Ron,

We played a similar code game to foil our housemothers at the school for the 
blind in Connecticut.  We assigned numeric values to letters A through J, 
and mixed the numbers with the rest of the alphabet to make words we weren't 
supposed to say.  For example: 41mn was damn, etc.  I particularly liked 
29t38, which sounded like some sort of airplane model number, and 6u3k which 
sounded like a tube designation.  It drove the housemothers nuts--they knew 
we were up to something but they couldn't figure out what.

Steve

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ron Canazzi" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, April 30, 2011 20:44
Subject: Re: Dumbing down, was Re: Selling Gear Online


> Hi Group,
>
> I couldn't resist in chiming in here.  I and a few blind friends used to 
> use
> code of a sort.  For laughs and giggles, we used to get on a local 
> repeater
> and communicate in 'Braille' code.  Yes that's right; 'Braille code.' 
> When
> we knew a bunch of folks could be listening and when the repeater was not 
> in
> use, we would get on the repeater and say to one another: 'OK switch to
> Braille Mode.'  Then we would key up and start reciting messages in
> 'Braille' code by giving cell dot positions as in:
> '6 <small pause> 1-2-5 <small pause> 2-4 <larger pause> 6 <small pause>
> 2-4-5 <small pause> 1-3-5 <small pause> 1-5 <larger pause> 6 <small pause>
> 1-5-6 <small pause> 1 <small pause> 2-3-4-5 <small pause> 3 <small pause>
> 2-3-4 <larger pause> 1-3-6 <small pause> 1-2-3-4 <small pause > 2-3-6
> <un-key>'
> [which being interpreted is simply: 'Hi Joe What's up?']
>
> Boy that would drive some folks nuts.  Now every 5 minutes or so we would
> identify normally.  People used to ask us what we were doing and we said 
> we
> were using code.  They said 'that's not International Morse Code and it's
> illegal' to which we would say 'no it's not a secret code; it's Braille
> code. and we announce it as such'    We did that just a few times--since
> there were a bunch of old crotch breaths that used to ramble on about how
> evil things had gotten since they reduced (and then eliminated later) the
> code requirements and all those no good CB-ers were now on 2 meters.
>
> Actually, there was nothing illegal at all with what we were doing--since
> the FCC rules state that only secret codes were impermissible.  I wonder 
> if
> the old farts ever got the message that we were simply spoofing them; they
> wanted code so we gave them code--a standard non-secret recognizable
> code--that if anyone cared to look up the meaning, they could have 
> recorded
> it and played it back and with reasonable ease could have deciphered it.
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "John Miller" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, April 30, 2011 8:03 PM
> Subject: Re: Dumbing down, was Re: Selling Gear Online
>
>
> I know a few people who have just got the interest in CW out of nowhere 
> and
> started playing around with it.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Lou Kolb" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, April 30, 2011 6:28 PM
> Subject: Re: Dumbing down, was Re: Selling Gear Online
>
>
>> Some clubs have actually reported an increased interest in CW now that
>> it's
>> not manditory.  Speaking as some one who operates it a lot and for whom
>> it's
>> my favorite mode, I hope that's not just wishful thinking.  Sure it's
>> outmoded by other digital modes but it sure is a fun and relaxing skill 
>> to
>> exercise.  Lou WA3MIX
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Steve Dresser" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Saturday, April 30, 2011 5:04 PM
>> Subject: Re: Dumbing down, was Re: Selling Gear Online
>>
>>
>>> Buddy,
>>>
>>> Despite the no-code license, there seems to be a die-hard bunch of
>>> devoted
>>> CW operators.  If we want to look at why ham radio is dying (and I think
>>> it
>>> is to some extent), it's because there are so many other ways to
>>> communicate--cell phones and the Internet, for example.  All that said,
>>> though, people seem to find ways to enjoy the hobby if they're truly
>>> interested.
>>>
>>> Steve
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Buddy Brannan" <[log in to unmask]>
>>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>> Sent: Saturday, April 30, 2011 16:26
>>> Subject: Dumbing down, was Re: Selling Gear Online
>>>
>>>
>>>> Oh boy, here we go. So, passing a code test pases on interest in hf? =
>>>> That's a bit convoluted. I agree that the tests have gotten easier. I =
>>>> was also one of the first to get up in arms when we got our first =
>>>> codeless license. I was, however, also one of the first to admit that I
>>>> =
>>>> was wrong about the codeless tech brnging an end to my beloved hobby. =
>>>> The hobby's been dying now since the introduction of the Novice license
>>>> =
>>>> in 1951, if not before. And it's still alive and well. You don't think 
>>>> =
>>>> the difficulty in erecting hf antennas, owing to cc&r's and HOA's, 
>>>> might
>>>> =
>>>> not have something to do with the seemling lack of interest in HF
>>>> gear?=20=
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I, for one, have observed that when people talk about "dumbing down", =
>>>> what that really means is "Things aren't the same as they were back =
>>>> in*my(*day." Believe me, I can be as curmudgeonly as the next guy. I =
>>>> didn't dub myself "the world's youngest old fart" years ago for 
>>>> nothing,
>>>> =
>>>> you know. But change is inevitable. Roll with it.=20
>>>>
>>>> And, more to the point, has anyone else noticed that the people who =
>>>> often holler the loudest about how the tests are dumbed down and we =
>>>> should still have a code requirement, aren't cw ops? Interesting.=20
>>>> --
>>>> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
>>>> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Apr 30, 2011, at 4:17 PM, Tom Brennan wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Steve, unfortunately we're seeing the result of the no code and =
>>>> dumbing down of
>>>>> the tests.  Now we've got a bunch of techs that are only interested in
>>>>> =
>>>> 2m
>>>>> repeaters.  I'd think that online selling of gear would be fairly easy
>>>>> =
>>>> either
>>>>> through Ebay or even through this list or sales lists run by sites =
>>>> such as QRZ
>>>>> etc.
>>>>>=20
>>>>> Tom
>>>>>=20
>>>>>=20
>>>>> Tom Brennan  KD5VIJ, CCC-A/SLP
>>>>> web page http://titan.sfasu.edu/~g_brennantg/sonicpage.html
>>>>>=20
>>>>> On Sat, 30 Apr 2011, Steve Matzura wrote:
>>>>>=20
>>>>>> Date: Sat, 30 Apr 2011 14:56:01 -0400
>>>>>> From: Steve Matzura <[log in to unmask]>
>>>>>> Reply-To: For blind ham radio operators =
>>>> <[log in to unmask]>
>>>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>>>> Subject: Selling Gear Online
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>> Where's the best place to go to put some gear for sale online? =
>>>> Someone
>>>>>> I know has a relative who's giving up the hobby because they'll be
>>>>>> moving into an assisted living facility and will have no space or
>>>>>> other wherewithal to work the hobby other than via either a handheld
>>>>>> or a mobile rig with a magmount out the window. I'm told he have =
>>>> quite
>>>>>> a modern HF station, but have no specifics as to what gear is =
>>>> actually
>>>>>> involved. Funny thing, the ham wanted to donate it to a local club or
>>>>>> school, but the few takers he could find were only interested in
>>>>>> VHF/UHF gear. Any recommendations greatly appreciated and will be
>>>>>> passed along.
>>>>>>=20
>>>>
>