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#11
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On Sun, 5 Oct 2014 09:40:05 EDT, Jeff Liebermann
wrote: Also, extra class licensees can get call signs in the form of 1x2 (N6AA), 2x1 (NA6A) and 2x2 (AA6AA). Advanced class can get only 2x2. When I upgraded from Tech to Extra, I took advantage of this to trade in my old call sign for an improved version. As did I in 1978. 20 years later I paid the "tribute" (i.e. "vanity fee") to get my original 1x3 call sign back before someone else got it. 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon |
#12
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On 10/5/2014 5:31 PM, Howard Lester wrote:
"Foxs Mercantile" wrote And thanks for bringing to *my* attention that there *were* extra privileges at one time for Extras. There still are. http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regulatory/Band%20Chart/Hambands_color.pdf I didn't think I had to explain myself so explicitly.... I *know* there still are; I *am* one. I meant that I didn't know there were additional privileges for the Amateur Extra Class in the era before the portions of the 1950's and 1960's when there *weren't* any additional privileges. There may also be some confusion about terminology. Jeff pointed out that in 1923 they created an "Amateur Extra First Class" license, but also, in 1933, they went to A, B, and C, dropping the "extra" name. So then there was no "Extra" by name, until the 1951 reforms which also btw created the Novice and Tech. That "Amateur Extra Class" had no on-air privs. Incentive licensing in 1967 then reserved some bands for Extras, other for the revived Advanced (including old grandfathered ones), that had been General bands. Extras also were eligible for 1x2 call signs, which IIRC were sort of randomly assigned at first, then the "pick your own" program started. That's how I got k1io -- First they gave PYO to people who had been Extras for a while, then to less-of-a-while Extras, and finally to anyone with an Extra. That's when I took the Extra test and got my first choice. Since district 1 is relatively unpopulated, I don't think anyone had held the call previously -- the K2xx series had been given out back in the 1940s, but 1-land moved more slowly. |
#13
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On Sun, 5 Oct 2014 23:02:29 EDT, Phil Kane wrote:
On Sun, 5 Oct 2014 09:40:05 EDT, Jeff Liebermann wrote: Also, extra class licensees can get call signs in the form of 1x2 (N6AA), 2x1 (NA6A) and 2x2 (AA6AA). Advanced class can get only 2x2. When I upgraded from Tech to Extra, I took advantage of this to trade in my old call sign for an improved version. As did I in 1978. 20 years later I paid the "tribute" (i.e. "vanity fee") to get my original 1x3 call sign back before someone else got it. 73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane You might be amused at how I obtained my extra class ticket. I had been a tech since the 1960's and saw no reason to learn Morse code in order to talk on HF. I was working for various 2way and marine radio companies. The last thing I wanted to do when I left work was see another radio. I almost let my tech license lapse, but a friend shoved the 610 form in my face and demanded that I renew. When the code requirement was finally dropped for general class I decided it was time to upgrade. Having passed the tech exam in the dark ages (tubes, dynamotors, and Marconi antennas) was deemed sufficient to demonstrate my technical competence. Therefore, I was not required to repeat the exam. The procedure required that I find all my old FCC licenses, which amazingly were exactly where I buried them. When I appeared at the scheduled VEC exam, I was informed that for the same price ($10), I could take the extra exam. If I failed, then they would grant me a general class license as a consolation prize. Just one problem. I hadn't studied at all for the extra exam. I sat down with a borrowed calculator and began to sweat my way through the questions. The technical questions were easy. The questions on HF operating protocol, band limits, and procedures were unfathomable, so I resorted to guessing. I'm fairly sure that I got all the technical questions right, and missed most of the operational questions. I was later informed that I had passed by one question. Whew. Unfortunately, one of my friends surpassed my feat. He became tired of using his foreign call sign and decided to get a US ham license. He passed all 4 elements in one sitting, without missing a single question, and possibly without studying. I was crushed but still offered my congratulations. I don't recommend attempting the extra class exam totally unprepared. However, if anyone asks, it can be passed without studying. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#14
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Jeff Liebermann wrote:
snip I don't recommend attempting the extra class exam totally unprepared. However, if anyone asks, it can be passed without studying. Before I took the extra exam I looked at some of the "practice tests" available. As a BSEE that worked his way through school working as an avionics technician, like you I found the theory part to be trivial and the regulatory part to require some before hand study. This is as it is to be expected as electronics is electronics but regulations are always unique. -- Jim Pennino |
#15
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On Monday, October 6, 2014 12:27:25 PM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
I don't recommend attempting the extra class exam totally unprepared. However, if anyone asks, it can be passed without studying. Of course - if you already know enough to pass it. I studied for about a week for the test. My issue was that although I was experienced in electronic matters, my experience was almost entirely on the computing end, in fact, it was one of the reasons I got into Ham Radio - I wanted to understand RF. By the time I was ready for the Extra, I could have barely passed without studying. I wanted to ace it though. I think what happens in the testing discussions is some of the people who have passed end up thinking that everyone needs to know what they dolready do. It's like my wife thinks that all hams do all the stuff I do and know, so she doesn't want to test even at Tech level. But th eguys I talk to who talk about "They might as well give the licenses away" might be guilty of it in the other direction. |
#16
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