Where Am I?

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Where Am I?

by N6AJR on July 21, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

I asked a guy where he was the other day (croatia) and he said go to spain , turn right 2 and up about three!

Where Am I?

by K0RFD on July 21, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

KZ1X -- where are you? You are always pretty darned close to the issue at hand.

I may not always agree with you, but you're always right there close to it.

RE: Where Am I?

by X-WB1AUW on July 21, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

While attending graduate school, I discovered the fellow sitting next to me, in one of the required classes, used to teach Geography. I asked him if he remembered if it was Lesotho or Namibia that was completely surrounded by another country—blank stare.

Was Andorra closer to Spain or Germany—blank stare.

St. Pierre and Miquelon? He confessed it had been a few years since he was a teacher.

When I thought of Goa, I just smiled to myself.

73
Bob

What was the last year that armatures were assigned four letter calls?

What country was assigned KA calls?

What happened to KS6?

Wasn't Walvis Bay an exotic rum?

RE: Where Am I?

by WN3VAW on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

"What was the last year that armatures were assigned four letter calls? "

Armatures are licensed? (Sorry, couldn't resist, but that's one I don't know offhand)

"What country was assigned KA calls?"
US Forces in Japan

"What happened to KS6?"
Nothing. It's still there. We just call it A/K/N/WH8 now.

"Wasn't Walvis Bay an exotic rum?"
No, he was a career minor leaguer in the Seattle Pilots organization in 1969... and it's now part of Namibia.

73

RE: Where Am I?

by KB1LKR on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

I've *been* to Croatia once, specificly Osijek and Vukovar, both in the northeastern leg of the country, the latter is right on the Danube river, across from Serbia. Osijek is about 5 hrs drive south of Budapest, Hungary, and perhaps 7 hours drive north of Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina (though I have not made that drive). The Southwestern leg is across the Adriatic sea from Italy.

Even 10 years after the war there, the wounds are still raw, parts of Vukovar are like being dropped into a photo of Europe at the end of WWII. A sad, sad sight.

So if you're talking to someone there, send my blessings.

73

RE: Where Am I?

by AB8TM on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

What

RE: Where Am I?

by WI4CW on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

"What country was assigned KA calls?"
US Forces in Japan

Hmm... not sure if that's entirely true - I was KA4AZY (novice) years ago(in 78 I think). I was a kid stateside in Alabama....

73 de Ken

RE: Where Am I?

by WI4CW on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

My comment way above - somehow appeared out of order when I posted it.....sri abt that....

RE: Where Am I?

by W1NK on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Reminds me of 8th grade Social Studies class.... Our teacher had the class playing a "Where is, (country)?" game in which we had to (in front of the class) point on a world map,as quickly as possible, the country she named. Most of the kids got 4 or 5. Then I got called on. She'd name a country, I'd "convert" it to its prefix, and spot it on the map.

While I don't remember how many countries I was able to pick out, I do remember she couldn't stump me and finally gave up!

Frank, W1NK

Note to WI4CW: US Forces in Japan were assigned 2x2 KA calls. Rick, KA2IJ, on Iwo Jima, circa '89-'90 comes to mind.

RE: Where Am I?

by K3AN on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Buckaroo Banzai said it best, "Wherever you go, there you are."

Where Am I?

by KA8VIT on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

I am a KA.. and have been for 23 years. Call issued
in Ohio and QTH is still Ohio.

73,

Bill KA8VIT

RE: Where Am I?

by NJ0E on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

> Who else do you know who can find both Lesotho
> AND Lithuania on a map, in less than 30 seconds?

actually, many stamp collectors will.

what hams know that stamp collectors do not are
the locations of non-stamp issuing entities:
king george v island
clipperton
rodrigues

what stamp collectors know that hams may not is
about countries that have changed names, merged,
or were colonies.
where was basutoland? what's it called now?
what are the gilbert and ellice islands called now?
what countries administered togo as a colony?
when was 'bohemia and moravia' autonomous?
what province once was independent from the
dominion of canada?

RE: Where Am I?

by JN3XCV on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

RE: Where Am I? Reply
by WI4CW on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

"What country was assigned KA calls?"
US Forces in Japan

Hmm... not sure if that's entirely true - I was KA4AZY (novice) years ago(in 78 I think). I was a kid stateside in Alabama....

73 de Ken

KA 2x2's were and are Us personal in Japan. I was also a KA call (KA9CZZ) in the 1970's and when these first stated being issued in the states in confused a lot of the old timers. They all thought we were in Japan.

RE: Where Am I?

by W1NK on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

"where was basutoland? what's it called now?

what are the gilbert and ellice islands called now?

what countries administered togo as a colony?

when was 'bohemia and moravia' autonomous?

what province once was independent from the
dominion of canada?"

------------------------------------------------------
Deleted countries and old prefixes are an interest of mine... so I'll take a stab...

Baustoland (exZS4) and is now 7P (Lesotho)

Gilbert, Ellice Islands (exVR1) is now T30 (W. Kiriabati)

Togo (now 5V) was under France (FD8) and Britain (ZD4, 4X1) & referred to as French/British Togoland

Bohemia & Moravia ---- OK, you got me there.... :-)

Newfoundland, Labrador (VO) I believe were once independant as they were considered separate DXCC entities

Where Am I?

by KA3NXN on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

I am also a now from what I have been told a rare "KA" It's my original call from PA issued to now 20 years ago. I plan on keeping this call until I am told to give it up.

On the subject of geography, I have recently had a big scare from my own 10-year-old son. He is a pretty good student and just finished the 4th grade and much to my surprise, he doesn’t know the difference between a country and a state, much less be able to point out where either is. I have recently taken him into the shack and we work different states & countries on HF. I have him sit with a globe on his lap and point out where these folks are located. This is pathetic. I will be addressing this with his 5th grade teacher next year.

Not being a native of the US, I have always been aware that there is an outside world out there. The look I get when I speak to a person from another country and I am able to relay to them where on earth their country is located and a few other details, makes them feel good.

Sorry to ramble about this, but to me geography is a very serious subject.

How the hell do we ever plan on conquering space if we don’t know where on our own spec of a planet we are located?

Guess where this is from….73’s de KA3NXN / HK0

RE: Where Am I?

by NJ0E on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

W1NK

you did excellently; good work!
------------------------------------------------
> Deleted countries and old prefixes are an interest
of mine... so I'll take a stab...

> Baustoland (exZS4) and is now 7P (Lesotho)
yes!

> Gilbert, Ellice Islands (exVR1) is now T30 (W.
> Kiriabati)
yes!

> Togo (now 5V) was under France (FD8) and Britain
> (ZD4, 4X1) & referred to as French/British
> Togoland

togo was also a german colony prior to world
war 1. i didn't know it had also been british, so
i learned something new myself.

> Bohemia & Moravia ---- OK, you got me there.... :-)

bohemia and moravia were administerd by the nazis
between 1939 and 1945; they issued separate postage
stamps during that time. now they are part of the
czech republic.

> Newfoundland, Labrador (VO) I believe were once
> independant as they were considered separate DXCC
> entities

yes!

73
scott nj0e

Where Am I?

by N7NRA on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

I was also licensed as a "KA" (KA6HIF) when I lived near Los Angeles, CA, in '78 or '79. Since I was a Tech, I traded it for a General-class call (N7GTN) when I moved to Arizona in '84. I was anxious to rid myself of anything that indicated that I had once lived in Commiefornia.

Regards,

Stew

RE: Where Am I?

by K2MIT on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Geography is not the study of place names and maps. There are three major areas--cultural geograpy, economic geography and physical geography.

I have a BA in Geography/GIS Systems from the best geography school in the country (Clark University) in my opinion and many students (and some Professors) would have a hard time.

Many geographers study people and the land they live on--sometimes just New York City or other times entire regions. They are very knowledgable about their subject but may still have a hard time finding Andorra or let alone know it exists between France and Spain.

Regarding the country that is entirely enclosed by South Afrida, its Lesotho. There is another one in Europe--San Marino.

Jeffrey, K2MIT

RE: Where Am I?

by W5HTW on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

KA3NXN Yeah, that is a touchy subject. I would not be surprised to find there are school kids in Nebraska, for example, who have no idea where Omaha is. Or even WHAT Omaha is. Actually, there are probably adults there with the same problem. For the most part, the elementary and secondary school systems in America truly suck. Sorry to hear about your child's lack of knowledge fostered by the school system. He is definitely not alone. Will our education system ever recover from too much "PC" and too much social promotion? Maybe, but it will take years more, just as it took years to break it.

Hams do tend to learn a bit more of world geography as well as national geography, than the average citizen, I suppose, even hams who do not ardently chase DX. It is simply 'there' for us to see regularly, and it rubs off. Probably the majority of hams have a US map posted on the shack wall, and maybe a world map as well.

Geography is fascinating for some of us. It is so for me because I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel extensively, around the nation as well as quite a bit around the globe. There's nothing like "being there" to help one figure out where "there" is. It really starts to take on character when you have to drive it, like from state to state. Distance, even a few hundred miles, takes on a special meaning when you figure out how long you've been on the road.

There is little like the combination I had as a teen! "Real" teaching in school, being a ham, and being a military brat, which meant moving a lot. Often that meant, at least within the US, that when the teacher said "Do you know this place?" I not only knew it, I had been there.

"Where am I?" I'm in New Mexico. And there are countless thousands, including many in the US government, who do not know where New Mexico is, and who believe it is a foreign country. (Well, OK, it does act like one!) Even Time Magazine once, a few years ago, produced a map of the US showing Arizona bordering Texas. In fact, there is a rather neat book on the subject, "One Of Our Fifty Is Missing," about hundreds of anecdotes where people, including officials in Washington (!) do not know New Mexcio is a state. Just last month a curious person contacted me and asked if I had dual citizenship, US and Mexican.

Yeah, geography is fun.

73
Ed

RE: Where Am I?

by WB2WIK on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

My birth certificate says "2," my voice says "nothing" (or so I hope), my drivers license says "6" and my attitude says "KH6," so where's that leave me?

WB2WIK/6 in the People's Democratic Republik of Calicrowdia

RE: Where Am I?

by AD7DB on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

A favorite book of mine is "Tuva or Bust." The late Dr. Richard P. Feynman got interested in whatever happened to a little Asian country in the 1930's called Tannu Tuva. This snowballed into a major effort to be able to visit the place.

Where Am I?

by KD5RGJ on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

I am a stamp collector. It is the greatest history and geography teacher you can have.

Where Am I?

by NA4IT on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Last I recall, I don't actually live in Etowah, TN. I live in Bigfoot, which is straight north of Dentville, but due southwest of Goodsprings, not quite to Double Springs.

See I told you I know where I'm at...now where did I put my crayons?

RE: Where Am I?

by NJ0E on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

i have a few 'tannu tuva' stamps. the place has a
colorful and controversial history among stamp
collectors.

see:
http://www.tuva.tk/

73
scott nj0e

*When* are you?

by KB3KHW on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

It's not "where" that counts, it's *when* that matters. You can always change the first, yet nobody can escape from "now" except through memories or imagination.

RE: *When* are you?

by KC8VWM on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Geography Considerations for Radio Amateurs:

Q:How can you tell that compasses and scales are inteligent?
A:Because they're all graduated.

Q:Why didn't the map grids go to the punk disco?
A:Because they were all squares.

Q:What's big, white, furry and always points North?
A:A Polar Bearing

Q:What do geographers grow in their gardens?
A:Compass roses

Q:What do an astrologist and a cartographer have in common?
A:They both specialise in projections

Q:Why does the Bogie Man know all the map symbols?
A:Because he's a legend

Q:Why is it easy to get into Florida?
A:Because there are so many keys

Q:Why can fish measure distances so well?
A:Because they have their own scales

Q:Which has the higher IQ, latitude or longitude?
A:Longitude; it's got 360 degrees!

Q:What do penguins wear on their heads?
A:Ice caps

:)

Charles - KC8VWM

RE: Where Am I?

by KA3NXN on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

W5HTW - Ed, you " US Mexicans" & us Colombians think alike ;)

RE: Where Am I?

by KC8VWM on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

K2MIT says,

"Geography is not the study of place names and maps. There are three major areas--cultural geograpy, economic geography and physical geography.
I have a BA in Geography/GIS Systems from the best geography school in the country (Clark University)"

Ok here are the Top Ten Reasons to Study Geography at Clark University;

10. Mother Teresa, one of the most admired women in history, went to India as a Geography teacher.

9. You won't embarrass yourself incorrectly pronouncing Phuket, Thailand.

8. Those international coffees will take on a whole new meaning.

7. You will know why "surf's up."

6. History will finally make sense.

5. You will know what it's like where your Internet pals live.

4. You won't get ripped off buying an Amtrak ticket to Honolulu.

3. Michael Jordan, a geography major, makes over $80 million a year.

2. You'll understand the real reason why the Russians are getting friendly with Saddam.

1. You'll know the way to San Jose.

:)

Charles - KC8VWM

RE: Where Am I?

by WILLY on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

by K2MIT on July 22, 2004

...

"Regarding the country that is entirely enclosed by South Afrida, its Lesotho. There is another one in Europe--San Marino. "

There is another one in Europe. The Vatican.

RE: Where Am I?

by KA3NXN on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

K2MIT - I understand what you are saying. It's not just enough to know where a country is located and maybe what the capital city is named.

73's de KA3NXN / HK0 Isla de San Andres, Colombia

Jaime

RE: Where Am I?

by WILLY on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

by W5HTW on July 22, 2004

"KA3NXN Yeah, that is a touchy subject. I would not be surprised to find there are school kids in Nebraska, for example, who have no idea where Omaha is. Or even WHAT Omaha is. Actually, there are probably adults there with the same problem. "

Which reminds me of a conversation I once had with a young gentleman that, at that time, was a recent college graduate.

Somehow we got onto some discussion of historical events of the U.S.

I asked him what happend on Dec. 7, 1941.
He had no clue. Replied with some silly wild guess.

I thought I'd give him a strong hint, when I asked him another question, by asking him what years the U.S. was in a shooting war during WWII.
Again guessing, he picked some vague dates in the '50s.

By now, I was amazed!

So I asked him when the Civil War was.
No clue. A long time ago was the best he could do.

I asked him who the President was during the Civil War.
Didn't know.

Note that this person was not stupid, by any means. Unfortunately, his behavior indicated that he considered himself to be above average in his accumulated knowledge.

Personally, I do not consider these things to be unusual knowledge for anyone that is natural born U.S. citizen, having gone through 12 years of public school.

RE: Where Am I?

by NJ0E on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

...

"Regarding the country that is entirely enclosed by
South Afrida, its Lesotho. There is another one in Europe--San Marino. "

> There is another one in Europe. The Vatican.

there's still another; 'the sovereign military order
of malta'. it is a also a dxcc entity with it's own
prefix (1A0).

http://www.orderofmalta.org

73

RE: Where Am I?

by W1NK on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

For all the confusion with the KA prefixes, we should be glad it's limitted (at least in MOST of our memories) to US forces in Japan. How's *THIS* for confusing (as far as Krazy K calls go)?:

KA# - US Forces in Japan
KA1 was Phillipines now DU
KA2,3,4,5, and 8 for Honshu.
KA6 for Shikoku
KA7 for island of Kyusho
KA9 for Hokkaido
KA6 Ryukyu Islands, Okinawa
KA0 Iwo Jima. Also KG6Ix. Now JD1
KB6 Baker/Canton/Howland/Am Pheonix Now KH1
KC4 Navassa Isle now KP1
KC6 Eastern Carolines (Kosrae, Chuuk, Pohnpei) - now V6
KC6 Western Carolines - Palau (Belau) now T8 (some KC6 calls survive)
KG1, XP1 - US Forces in Greenland Now OX
KG6 - Guam Now KH2 (some KG6 calls survive)
KG6IF - Marcus Island Now JD1 Minami Torishima
KG6IG,IJ - Bonin, Volcano Iwo Jima, Chichi Jima Now JD1 Ogasawara (***KG6IG & IJ are currently issued calls!***)
KG6R - Rota Now KH0
KG6S - Saipan Now KH0
KG6T - Tinian Now KH0

Not to mention that pre & post WWII you had:
K4 Puerto Rico
K5 Canal Zone (also NY1 & NY2)
K6 Hawaiian Isles
K7 Alaska
KB4 Virgin Isle
KB6 Guam
KC4 Little America Antarctica
KC6 Wake Group
KD4 Swan Isl
KD6 Midway Isle
KE6 Johnston Isl
KF6 Baker, Howland & American Phoenix Isl.
KG6 Jarvis & Palmyra group
KH6 American Samoa
KS4 Swan Isle
NY4 Guantanamo Bay

*Whew!*

Where Am I?

by KI6LO on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Interesting topic. One of the non-electronic classes that I recall liking the best in all my education was titled "World Regional Geography". In it we covered each continent by physical and social elements. Having only been licensed for about 3 years at that time, I found it easier to learn countries by their prefixs and then add the other information. I think hams have an above average level of knowledge on geographical topics, as one poster put it, simply by being exosed to the information constantly.

As to US call areas, I can recall a time when you heard a callsign on HF, you had a high degree of probability of figuring out the region of the country and possible even the state or geographical area the transmission was from without even hearing it mentioned. Today, you would be hard pressed to know where in the US (or the world) it is emanating from. I don't see the call area structure being of any use anymore, but I guess the FCC retains it since it would be too much trouble and expense to remove it and replace with something else.

Gene KI6LO

RE: Where Am I?

by K7VO on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

It's very good to see so many of you with a good knowledge of geography and especially of historical geography. I find many news agencies with, shall we say, an agenda, trade off on the assumption that most people have no such knowledge to color the facts to fit that agenda.

For example:

1. Where is or was the independent nation of Palestine?

2. During what period was Jerusalem (or al-Quds in Arabic) the capital of an Arab or Muslim nation?

3. During what period did when Jerusalem (or al-Quds) was not a national capital was it a regional or provincial capital under Arab or Muslim rule?

4. What ethnic or religious group represented the majority of the population of Jerusalem during the period of Ottoman rule?

5. What years did the Ottoman Empire rule the area now known as Israel and/or Palestine?

I think most of you know where this is going. The answers:

1) No such nation has ever existed.
2) Never.
3) Never.
4) Jews. For example, in 1854 Jerusalem had a population of 15,500, of whom over 8,000 were Jewish.
5) 1516-1917

Yet, to hear the press, Israel is a country made up of land stolen from a sovereign Palestinian nation. Interestingly, in 1919 King Feisal of Transjordan and Iraq referred to the area as Syria (which, indeed, it once was part of) and stated there was plenty of room for both Arabs and Jews in Syria.

The point I am making is that if you don't know your history and geography you can be snowed on all sorts of modern, present, current issues. The fact that hams, as a group, are more likely to know their historical geography is a very positive thing indeed. It's a pity so many people, as other posters have pointed out, are ignorant of history and geography.

Oh, and yes, I too have an agenda. It is no secret that I hold both Israeli and American citizenship and that most of my family lives in Israel. I hope to catch you on the air with a 4Z callsign in the not too distant future. (I can't operate reciprocally under CEPT as a citizen.)

73,
Caity
K7VO/4

RE: Where Am I?

by WA5MKA on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Has "LA LA Land" fallen into the Pacific Ocean yet & become a new "DXCC Entity" or "IOTA" ? Could we call it "Austriafornia" when it does ?!?! Can I buy some "Ocean Front" property in AZ when it does ?

73,George---W7KCU,ex:WA5MKA

Where Am I?

by G0GQK on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

I'll tell you one thing for certain, nobody knows where the hell Shropshire is ! And another thing, I've yet to meet a Yank who can say it without getting his nung in a tot !

73, Mel

RE: Where Am I?

by AC5AA on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

"What country was assigned KA calls?"
US Forces in Japan

Absolutely. But that is 2x2 calls. I don't recall if there were KA4's when I was over there.

73, Duane -- ex-KA2AH Tachikawa Air Base, Tokyo, Japan

RE: Where is it?

by X-WB1AUW on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

I couldnft believe the great luck I had when I was issued NY1I, a DX call! Course few hams knew it was a DX call at one time.

I was also surprised to learn that the Philippines were issued KA calls.

I discovered some American hams were issued calls, beginning with X, when I saw a footnote in a 1948 HandBook.

Ham Radio truly opened up the world to me, especially since I started on HF.

When I started college, in 1989, I wound up standing behind a fellow from Guam. Of course, he was surprised I knew of Guam, let alone where it was. When we finally made it to the front of the line, to pay for the classes we had registered for, they asked him what currency he was going to use to pay his tuition. We both laughed at that one.

Prior to Ham Radio, I didnft even know where Bermuda was. In the mid 80s, I was helping my parents move. In the attic I found a box of stuff my Mom saved from when I was in Jr High School. There was a geography test on South America, which I had failed (I never did home work). I didnft even get Brazil right!

When my wife first talked about her cousin on Jersey Island, she was surprised I knew where it was.

Bob

RE: Where is it?

by N6AYJ on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Stephen, I am sorry you are so confused. I have been trying to tell you for quite some time now that you have been acting very strangely. Thank god you have finally accepted reality, because now I can help you become a better ham. Just feel free to ask me anything you would like to know, and I will be glad to share my knowledge. There is no reason for you to feel bad about your problem. I am here to help.

RE: Where is it?

by WB2WIK on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

I've been trying to contact N6AJR in Fandipolia for days now but the line's been busy.

Where Am I?

by WA2JJH on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

It was easier when K was for the west coast, and W for the east.

Miss those days.

Where Am I?

by K7VO on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

KZ1X, Steve:

I sent a link to this thread to my brother. He thinks he knows you, online at least. Do you post pro-Israel threads to a right-wing (at least from where I sit) Republican website? As sjackson? If so, he corresponds with you :)

Small world, this. Helps to know your way around it.

73,
Caity
K7VO

RE: Where Am I?

by W4CNG on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Yes, but there are some K's East of the Mississippi and some W's west of it. Still fun though. Where is JSR's reply to all of this???
Steve W4CNG (chopped out the A a few years ago).

Where Am I?

by K8DIT on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

You are there. I am here. It doesnt matter where you are, or where here is so long you stay there while I stay here. Once you move, there is not there anymore but it is now there, where you went. Correspondignly, if I move then here isnt where I am, I am there. Wherever that is.
Feel free to move about the country and take your callsign with you.

Where Am I?

by K7PEH on July 22, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

A while back I was intrigued by the number of fellow workers who did not know much about history or geography. After some analysis, I came to the following conclusion. If you went through grade school and high school before 1970, you had a pretty decent knowledge of history and geography. If you went through school since 1970 your knowledge is almost non-existant.

PEH

Where Am I?

by KZ1X on July 23, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Randomly:

K2MIT: wow, I used to work across the street from Clark University, but did not know they had a specialty in geography ... BTW if what I'm describing isn't geography, what is it?

W5HTW: I was born near Alamogordo New Mexico, W5 land, but grew up in the metro NYC area, hece the W2 accent ... you know the magazine column, "One Of Our 50 Is Missing" ? I always gets asked if I am an American citizen. Yikes.

NJ0E: I really did not know that about Malta. Wow. Thanks ... proves you CAN learn something every day.

KI6LO: ... yes, I feel guilty about keeping my out-of-area call sometimes ... it's somehow not really right ...

K7VO/4: No, 'twasnt me. This forum is my only net blogspot. Nobody would like MY political views! Heck, hardly anyone likes my views on DIPOLES! ;0

G0GQK: I got my tongue in a knot just with your CALLSIGN, never mind Shropshire. Hope all's well in the mother country. We like you guys, and whassername is pretty cool.

K8DIT: I agree!! You are definitely where you are. And who mentioned Buckaroo Bonzai? I have that on widescreen DVD. Not surprised, huh?

KC8VWM: Thanks for the G-rated funnies. I can use them on my kids.

K7PEH: I wonder if you have an idea why 1970 was the turning-point year? Maybe because it was about then that the last of the "old-school" teachers, who started working right after WWII, retired? In any case, yes: our schools turn out appallingly stupid students. It's time to end public education, because it looks and costs like public housing, with similar results. We can't afford to waste another generation of students on feel-good education experiments paid for by tax dollars. OOps! I didn't meant to get on my soap box!

QST QST QST: This was intended to be a light-hearted thread, and I'm glad it turned out that way. LOTS of hams know LOTS of good stuff, and I learned agood bit of actually-useful trivia! Kind of like a good old fashioned ragchew, the kind we used to have far more of. Thanks to eHam for making it possible. If only the broadcasters would move off 40 meters, we could all do this on the air!!

RE: Where Am I?

by K4JF on July 23, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

"I asked him who the President was during the Civil War.
Didn't know."

Which President? Davis or Lincoln? Remember, there were two nations fighting. (And it wasn't a "civil war".)

But you're right. The current state of ignorance about history and geography is dismal. I remember a survey of Dallas high school seniors recently. Most did not know that we had fought a war with Japan. When surveyed, many asked "Who won?" And that was very recent, historically.

How can you improve the world when you don't know what went before??????

RE: Where Am I?

by K2MIT on July 23, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Yes it is geography. I was just pointing out that is possible to be a "geographer" (essentially socialology applied to the land) and not know "place names." Now I don't condone it since I think we should all have a basic geographic understanding and those professional geographers have a higher requirement to do so; I was just responding to your story of meeting a geographer who could not map his way out of a paper bag.

Where did you live in Worcester?

--Jeffrey, K2MIT

RE: Where Am I?

by WILLY on July 23, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

by K8DIT on July 22, 2004

"You are there. I am here. It doesnt matter where you are, or where here is so long you stay there while I stay here. Once you move, there is not there anymore but it is now there, where you went. Correspondignly, if I move then here isnt where I am, I am there.
Wherever that is. "

In the spirit of good fun, this is excellent!

[still chuckling]

Tnx

RE: Where Am I?

by WA0RJ on July 23, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

When first licensed as a Novice I was KA8DGD. I lived in Cambridge, Ohio at the time. That would have been around 78/79 time frame.

RE: Where Am I?

by KL7XL on July 23, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

A very enjoyable thread! Thanks to all.

Taking a slight tangental turn from "Where Am I?", I live in Sitka, Alaska, on Baranof Island (NA-041).

Most days during the summer we are visited by several thousand cruise ship tourists, mostly US citizens. I like to think that these visitors were smart enough to accumulate the finances to afford the trip. But... The questions they ask!

"Do you take American money here?"

"How high above sea level are we?"

"Do you live here year round?"

"Is it possible to phone (insert state or city name) from here?" - Favorite response: "The last time we tried it, it worked."

"Do you speak English?"

"Back in the States..."

and the best one - "Does that bridge go to Russia?" (It goes to the small island on which our airport is located.)

It does make you wonder.

RE: Where Am I?

by KC2HTP on July 23, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Shropshire? England, of course, bordering Wales. Mel, are you a "Shropshire Lad"? :-)

73, John

RE: Where Am I?

by AL1P on July 23, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

I'm with KL7XL.
Of his list, the one I've heard the most (Here in Seward, AK - Thats Alaska, not Arkansas) is from folks getting off the cruise ships, staring at the snow-covered peaks on July 4th, and wondering amongst themselves what the elevation from sea level is for the town.
Heh.

RE: Where Am I?

by KC9FQM on July 24, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

|But you're right. The current state of ignorance |about history and geography is dismal. I remember a |survey of Dallas high school seniors recently. Most |did not know that we had fought a war with Japan. |When surveyed, many asked "Who won?" And that was |very recent, historically.

H,,/Cpmsoderomg the number of Japanese imports (automotive, electronic, etc) and who has been mostly responsible for fighting in the Far East to defend Japan and the area, who did?

Where Am I?

by M0AFJ on July 26, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Perhaps this thread should be e mailed to your current President!, I bet he doesn't know where Lesotho is.

RE: Where Am I?

by M0NIQ on July 26, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Nevermind Shropshire, try them to say Leicester, Gloucester or Worcester right HI HI...

How about history quiz?

1. What's the only country ever to successfully conquest Moscow?

2. What country lost the most being an ally to USA and UK in the World War 2?

Where Am I?

by NJ8J on July 26, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Lack of geographical knowledge isn't just recent. I can remember when I ordered my first set of QSL cards back in the '70s, from the 'Little Print Shop' in Austin, Texas. I indicated on the order form that my address was in 'Fairmont, WV'. My cards came back loudly blaring my location in 'Fairmont, West Vermont'. And you thought Vermont hams were rare! I used to joke that since West Vermont isn't a state, it must be a country, and I should probably apply for DXCC status.

I wish they'd use ham radio as a resource

by KZ1X on July 29, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Our greatest value to people is not our communicatons skills, but our ability to teach, and to bridge cultures.

Read this to see why it's important:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geosurvey/highlights.html

RE: Where am I?

by K4JSR on July 30, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

Steve sez, "RE: Where Am I? Reply
by W4CNG on July 22, 2004
Yes, but there are some K's East of the Mississippi and some W's west of it. Still fun though. Where is JSR's reply to all of this???
Steve W4CNG (chopped out the A a few years ago)."

What makes you think that I even have a clue as to
where I am? One of my favorite K's lives just outside
of Cumming, Ga. My favorite "W" is in Washington.
Most of the KA's are on university campuses. But I
still don't know where I am.
I do hope that your "A" amputation was not painful.

Caity, I agree with 99% of what you post. However,
I do understand that you refuse to copy "didahdah"
when on the A1 mode! :-D I'm gonna go now, before
she hurts me! (I may be back though!)

73 Cal K4JSR
Masochist, Ga.

RE: Where Am I?

by N0XAS on August 6, 2004 Mail this to a friend!

"What country was assigned KA calls? "

USA... I know my first one was KA5MSS.

Where Am I?

by USCG_RMC on April 6, 2006 Mail this to a friend!

"What country was assigned KA calls?"
US Forces in Japan

Hmm... not sure if that's entirely true - I was KA4AZY (novice) years ago(in 78 I think). I was a kid stateside in Alabama.... 73 de Ken

My first callsign as a Novice in '88 was KA1SHC (Cape Cod Mass) - nice country, you should visit sometime - no passport necessary - you can (still) travel state to state without having "papers"

Herb - K0HEA

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