Dear Editor,
I received my call sign KN6LIW on January 1958. I have been a licensed amateur radio operator since then. I was pleasantly surprised to read your article informing the public about amateur radio and how they can get involved in this fascinating and useful hobby. I credit my experience in this hobby as being instrumental in helping me becoming interested in math and science at a young age.
The first license I received was a novice license. I was able to qualify for this by having another amateur radio operator who possessed a general class license certify that I was able to send and receive morse code at five words per minute. I had to take a written test that was proctored by a non relative that was at least 21 years old. To qualify for my own general class license a few months later, I was required to appear before an FCC(Federal Communications Commission) official who was convinced that I was able to send and receive morse code at 13 words per minute. I was also required to pass a written test that was more difficult than the one I had taken before qualifying for the novice license. Even though taking this test was an intimidating experience, I passed it the first time I took it. After having a general class license for two years, I was qualified to take the amateur. This license is the highest class amateur radio license available and required that I convince an FCC test official that I could send and receive morse code at 20 words per minute. The written test consisted of multiple choice questions plus my ability to actually draw a number of diagrams of electrical circuits of devices used in transmission of radio signals.
My ability to deal with intimidating governmental officials when I was a teenager, prepared me to take other tests where other government officials were involved and not feel intimidated at all. These tests included medical licenses examinations, FAA examinations and several bar examinations. In other words, I feel that amateur radio helped me in ways that I would never expected it would.
Dr. W. David
Herbert ESQ
Billings,Mt
