THE AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE
(A Federal 501(c)(3) Non Profit Corporation)
Editorial Office - 28197 Robin Avenue
Santa Clarita California
Tel: (661) 296-7180
E-Mail:
on the web at: www.arnewsline.org

Press Release

For more information please contact Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF
)

AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINEâ„¢ ANNOUNCES CREATION OF THE ROY NEAL, K6DUE, AMATEUR
RADIO MENTORING PROJECT

January 15, 2004 (Los Angeles California) The Amateur Radio Newsline Inc., a
Federally chartered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation has today announced
the creation of the “Roy Neal, K6DUE, Amateur Radio Mentoring Project.�
This is a program designed to take newly licensed radio amateurs and place them
one-on-one with veteran hams so that they may learn the traditions and
operating skills that no classroom or home-study environment can teach.

Roy Neal, K6DUE, was a driving force within the structure of Amateur Radio
Newsline. He passed away on Friday, August 15, 2003 from complications arising
from heart valve replacement surgery a few days earlier.

In addition to serving as Amateur Radio Newsline's Vice President, he was also
our teacher, advisor and friend. Those of us who had the honor of knowing Roy
were keenly aware of his willingness to help anyone better themselves. He was
always willing to share his lifetime of knowledge in many areas including
science, space exploration and Amateur Radio. With this in mind the Amateur
Radio Newsline Board of Directors at its annual meeting on December 13, 2003
voted unanimously to honor Roy’s memory by creating a program to carry on his
vision.

What we have named “The Roy Neal, K6DUE, Amateur Radio Mentoring Project�
is loosely based on a similar program created by Broadway performer Ann
Reinking. Reinking was a student of and performer with the legendary
choreographer/director Bob Fosse. She is now carrying on the “mentoring�
tradition in the art of dance through her own educational foundation, the
Broadway Theater Project. This is a Florida based training program connecting
students with seasoned theater professionals. If we may quote Ms. Reinking:

“Its sort of an un-written law or rule in the world of dance that you pass on
what you know. This particular craft is at its best when its passed from one
person's hands to the next.�

Now, if you think about it, what Ann Reinking says about "dance" applies
equally to our world of Amateur Radio. Maybe more so, because, for decades the
knowledge and tradition of our hobby/service was passed down from seasoned
operators to newcomers, one to one. Unfortunately, in the ham radio of today,
this art of mentoring that we call "Elmering" seems to be disappearing. It is
being replaced by "weekend cram class training" and/or the more tedious world
of “home study.� Both provide lots of technologically trained hams, but
they do not turn out skilled operators or hams who really appreciate the art of
amateur radio. Only one-on-one “mentoring� or “Elmering� can do that.

“The Roy Neal, K6DUE, Amateur Radio Mentoring Project� is to be a similarly
structured program that fosters those one-on-one relationships that go well
beyond the knowledge necessary to pass a ham radio exam. It will put an
emphasis on our traditional ham radio values by placing new hams into contact
with skilled operators who are willing to teach them such radio art-forms as
how to work DX, or run a contest, build and operate a repeater, talk by
bouncing signals off the moon, kit construction and anything else that makes a
ham a ham. In essence, to pass along the living traditions that make ham radio
what it is to all of us old timers.

To make this work, two groups of hams are needed. First we need skilled
operators who are willing to donate time to assist those in need of training.
We also need new hams to come forward and say: “I want to learn more.� We
will do our part by matching the mentors to those in need of Elmering.

To get the project underway we have asked Joe Eisenberg, K0NEB, to create the
necessary databases and begin the process of matching volunteer mentors to
those wishing instruction. We are also asking both groups to send us an e-mail
at . In your note please state if you are offering to be
a mentor or are in need of training. Please include your name, call, address,
e-mail address with zipcode, phone number, best time of day to call and any
other pertinent information.

It is our hope that the nation's Amateur Radio community will join with us to
make "The Roy Neal, K6DUE, Amateur Radio Mentoring Project" a part of the
traditions of the hobby, and that it will become a lasting memorial to the
radio amateur who gave so much of his life to making Amateur Radio the best
hobby and service in the universe.
..

-30-

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 10:20:59 +0000, Walt Davidson
wrote:

On 30 Jan 2004 10:00:02 GMT, (Radionews) wrote:

This is a program designed to take newly licensed radio amateurs and place them
one-on-one with veteran hams so that they may learn the traditions and
operating skills that no classroom or home-study environment can teach.

What a joke. In the UK, at least, newly licensed radio amateurs do
not want to learn "traditions and operating skills" from veteran hams.
All we old-timers receive from the new breed of hams is constant abuse
and derision.

To make this work, two groups of hams are needed. First we need skilled
operators who are willing to donate time to assist those in need of training.
We also need new hams to come forward and say: “I want to learn more.�

There is your problem.

73 de G3NYY

To some degree, you are right. And that is what comes with
relaxing the standards. Don't get me wrong, I agree that Morse is
antiquated. But, t also agree that it shouldn't be replaced without
coming up with a plan to require other proficiency.

There are good people coming into ham radio now. But there
are also those who don't want to go to the trouble of *earning* their
amateur radio license. Here is where the biggest part of the problem
comes from.

I know that the code requirement didn't solve all problems.
Nonetheless, the bands never sounded like the chicken squawking that
was heard on eleven meters in the United States. When you earn
something, you think twice before doing something that might cause you
to lose it or to lose respect in the amateur community.



Fred, WB4AEJ

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 10:20:59 +0000, Walt Davidson
wrote:

On 30 Jan 2004 10:00:02 GMT, (Radionews) wrote:

This is a program designed to take newly licensed radio amateurs and place them
one-on-one with veteran hams so that they may learn the traditions and
operating skills that no classroom or home-study environment can teach.

What a joke. In the UK, at least, newly licensed radio amateurs do
not want to learn "traditions and operating skills" from veteran hams.
All we old-timers receive from the new breed of hams is constant abuse
and derision.

To make this work, two groups of hams are needed. First we need skilled
operators who are willing to donate time to assist those in need of training.
We also need new hams to come forward and say: “I want to learn more.�

There is your problem.

73 de G3NYY

To some degree, you are right. And that is what comes with
relaxing the standards. Don't get me wrong, I agree that Morse is
antiquated. But, t also agree that it shouldn't be replaced without
coming up with a plan to require other proficiency.

There are good people coming into ham radio now. But there
are also those who don't want to go to the trouble of *earning* their
amateur radio license. Here is where the biggest part of the problem
comes from.

I know that the code requirement didn't solve all problems.
Nonetheless, the bands never sounded like the chicken squawking that
was heard on eleven meters in the United States. When you earn
something, you think twice before doing something that might cause you
to lose it or to lose respect in the amateur community.



Fred, WB4AEJ

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 11:46:45 +0000, Walt Davidson
wrote:

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 10:35:52 GMT, Fred Atkinson
wrote:

To some degree, you are right. And that is what comes with
relaxing the standards. Don't get me wrong, I agree that Morse is
antiquated. But, I also agree that it shouldn't be replaced without
coming up with a plan to require other proficiency.

That's right, Fred. In the UK, the standards have been steadily
relaxed to the point where they are now pretty much non-existent.
The Morse issue is only a very small, insignificant part of it. We
now have a so-called "Foundation Licence" that gives full access - all
modes - to every HF band except 10m, plus most VHF/UHF bands. There
is a nominal 10 watt power limit which is neither enforced nor
enforceable. It is an open secret that the vast majority of
Foundation Licence holders run at least 100 watts from Day 1. To be
honest, they do not have the technical ability even to know what power
they are running! Where is the incentive to progress to higher
licence levels?

The Foundation Licence course and "examination" are a mockery. It is
easily possible to do the entire course AND pass the exam in a single
weekend. There are now numerous Foundation Licence holders aged 7 and
8 years old. If they do contravene the licence conditions, they are
below the age of criminal responsibility. Yet some adults continue to
complain that the entry standards are too high!

Code-free licensees, formerly restricted to VHF/UHF bands have been
upgraded to "Full Licencees" without any further formality. To add
insult to injury, the Full Licence has been renamed the "Advanced
Licence" without any need for further tests of proficiency or
technical knowledge. Where is the incentive licensing scheme we were
promised 3 years ago?

The amateur bands in the UK - the whole range from UHF to Top Band -
are now effectively multi-band CB .... and boy, does it show!

Now I see the USA is about to be led down the same path of folly by
the ARRL. I am sorry you have not learned from the UK's mistakes.

73 de G3NYY

I didn't realize it was that bad. I knew it was a big
problem, though. Let's say that the FCC has not learned from the UK's
mistakes. And possibly the ARRL.

Some years ago, I was at a ham club meeting in Maryland.
There was a 'silent auction' going where equipment was being sold to
the highest bidder. There was an old vacuum tube voltmeter on the
table.

Several folks were gathered around it, curious to know what it
was all about. I started explaining the technical advantages of using
a VTVM over a VOM.

One of the men responding by saying, "But, that's technical!".
Sad when the newer hams don't realize this *is* a technical hobby.



Fred, WB4AEJ

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 11:46:45 +0000, Walt Davidson
wrote:

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 10:35:52 GMT, Fred Atkinson
wrote:

To some degree, you are right. And that is what comes with
relaxing the standards. Don't get me wrong, I agree that Morse is
antiquated. But, I also agree that it shouldn't be replaced without
coming up with a plan to require other proficiency.

That's right, Fred. In the UK, the standards have been steadily
relaxed to the point where they are now pretty much non-existent.
The Morse issue is only a very small, insignificant part of it. We
now have a so-called "Foundation Licence" that gives full access - all
modes - to every HF band except 10m, plus most VHF/UHF bands. There
is a nominal 10 watt power limit which is neither enforced nor
enforceable. It is an open secret that the vast majority of
Foundation Licence holders run at least 100 watts from Day 1. To be
honest, they do not have the technical ability even to know what power
they are running! Where is the incentive to progress to higher
licence levels?

The Foundation Licence course and "examination" are a mockery. It is
easily possible to do the entire course AND pass the exam in a single
weekend. There are now numerous Foundation Licence holders aged 7 and
8 years old. If they do contravene the licence conditions, they are
below the age of criminal responsibility. Yet some adults continue to
complain that the entry standards are too high!

Code-free licensees, formerly restricted to VHF/UHF bands have been
upgraded to "Full Licencees" without any further formality. To add
insult to injury, the Full Licence has been renamed the "Advanced
Licence" without any need for further tests of proficiency or
technical knowledge. Where is the incentive licensing scheme we were
promised 3 years ago?

The amateur bands in the UK - the whole range from UHF to Top Band -
are now effectively multi-band CB .... and boy, does it show!

Now I see the USA is about to be led down the same path of folly by
the ARRL. I am sorry you have not learned from the UK's mistakes.

73 de G3NYY

I didn't realize it was that bad. I knew it was a big
problem, though. Let's say that the FCC has not learned from the UK's
mistakes. And possibly the ARRL.

Some years ago, I was at a ham club meeting in Maryland.
There was a 'silent auction' going where equipment was being sold to
the highest bidder. There was an old vacuum tube voltmeter on the
table.

Several folks were gathered around it, curious to know what it
was all about. I started explaining the technical advantages of using
a VTVM over a VOM.

One of the men responding by saying, "But, that's technical!".
Sad when the newer hams don't realize this *is* a technical hobby.



Fred, WB4AEJ

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 11:46:45 +0000, Walt Davidson
wrote:


That's right, Fred. In the UK, the standards have been steadily
relaxed to the point where they are now pretty much non-existent.
The Morse issue is only a very small, insignificant part of it.

You're right, Walter, the end is near here too. That's why I'm having
a clearance sale.

http://kh2d.net/stuff

73, Jim KH2D

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 11:46:45 +0000, Walt Davidson
wrote:


That's right, Fred. In the UK, the standards have been steadily
relaxed to the point where they are now pretty much non-existent.
The Morse issue is only a very small, insignificant part of it.

You're right, Walter, the end is near here too. That's why I'm having
a clearance sale.

http://kh2d.net/stuff

73, Jim KH2D