Perhaps all that a vendor's non-appearance at Dayton demonstrates is that they prefer to showcase their wares in a facility that has an adequate number of functioning restrooms.

This isn't MCW if the rig is in SSB mode.  Assuming the carrier is well suppressed and the audio is clean, what you'd see on a spectrum analyzer will be indistinguishable from what's transmitted by a CW rig.

If you were transmitting AM or FM, and feeding Morse audio into the rig, that would be MCW.  And it'd be illegal on any band below 6 meters.

As far as I know, the FCC has not yet acted on the NPRM.

We're past the deadline for filing comments and replies to comments, but if you're interested in what folks said, you can find the filings here:

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment_search/execute.action?proceeding=12-283&applicant=&lawfirm=&author=&disseminated.minDate=&disseminated.maxDate=&recieved.minDate=12%2F21%2F11&recieved.maxDate=&dateCommentPeriod.minDate=&dateCommentPeriod.maxDate=&dateReplyComment.minDate=&dateReplyComment.maxDate=&address.city=&address.state.stateCd=&address.zip=&daNumber=&fileNumber=&bureauIdentificationNumber=&reportNumber=&submissionTypeId=&__checkbox_exParte=true

You're preaching to the choir.

My understanding of mode B is that it'll add a dit to a dah, or dah to a dit, IF both paddles are closed, then simultaneously released.  With a single-lever paddle, both paddles are never closed at the same time, so I think that either mode A or mode B will work.  In fact, I just tested iambic modes A and B with the single-lever paddle connected to my K3, and there was absolutely no difference in the way they worked.

By the way, there should be nothing wrong with using bug mode with a single-lever paddle, provided that you want the key's operation to be bug-like, i.e., you form the dahs manually, and let the keyer form the dits.

Computers do have one big downside: sooner or later, you're going to lose your data.  When you have a hard drive failure--and it's a question of when, not if--any data that hasn't been backed up will disappear for good.

I suggest you use something like Dropbox to store your log file.  Any time the file changes, it'll automatically be backed up on remote servers.  You can get 2 GB of free offline storage just for signing up.  I wouldn't put any sensitive info into Dropbox, but it's great for things like logs.

Of course, if you upload your logs to eQSL or LOTW, you can use those sites as cloud storage.  I don't think either makes any representations about guaranteeing that your data won't be lost, but they've been good so far.

I've got ACLog running on a W7 64-bit laptop; I'd be amazed if there were a problem running on the 32-bit version of W7.

N3FJP has an excellent reputation for support.  I'd suggest contacting him at snkdavis@aol.com .  The N3FJP_Software_Users Yahoo group is also very helpful.

First, let me back up a bit.  I'm going to describe things from the perspective of a VE affiliated with the ARRL VEC, because that's what I know.  Other VECs may do some things differently.

At the top of the volunteer exam pyramid are the VECs, or Volunteer Exam Coordinators.  There are a dozen or so of these, with the ARRL VEC processing 70% of all exams and W5YI handling much of the rest.  These are the groups that interface with the FCC, and enter information for new or upgraded licenses directly into the FCC online database. 

Next are the local VE groups.  These are collections of volunteer examiners who have decided to work together and hold local exams.  Some VE groups are affiliated with local amateur radio clubs while others are not.  The VE groups determine when and where to hold their exam sessions.  When a VE group decides to hold exams, it lets the VEC know that it plans to hold an exam or exams, and requests the paperwork from the VEC--NC605 application forms, test booklets, answer sheets, CSCEs, and so on.  (Some VE groups just print their own forms.  About the only forms you have to get from the ARRL are the CSCEs, which are multipart.)  Once an exam session is done, the VE group sends a packet of completed exam forms to the VEC, and the VEC personnel check the forms and enter new licenses into the FCC database.

My suggestion would be to look for local groups, perhaps through the ARRL's search-for-exams facility, and contact them to see if they're taking on new VEs.  By the way, there's nothing to say you couldn't start your own VE group.


It's all a question of how a given group runs itself.  In our group, anyone who wants to show up can.  We try to make sure that any VE who comes to a session gets something to do.  Sometimes it's 5 candidates and 9 VEs, and sometimes it's 33 candidates and 6 VEs.  Keeps things interesting!


Meeting new hams just after they've passed their test has to be the best thing.  It's tough to beat the enthusiasm of someone who really wanted to pass that test and managed to do it.

It's also fun when you're able to come up with your own contribution to the process.  For example, in talking to newly-license hams, I found out that, unlike the way things were when I started out in the hobby, a lot of folks entering the hobby today might not know much about it beyond handie-talkies and repeaters.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I decided to write something to help introduce them to the hobby.  We now hand out the following to new hams:

http://svve.org/The_New_Ham_FAQ.pdf


Telling someone they haven't passed an exam.  But, really, it's not that bad, as long as you give them some positive reinforcement and encourage them to come back and try again.


Simply put, it's almost always a lot of fun.

You probably already know this, but just in case: resist the temptation to call upon your visual memory to memorize Morse.  I had a friend who tried to learn code from flash cards on which he'd drawn dots and dashes for each letter.  He was able to hit 5 WPM, but his need to mentally translate audio into that dot-and-dash image while he was copying got in the way of increasing his speed.  Stick with audio.

Good luck with Morse.  Learning it is painful, but when you get to that point where you're copying off the air, it's really kind of cool.

Excellent!  By studying and passing the test, you came up with the best possible response to their comments.  Now you're an Extra, and they're still nitwits.

I don't know if this is something you're interested in, but have you considered becoming a volunteer examiner?  I think it's helpful for girls and women taking exams to see women VEs at testing sessions.

Just to clarify, you can get Element 3 credit for a Technician license granted before March 21, 1987.  So if you are the current holder of a Technician license, or if you take and pass Element 2, you can be upgraded to General.  Being currently unlicensed, your family member would have to take Element 2 first.  Is your relative willing to take the Technician test?  If not, finding documentation for a previously-held license is irrelevant.

If you had proof of your family member having held a Technician license in the 50's or 60's, that'd be sufficient for the upgrade.  What most folks do when they've lost all documentation is to try to find an old Callbook listing.  Problem is, Callbooks prior to 1967 or so don't list the license class.

N8FP, how about giving us the courtesy of a reply, and telling us just who, if anyone, is trying to scam people into renewing vanity licenses every year?

Exactly.  This requires no change to the regs.  You might be underestimating the effort involved in coming up with good questions and distractor answers, but it could be done.  (One area in which it would be very easy to expand the number of questions by 10x is math problems, where about all you'd have to do is change values in the problem statements.)  My challenge to anyone complaining about how easy the exams are now is to go to the NCVEC web site ( ncvec.org ), ask them to expand the question pool, and submit at least one question, complete with the correct answer and three distractors. 


The ARRL already provides such a program to its VEs.

According to the FCC database, you got your vanity call on 6/11/2002, renewed it on 5/1/2012, and now hold a license that will expire on 6/11/2022.  Who is telling you that you have to renew every year?

That might be true if you have a lousy tuner, but in general it's not correct.  If you've got a 5:1 SWR with a long run of lossy coax, you'll dissipate some power in the coax.  If you run open-line feeder, you'll probably dissipate very little power in the feedline, and most of the power will be radiated.  As far as the tuner is concerned, if it's designed using components with low ohmic losses, it should dissipate relatively little power.

Tuners arc or heat up because (a) the means they use to perform impedance transformation can result in very high voltages and currents and (b) some tuners are marginally designed, and can't deal with those voltages and currents.

I'm not sure where the "tuners are just power wasters" meme came from, but it sure is persistent.