TID: Mystic BBS 1.12 A48   
   MSGID: 1:226/44 6fc34c31   
   REPLY: 1:135/250@fidonet 68f84aed   
   TZUTC: -0500   
   On 21 Oct 2025, Rug Rat said the following...   
       
    RR> I also always thought it was funny.  The General had theory in it that   
    RR> would have been great to learn and viable for the Tech, the same with   
    RR> the Extra, such as satelite operation.  It even has one large chapter   
    RR> dealing with VHF/UHF theory and operation.  I am not upgrading to Extra   
    RR> so I can know more about VHF/UHF...   
      
   Digging up some slightly older posts... Sorry about that.   
      
   Anyway, I absolutely agree. Some of what was in the Extra test pool would have   
   been fantastic to know when I was just getting started. (Yes, I know --   
   there's nothing stopping me from "reading ahead" as it were, but it's really   
   hard to know what you need to know without being able to practically apply   
   much of anything first.)   
      
   I always thought it was curious that we test and license the way we do. I'd   
   suggest that radio is slightly less dangerous for the public at large than   
   driving a car, yet we have thousands of inexperienced drivers on the road   
   before they get their licenses.   
      
   I understand the idea of keeping a ham-in-training to bands and modes that   
   cause the least amount of interference to the fewest number of people, but   
   there really should be some allocation to allow a tech somewhere on a reliable   
   HF band beyond CW. Open up a 25kHz stretch of 20m for phone, or at least allow   
   some of the data allocation so they can play FT8 and get their feet wet with   
   other digital modes.   
      
   I'm sure there are downsides to that, but given the gradual decline of radio   
   as a hobby, it feels like it's more good than harm.   
      
   73,   
   WZ8Q   
      
   ... The secret of getting ahead is mastering the guillotine.   
      
   --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/32)   
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