising. We pulled off the whole process in a few months and are now
looking toward remote receivers and/or linking with another repeater on
the other side of town plus having a hot standby repeater on the ground.
Decisions get hashed out on the air or over coffee at the local Waffle
House.
We consider the system to be totally open. We'll give a copy of the
repeater control codes to just about anyone who asks. But since there is
no patch or bleeps, boops or squeeks on the repeater, there is little to
control.
This system is working marvelously. We have a nice, well engineered
repeater with a very collegial environment. Our biggest problem so far
has been the weather which has made it rough finishing the tower work.
Since there are no club meetings or officers, there is no opportunity for
anyone to get mad or to play politics. If someone wants to make a change
in something, we say fine! If we all like the idea, we'll help out. If
not, well, try it and see what happens. if it's good, it stays otherwise
we talk you out of it. On the other hand, if you get pissed off at the
way things are, there is no organization to direct your anger at.
The nice thing about this non-organization is that when people are
motivated, there are no impediments in their way. And when people get
burned out as I did awhile back, others migrate in to fill the void.
And when the burn- out is over, you can migrate back in again. This
scheme is quite similiar to the Usenet and it works for the same reasons
Usenet does. The other thing that this non-organization does is plainly
recognize the fact that most things get done by a handful of people.
There is no pretense of a non-producers being a part of the group because
the group by definition consists at any moment of those that are actually
doing something. Consider giving it a shot.
John
--
John De Armond, WD4OQC | "Purveyors of speed to the Trade" (tm)
Rapid Deployment System, Inc. | Home of the Nidgets (tm)
Marietta, Ga | "To be engaged in opposing wrong offers but
{emory,uunet}!rsiatl!jgd | a slender guarantee of being right."
------------------------------
Date: 1 Jan 91 06:00:33 GMT
From: n8emr!root@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Root)
Subject: N8EMR BBS INFO
To: info-hams@ucsd.edu
The N8EMR Ham bbs is online to serve the needs of the
amateur radio operators..
12/5/90 Columbus and HBBS are now available via PC pursuit dialout.
10/21/90 New version of the BBS is now online...
New protocals now supported including ZMODEM!!!!!!!
use ? for help on new commands
7/15/90: This BBS is now part of the AMSAT BBS network..
HOW TO ACCESS THE N8EMR HAM RADIO TELEPHONE BBS !!!
System Name: N8EMR
Phone: 614-895-2553
Login: hbbs
Data Settings: 8 Bits, NO Parity, 1 Stop Bit
Times: 24hrs
IP Address: 44.70.0.1
Amateur radio annonymous ftp access is available via the ohio
netrom/ip network. CMHIP is the Netrom node Id and is known
by most of the nodes in ohio. (its slow but it works)
This is only via the ohio packet network. This sytem
is not available via the "INTERNET".
To access the system via the dialup, at the login prompt type hbbs
(lower case only), you will then enter the BBS program. Follow the
directions from the bbs prompts.
I attempt to keep the latest and greatest HAM software on-line, and encourage
all to upload Here is some of software that is available for downloading.
KA9Q TCP/IP Software for various computers, PC,atari-st,Mac, amgia, unix
MORSE CODE Tutors
Modifications for HAM Rigs and Scanners
DX and contesting programs
Various amateur Newsletters
Packet Terminal programs
AMSAT news and satellite keplerian elements
Files and messages areas for AMSAT, GENERAL topics, PACKET,
KA9Q, MODS to various rigs, TVRO,SCANNER and SWL.
Many mb of of file of interest to the radio operator.
Question or comments to
Gary W. Sanders (gws@n8emr or ...!osu-cis!n8emr!gws), 72277,1325
