When I got my first amateur radio license as a teenager, back when there were sunspots and the bands didn't go dead at dark, the pinnacle of hamdom was the Extra class license. In those days it required a fearsome code test, 30 wpm I think, and a hard written test made more difficult by the total lack of prep material. I sometimes thought about getting an Extra ticket, but other things intervened and my activity drifted off to nothing. Somehow, 46 years slipped by (and they go fast, don't they?)
But last night I finally bestirred myself to drive down to the Cliff Branch library where exams were being given for the Extra license. There's no code test now; the written test is hard (sample of an easy one: if R = 100, Xc = 250, and Xl = 150, what's the phase angle?), but there's plenty of cram-course material to get you ready. So I did it, and now I have the designation that seemed so far out of reach to the crystal-controlled novice, all those years ago. If there is a point to this tale, I guess it might be that we all may have some old goals that haven't been dusted off for a long time, and that it's pretty cool to dig 'em up and take another crack. You might even apply that to flying XC or getting LSF V, and call this a soaring-related post. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online. http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
