Ham Radio Aero Mobile & Morse Code

[RST Engineering]

I think most of you know that I've been operating aircraft ham radio mobile
since the days of dynamotors and vacuum tubes (yes, I put a Heathkit "Twoer"
in the Cessna 120 using a surplus wwii dynamotor back in 1968).

For those of you who have been sorta thinking that some day it would be nice
to have a ham rig in the airplane, for emergency if nothing else, but that
the morse code requirement kept you away, the FCC just did away with the
morse code for all license classes. Read about it here:

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/12/15/104/?nc=1


No more excuses for not having that ticket now, is there?

{;-)


Jim

(Of course, for those of us who thought that the code was long since
anachronistic, it is sort of like the FAA dropping the requirement to know
how to manipulate the manual spark advance on the magneto.)

[kontiki]

RST Engineering wrote:
>
> No more excuses for not having that ticket now, is there?
>
> {;-)

Wow. Well that's a good thing. I got my extra class license
back when you had to send and receive 20 WPM. On the other
hand, I have no problem decoding VOR/LOC or NDM identifiers.
A lot of the newer radios even decode those for you now.

[Newps]

I've had a ham license since about 1985, Extra since about 1987. I
tried, I really did, to get interested in CW. I tried my damnest to get
some countries on CW. Just gave up. I have about 185 with voice but
the code was a dinosaur in the 80's, now the whole thing is laughable.
I have a two meter rig here at the computer and an antenna on the roof
but zero interest in it since the late 80's. I use the radio to listen
to the airplanes since it has AM in it. Maybe one of these days.....




RST Engineering wrote:
> I think most of you know that I've been operating aircraft ham radio mobile
> since the days of dynamotors and vacuum tubes (yes, I put a Heathkit "Twoer"
> in the Cessna 120 using a surplus wwii dynamotor back in 1968).
>
> For those of you who have been sorta thinking that some day it would be nice
> to have a ham rig in the airplane, for emergency if nothing else, but that
> the morse code requirement kept you away, the FCC just did away with the
> morse code for all license classes. Read about it here:
>
> http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/12/15/104/?nc=1
>
>
> No more excuses for not having that ticket now, is there?
>
> {;-)
>
>
> Jim
>
> (Of course, for those of us who thought that the code was long since
> anachronistic, it is sort of like the FAA dropping the requirement to know
> how to manipulate the manual spark advance on the magneto.)
>
>

[Larry Dighera]

On Sat, 16 Dec 2006 09:17:07 -0800, "RST Engineering"
> wrote in
>:

>... the FCC just did away with the
>morse code for all license classes. Read about it here:
>
>http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/12/15/104/?nc=1
>
....
>(Of course, for those of us who thought that the code was long since
>anachronistic, it is sort of like the FAA dropping the requirement to know
>how to manipulate the manual spark advance on the magneto.)

Interesting enough, the Army's first aviation transmitter (c. WW-I)
contained no vacuum tubes, and only permitted Morse code transmission:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=020&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=300037163739&rd=1&rd=1

The aircraft was used as an artillery spotter, who would tap out the
locations of enemy guns to an SCR-54-A crystal receiver on the ground.
The person on the ground communicated with the aircraft with flags.

http://www.stonevintageradio.com/description.php?II=367&UID=2006121615101768.108.251.9

[Don Tuite]

On Sat, 16 Dec 2006 10:42:43 -0800, Richard Riley
> wrote:

>On Sat, 16 Dec 2006 09:17:07 -0800, "RST Engineering"
> wrote:
>
>>I think most of you know that I've been operating aircraft ham radio mobile
>>since the days of dynamotors and vacuum tubes (yes, I put a Heathkit "Twoer"
>>in the Cessna 120 using a surplus wwii dynamotor back in 1968).
>>
>>For those of you who have been sorta thinking that some day it would be nice
>>to have a ham rig in the airplane, for emergency if nothing else, but that
>>the morse code requirement kept you away, the FCC just did away with the
>>morse code for all license classes. Read about it here:
>>
>>http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/12/15/104/?nc=1
>>
>>
>>No more excuses for not having that ticket now, is there?
>
>Very cool, Jim, thanks. I got my Technician a couple of months ago
>(KI6GFO) and I wasn't going to take it any further. Maybe I'll take
>the next step.

You can take away my J-38 when you can pry it from my cold, dead
fingers, pilgrim!

Don

[Ron Natalie]

kontiki wrote:
> RST Engineering wrote:
>>
>> No more excuses for not having that ticket now, is there?
>>
>> {;-)
>
> Wow. Well that's a good thing. I got my extra class license
> back when you had to send and receive 20 WPM. On the other
> hand, I have no problem decoding VOR/LOC or NDM identifiers.
> A lot of the newer radios even decode those for you now.

Any body in the DC area ready for the test the last weekend
of February, I will be your DPE. I've been running the tests
at the VWS Winterfest for 15 years plus now.

The funniest VOR ID story was I was riding in the back of the
plane while my wife (also an Advanced class ham) was doing her
primary training in. The instructor and her had dialed up
the EMI VOR and they were getting screwy readings. They
actually had the ID turned up through out this whole process.
I finally had to point out to them that it was sending TEST
over and over.

[Denny]

When I took flying lessons the high tech radio in the airplane (the
only high tech thing on that old piece of junk) was a Narco SuperHomer
(if you ain't old enough to know what that is, turn the page)
Anyway, as we got into the XC portion of training the instructor would
tell me to fly to the xxx VOR.. I would consult the chart, dial up the
appropriate frequency, turn up the audio and listen to the CW id...
"Have you got it?", he would shout (we didn't know enough to use
headsets in those days)
"Yup."...
"How do you know?"
"It's sending xxx." I would reply...
He would glare at me and hollar, "Bull ****, you didn't copy it down."
Then he would laboriously use an old, well chewed, yellow pencil to
mark the dots and dashes on a scrap of paper... Then fight with the
chart to get it unfolded to the flap where the Morse Code was printed
out next to the letters of the alphabet... Sure enough it would turn
out to be xxx... He would glare at me and pout... Then give me the
lecture that if I didn't learn to do it right I was going to fail my
check ride... He must have done that 20 times during my training and
no amount of explaining that I could hear the morse code letters just
like he was tallking to me, satisified him... He never believed me,
"you're just lucky you tuned in the right vor but someday it's going to
bite you.", he would growl...
Gawd rest his grumpy soul... He was flying food to starving refugees in
Africa when rebels used a heat seeking missile to blow the wing off his
DC6... The fathers of the very same sonsabitches that are raping and
murdering over there right now...

denny / k8do

[Ron Natalie]

Denny wrote:

> He would glare at me and hollar, "Bull ****, you didn't copy it down."
> Then he would laboriously use an old, well chewed, yellow pencil to
> mark the dots and dashes on a scrap of paper..

My flight instructor tuned several stations and had me identify
them. After that he got off my case for not looking at the dots
and dashes on the paper.

[Jim Macklin]

Makes me think of the limerick about the telegraphers
daughter.



"Ron Natalie" > wrote in message
...
| Denny wrote:
|
| > He would glare at me and hollar, "Bull ****, you didn't
copy it down."
| > Then he would laboriously use an old, well chewed,
yellow pencil to
| > mark the dots and dashes on a scrap of paper..
|
| My flight instructor tuned several stations and had me
identify
| them. After that he got off my case for not looking at
the dots
| and dashes on the paper.

[Don Tuite]

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 11:40:46 -0600, "Jim Macklin"
> wrote:

>Makes me think of the limerick about the telegraphers
>daughter.
>
Did it?

Don

[Walt]

Thanks for the info, Jim. I have a "No Clue Tech" license and some
two-meter band radios. I'd thought about expanding my horizons but had
no desire to learn code.

Got kind of semi-learned in it several decades ago. IIRC, it was
because we had to learn how to use Consolan (sic, I can't remember how
to spell it) and it required knowing code. We never used it because
none of the airplanes I flew had the equipment, and it was being phased
out anyway. It was LORAN, and that old standby, celestial navigation,
followed by a really good DR position.

I need to start getting involved with the local ham radio club. Haven't
done that yet.

--Walt


RST Engineering wrote:
> I think most of you know that I've been operating aircraft ham radio mobile
> since the days of dynamotors and vacuum tubes (yes, I put a Heathkit "Twoer"
> in the Cessna 120 using a surplus wwii dynamotor back in 1968).
>
> For those of you who have been sorta thinking that some day it would be nice
> to have a ham rig in the airplane, for emergency if nothing else, but that
> the morse code requirement kept you away, the FCC just did away with the
> morse code for all license classes. Read about it here:
>
> http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/12/15/104/?nc=1
>
>
> No more excuses for not having that ticket now, is there?
>
> {;-)
>
>
> Jim
>
> (Of course, for those of us who thought that the code was long since
> anachronistic, it is sort of like the FAA dropping the requirement to know
> how to manipulate the manual spark advance on the magneto.)

[john smith]

Just remember, CW will cut through the static better than phone.
There are many times I have turned the squelch off to listen for an
identifier and been able to copy it through the static.
Others with me could often not detect it because they did not have the
training and experience.

[kontiki]

Don Tuite wrote:
>>Makes me think of the limerick about the telegraphers
>>daughter.
>>
>
> Did it?
>

-.. .-. .. -. -.- -- --- .-. .

--- ...- .- .-.. - .. -. .


:^)

[Jose[_1_]]

>>>Makes me think of the limerick about the telegraphers
>>> daughter.
>> Did it?
> -.. .-. .. -. -.- -- --- .-. .
>
> --- ...- .- .-.. - .. -. .

I can decode it, but I don't get it.

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Don Tuite]

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 17:41:22 -0500, Jose >
wrote:

>>>>Makes me think of the limerick about the telegraphers
>>>> daughter.
>>> Did it?
>> -.. .-. .. -. -.- -- --- .-. .
>>
>> --- ...- .- .-.. - .. -. .
>
>I can decode it, but I don't get it.
>
Maybe you're not old enough to have listened to Captain Midnight on
radio.

Don

[Jose[_1_]]

> Maybe you're not old enough to have listened to Captain Midnight on
> radio.

I've never listened to Captain Midnight. We won't talk about my age.
:) However, I am familiar with the fact that Ovaltine was touted on the
radio. Who is the telegrapher's daughter (and who is the telegrapher?)

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Don Tuite]

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 23:58:58 GMT, Jose >
wrote:

>> Maybe you're not old enough to have listened to Captain Midnight on
>> radio.
>
>I've never listened to Captain Midnight. We won't talk about my age.
>:) However, I am familiar with the fact that Ovaltine was touted on the
>radio. Who is the telegrapher's daughter (and who is the telegrapher?)
>
The version I know isn't a limerick. It goes:

She was just a telegrapher's daughter,
But she did-it, did-it, did-it.

I did have Captain Midnight secret decoder, too. (The 1949 model, with
the crossed rockets), but it was just a two-wheel
alphabet-substitution gizmo. You got it for two bits and the
waxed-paper seal from the top of a jar of Ovaltine. The daily
messages, alternated Ovaltine blather with warnings about Ivan Shark.

Don

[kontiki]

Don Tuite wrote:
>
> I did have Captain Midnight secret decoder, too. (The 1949 model, with
> the crossed rockets), but it was just a two-wheel
> alphabet-substitution gizmo. You got it for two bits and the
> waxed-paper seal from the top of a jar of Ovaltine. The daily
> messages, alternated Ovaltine blather with warnings about Ivan Shark.
>

And that is what was behind the "secret message". Who hasn't watched
"A Christmas Story" on TV at least once? I never listened to captain
midnight but I have seen this movie... the littel boy finally gets
his super "decoder' ring in the mail, decodes one of the secret Captain
Midnight messages he has saved and it says: "Drink more Ovaltine". haha

All the effort and that cool ring just to get an ad for ovaltine.
Maybe learning to read code is the "decoder ring" of the 21st century....

[Vaughn Simon]

"RST Engineering" > wrote in message
...
> the FCC just did away with the morse code for all license classes.

I think I feel a sudden cold breeze from the general direction of Hades! I
honestly thought I would never live long enough to see that happen.


By the way; I am also both a ham and a pilot, but I have never felt the urge to
combine the two activities. When the Hobbs is clicking, I want to be flying, I
can play with radios on the ground.

Vaughn (WB4UHB)

[Peter Dohm]

"RST Engineering" > wrote in message
...
> I think most of you know that I've been operating aircraft ham radio
mobile
> since the days of dynamotors and vacuum tubes (yes, I put a Heathkit
"Twoer"
> in the Cessna 120 using a surplus wwii dynamotor back in 1968).
>
> For those of you who have been sorta thinking that some day it would be
nice
> to have a ham rig in the airplane, for emergency if nothing else, but that
> the morse code requirement kept you away, the FCC just did away with the
> morse code for all license classes. Read about it here:
>
> http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/12/15/104/?nc=1
>
>
> No more excuses for not having that ticket now, is there?
>
> {;-)
>
>
> Jim
>
> (Of course, for those of us who thought that the code was long since
> anachronistic, it is sort of like the FAA dropping the requirement to know
> how to manipulate the manual spark advance on the magneto.)
>
>
Oh Drat! I was really depending on that excuse.

I tried to learn code a couple of times, and even made the mistake to trying
to listen to code tapes while falling asleep. It during a period that I had
suffered from some imsomnia and had difficulty dropping off to sleep--a
problem which was instantly cured!

Peter