Phil Landmeier @shuttersparks@social.cleverlibre.org

@LGsMom @SrRochardBunson @sergio_101 Yes. You definitely don't need a license to practice Morse code. Sending is the easy part. Receiving is the trick. There are smartphone apps for code practice. You can also do what I did in the beginning which is take any shortwave radio and tune in slow QSOs and copy them. The 40 meter band is particularly good for this. Listen around 7048 to 7060 kHz, but you'll also find slow conversations elsewhere.

I also recommend avoiding electronic code generation like paddles and electronic gear until you're comfortable sending well formed code with a straight key. Then move on to a cootie or sideswiper, or an electronic keyer as shown in the photo above where a chip generates the code for you.

On Android, a good code practice app is the one by IZ2UUF. You can find it in the play store.

@SrRochardBunson @sergio_101 @LGsMom Great to hear. If you intend to learn Morse code, the earlier you start dabbling with it, the better. Morse is no longer required and there are zillions of other voice and digital modes. So you don't have to learn Morse.

It's just ironic to me, an old timer, that what used to be the most off-putting part of getting a license has today become something people do voluntarily. No one imagined that happening back in the '80s and 90s when the arguments over dropping the code requirement were raging. Haha. Human nature never ceases to surprise.

As a Morse code fan, this outcome makes me very happy.

@clacke @jxself True. I'd be okay with the URLs changing. But that's me. If someone is using Mastodon like a blogging platform to publish longer articles with permanence in mind, it's a problem.

@weezmgk @SrRochardBunson @sergio_101 @LGsMom Well, I used to be a 73 stickler until I learned that Hiram Percy Maxim said 73s when speaking. Hah. So I got over it.

@SrRochardBunson @sergio_101 @LGsMom Oh, I didn't answer your question specifically. If you pass the required test(s) the examiner will forward the paperwork to the Federal Communications Commission and you will be issued an official license of the proper class and a call sign that's unique in the world.

If you upgrade you'll get a new official license. If you don't like your call sign, there is a vanity call program. Depending on your license class you can apply for a different and/or shorter call. 1x2 and 2x1 callsigns like mine are limited to Extra Class license holders.

73 DE KW2P

(73 is ham lingo for "best wishes", DE means "from". Most ham lingo is ancient and dates from the days of telegraph and early radio, which was all Morse Code.)

@SrRochardBunson @sergio_101 @LGsMom Hahaha. Years ago, the initiation ceremony was a sort of 3rd degree. Morse code was required. 5 WPM (words per minute) for the entry level licenses of Novice and Tech, 13 WPM for General Class, 20 WPM for Extra Class. There was also Advanced between General and Extra.

Each level involves increasingly difficult tests. Today, the code requirement has been eliminated and the tests are easier but still require study if you intend to pass the tests.

You should be able to find a local ham radio club near you and VEs (volunteer examiners) who can give you pointers and will adminster the tests. (Back in the day there were no VEs and you had to go to an FCC office for a scheduled test, and take the code and written tests for the class of license you were going after.)

There are many courses and books published to help you study for the tests but no Morse Code is required. Today, Morse Code is voluntary.

When the code requirement was removed, many of us thought it would come to a bad end and that Morse Code would die out. Morse Code did fade down for a number of years and then a new generation came along and realized how useful and fun it is. It's hard to learn. That's a fact. There's no shortcut. A high IQ won't help you with Morse. The learning curve is the steepest of anything I've ever learned, like straight up. But persistence does the job. You have to do it and do it until it becomes natural. It's exactly like learning to play piano or any other musical instrument. But boy is it fun. Once you get over the hump, Morse code is a blast.

Anyway, locate a ham or ham club near you and ask for assistance. Tell them you need an Elmer to help you along. They'll know what that means.

@clacke @jxself That's one solution but it seems to me the best solution is to support importing your stuff from the old instance.

@sergio_101 @SrRochardBunson @LGsMom

And for practice and just plain enjoyable QSOs there's SKCC. I highly recommend it. All 27,000 of us are dedicated to hand-formed CW using straight key, sideswiper, or bug, and to my knowledge, all of us are willing to slow down as slow as you need.

I've had the privilege of being the first CW QSO for several newbies at speed as low as 3 WPM. Most members QSO at around 12 to 16 WPM but will gladly slow down instantly for you.

The group is very active and we have a sked page where you can arrange QSOs with people around the world on the spot.

You can read all about it here: https://www.skccgroup.com/

@Sue_AS It sure will.

@opsnlops You can do it! I resisted SMD into the 90s but then in the 2000s started messing with them and found it's not that hard. You just have to develop a few new soldering skills and tricks. I was motivated to do it because radio frequency stuff really benefits from tiny capacitors and no lead inductance.

Now I don't hesitate to use them even on one-off experiments where I cut the board traces with a Dremel. Lol. If you're going to hand solder with a conventional iron a "third hand" like welders use is useful to hold the chip cap down for the first solder joint. Another method I use is to tin the component and the spot where it goes, then reflow it. Once you have one joint stuck on there, the other is easy. For SOICs I solder two opposite corner leads to hold it in place then solder the rest.

Or you can do it right and use hot air reflow, which I've never bothered to do.

@jxself Hmm, I've bookmarked this to see if any answers appear. I've moved instances once and it worked fine, however I didn't care about the posts I left behind. In future I probably will care.

I know you can export your posts and media by "requesting an archive". The file produced is in ActivityPub format so might be importable. My instance shows no option to import posts and media. I wonder if an admin can do it to restore your account as it was on the old instance.

@rigeldyesshall I don't think it's possible. In the U.S., the law is all about protecting individuals, not the public good. So the government is powerless to do something like this, powerless to do the obvious. Hell, we can't even prosecute the primary instigator of the Jan 6 insurrection.

@mog7546 It's okay. She has plenty of money from the Saudis. For what, I'd rather not know.

Storm kills at least six in Alabama.

https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-natural-disasters-alabama-montgomery-selma-37e05f4ae4bc39a61a50243c92b2b82f?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=TopNews&utm_campaign=position_01

@weezmgk Well, that would make me happier. But the guys I talked to were nonplussed. They said the repeater up on the eastern flank of the volcano often catches tropo to Los Angeles. I dunno.