Subj : A Little History Lesson
To   : ED VANCE
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Wed Nov 28 2018 10:10 pm

EV>Howdy! Daryl,

Hi, Ed...

EV>I've seen You mention "People are learning the Morse Code now because they
EV>WANT to...and NOT because they HAVE to" before and I was wondering where
EV>You read about that?

  That's the impression I get. Right around the time when the FCC
removed the CW requirement completely for U.S. ham radio licenses,
Vibroplex, who makes nice CW keyers, literally had their phones "ringing
off the wall" every day for a month. They couldn't keep up with the
demand, and hams were finding out "how much fun CW actually was".

EV>I don't have a subscription to QST and haven't went to the Library to read
EV>it for many years.

  I read very little in QST. I look at the Happenings column, the
Hamfests section, information from the ARRL/VEC, and the Silent Keys
page. Otherwise, I skip over most of the articles...because the
technical and electronic stuff was never my forte'.

EV>I like reading the Amateur Radio Newsline that You and Others post in
EV>Amateur Radio BBS Echos to learn what is happening in/to Ham Radio.

  In reading some of the stories, where hams get busted for doing stupid
things, I have to really wonder if they were these who, when the brains
were passed out, they thought "trains" was said, and they missed
theirs!!

EV>I appreciate when Other Hams write about things they know about in BBS
EV>echos too.

  I found an old presentation I did at a local hamfest over 6 years ago,
called "You're Licensed...Now What??". I couldn't believe how out of
date it was now!!

  For the most part, my travel days outside of central Arkansas are
over. However, if I can get some money from this "Miller Trust" in the
spring, after paying the personal property taxes and income taxes for my
Mom, myself, and my brother...I am hoping to do one final big trip to a
hamfest. However, it's not guaranteed...I won't know until March if I
can do it, but I may not be able to do it at all.

EV>I could listen to the ARRL CW Bulletins like I use to do, but I can
EV>read them in a Ham Echo the next day.

  With the nervous system damage I've got from 2 lightning strikes, I
was never able to copy CW well. I did take a 5 wpm test for grins years
ago, but failed it. It's a moot point now, though.

EV>... !neercs eht fo kcab eht morf skool enilgat a woh si sihT

  I thought I'd have to clean my glasses, or the computer off, for a
minute there. :P

Daryl

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