[Myrddin]

As of 1976 I had my FCC First Class Radiotelephone license with ship's RADAR endorsement and Advanced class (13 WPM). I was doing OK on CW up to 18 WPM. Just didn't have the patience to screw with it. Once the CW requirement was dropped, I spent a couple weeks of study and passed the Extra Class. I just turned 61 and I and still enjoy designing hardware, software and data protocols. My latest rig in hand is the Yaesu FT2DR (C4FM capable). Nobody in my area is doing anything with it. The openSPOT will gateway C4FM if you set your "digital callsign" to your DMR ID. That makes the radio more usable.

The TCP/IP development work I did with Phil Karn (KA9Q) in the mid-80's was a major influence on my "day job". It went hard over into datacom. X.25 on Amdahl, TCP/IP on UNIX. Kernel device driver work for HP-UX, UNISYS and Linux variants. It's fun when your hobby gooses your skillset at work.

[Reno89519]

Got mine around 1978, barely passed on the speed. Dropped it all when I went into the Navy in 79.

[Strac6]

I also had a First Phone, so I could work as Peter The Meter Reader on the overnight shift at a local radio station. Went to a test prep school that taught the test.

Haven’t done a think with my General since I got it. All us kids hung out with Max Robinson, K4ODS, in the early 60s, and that’s where we got our theory basics that served me well 50 years later when I took the General test.

73s.