[SBE] Is it worth me pursuing my amateur extra license?

[PuebloTallTower at aol.com]

Henry: your memory is far better than mine ... however I sort of remember 
the parallels with the commercial tickets.  I remember the drive to the 
federal building as I started to take the exams in the 50's, before I was old 
enough to drive a car.   Mom drove me up and then went shopping in Denver, and 
came back to pick me up when the FCC examining rooms closed (as I remember 
4:30 or 5 PM.) being stuck there, and there being no fee structure in place, 
and no restrictions in place on how many of the tests you could take or 
when, I simply took all the tests time would allow, for both the ham and 
commercial sides.  I do remember some parallels, between the tests, and the one 
standard CW test.... using cyphers as I remember it ... no easy path here.  In 
the end I think it took 4 trips or so for me to get to the advanced, and the 
P1, as you say the T2 was the best I got, but I did take the radar 
endorsement.  OH well those were the days.
 
And now the days of rag chewing have seemingly passed.  Internet and cell 
phones have taken their toll.  I have actually caught myself calling someone 
on a cell phone to ask them to get on a certain freq. and see if band 
conditions would allow us to start up a QSO.  And I always thought ham radio was 
the best....  Still remember sitting in the OM's lap at the age of 3 yrs, and 
enjoying him talking to the JA's and W1's on 10 meter AM.  Let's face it, a 
long distance call to either place was 10 buck's or so.  I now see phone 
patch kits at ham fests and the younger guys are wondering what they were and 
did...  I guess I am too old.  As I am about to write QST and ask them to 
take a complete "build it" article from the old QST's of 25, 50, and 75 yrs 
ago, and actually reprint them so we could actually see the schematic, and 
total effort required in the old days.  it would make the entire publication 
more interesting.  As if you don't know where you have been, you will have 
trouble appreciating where you are going.
 
73's
 
Harvey E. Smith
2020 Baculite Mesa Road
Pueblo, CO., 81001-2456

719 546 1418 Office
719 406 9735 Cell
719 671 2671 backup cell
719 542 5667 remote fax
PuebloTallTower at aol.com or
HarveyEsmith at aol.com


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