On Wednesday, March 1, 2006 at 3:55:53 PM UTC-5, r wrote:

I came across a very old logbook yesterday, covering 1975 to 1979 (i.e.,
when I had my old callsign) and I tried just typing some callsigns into
the Google search box. An amazing number of people from over 30 years
ago are still active. Of course some G2's and early G3's have dropped
off the twig, but even amongst these the survival rate is good.
A few callsigns which might elicit some memories:
Gee three ocean sugar sugar - dropped off the twig a couple of years
ago. Gave me my first 70cm qso. I sent him an audio qsl card (i.e., an audio-cassette with the same words as a qsl card). I worked him several
times over the subsequent years, sometimes as DC/G8SHE/P, sometimes as GM8SHE/M, or GW8SHE/M, or EI3VYO/P, and every time he remembered that
I'd sent him an audio qsl card. Since then, I've realised that even celebrities appreciate this kind of thing. (G3OSS was a white stick operator).
G3UAN, now in the US. "G3UAN, running one watt from a Trio 2200" - I
used to hold long conversations with him. I had two beams, a Jaybeam 5
by 5 and an eight by eight. I was line of sight to him, and line of
sight to LO. I beamed up the eight by eight on him (listening on the
input) and put 100W into the five by five at the repeater. All the
squeakies used to pile on top of him, only to hear "your one watt is
making is into the repeater well old chap, a little bit of QRM but
you're coming in over that." This kept them puzzled for several weeks.
They piled on him partly because he had the audacity to try and use the repeater with one watt, but largely because he is a Jew. Anti-semitism
was a lot more accepted in the 1970s.
Various vehicles, tyres squealing, with G3PAQ hanging three-quarters of
the way out of window trying to DF pirates with a hand-held ZL-special. Chelsea Kay (G8LCK)'s motorbike leaking oil everywhere. He moved to the Netherlands later and I think did a spell on the Mi Amigo. I've lost
contact with him.
G3PWM, the Poor Working Man, inviting us all around after we'd all been
out on the piss. Naah, we thought. Later, we found that he was dying
of cancer and just wanted some amateur friends around as he died. The
young are cruel, and London can be cruel. We were both.
That's all I can remember at the moment.
r G8SHE

Hehehe....

G8LCK checking in from the mists of time.
Still alive, life is good.

Lee

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 22/09/2021 05:59, Arch Angle 117 wrote:

On Wednesday, March 1, 2006 at 3:55:53 PM UTC-5, r wrote:

I came across a very old logbook yesterday, covering 1975 to 1979 (i.e.,
when I had my old callsign) and I tried just typing some callsigns into
the Google search box. An amazing number of people from over 30 years
ago are still active. Of course some G2's and early G3's have dropped
off the twig, but even amongst these the survival rate is good.
A few callsigns which might elicit some memories:
Gee three ocean sugar sugar - dropped off the twig a couple of years
ago. Gave me my first 70cm qso. I sent him an audio qsl card (i.e., an
audio-cassette with the same words as a qsl card). I worked him several
times over the subsequent years, sometimes as DC/G8SHE/P, sometimes as
GM8SHE/M, or GW8SHE/M, or EI3VYO/P, and every time he remembered that
I'd sent him an audio qsl card. Since then, I've realised that even
celebrities appreciate this kind of thing. (G3OSS was a white stick
operator).
G3UAN, now in the US. "G3UAN, running one watt from a Trio 2200" - I
used to hold long conversations with him. I had two beams, a Jaybeam 5
by 5 and an eight by eight. I was line of sight to him, and line of
sight to LO. I beamed up the eight by eight on him (listening on the
input) and put 100W into the five by five at the repeater. All the
squeakies used to pile on top of him, only to hear "your one watt is
making is into the repeater well old chap, a little bit of QRM but
you're coming in over that." This kept them puzzled for several weeks.
They piled on him partly because he had the audacity to try and use the
repeater with one watt, but largely because he is a Jew. Anti-semitism
was a lot more accepted in the 1970s.
Various vehicles, tyres squealing, with G3PAQ hanging three-quarters of
the way out of window trying to DF pirates with a hand-held ZL-special.
Chelsea Kay (G8LCK)'s motorbike leaking oil everywhere. He moved to the
Netherlands later and I think did a spell on the Mi Amigo. I've lost
contact with him.
G3PWM, the Poor Working Man, inviting us all around after we'd all been
out on the piss. Naah, we thought. Later, we found that he was dying
of cancer and just wanted some amateur friends around as he died. The
young are cruel, and London can be cruel. We were both.
That's all I can remember at the moment.
r G8SHE

Hehehe....

G8LCK checking in from the mists of time.
Still alive, life is good.

Lee

yes radio hams always have always and will always will be
scumbags.....good example is the big farmer DMZ a conceited racist
homophobe and he looks like Alfred E. Neuman that the bloke from the
Mad Magazine ....

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 22/09/2021 05:59, Arch Angle 117 wrote:

On Wednesday, March 1, 2006 at 3:55:53 PM UTC-5, r wrote:

I came across a very old logbook yesterday, covering 1975 to 1979 (i.e.,
when I had my old callsign) and I tried just typing some callsigns into
the Google search box. An amazing number of people from over 30 years
ago are still active. Of course some G2's and early G3's have dropped
off the twig, but even amongst these the survival rate is good.
A few callsigns which might elicit some memories:
Gee three ocean sugar sugar - dropped off the twig a couple of years
ago. Gave me my first 70cm qso. I sent him an audio qsl card (i.e., an
audio-cassette with the same words as a qsl card). I worked him several
times over the subsequent years, sometimes as DC/G8SHE/P, sometimes as
GM8SHE/M, or GW8SHE/M, or EI3VYO/P, and every time he remembered that
I'd sent him an audio qsl card. Since then, I've realised that even
celebrities appreciate this kind of thing. (G3OSS was a white stick
operator).
G3UAN, now in the US. "G3UAN, running one watt from a Trio 2200" - I
used to hold long conversations with him. I had two beams, a Jaybeam 5
by 5 and an eight by eight. I was line of sight to him, and line of
sight to LO. I beamed up the eight by eight on him (listening on the
input) and put 100W into the five by five at the repeater. All the
squeakies used to pile on top of him, only to hear "your one watt is
making is into the repeater well old chap, a little bit of QRM but
you're coming in over that." This kept them puzzled for several weeks.
They piled on him partly because he had the audacity to try and use the
repeater with one watt, but largely because he is a Jew. Anti-semitism
was a lot more accepted in the 1970s.
Various vehicles, tyres squealing, with G3PAQ hanging three-quarters of
the way out of window trying to DF pirates with a hand-held ZL-special.
Chelsea Kay (G8LCK)'s motorbike leaking oil everywhere. He moved to the
Netherlands later and I think did a spell on the Mi Amigo. I've lost
contact with him.
G3PWM, the Poor Working Man, inviting us all around after we'd all been
out on the piss. Naah, we thought. Later, we found that he was dying
of cancer and just wanted some amateur friends around as he died. The
young are cruel, and London can be cruel. We were both.
That's all I can remember at the moment.
r G8SHE

Richard G8SHE Jan 7,2015 14:11

I think it’s a great shame that people can’t get their full licence, as
I did, in one *hour*.

I signed up for the RAE in 1975, sent off the examination fee, and
forgot about it.

You had to take a two-part test, which I think lasted about an hour, one
on radio theory and the other on the terms and conditions of the
licence. It was an essay-type exam. The theory part was mostly about
valves, which I had no intention of using, I’m scared of HT. A 12V
dc-powered transistorised wide-deviation FM transceiver on 2m was what I
was after. I was studying Physics at the time, so the theory part took
no time to swot up.

I remembered I was meant to be taking the exam at University College
London, just in time, and hadn’t even looked at the licencing part, I
read this up on the tube between Chiswick and the nearest tube station,
I think it was Russell Square. I passed both parts and got my G5 – in
those pre-CEPT days you callsign went by your country of origin, and as
an Irishman with a Class B I had a G5M not a G8 – in January 1986. This became a G8 when they changed the rules.

Sooooo simple.

I’ve never done morse.

I’ve never done a practical.

I’d say the multiple-choice questions for the current full licence are
often ambiguous. I’d probably fail if I took them now. At least with the essay-type exam I took, the examiner could tell if you knew what you
were talking about.

We truly have a disincentive licensing scheme in the UK. I would like to contrast this with the Canadian scheme, by which you take the Basic and
if you get 70% right you get a limited licence, and if you get 80% right
you get more privileges.

Now I will step off my soapbox,

Richard G8SHE

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wed, 22 Sep 2021 07:44:49 +0100
"Jim GM4DHJ ..." <kinvig.netta@ntlworld.com> wrote:

On 22/09/2021 05:59, Arch Angle 117 wrote:

On Wednesday, March 1, 2006 at 3:55:53 PM UTC-5, r wrote:

I came across a very old logbook yesterday, covering 1975 to 1979
(i.e., when I had my old callsign) and I tried just typing some
callsigns into the Google search box. An amazing number of people
from over 30 years ago are still active. Of course some G2's and
early G3's have dropped off the twig, but even amongst these the
survival rate is good. A few callsigns which might elicit some
memories: Gee three ocean sugar sugar - dropped off the twig a
couple of years ago. Gave me my first 70cm qso. I sent him an
audio qsl card (i.e., an audio-cassette with the same words as a
qsl card). I worked him several times over the subsequent years,
sometimes as DC/G8SHE/P, sometimes as GM8SHE/M, or GW8SHE/M, or
EI3VYO/P, and every time he remembered that I'd sent him an audio
qsl card. Since then, I've realised that even celebrities
appreciate this kind of thing. (G3OSS was a white stick operator).
G3UAN, now in the US. "G3UAN, running one watt from a Trio 2200" -
I used to hold long conversations with him. I had two beams, a
Jaybeam 5 by 5 and an eight by eight. I was line of sight to him,
and line of sight to LO. I beamed up the eight by eight on him
(listening on the input) and put 100W into the five by five at the
repeater. All the squeakies used to pile on top of him, only to
hear "your one watt is making is into the repeater well old chap,
a little bit of QRM but you're coming in over that." This kept
them puzzled for several weeks. They piled on him partly because
he had the audacity to try and use the repeater with one watt, but
largely because he is a Jew. Anti-semitism was a lot more accepted
in the 1970s. Various vehicles, tyres squealing, with G3PAQ
hanging three-quarters of the way out of window trying to DF
pirates with a hand-held ZL-special. Chelsea Kay (G8LCK)'s
motorbike leaking oil everywhere. He moved to the Netherlands
later and I think did a spell on the Mi Amigo. I've lost contact
with him. G3PWM, the Poor Working Man, inviting us all around
after we'd all been out on the piss. Naah, we thought. Later, we
found that he was dying of cancer and just wanted some amateur
friends around as he died. The young are cruel, and London can be
cruel. We were both. That's all I can remember at the moment.
r G8SHE

Hehehe....

G8LCK checking in from the mists of time.
Still alive, life is good.

Lee

yes radio hams always have always and will always will be
scumbags

totly...

.....good example is the big farmer DMZ a conceited racist
homophobe and he looks like Alfred E. Neuman that the bloke from the
Mad Magazine ....

There's a lot of it about.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 22/09/2021 12:01, Bernie wrote:

On Wed, 22 Sep 2021 07:44:49 +0100
"Jim GM4DHJ ..." <kinvig.netta@ntlworld.com> wrote:

On 22/09/2021 05:59, Arch Angle 117 wrote:

On Wednesday, March 1, 2006 at 3:55:53 PM UTC-5, r wrote:

I came across a very old logbook yesterday, covering 1975 to 1979
(i.e., when I had my old callsign) and I tried just typing some
callsigns into the Google search box. An amazing number of people
from over 30 years ago are still active. Of course some G2's and
early G3's have dropped off the twig, but even amongst these the
survival rate is good. A few callsigns which might elicit some
memories: Gee three ocean sugar sugar - dropped off the twig a
couple of years ago. Gave me my first 70cm qso. I sent him an
audio qsl card (i.e., an audio-cassette with the same words as a
qsl card). I worked him several times over the subsequent years,
sometimes as DC/G8SHE/P, sometimes as GM8SHE/M, or GW8SHE/M, or
EI3VYO/P, and every time he remembered that I'd sent him an audio
qsl card. Since then, I've realised that even celebrities
appreciate this kind of thing. (G3OSS was a white stick operator).
G3UAN, now in the US. "G3UAN, running one watt from a Trio 2200" -
I used to hold long conversations with him. I had two beams, a
Jaybeam 5 by 5 and an eight by eight. I was line of sight to him,
and line of sight to LO. I beamed up the eight by eight on him
(listening on the input) and put 100W into the five by five at the
repeater. All the squeakies used to pile on top of him, only to
hear "your one watt is making is into the repeater well old chap,
a little bit of QRM but you're coming in over that." This kept
them puzzled for several weeks. They piled on him partly because
he had the audacity to try and use the repeater with one watt, but
largely because he is a Jew. Anti-semitism was a lot more accepted
in the 1970s. Various vehicles, tyres squealing, with G3PAQ
hanging three-quarters of the way out of window trying to DF
pirates with a hand-held ZL-special. Chelsea Kay (G8LCK)'s
motorbike leaking oil everywhere. He moved to the Netherlands
later and I think did a spell on the Mi Amigo. I've lost contact
with him. G3PWM, the Poor Working Man, inviting us all around
after we'd all been out on the piss. Naah, we thought. Later, we
found that he was dying of cancer and just wanted some amateur
friends around as he died. The young are cruel, and London can be
cruel. We were both. That's all I can remember at the moment.
r G8SHE

Hehehe....

G8LCK checking in from the mists of time.
Still alive, life is good.

Lee

yes radio hams always have always and will always will be
scumbags

totly...

.....good example is the big farmer DMZ a conceited racist
homophobe and he looks like Alfred E. Neuman that the bloke from the
Mad Magazine ....

There's a lot of it about.

totly

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)