TEST YOUR

'HAM-A-BILITY'

About 20 years ago  Wayne Green wrote an interesting editorial in his magazine. This editorial  contained a test to determine what you have done as a ham.
I've re-formatted the test to fit in the 21st century.  

As you can see there are 2 categories, 5 point and 10 point questions. Keep track of your points, at the end of the test there will be a guide to help you see how your Ham-Radio activities measure up.

These are the 5  point questions:
 

Have at least 1 CW QSO a month
Had at least 1 QSO on RTTY
Had at least 1 Digital Mode QSO (packet,amtor,etc)
Participated in a Slow Scan TV contact
Participated in a Fast Scan TV contact
Participated in an EME or Meteor Scatter contact
Participated in any Contest
Handle at least 1 message (QTC) a year
Built a 'home-brew' Antenna
Had at least 1 satellite(oscar,mir,iss) QSO
Participated in ARRL Field Day
Earned any certificate, i.e., WAC,WAS,DXCC,WAZ  

Here are the questions worth 10 points

Built a major component in your station:i.e. receiver, transmitter, power supply, antenna tuner. (store bought antennas don't count)

Finished in the top 5, in your category, in any contest you've entered

Been on a DX'pedition

Written an article in any ham publication

Put on a presentation for a radio club or been an officer in a radio club

Earned a code-profiency certificate

  As you see there is a total of 120 points 60 points in each group. The questions are related to everyday events in ham radio. The nice part of this hobby there is something for everyone. The purpose of the test is to give you an awareness of the various aspects of our hobby and more importantly to see if you've even tried any of them. There were a couple of questions centered around CW. Many of you think CW is dead, it's not, it's still a basic requirement. Many of the newcomers to ham radio are not aware of all the different parts there are in our hobby, I guess it's because there are very few real "Elmers" left to guide them along.
If you've been licensed for more than 5 years and you scored less than 20 points, why not try some of the things in the test. You might even find something new you enjoy. Our hobby is taking a route toward 'doom' unless we make the newcomers aware of all the things there are to do other than telling their spouse, on the local repeator, they are coming home from work. If you scored more than 80 points you get a big "Atta-Boy" and please feel free to take a 'Gold-Star' from petty cash. 
If your score was 45 or better then you've been very active, why not now try and improve your score 5 or 10 points. Bring it up at your local radio club meeting and challenge your buddies to improve their scores. Also show the new hams all the challenges and fun available in this GREAT hobby.

This page was first designed and constructed by N7MAL.  On 10/19/97  

I have another web page called CW-IS........ CLICK HERE FOR N7MAL CW-IS

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