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And you weren't at the Vegas TT National event earlier this year? I'm very disappointed. That's awesome. I run U2 in my car for TT, XP for AutoX. Maybe we'll meet up at LVMS at some point, or one of the Cali tracks

Amen to that!

Here’s your chance. The FCC is asking for people to make suggestions for how to improve the regulations:

I don't know, Steve. Lawyers and legalese is often more the problem than the solution. (That goes for laws as much as regulations.) Part 97 doesn't seem to have so much vague language. Hams don't have to argue regulations much, but they do apply the perceived tradition without bothering to see if that is what the regs actually say.

Great job!

Ok, I've got Zoom set up and I've taken the Practice Test a couple more times, Scored 32/35 and 34/35. I think I'm ready. Just need to set up a time to take the test remotely.

Not unless you intend to make something mandatory. The single largest problem with regulations is that people don’t know how to read them. Words have very specific legal implications, no more and no less. Lawyers are trained in how to interpret those meanings. Most other people read something into them that doesn’t exist. I am a member of the NFPA Pyrotechnic Technical Committee. The amount of work and time it takes to add, subtract, or change a few lines of NFPA sample code is immense but the end goal is always that there be one and only one interpretation.

I've used the QRZ practice exams, HamStudy and ham exam.All three work.

A different default squelch for each channel would be good but sometimes that isn't enough because reception varies (weather related), especially when vehicle or pedestrian mobile.

This is my Time Trial and Autocross car with radio comm. The Antenna is an Antenex Non-Groundplane Phantom.

Yes, all FM radios need to have a fully variable squelch, analog not digital. Or like the power settings are individually saved for each channel slot the squelch should be too instead of a broad squelch over the band.

The newest Baofeng I have, K5+ (a 5RM with a different label), still requires using software to add/delete skip. My TYT UV88 ( a ham version of GM30) is the same and it even has starting scan as a menu function (f-1-f) rather than a long button press. My Yaesu ham mobile has it as an accessible menu function that can be changed as needed. There is no good reason to make it via software only. And they need to bring back squelch knob too!

Don’t forget: MURS 1-3 are narrowband FM.

Several days before the repeater owner shut down Shaw Butte and Towers 575, there was a lot of silly nonsense going and more than likely it spilled over to Towers 600. It usually does and the Towers 600 owner usually shuts down his repeater.

Oh well, I really wish we knew what was going on.

FWIW- my experiences with this Short Read of the Block 0x0000 issue: Had 4 Diddy DB-25G radios in front of me. Using Chirp in a Windows 10 PC, with the provided Prolific Pgm Cable, was able to READ (Upload from Radio) from only one (out of 4 radios). Massaged the codeplug file, then saved to hard drive. Then was able to Successfully upload, (SEND TO Radio), the code plug... to ALL 4 RADIOS. Closed Chirp, walked away. Re Opened Chirp, opened the saved Diddy codeplug file, and was able to upload (SEND to RADIO) the file. When using the provided Diddy DB-25G CPS software.... I was able to Read the radio, make a change, then UPload to the radio with success. The Diddy CPS software is kind of Crude. Chirp is 10x easier to do biz with, IMHO. At first I thought the provided Prolific PGM Cable was the fault, but other posts reveal that the FDTI chipset cable performed the same- using Windows 10. So, for now, I will not Amazon a new cable. BTW- the Prolific USB Programming cable does not work with Windows 11.... not plug n play- anyway. Anyone know the status of a FIX to the Cant Always Download from DB-25G issue using Chirp? FWIW.... Regards, Ricky

I think you haven't been here long enough yet.

Many of my radios do. I use scan skip all the time, though they call it Scan Add. I frequently will forget what I've skipped untill I look in chirp but I definitely use it. These all have ability to set skip via front panel. KG-Q10H, KG-935H, KG-935G+, UV9PX, AT-779UV, IC 2730A. I'm not sure about Boofwangs.

Ding ding ding We have a wiener.

I went through and read the questions(with the answers) this morning then took the practice test. 1st test I scored 33/35 and the 2nd time I got 35/35. I need to make sure I can get Zoom installed on my MX-Linux set-up so I can schedule a Remote Test for sometime in the near future. Then after I pass(thinking positive here, LOL) I can use my FRN to get my Tech HAM Lic. I just hope I don't become one of those "Sad HAMS" that Randy is always talking about.

Words like "shall" and "must" could be used instead of recommended and should.

Take them out of the scan list. I do that one one guy decided he's going to blab all day on the repeater. On my radio it's just an on/off toggle on that channel slot.

I don't get into tech much but I have to say, AI is very impressive. One could probably attach Title 47 to AI and ask it to sum it up in 5-10 pages and get more from that reading than the current. That might take a paid version of AI and not the free one I use. After working for a state gov't for over 30 years, I believe things are written gray on purpose to be able to interpret as they see fit. It may seem and look "simply stated" if you look at just that sentence, one dimensional, but when you read on, other statements counter that "simply stated" sentence creating confusion, debate, fights, protests, and anarchy. Ultimately people then conclude there own interpretation. It may not be they are looking to cheat, but choosing an interpretation that works for them.

I don't know who Grok is (AI I suppose - hate that stuff). But the problem would be what we see here all the time - people cannot comprehend the meaning of even simply stated rules, and/or they only want to look for ways to cheat. And, preconceived notions of what one thinks the regs say often can't be overcome just by reading the wording.

Since the radios typically don't allow changing the scan-skip setting from the front panel or mic, I started temporarily changing the receive tone (for example, up one to block) on radios that allow that for memory channels (UV5Rs don't). May need to keep a note handy to remember to change it back. We shouldn't have to improvise a skip function, it should be as easy as starting and stopping a scan.