[TA Forbes]

Terry/Xray: thanks for both the info and the corrections with respect to the jargon.

I've been into this radio thing since the '60s but as you can see I am pretty green when it comes to HAM, oops, I mean ham stuff.

I saw that there are sites that deal with getting your Technician's Ticket. Although Code is no longer required, I actually used to know code as it was often the best way to get messages across long distances using a Military PRC-47 and later PRC 104 HF radio. The 104 only put out 20W max, but you could send and receive traffic over hundreds and even thousands of miles provided you understood wave propagation and antenna construction and orientation. My best was from a country on the South American Continent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Funny the stuff you have to do during a "live" operation. Satillite Comm equipment (SATCOM) was a godsend, especially when the "higher-ups" allowed us to use them and their respective channels on distant operations.