Dan,

DC>Excellent!  I didn't intend my above comment to Daryl as anything
DC>bad, just didn't really see the relevance of him putting it like
DC>that...  I fully grasp the pride you have in the callsign and
DC>understand it completely.  Something I have thought about getting
DC>into for years (decades?) but just never have.  Maybe when I
DC>retire...  Thanks and 73!

  Actually, one thing you no longer have to worry about is learning the
Morse Code. The FCC *DROPPED* that requirement in February, 2007. You
can still learn and use it (we also refer to it as CW for "Continuous
Wave"), but you don't have to prove that you know it.

  The funniest example of this (a true story) was where 4 guys were
sitting around a restaurant table in Annapolis, Maryland...telling each
other dirty jokes in CW, and laughing about it. (As an aside, in ham
radio, the term "hi hi" is known as "the telegrapher's laugh", for the
Morse Code equivalent of hi -- .... .. -- or dit dit dit dit   dit dit.

  Anyway, this drop dead, gorgeous, curvaceous female, walked up to
them, and sternly admonished them. "You boys need to watch your
language. I teach CW at the Naval Academy across the street!!", and
walked out -- they were as red as tomatoes!! 

  All you need to get on the air is the Technician Class license, and if
you study 2 hours a day for 2 weeks, you can learn enough to pass the
exam...which covers rules, regulations, frequencies, propagation, RF
safety, and basic electronic theory. The General Class license offers
more privileges, and much of the Technician Class exam stuff is on the
General exam, but in more detail. The Amateur Extra exam is the "booger
bear", but it can be done.

  While I'm an Amateur Extra Class licensee (I had to obtain that, to
become a Volunteer Examiner (VE) Team Liaison (leader) (the hams
themselves give the exams now)...but, when I'm on the air, I operate in
the Technician Class bands, because I enjoy them.

  I used HamTestOnline (www.hamradiolicenseexam.com). A 6 month
subscription gets you all you need to pass the exam. You learn the
questions, but ALSO the CONCEPTS -- so, you're learning something, and
NOT just memorizing answers. You study in the privacy of your own home,
at your own pace. You can do it on dial-up, DSL, or broadband...all you
need is a computer and a web browser.

  When you get to 80% studying, start taking practice tests. When you
start scoring 85% or better consistently, you are READY to take the
exam, which unlike years ago, in some areas, is available once a month.

  But, after adequate study and practice tests, if you still fail on
exam day, send them proof of the failure, and they will cancel your
subscription, and refund your money. So, you get your ham radio license,
or your money back...you can't lose!! Normally, when you buy a book or
study guide, it's yours...no refunds.

  Studying 2 hours a day for 2 weeks (you'll burn out if you do more
than that), I went from Technician to General in 14 days, and General to
Amateur Extra 13 days later. It was the best money I ever spent in ham
radio. Prices vary depending on which exam(s) you go for.

  The exams themselves are taken from sets of Question Pools, in the
public domain. So, unless a question has been withdrawn, there's a
chance that it'll appear on the exam. The pools have to have at least 10
times the number of questions that are on the exams, in the respective
pools. Over 400 questions each are in the Technician and General Pools,
and over 700 questions in the Amateur Extra Class Pool. The Technician
and General Exams have 35 questions each (you can miss 9, and still
pass), with the Amateur Extra Exam having 50 questions (you can miss as
many as 13, and still pass).

  Yet, there is NO DISGRACE IN FAILING. If it takes you a dozen tries or
more to pass the exam, even if just barely, you have as much right to be
on the air as someone who made a perfect score the first time. And, once
you have your license and callsign, it's no one else's business how many
times it took you to pass the exams, or what your scores were. As far as
they're concerned, you aced it on the first try.

  Besides, the guy or girl who GRADUATES DEAD LAST in Medical School, is
STILL....a DOCTOR. But, I may or may not want them doing a prostate
check or a pelvic exam. 

Daryl, WX4QZ


 * OLX 1.53 * Tagline Lotto: Scratch Off For Your Prize: °°°°°°°°°°°°°°
--- SBBSecho 3.09-Win32