Scott
I have been following this thread with considerable interest and have 
decided to add my two cents worth.

I got my ticket back in 1966 as a "Conditional" class licensee. Back then if 
you lived 75 or more miles away from the closest FCC office the General 
class exam could be administered by another local ham. I passed both the 
written and the 13 WPM CW exam. Later, sometime in the early 1970's, the FCC 
grandfathered all Conditional class licensees up to General class. I was 
happy to stay within the band limits for my class of license until earlier 
this spring, something like 46 years. Then, something happened. My wife had 
gotten her General class ticket 4 years ago and decided to try for the Extra 
class before the question pool changed in July of this year, well, she 
passed. As a result, I decided that "If she can then I should"! I studied 
the material, including the math, and was successful.
I do like the extra band priviledges particularly on the CW bands, but, 
mostly I became an Extra class licensee because it was there, and, now I can 
go anywhere. Good luck
Best 73's,
Albert, WA7FXB
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Scott Howell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2012 6:27 AM
Subject: To upgrade or not


> All,
>
> I happen to have a conversation with a friend who like myself is working =
> on upgrading from General to Extra. The conversation turned to whether =
> upgrading from General to Extra would really be of any value. Now I am =
> really interested in your thoughts, but I do not really want to hear a =
> bunch of crap either because I know there are some really strong =
> opinions on expanding knowledge etc. You can learn and expand knowledge =
> without upgrading your ticket obviously, so that is not the issue.
> THe conversation surrounded the question of added privileges in =
> operating in lower parts of the HF band. So, the question is beyond the =
> added band privileges and the fact you can call yourself and Extra:
> (1) Why did you upgrade and
> (2) Does it really make that much of a difference?
> I think one of his issues was learning the technical material such as =
> the math etc. would be a challenge and since he really is not interested =
> in building equipmentt. He obviously appreciates his responsibility for =
> operating his equipment and maintaining his equipment so he operates as =
> a responsible Ham.
> Again, I am not looking to start a hostile thread over appliance =
> operators vs those who want to learn the technical knowledge. So, before =
> you respond, step back and consider the topic before just firing off =
> comments based on your initial reaction because those comments may not =
> be constructive. Hey not everyone feels the need to upgrade and I =
> personally see nothing wrong with that. SOme are more interested in the =
> communications skills aspect of operating than the technical side as has =
> been observed on this list in the not to distant past.
> THanks in advance for your thoughtful consideration and responses.
>
> 73
> Scott/N3BYY