The AM Forum

(http://scituatepost144.org/images/arrlam07.jpg)
Here is Bruce, K1CWS, operating the AM station at the ARRL on Friday October27.
He reports that Joe told him that he had to fix it after somebody mistuned it.
Seems to be working ok fine now and Bruce reported a QSO with Guy, FRM.

Regards
Q, W1QWT

Good deal,--Finally after being "offline" for over nine months, they got someone to fix the
"old Valiant".

They(ARRL) will now  probably want "proof" that a guy knows how to properly "dip and load"
before they will let another guy touch it again.

Of course,--they could offer classes to guys that have never used a tube rig, and then give
out a "certificate of achievement" as "proof" so that the rig does not get mistuned again.

                                                     73, K1MVP 

I gave Cousin Joe a bit of crap a few months ago about the station being off the air. Some slop bucket moron rice box idiot must have tried to use it.
glad he fixed it

MY friend, K1CWS, has been a ham since the 1950's and has built and operated
many a tube rigs. He said Joe interrogated him about the fine art of swinging the
monkey before he let him sit at the controls.
I guess he is making sure the driver knows how to shift gears with a clutch before he lets people  play so he doesn't have to keep fixing it.
Ain't no automatic (appliance) after all.
Regards
Q

EXCEL-YEN-TAY

Was he on 40 meters or 75 ?

That place is only open during weekday business hours, too bad, because most of the action is weekends and at night.

isnt it funny how knowing how to make the valiant munky swing and not blow up has nothing to do with morse code, but rather the knowledge of the operator of radio and tubes in specific? Guy could know 50wpm but it neither teaches him about radio or how to operate a transmitter.

Knowing cw may not have anything to do with knowing how to tune a tube rig,--but I find it
interesting the ol Valiant got fixed by an "OT"(a visitor) who was licensed back in the 50`s and am sure
he knew BOTH cw and basic radio theory.

It took over nine months, and a "visitor" finally fixed it,--am sure when Doug Demaw, and
Lew McCoy were there it would not have taken that long to fix it.
Makes one wonder how many "newbies" at the League know anything other than "riceboxes".

                                                 73, K1MVP
 

Hmm......... dip the grid and peak the plate, watch your finals disssssapate.................. ;)

I've heard the Valiant can only be tuned properly using a J-38 and an operator licensed in the 50's. All other need not apply.

You "got it",--at least  NOVICE`s back then knew how to "dip and load" a cw rig, so an AM rig
was a "cinch" once they got their General.
                                                      73, K1MVP
                                                     

Don't hold back now. I like that, would be a good bumper sticker. Don't be a slop bucket moron rice box idiot.  ;D

Yes, but the Novice license was a dumbed down offering that wasn't available previously. Those who held it were undeserving and to be looked down on, to use your logic. 

People be cool.  Rememeber, not everybody likes the same things. It would be boring if we all only did one thing.  For instance, some up us find doing AM on 15 & above a blast (I had fun doing 10 & 6m AM this last E-skip season).  Others prefer to go no higher than 7290, even at the peak of the solar cycle - more power to them.  By the same token, some of us also dig CW (there are times where 100W of CW will get through better than 375W of carrier, AM), and some of us exclusively do nothing but AM (since it allows a more natural & better flow of conversation than CW).  Both are cool.  Me - I'm not a purist by a long shot.  For instance, I love QRP, but I realize there are times where it just doesn't cut it.  So, as long as I cause no RFI to my neighbors, I'm not averse to turning up the wick, if conditions warrant it.  Being a purist, who disses everybody elses thing is a pain.

73,
Ellen - AF9J

"dumbed down offering"-- really??-- most of us who started with the novice back then did not feel that
way as I recall,--we were just beginners and felt fortunate to get a novice ticket as I recall.

Dont know where you get your "info",--from old issues of QST??

                                                73, MVP

P.S,--ask our mutual friend W3SCC and see what he says about the "old" novice ticket, maybe he can
"clarify" my logic for you.
 

Well, of course you wouldn't think it was dumbed down. That's my point. Everything that came after that apparently was, according to you. But history didn't start when you got your ticket. There was no Novice ticket prior to 1951. It was harder to get into Amateur radio before 1951, so using your logic, the Novice ticket was a dumbing down of Amateur Radio.

The W1AW station manager, Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, fixed it. K1CWS (the visitor) just used it.
I was there the day it was installed and I am just glad to see
it still available for use.


Regards
Q, W1QWT

I don't know about "dumbed down", but I do know the Novice test in 1962 was almost equivalent to the General exam of today with exception of the frequency allocations.  Of course, we had to know more about the technical aspects of our equipment in those days since there was more to operating than just attaching an antenna, a microphone and pressing the "on/off" button.  I suppose everything is relative to the era in which we live or were licensed.  Being an old coot, I love the old stuff from the old days, but I can see how someone would also like the new stuff if they had no interest in the technical side of Amateur Radio.

Rick/K5IAR

Why is it so "difficult to grasp"?--The novice ticket WAS a BEGINNERS way to get into ham radio,
as a "step" get a "taste" of HF(it was non-renewable) so one had to either upgrade or get off the air,
AND one had severe restrictions,(xtal control, 75 watts max input and cw only on HF)
It was meant as a "learner`s permit", as far as getting on the air experience, but one did have to
pass a "basic written" test where one at least knew ohms law.

Thing is nowadays,--with the exam system what it is,--not only is cw not required(even 5wpm)
one can become an "instant extra" with the answer recognition system and not even "have a clue"
as to what ohms law is(to say nothing of reactive circuits).--Now THAT IS ""dumbing down",IMO
and after one passes this "exam",--one has ALL amateur privileges.--where is the logic in that?
                                                   73, MVP

P.S., You STILL have not responded to my querrie about asking W3SCC his opinion as to how things
       were back in the 50`s,--must be the second or third time I have asked.   

Yes, it was a dumbed down way if getting into amateur radio.

Tests today require knowledge of Ohms law, reactive circuits and more. Your claim that they don't is incorrect.

I've talked to many who were around back in the 60's. Opinions and memories vary. But none of them claim it was all wine and roses and that everything was perfect. Most have moved on.

Yes Steve, YOU are right, AMEN

The "Dick Bash" exam system is FAR superior to the days when only sample questions were in the
license manuals for both amateur and commercial exams.
Lets "move on" to the "better future" for HR,--lets do away with the written altogether.--Sure.
                                                73, MVP

P.S.,Thats why when I mention "reactance" to many new hams nowadays,-- I get a "blank stare".
                                                               
                                                     
 

When did I say the Bash method was better? I said Ohms law and reactance is currently on the test.

I get blank stares on a lot of technical topics, from both old and new hams. So what? You miniscule sampling and anecdotal evidence proves nothing.

We are talking about something "real basic"--ohms law, and basic reactive circuits,--NOT "high
powered" calculus or super "hi tech" complex circuits.
I could say more,--but I will let you have the "last word" since that is what you must have.
                                          73, MVP

Still cannot understand why you won`t ask W3SCC for his opinion.(but then maybe I do)
                                               

                                    "NOT "high
powered" calculus or super "hi tech" complex circuits."

Many hams that I know of are very familiar with the Calculus.... ..    klc

Here's documented proof: http://www.qrz.com/detail/W8NB

you could pass a test on Ohms Law or reactive circuits all you wanted ang still not understand how to tune up a valiant.

But can you tuna fish!! ;D ;D

Considering it's taught in high school, it could hardly be considered "high powered." But when you have no legtimate argument, you will resort to hyperbole.

I'm glad that the ARRL has an AM station at all.

CW - it's a shame that it seems to have been such a barrier, because it is darn useful to be able to communicate in that mode.  A person could build a primitive emergency station out of junk lying around and send a distress call on CW.  I had to send CW with a toggle switch at one radio equipment site, and my boss was able to read it at the other end.  That saved one customer visit.  It could have saved lives.

But amateur radio is dying for all of the reasons we know - computers, satellite TV, cellphones, video games, etc, are more interesting to kids.  The population dumbed down, and the service followed.  Hopefully people like us can encourage hams new and old to keep learning.

When I am at an Amsat setup at the Smithsonian or the Udvar-Hazy center, I acknowledge that the little hand-held that I bring is very primitive compared to any cellphone.  But I then point out that when Katrina comes, the hand-held still works, while the cellphone is dead.  People hear this message.  And I go further to point out that radio hams are the first to get back in touch because they can throw a wire in a tree and get on the air, while the commercial guys wait for the rain to stop, etc.  And some satellite stuff has to wait for the rain to stop, too.

Let's not fight among ourselves, let's teach the curious about radio and electronics.

But at least you would have "starting point" to be able to explain WHY one tunes a parallel tuned
circuit for a dip, and adjust the loading for "max" current, to say nothing of how the driver circuits work.
Try to explain it without a basic knowledge of reactive circuits.--Good luck.

 

Back in the 80s my employer used Collins KWM-2s to maintain an overseas HF E&E net.  The communicators were instructed on how to tune the thing up, and with few exceptions, did so successfully without having any knowledge of reactance or ohm's law.  Nor did they need to learn CW... if the mike broke they just drew another one from their spare stock.

But, as with ham radio, time marches on, and the KWM-2s were replaced with solid-state no-tune radios.  Grab the mike and talk.  Curiously, I don't see our old buzzard communicators looking down on their younger colleagues because they don't know how to tune a KWM-2 or punch tape on a Model 28 teletype  ;)

Interestingly, any military manual I've read seems geared to the 'lowest common denominator' (average GI without technical training) for things like this, John. Outside of the actual techs responsible for maintaining the gear, the attitude seemed to be 'you need to know how to operate it, not how to design it or even how it works'. Basic troubleshooting tips include things like 'check to see if unit is plugged in', check fuse, etc. Nothing terribly in depth. The 'destruct' portion had more detailed information.


Some do, Bacon, but too many seem unwilling to either acknowledge new hams due to a 'lesser' testing standard or because they are too self-absorbed with their collecting, nets, contests, whatever. Collectively we hold the future to amateur radio, but many are either unable to comprehend this or unwilling to make the least little contribution if it doesn't immediately benefit them somehow. Never realizing that helping others now will benefit us all in the future.

it will be a lot easier to each them not to blow the finals out of the rig without all that bullshit. That would only confuse them. FOR THE PURPOSES, the objective is NOT to give them a degree in electrical engineering,the objective is to teach them how to tune up a Valiant without making the 6146 plates white hot.

They will absorb the info in due time when they understand enough about what is is they just did that makes them know more than 99% of their friends, and damn proud of it. FROM THAT, you get a desire to learn whats behind the knobs.