Truthfulness -- and trends in Ham Radio

Your post is comprehensive, well-researched, and honest intellectually in my humble opinion. Therefore, it deserves consideration as to a solution.

The list of hams dropping out of the hobby is the precursor to what the hobby will become. A couple of sentences are appropriate at this point to refresh. Ironically, the "choir" already knows what's being suggested by your post and equally ironic is that those who care and recognize the truth you speak were the ones who argued against the policies that got us here. The ARRL earned my disrespect and the cancellation of my life-long membership during this time. The motivations were so clearly visible and the intellectually dishonest "justification" that "the hobby is dying" back in the 70s, seemed to be the loudest signal on the band at that time. Hams around the country who had risen through the ranks and who deserved to be heard were disregarded - opinions trumped by the loud voice of "To All Radio Amateurs" - QST. Without so much as a "test period", the flood gates were opened. And boy did the floods roll in - drowning forever the hobby that was. The gain is easily spotted: Profits; Bottom lines; Equipment manufacturing; and rich, rich people. The traditional ham operators were interested in anything but these things. What's amazing to me is that this process of taking over the admissions process by zealots wasn't even disguised as a Trojan horse. It was never even "bought" by the existing ham radio society. I wouldn't have sympathy for the end result had the masses actually been duped. No. This was a bully tactic that was used. It was literally rammed down the throats by lobbying regulators of the FCC to sign off on the MERIT system. That's the critical element: MERIT.

One last anecdote, if you will. After 52+ years in the hobby, I was taking a reading of the "vital signs" by tuning around on 75 and 40-meter SSB. There is no better place to know the average minds of the "new" breed. (I say average because we all welcome those who are just wrapped up in this mess and will eventually be hands-on contributors like those in the lists of expired licensees below.) So, anyway, I was listening to a newbie bragging about having been a ham for a month so far. He was in the EXTRA portion of the amateur bands. EXTRA! And, he was LEGAL. That's right. He goes on to boast of how easy it was, in a single sitting or two, to pass ALL the requirements to become an EXTRA CLASS ham. I had a certificate on my shack wall that I got from QRZ.com that I proudly displayed for my achievement of becoming an EXTRA CLASS ham. I had formal education in electronics and had worked in the field for a number of years. Still, I was a ham for about 15 years before I qualified for an EXTRA CLASS. This gent was a 1-month ham and came out of the shoot on day one with an EXTRA CLASS ticket. I removed my framed EXTRA CLASS certification from my shack wall and ripped it into 1000 pieces. I no longer consider that EXTRA CLASS AMATEUR OPERATOR has any meaning whatsoever.

Where is amateur radio going you might ask? It's going to the same place as my certificate.

Before I end my comments (at least I've been a ham almost 53 years and speak from experience), I'd like to part with a model plan. It's probably too late for this as it is for any government program where exceptionalism is deemed unfair to the under-acheivers among us. However, here is the plan to build a beautiful hobby with people who, at their own expense, will experiment and design new things. They will innovate and explore and for free they will give the benefit of that experience right back to the country. The following plan is where the Federal Communications Commission's wisdom provides the high-tech segment of society with FREE, loosely regulated band segments to use for experimentation so that the members (hams) will innovate, invent, and produce hi-tech resourcefulness of benefit to the world.

The process is:

1. Screen the applicants for the most motivated. Require that the members learn to use the most RELIABLE communication mode in emergency situations as a prerequisite. Before we (they actually), the FCC, give you all these RF resources, you must start by learning something we as a nation will use in times of emergency (even war) should be require it of you.

2. Learn minimal electronics such that, in times of emergency or national crisis, you can be self-sufficient. Given basic power sources like batteries, solar panels, and electronic components, you must develop your skill set to be able to transmit and receive basic communications. These extremely low power resources can only be sustained using CW where only a make-break method is required to get the emergency traffic through. Learn it. While you are learning this and operating protocols, we will provide you a special class of license and special frequency bands. Older, experienced hams will frequent these sections of the bands since they know where to find you. They will gladly assist you and if required, many will even loan you equipment and accessories to further your learning. Feel free to ask them for help. They are anxious to help you since you will develop your radio shack and become a valuable link in the process and most important - you will develop the expertise to sustain your own station.

3. As an incentive, once you have learned operating PROTOCOL, use of PROSIGNS (they enhance emergency exchanges), Q-SIGNALS, and increase your experience and speeds with our best form of basic emergency communications (CW 13 WPM), we will award you more privileges and bands upon which to operate and experiment. These designations will also serve as a method for the NOVICE class operators to identify you as a resource and as having a level of expertise from which they can benefit. Help the novices fix things and show them how. Help them attain the next level of expertise both technical and operationally in nets. Demonstrate to them the concepts of traffic nets and encourage them and the public to utilize the system during exercises. Field Day is your best opportunity each year to promote CW and ham radio in general. Utilize 2 meters and the higher bands to assist you.

4. Our highest incentive granted by the FCC will be the EXTRA CLASS license. In exchange for your operational expertise, achievements in using the most efficient emergency mode at high, highly-accurate speeds (20 WPM), and demonstrating your ability to analyze electronic circuitry NOT from a cheat-note licensing guide, we will award you all the rights and privileges of EXTRA CLASS AMATEUR. You are the leaders of tomorrow's hobby. You are the most experienced and the most knowledgeable among us and you've proven it time and again. We will look to you for help and advice so that WE can become equally as proficient in CW and in operational and self-supportive endeavors.

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAM RADIO WAS BEFORE IT WASN'T - WHEN THE HOBBY WAS DESTROYED BY THE CHARLESTONS ON THE ONE HAND AND BY THE "GIVE EVERYONE A TROPHY" ON THE OTHER.

At least I got 25 good years in before it was destroyed. And, still on CW, it's very, very enjoyable.

73,
Bill

BTW, you replied to a 3-year-old post. Reviving old threads is generally frowned on around here unless you have something to add.

You did, in fact, have a new point to make, but it was off-topic for the thread you replied to, so I moved your post to a new thread.

As W9BU commented, you missed the boat by some years for relevance of discussion. However I have to add that what you propose appears little more than curmudgeon policy and sour grapes.

I also noted that you espouse the use of CW for emergency communication. Although noble, why not suggest one of the more recent technological innovations, such as a digital mode (JT65/JT9), in which weak signal reception is far superior to that of CW.

Aside from that, you're grossly generalizing. You hear one amateur radio operator "bragging" about his achievements and you then decided to toss your QRZ certificate int he trash? Were you not aware of what the tests currently involve? Furthermore, your achievement can't be belittled by whatever the hobby has become today. I know what you had to endure and I respect it.

I've heard many veterans of the hobby commit what I consider much worse infractions then what you observed from a new op.

Finally, after years of being involved in higher education, I have come to realize that the majority of adults are unable to realize objectivity. We spend years building the foundations of opinions that we will live with the rest of our lives. Most are unwilling or unable to accept something new, as you've demonstrated. Therefore, debating the point is useless.

There's a fellow on another forum whom most seem to ignore, but he has one point right (not verbatim): change with the times or get left behind.

CW is dead get over it. If you want to keep it alive as a vintage/historical mode more power to you. However as an antique it is no longer an indicator of an licensee's ability to either operate a modern station or to keep information flowing. It is not fault tolerant nor error correcting.

The old mantra that it gets through when nothing else will has been false for decades now. There are modes one can use that will display perfect copy when signals levels are so low they cannot be discerned by the human ear. Those modes can move data at rates impossible with on off keyed CW. The occupied bandwidth is competitive with HSCW. HSCW is not and hand to ear mode. It requires just as much equipment to send and receive as do other digital modes. I can pass more traffic with my low power consumption digital station than you can with your single frequency crystal station tapping two wires together and keep it on the air almost indefinitely with a small battery/solar cell.

Even in the dark ages if it took you 15 years to go from novice to extra the process was not the problem. I did it is about 6 with only a limited education in electronics. Which brings us to the point of electronic education and knowledge. I submit that one does not need a BSEE to be an effective communicator or perform basic maintenance or repairs on modern radio equipment. Even is an amateur radio operator does have an extensive knowledge of electronic circuitry very few of them have a hot air rework station available to do board level repairs. All it takes to construct a field expedient dipole to to be able to divide 468 by the frequency in megahertz to get the length of wire you need to hang between the trees.

Instead of throwing a snit and whining about the youngster who went from zero to extra in a single session how about you welcome him to the hobby then take him under your wing and teach him how to be a good operator?

Awww, jeez, not this crap again.

What is killing this hobby is amateurs that demand it stay in the 20th century and that every new ham MUST go through the EXACT same rights of passage that the old timers did.

What would probably be as effective as what you suggest is to make amateur licenses automatically expire after 10 years and require a retest to renew your license. That way at least there would be some requirement to embrace new technology.

When I took my test, I had to learn vacuum tubes. Luckily most of us have moved beyond that.

Time to bring this hobby into the 21st Century, and bring the old timers along, kicking and screaming.

jhooten said:

CW is dead get over it.

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I don't think it is dead. Has it lost its popularity? Sure. It is still a viable mode though.

jhooten said:

I can pass more traffic with my low power consumption digital station than you can with your single frequency crystal station tapping two wires together and keep it on the air almost indefinitely with a small battery/solar cell.

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Yup. I can pass more traffic over our wide area linked repeater network than this crusty old angry 'man'. In fact we did exactly that in two activations. In fact CW NEVER was even a mode we discussed as an option.

jhooten said:

Instead of throwing a snit and whining about the youngster who went from zero to extra in a single session how about you welcome him to the hobby then take him under your wing and teach him how to be a good operator?

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The OP is exactly what this hobby does NOT need.

So someone was able to sit down and go from zero to extra in one sitting? Heck that's pretty decent. I bet the OP is just jealous that the OP did what he
Could not do. My hats off to the guy that made extra in one sitting

mmckenna said:

Awww, jeez, not this crap again.

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Yup some crusty, bitter, old man child that is jealous of someone that did what he could not do.

mmckenna said:

What is killing this hobby is amateurs that demand it stay in the 20th century

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And think that the gold standard is a mode that lost relevance 25 years ago.

mmckenna said:

Time to bring this hobby into the 21st Century, and bring the old timers along, kicking and screaming.

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Agreed. But hopefully the OP just stays on 75 or 40m and keeps his whining to himself.

Oh I would respond to the OP directly, but the dribble he spouted off is not worth quoting or wasting my time replying to.

I had a good laugh when the OP said the 'vital signs' are only on 75 and 40m... That explains a lot about his mentality.

Besides, I be the won't be around in 10 years anyhow... His mentality is a dying breed... Give it a bit more time and they will be gone.

I think re-testing would kill ham radio all by itself. How many hams are really motivated enough to re-test every 10 years? How many think the hobby is worthwhile enough for that aggravation and stress? I would bet it's not enough to keep the hobby viable.

It could weed out all of the "paper hams" who got licenses and then never bothered (nor accumulated the equipment) to get on the air. The resulting loss of revenue in membership dues would in turn cripple the ARRL. I leave it to the reader to decide whether that is a bad thing or not.

Considering that initial licensing tests are easily beaten by the mainstreaming of Dick Bash's methods from the 1980s by regulation, re-testing would be a joke anyway.

o-o o o-oo o- -oo- -oo oo- -oo o

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAM RADIO WAS BEFORE IT WASN'T - WHEN THE HOBBY WAS DESTROYED BY THE CHARLESTONS ON THE ONE HAND AND BY THE "GIVE EVERYONE A TROPHY" ON THE OTHER.

Dude, before you go on your killing spree remember it's "CHARLATANS" not "CHARLESTONS".

Shoot me -- I mis-spelt some words.

SpectrumAnalyzer said:

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAM RADIO WAS BEFORE IT WASN'T - WHEN THE HOBBY WAS DESTROYED BY THE CHARLESTONS ON THE ONE HAND AND BY THE "GIVE EVERYONE A TROPHY" ON THE OTHER.

Dude, before you go on your killing spree remember it's "CHARLATANS" not "CHARLESTONS".

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Good tip. Thanks for the input.

But here's the folks more interested in your spell-checker and for comments of wrong substitutions in theirs.

https://support.microsoft.com/contactus

kayn1n32008 said:

The OP is exactly what this hobby does NOT need.

Yup some crusty, bitter, old man child that is jealous of someone that did what he could not do.

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Couldn't have said it better myself. The OP has a "plan" for the future of the hobby, but has no clue that his bitter, arrogant, elitist attitude is what is seriously undermining the future of the hobby.

New generations of folks that may develop even the slightest interest in the hobby will (and do) turn to another avenue of interest very quickly when these types try to set them straight with long outdated thoughts, values, ideas, and technology... There are many other hobbies out there these days that don't require putting up with those angry old curmudgeons.

And you can bet your bottom dollar that anyone with an attitude like we see here in this forum, will convey that same attitude to newcomers on the airwaves the very first chance they get. How many times have we all seen it happen... A newbie is so thrilled to get his first ticket, nervously makes his first on-air contact, and ends up with one of these types on the other end of the microphone, and gets chewed out and belittled for who knows what.

Yep..... that's a great plan for the future of amateur radio.

.

kayn1n32008 said:

I don't think it is dead. Has it lost its popularity? Sure. It is still a viable mode though.

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When I said dead I meant as a required mode of operation. Neither the Marine nor Aviation services require stations to be CW capable any longer, in fact the CW coast stations have been shuttered and mothballed. Some people enjoy operating it, some people still operate 60 baud Baudot teletype with a TT-4.

jhooten said:

When I said dead I meant as a required mode of operation. Neither the Marine nor Aviation services require stations to be CW capable any longer, in fact the CW coast stations have been shuttered and mothballed. Some people enjoy operating it, some people still operate 60 baud Baudot teletype with a TT-4.

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Fair enough. I fully agree, CW is long, like 30yrs, past it's prime.

fxdscon said:

Couldn't have said it better myself. The OP has a "plan" for the future of the hobby, but has no clue that his bitter, arrogant, elitist attitude is what is seriously undermining the future of the hobby.

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I could have not said it better myself either.

He is a bitter old man, reliving the 'glory days' of spark gap, and tubes. Both which have been outdated long before I was even born(37myself).

fxdscon said:

New generations of folks that may develop even the slightest interest in the hobby will (and do) turn to another avenue of interest very quickly when these types try to set them straight with long outdated thoughts, values, ideas, and technology...

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If newbies don't get turned off the hobby completely by folks like the OP, there are many other enjoyable avenues to explore, like DMR/P25/NXDN/DStar/HF digital modes, V/UHF weak signal, FM simplex. The OP would do the hobby a service and stick to 75/40m.

fxdscon said:

And you can bet your bottom dollar that anyone with an attitude like we see here in this forum, will convey that same attitude to newcomers on the airwaves the very first chance they get. How many times have we all seen it happen... A newbie is so thrilled to get his first ticket, nervously makes his first on-air contact, and ends up with one of these types on the other end of the microphone, and gets chewed out and belittled for who knows what.

Yep..... that's a great plan for the future of amateur radio.

.

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Yea, like I said he won't be long in the world, and hopefully his attitude will go away when he goes

I feel like some of what I've read boarders on personal attacks. AA4BQ misspelled a word or two, so what? I teach for a living and I do it all the time unless I feel that what I am going to submit is going to be scrutinized by fellow faculty members or students. I've read professional journals containing grammatical errors - it happens. On a public forum, I think we can forgive it.

I think it's evident that the reception hoped for isn't what was received. Mostly because what is proposed elicits levels of exclusivity and clique like status. I do understand the idea, though. I know what I went through to achieve my position in life, albeit a small role. If some young whippersnapper did much less to accomplish the same thing, I'd be miffed as well (on a professional level). But in terms of a hobby, I don't quite understand the logic of bottlenecking entry.

AA4BQ, thanks for the suggestions. I hope you find some way in which you can accept the direction of the hobby regardless of what you perceive it to be.

Somebody missed the point... Epilogue

fxdscon said:

Couldn't have said it better myself. The OP has a "plan" for the future of the hobby, but has no clue that his bitter, arrogant, elitist attitude is what is seriously undermining the future of the hobby.

New generations of folks that may develop even the slightest interest in the hobby will (and do) turn to another avenue of interest very quickly when these types try to set them straight with long outdated thoughts, values, ideas, and technology... There are many other hobbies out there these days that don't require putting up with those angry old curmudgeons.

And you can bet your bottom dollar that anyone with an attitude like we see here in this forum, will convey that same attitude to newcomers on the airwaves the very first chance they get. How many times have we all seen it happen... A newbie is so thrilled to get his first ticket, nervously makes his first on-air contact, and ends up with one of these types on the other end of the microphone, and gets chewed out and belittled for who knows what.

Yep..... that's a great plan for the future of amateur radio.

.

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The good points of your response are received, well written and I believe sincere. The bullying at the end, I reject though. Really? A fictitious scenario about some new guy getting chewed out or made fun of? Stick to the facts of the discussion and I take anyone seriously. Bullying tactics, I don't. It's just a tool that's been used in recent years to shut down people's opinion and people just don't want to hear that kind of name-calling in a modern world. People see it for what it is, quite frankly.

Comments indicate a missing of the point. The so-called "plan" is NOT futuristic. It was a teaching moment - of what once was. The "plan" was the exact structure of the hobby. It's very foundation was HELPING new ops. I reject any attempt to categorize the motivations of "old bitters" the way it was attempted in this post. Let's move on.

For others who may be following this discussion and who have been thrown off track by the name calling and non-sense one gets when trying to express an opinion here, the "plan" was a spoof of the kindest type. The common theme was "help the new guy" and was used many times throughout. Helping the new guy was the hallmark of the system in place before it was not. It was an attempt to open the eyes of folks who have not experienced the richness of the hobby before the commercialization folks took control. Isn't it just a little ironic that the "elitist, bitter, old" guys that were the outnumbering group of the most helpful and who now lament the loss of the need to BE HELPED are now the ones being slammed and called these names? I really do find that all-telling. Just for the record and for those who have not been in the hobby long enough to have witnessed it, the so-called PLAN is how ELMERs were the backbone of the hobby. In the final analysis, I think that what you are hearing from the masses of ELMERs (I'll call them) is their lament at losing something they enjoyed. They truly enjoyed helping new guys with theory, CW, you name it. They don't resent new members. They feed on them in a good way. They NEED them to grow the hobby. What they resent is commercialization that so over zealous and greedy that it destroyed the timeline to getting fully indoctrinated. Having hams in the EXTRA portions of the bands with 1 month's experience is like giving a driver's license to someone with no time behind the wheel. I think any reasonable individual sees the reality of what our ELMERs are saying. Go easy on them and certainly stop bullying them when they express their sadness - maybe not in the way you think they should - but never forget that these ELMERS spent a lifetime of building something good. They built a society of Amateur Radio Operators - disciplined ones - those who would never dream of dishonoring their hobby by using words like MF, S--t, and all the 4-letter words that they do. In the ELMERs world before now, such behavior was quickly addressed by signal hunters -- hams who would volunteer their time and equipment to search interstate if necessary to find the offender. Today? Ask yourselves what happens on the bands. And, then HONESTLY ask yourself the question: Do the people who behave in this way take any real personal pride in ham radio? The answer to that is the epitome of why the experienced hams address the issue in hopes of reversing the trend. Instead of a sense of pride for hams who were "raised" in the more demanding environment of achievement and privilege of NOVICE, GENERAL, EXTRA licensing, they are almost embarrassed by what they observe. They react to it and then people react to that. SWL are the most unbiased observers and I dare say that they are not impressed with much of the nightly debacles heard on the lower bands.


But, everyone reading these posts (this one and the ones surely to come) will notice a common theme. The theme includes a lot of "name-calling" in an attempt to shut people up. Names like "elitist", "bitter, arrogant elitist" and the like are the weapons of squelching free speech. I had my own opinion of the state that I personally have observed over 50 years. That change is real - like it or not - and the fact that the unintended consequences of sweeping regulation changes are detrimental and are identified by someone is no reason to try shutting down any attempts to correct the mistakes. To me, without being dragged into some petty personal attack, I'd simply suggest reasonable people with a genuine interest in the hobby ask themselves why so many contributors to our hobby have become discouraged by the changes such that they'd simply give up on something they truly loved to do. No, I don't agree with a "stirring-of-the-anger-pot" to gin up division. I would encourage people to see what experience has taught us. Call me all the names in the book. But, from what I have seen take place in just 25 years, I believe that the people who attack me the most will be the first to leave when the hobby collapses into the 27 Mhz debacle of today. That too, was once a civilized communications network. I was a licensed operator in the early 60s. KDD1289. I was proud of it. So, before anymore folks don't take the time to actually READ my humble suggestions and glean the true intent, at least know that I was also a CBer once. All I am seeking to do now is help to bring more achievement back into ham radio such that people are as proud of climbing the achievement structure as they are of say, that new amplifier.

This is all I can say on the topic. There is really no more to add. It's not from the bullying tactics of name calling that I end my contributions. It's simply the fact that the course is set from the moment. I am glad that I wrote the article. I got the response I expected but I also hope that the fact that I wrote little about theoretical practices and 99% of the successful predecessor to ham radio, folks can have their own theories as to what the ham bands will look like in 25 years. I may or may not be here to see that but it's not too late to increase the entry standards to re-introduce new hams to what is the most rewarding hobby there is - the hobby where challenge determines status - not money. If that is offensive, I do not apologize for it. 73, it's all yours.

AA4BQ said:

The good points of your response are received, well written and I believe sincere. The bullying at the end, I reject though. Really? A fictitious scenario about some new guy getting chewed out or made fun of?

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If you sincerely believe that is a fictitious scenario... well, that explains a lot about the state of mind in your postings.

.

Mis-spelt: Let's Try This Again!!!!!

AA4BQ said:

Good tip. Thanks for the input.


But here bees da folks more innerested in you spell-checker and for comments of dem wrong susbitutions in theres.

https://support.miqrosoft.con/contactus

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That's a bad link, again it's "microsoft" not "miqrosoft" & it's "com" not "con"

www.arrl.org The voice of the amateur radio community

My thoughts on the undeniable changes that have come to the amateur radio hobby are that it has done what it must to survive: Move on, adapt, change, adopt new technologies and ways of thinking, and slowly abandon archaic reminder of a technologically primitive past.

For every old timer CW operator who really DOES know how to design and build working transmitters and receivers from a box full of suitable discrete components, who is leaving the hobby in disgust with his extra class ticket in shreds on the floor, there are several enthusiastic new licencees coming in who are every bit as enthusiastic about today's radio technology as the old timer was about radio when he got into it and SSB was the latest thing. This new crowd often consists of people who know rather a lot about technologies that were not even fantasies when the old timer first got his ticket. Radio over internet protocol. Remotely operating a radio in another country through a computer. Packet (Now obsolete, almost!) Digital voice modes. Trunking. Incredibly capable portable radios that work from VHF to 800 MHz in a single radio that fits in any reasonable sized pocket. All band, all mode HF rigs the size of a lunchbox that work from 160 meters to 70cm and beyond, that can be installed in most cars.

The hobby is changing. If it doesn't change, it WILL die. Change is life.

But it's still the same hobby and its purpose, communications, has never changed. Just the details and the formats and the technology.

I don't know enough morse code to do more than spell out a few choice curse words. But I sure as heck understand digital radios and how to interconnect them remotely via the internet.

I sure wouldn't be worried about someone who got his extra class license in his first exam sitting. As with virtually EVERY license every issued, of any kind, the license is really the opening of the door that leads to TRUE learning. Nobody with a new license is an expert. But as a licensed practictioner, in a few years you WILL become rather expert at what you do on a regular basis.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Amateur radio is the most "clique-ish" hobby I've ever encountered.

You'e got your CW only snobs. You've got your hardcore contesters whose only purpose in life appears to be winning every ARRL contest they can possibly participate in, and apparently never have any interest whatsoever in communicating with other amateurs beyond what is needed to accrue contact points for the contests.
You've got your repeater only crowd, and you've got your amateurs who would not be caught dead working a repeater.
You've got your "worked all....." crowd, people whose only radio related purpose is to collect all the "worked all......." awards. Worked all ITU regions, all countries, all states, all counties, on all bands, what have you.
You've got your satellite junkies and your EME crew.

And you'll find some people in each of these cliques that participate on NO other aspects of amateur radio ouside of their core interests. I think that damages our hobby as a whole.

I'd prefer that every amateur should be generally familiar with most aspects of the hobby and has at least tried out most or all of them. Voice, CW, HF, VHF, UHF, satellite, IP, you should have sampled a bite of each of them and not be unwilling to do it again if circumstances permit.

This subject reminds me a lot of golf.
Golf is another pastime that has seen a downward trend and has had to evolve.
One of the ways it has, was with the new spinoff sport of footgolf, which is played much in the same way but with soccer balls instead of golf balls.

A lot of golf courses had to evolve or face closure because there wasn't enough golf players to cover operating expenses. Footgolf saved the day and I think you could liken the commercialization of golf to the commercialization of ham radio. Does footgolf not require as much skill? Does phone not require as much skill as cw? I think you could argue this all day long but at the end of the day, things change. And if they don't, they disappear.

Speaking of Zero to EXTRA in one sitting...
My best friend did it at the age of 19 back in the 80s.

So - it's nothing new,
except now the answers are provided in advance.
What utter idiocy!

Releasing only a full outline of subjects to be covered
should be sufficient to STUDY for the test.

If you wish to master memorization,
look elsewhere.