The SignaLink USB does not create or use a virtual COM port.  As AB0RE said, it has an internal VOX that generates a PTT signal.

Do I know why the FCC does it this way?  No.  There are some things that man is not meant to know. 


That's right.  In fact, you can renew online.  Here's how:

http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=cft&id=amateur&page=cft_renew_amateur

There's no fee for renewal.  You can renew no more than 90 days before the expiration date.

Yes, this is normal.  The FCC doesn't extend the license term when you upgrade a license.

Go to:

http://www.arrl.org/exam-element-credit

At the bottom of the page, click on "Valid Forms of Exam Element Credit for Pre-1987 Technician Licenses."

W3HF has a big collection of Callbooks; see his website at http://www.w3hf.com/ .

I agree.  I very much miss AMTOR ARQ.  You can debate the effects of lag on the enjoyability of the conversation, or the fact that you don't get the benefits of error correction if you're not connected to the sending station, but getting 100% solid copy under poor conditions trumps them both.

I'm not sure to whom I'd have to prove this, but in any event, it's easy.  I'd take out my smartphone and go to http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchLicense.jsp, type in my call, and display the FCC record of my license.  Then I'd take out my driver's license and show my photo, as well as a name and address that match what appears in the FCC record.


Of course that's why they do it.  But wallet-sized licenses do not establish a legal requirement to carry them, any more than the fact that the FCC provides you with a larger license requires you to display that license in your shack. 

WY3X claimed that there's a legal requirement to have a copy of your license in your possession when you operate.  I asked whether someone could point me to the reg that calls this out.  It either exists or it doesn't, and I'm genuinely interested to know the answer.

Here's the text on the back of the license I received in 2005:

Conditions: Pursuant to Section 309(h) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. Section 309(h), this license is subject to the following conditions: This license shall not vest in the licensee any right to operate the station nor any right in the use of the frequencies designated in the license beyond the term thereof nor in any other manner than authorized herein.  Neither the license nor the right granted thereunder shall be assigned or otherwise transferred in violation of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.  See 47 U.S.C. Section 310(d).  This license is subject in terms to the right of use or control conferred by Section 706 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.  See 47 U.S.C. Section 606.

Nothing about carrying the license with you.  Do newer licenses have different wording?

I was unaware of this.  Could you point me to the place in the regs that spells this out?

Bob -

If your wife had a Technician license that was issued before March 21, 1987, she can get credit for Element 3.  If she currently holds a Technician license (whether or not she's held that license continuously since 1987), she can get an instant upgrade to General.  If she doesn't currently hold a Tech, she'll have to take element 2 before a General class license can be issued.

The only way to do this upgrade is to visit your local VE group during a test session.

Bob, KG6AF

1) Click the quote button.

2) Deleteany text you don't want to include in the quote, being careful not to delete the stuff in brackets at the beginning and end of the quote.

3) When you're done writing your reply, hit the preview button.  You should see whatever you've quoted, followed by what you've added.

Me, too.  I think Olivia is great, but I've yet to use a digital mode as reliable as AMTOR ARQ.  I remember once having an AMTOR contact with a ham on Diego Garcia.  We talked for about half an hour, and everything I got from him was error-free.  Sure, the link would slow down and speed up as conditions changed, but everything that came through was solid.  We then tried to change to a non-ARQ mode (RTTY, I think) to see if it would work, and quickly lost contact.

I keep hoping that a modern ARQ mode like ALE400 will get some traction, but I've yet to see a single ALE400 signal on the air.

I assume "Amplifier Breath" is a pejorative term for a QRO operator.

You got a vanity call sign in 2002, which started a new 10-year term (the FCC charges you a 10-year fee for the vanity call, hence the extension in license term). 

Because the FCC doesn't allow you to renew your license until 90 days before the expiration date, your request for renewal wasn't accepted, and the term wasn't extended.  According to the transaction log, you updated your e-mail address, an action that was recorded as an administrative update.

You should be able to apply for renewal around the middle of March, 2012.

And while we're on the subject, here's an important safety tip for those upgrading a license: getting a higher-class license does NOT automatically extend your license term!

Dave Barry tackles apostrophes and my personal pet peeve, inappropriate quotation marks:

-----

Dear Mister Language Person: What is the purpose of the apostrophe?

A. The apostrophe is used mainly in hand-lettered small-business signs to alert the reader that an "S" is coming up at the end of a word, as in: WE DO NOT EXCEPT PERSONAL CHECK'S, or: NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ITEM'S. Another important grammar concept to bear in mind when creating hand-lettered small- business signs is that you should put quotation marks around random words for decoration, as in "TRY" OUR HOT DOG'S, or even TRY "OUR" HOT DOG'S.

-----

In many instances, TRY OUR "HOT DOGS" is completely appropriate, and even useful as a warning.

Why don't they write a baseline assembly manual, put it on their site in the form of a wiki, and let customers update the manual with corrections, hints, etc?  They depend on customers to touch up their soldering, why not their writing?

As for the cost to support customers whose equipment doesn't work, how's that any different from the costs they incur for such support now?


And how much would it cost for them to defend against a lawsuit filed by someone who heard something rattling around in their factory-built linear, took the lid off to investigate, and got blasted across the room?

I'm glad you asked the Ameritron people these questions, but the answers seem pretty specious.