On the 9th day of Hamming, my radio gave to me:

9 modes on digital, 8 the Hamfest Start Time, 7 Nights Of Net Logs, 6
Meter Clean Sweep, 5 Band DXCC. Four sets of antennas, three different
radios, two license upgrades, and a license, callsign from the FCC.

Operating digital is the beauty of ham radio, as you can go farther on
that mode than with voice, although many hams refer to voice as "phone".
Nine such modes are CW (also known as Morse Code), Packet, APRS,
radioteletype (also known as RTTY or "ritty"...there are at least 2 big
RTTY contests each year), PSK31, JT65, Amateur Television, MT63, and
Amtor (Amateur Teleprinting Over Radio).

There are many more modes in the hobby...digital and otherwise...but
for now, this will do. And, the digital modes can be used on the
"digital portions" of nearly all amateur radio bands available to your
license class...digital modes are not just for HF.

As a side note, when I was still able to have an HF setup and indoor
antennas at my residence; one day, on 20 meters, using an indoor antenna,
with just 15 watts of power, inside my apartment with the windows closed,
I worked a station in Utah, 1000 miles away, on JT-65!! Plus, I was
seeing other stations on the other side of the world!!

And, one time, I saw a demo of PSK31, where you had around 10 QSO's in a
narrow bandwidth space. Various software programs, freeware and shareware,
are available, for these digital modes.

For those who don't want to "talk" on ham radio, digital is the mode for
you!! Depending on the mode of operation, and the software used...the
computer will do the logging, and identify your station for you. You just
type in what you want to say.

Awhile back, I heard of 2 amateur radio operators in the Hawaiian Islands,
who could not get a decent voice QSO. So, they went up into the digital
portion of the 70 centimeter band, fired up their computers, software, and
went to PSK31 mode. They reportedly "never had such a good QSO".

While PSK31 is not "error free", as packet radio is, you can still get a
good idea as to the conversation, with what is being typed.

On the 10th day of Hamming, my radio gave to me:

10 Different Wouff Hongs, 9 modes on digital, 8 the Hamfest Start Time,
7 Nights Of Net Logs, 6 Meter Clean Sweep, 5 Band DXCC. Four sets of
antennas, three different radios, two license upgrades, and a license,
callsign from the FCC.

Founded by T.O.M. ("The Old Man", W1AW, Hiram Percy Maxim himself), The
Royal Order Of The Wouff Hong is a "secret society", with the "device"
to be used as a mode of discipline and correction on "lids" (ham radio operators with poor on the air operating habits). No explanation or
details are known on how the discipline, or the mode of discipline, is
to be administered to the miscreant amateur radio operator.

You must be a paid up ARRL member...either for the current year, or an
ARRL Life Member...to participate; and the initiation ceremony is done
only at ARRL Division or National Conventions.

There are no dues, no officers, and no politics in The Royal Order Of
The Wouff Hong. And, there's nothing degrading or vulgar during the
ceremony. You will do a lot of laughing...plus, all of the participants
get a very nice certificate afterwards. I personally have gone through
it twice, and look forward to doing so again.

As for the laughter; for both the Wouff Hong Ceremony, as was for this net...you better "have an empty bladder", as it were, before the
ceremony starts. While that wasn't my problem, I laughed until I hurt,
and thought I was going to cry!!

On the 11th day of Hamming, my radio gave to me:

11 New Harmonics, 10 Different Wouff Hongs, 9 modes on digital, 8 the
Hamfest Start Time, 7 Nights Of Net Logs, 6 Meter Clean Sweep, 5 Band
DXCC. Four sets of antennas, three different radios, two license
upgrades, and a license, callsign from the FCC.

While not all ham radio operators will get married and have a family... especially a large one...and the total of harmonics may be more like one
or two, instead of eleven; the bottom line is that we need to get new
blood into the hobby...to replace those who are leaving the hobby by
either letting their licenses lapse...or they die (becoming Silent Keys).

I've personally been at license exam sessions, as a VE Session Liaison,
as well as an administering VE, where the entire family (father, mother,
and children) have all gotten their Technician Class license in the same day...talk about spreading the happiness around of the new licensees!!
It was truly a joy to sign the CSCE's of the newly licensed family of
hams!!

Basically, the youth of today are the amateur radio operators of
tomorrow. In short, if we don't replace these operators that are no
longer in the hobby, attrition will kill ham radio...no pun intended.

On the 12th day of Hamming, my radio gave to me:

12 Hours at Field Day, 11 New Harmonics, 10 Different Wouff Hongs, 9
modes on digital, 8 the Hamfest Start Time, 7 Nights Of Net Logs, 6
Meter Clean Sweep, 5 Band DXCC. Four sets of antennas, three different
radios, two license upgrades, and a license, callsign from the FCC.

Always held on the 4th full weekend of June each year, ARRL Field Day
is a chance for ham radio operators to set up portable operations in a
wide variety of locations, running on emergency power for 24 hours,
and to show the public, that truly..."when all else fails, ham radio is
there".

A similar event, known as Winter Field Day, is held during the latter
part of January...usually the last full weekend of the month. Further
details are available at http://www.winterfielday.com, and on Facebook
at https://www.facebook.com/groups/winterfieldday/
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
* Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (316:36/20)