The Rise of the Part-Time Publisher

Wall Street Journal: A Hot Job for Hard Times: The Life-Insurance Agent
http://tinyurl.com/y9v9aye

When I went into the insurance and financial service/product sales five years ago I never expected that it would ever again regain the stature it had when my father was in it (along with Robert Young in Father Knows Best) in the 50s and 60s. But if you believe the WSJ article linked above it looks like guys and gals like me are one rung higher on the food chain than lawyers... and that people are again seeing financial sales in a new (and better) light!

The book biz and the Jaya123.com biz are great... and fun... but it is very difficult to make a full-time sustainable income in a one-earner household.... especially if one's first, current, and very expensive wife believes that Nordstroms is her closet!

Publishing was so, so, so much easier in the 80s and 90s before the internet killed off so much of non-fiction publishing. Back then if you wanted to fix your bicycle or plant a garden you bought a book on bike repair or gardening. Not anymore. Today you go to a website where you will find a video on how to take apart your exact bike or a website with an interactive fill-in-the-form program on how to design and plant a garden in the exact amount of space you have.

Everyone is sitting on the edge of their chair hoping and praying that ebooks will be their salvation. I too am hopeful, but not as optimistic as others.

Bottom line, ebooks is the great disintermediation "agent" of the publishing biz. It started with micro computers and page layout software and then graphic software such that almost anyone with a few thousand dollars could get an ISBN and enter the industry. It's been a good 20 years for many independent publishers, but the past three or four have not been so good. There is too much inventory chasing too few readers. And given the competition from video games and online movies, reading has not fared well in the market place.

Everyone is writing on the economics of the ebook business model and I don't want to get into that bag of worms. However, as disintermediation takes place and everyone and their dog becomes an ebook publisher it will be those publishers who can sell and market who will do the best in a crowded field. Many will have to take classes in sales and marketing using so-called "social media."

In the old days you could publish your book on fixing bikes and get it in the bookstores with little difficulty and most often enough people would browse the shelf and buy your book... assuming it was any good. The foot-traffic was there. There wasn't a whole lot of marketing one had to do besides writing some press pieces and getting them out to the bicycle media.

That train has left the station and another is not going to come again anytime soon.

So how are you going to differentiate YOUR bike repair book... from the others? One way will be to make it multimedia.... incorporating music and videos... but that is going to be expensive... and when you consider we're talking price points of $9.95, the publisher will have to watch their start-up costs very carefully so as not to end up with the old paradigm of losing money on each sale but making it up on volume!

In the future I see fewer and fewer full-time non-fiction publishers but many, many, more part-time publishers... people who publish for a sideline income... because that is about the best they can do given market conditions.

My only hope is that all of these part-time publishers don't go into financial service sales!

Alan N. Canton
InsuranceSolutions123 Agency
Fair Oaks, CA
916-962-9296
CA Lic # 0F31110
http://www.insurancesolutions123.com

Day of Atonement

 

Friends:

May I ask a small favor?

Please sit for ten minutes... that's all... just ten minutes on the day of Yom Kippur... and listen to this music.

https://youtu.be/Y4d74lbAYQg

It is the famous Kol Nidrei  piece played at just about every Jewish temple in the world after sundown on the evening before Yom Kippur, which translated to English means Day of Atonement.

There are a zillion recordings of this music... most often done with just a cello and piano... sometimes a violin as well. This version is nice because it is a full orchestra. It is a rather famous recording done in Rome in 1994 for the Pope. (More info is here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_Concert_to_Commemorate_the_Shoah)

Just about every temple will hire two or three musicians (if there are none in the congregation) to perform this short piece... played at the start of the evening ceremony. Everyone immediately quiets down when the first note is played and for that night and the next day everything is very, very somber and serious.

According to tradition, it is on Yom Kippur that God decides each person's fate, so Jews are encouraged to make amends and ask forgiveness for sins committed during the past year. The holiday is observed with a 24-hour fast and  several special religious services.

While there are six fasting days in Judaism, Yom Kippur is the one day that most (observant) Jews  fast for 24 hours (or attempt it... most don't make it!)... believing that  fasting is a vehicle for reflecting and repenting for one's sins. The other fasting days are considered minor and only the most devout do it.

Yom Kippur comes ten days after Rosh Hashanah, or the start of the Jewish new year. These are called the Days of Awe, where Jews ask God for forgiveness so their name can be enshrined in the book of life. There is nothing more serious in the entire Jewish year (or life) than Yom Kippur. No jokes, no comedy, this is major, major seriousness.

The evening service is a couple of hours. Everyone then goes home but comes back around 9 AM. There are a series of services during the day, each one usually 60 minutes long with a 15 or 20 minute break between them. This goes until about 5 PM when the final service ends and everyone goes into the social hall or outside to a courtyard for a lite meal, served buffet-style by the temple's sisterhood. Many people will skip that and simply go out for a lite dinner or often there are break-the-fast parties. These are not big feasts... because you can't cook (or do any work) over Yom Kippur so everything was made in advance... lots of veggie dishes or cold-cuts... usually still chilled from the fridge. There were always nice cookies and cakes as well.

At the break-the-fast people will walk up to others and say the traditional greeting of the holy days... "L'shanah tovah" (sha-nah toe-vah) ...  which means in English "May you have a good year." People shake hands or hug.

Judaism teaches that because humans have been given free will, they are responsible for their own actions. If they commit an action which is wrong, then they must seek forgiveness. Forgiveness can only be accepted from the victim. Jews place great emphasis on teshuva , meaning repentance.

So I ask you to please sit and listen to the music on Sunday and perhaps ask for your own entry into the Book of Life.

I want you all to live... and to have a 'good year.'

L'shanah tovah,

ANC

Alan N. Canton
8041 Sierra Street
Fair Oaks, CA 95628

Brave: A Better and Safer Browser

Most people think there are only a few browsers around. The best known are Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Google Chrome.

Google Chrome has about 60% of the browser install base. It is what I use… up to now.

Google put the basic 'engine' (named Chromium) of their browser in the public domain so that others could build browsers. Google probably didn't want to do it, but there were some political and (European) legal reasons why they did (or had to.)

I won't go into a long explanation about just how much personal data Google collects... but it is extensive... they see every site you go to as well as every search you make and every user/password you enter. They log all of this info on you into their database and sell it to the highest bidder... which is why you get a lot of junk mail and robo-calls, not to mention the potential of identity-theft.

In the past 24 months people have gotten 'sick and tired' of Google and as a result several new browsers have been developed that are based on privacy... they don't track you, they block ads, and they don't collect any data.

A very well-known programmer, actually a 'legend' in browser development... Brendan Eich,  put together a talented staff of developers (in 2017) and with some venture capital he created a browser called Brave that is based on privacy. They have released their new browser and it is now taking off in popularity.

(The browser also has a potentially revolutionary methodology to actually pay people to accept certain ads that Brave 'vets' but it is strictly voluntary and it is turned off by default. I didn’t turn it on… yet.)

You can read about and download the Brave browser here: https://brave.com/

There are tons of review about Brave... just Google if you want to see them.

Here is a good one: https://www.cnet.com/news/brave-1-0-browser-review-browse-faster-and-safer-while-ticking-off-advertisers/

Here is another: https://www.pcworld.com/article/3453376/brave-10-review-this-excellent-privacy-focused-browser-can-make-you-money-too.html

Of course the advantages of privacy goes without saying. But there is another feature. Because the browser blocks ads and does not write a zillion cookies that sites place on your computer, pages render much faster than when using Google Chrome. (Note: you won't see ads, just gray boxes where they would go… if they had been downloaded.) Thus, if you are on limited data or a slow connection, this is a big advantage.

Since Brave is built on the Chrome engine, it looks and feels EXACTLY like Google Chrome. You probably won't even know you are using Brave... except for its red lion-face logo.

Also, Brave easily imports all of your bookmarks and passwords that you saved in Google Chrome (or other browsers.) It works with most password managers (like 1Password.)

They are developing a way to ‘sync’ your bookmarks to your other devices and that should be released in a month or two.

Installation could not be easier. For Apple you download the .dmg file to Downloads (or wherever,) go to it in Finder (file manager) and dbl-click and you get a pop-up showing you to drag the lion-icon to the blue folder icon... that's it. 

There are a lot of “how-to” install Brave videos for both Windows and Mac on YouTube.

Brave also “lives” just fine with both Chrome and Safari and Firefox. You can have all four open at the same time if you wish!

You will have to set your home page in Brave Settings... simple to do... just like it is in Chrome,

The only two important differences I've found between Chrome and Brave is:

1. The default font size in Brave is a few pts. smaller than Chrome, but that is easily adjusted in Brave Settings.

2. When you create a new tab, you get a new screen/window with a random pix and a clock and other info.

With Chrome you just get a new Google Search page.

If you don't like the  'new page tab' picture page you can get an extension for Brave that will just give you a white screen. I like the picture-screen as the pictures it fetches are high quality and fun to see. (You can also delete any of the data on the screen or even hide the picture if you want.)

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of the junk mail and robo-calls I get as well as the liability of identity-theft, all of which is attributable to Chrome. I believe that Google has gone too far in its personal data-collection efforts.

Unless Google cleans up its act... and adopts a more privacy-centric approach, I don’t see myself going back to Chrome.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions.

ANC

Alan N. Canton, Managing Partner

NewMedia Create
https://NewMediaCreate.com
Fair Oaks, CA


PS: I found out about Brave from a terrific listserv for Apple Macs. Mailing lists were eclipsed by web chat boards, but they are coming back into vogue now. You can join the Mac-L list by going to http://listmoms.net/mac-l/index.html. One of the contributors is  Randy B. Singer, Co-author of The Macintosh Bible. His site has lots of valuable info for Mac users of all levels http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html. Much of what you see above was borrowed or stolen from Randy and others on the listserv. 

Who is the worst company in the world?

I'm so tired of Comcast raising my rates that I posted this in their forum.   Maybe someone at Comcast will read it and make some changes.

@ComcastChe wrote:
 I would be more than happy to assist you 

We have all been though this procedure where we contact the no-name "official employee" who claims they are from the 'retention department' and who tells us that our bill is going to be lowered or adjusted.

It is all a ruse.

Nothing happens. Our bills are adjusted and then quickly raised again via some bogus "line fee" or "sports fee" or "telecom fee." And it is great for Comcast because they have now locked us into a two-year contract.

It is ironic because "contracts" mean nothing to the company as their lawyers have written the document so that the company  can raise prices anytime they want and we can't get out of said contract without paying a exorbitant early-term fee. There is nothing in the contract that is in our interest or that protects us.

I won't contact whomever "ComcastChe" is because I've been down that road before.

I paid the Comcast bill and I will pay the next one and one after that. But in the interim I will study the web on how to cut the cord and about what services and equipment I need.

And in the next  few months I will also keep an eye out on how AT&T is doing with their new TV platform plus Internet in my area.

I'll either go with ATT or cut the cord. I don't want to do either but Comcast has reached my tipping point. (Actually $150 after tax, fees, etc. was my tipping point... and I'm just now realizing that I must do something because we all know that the increases will never end.)

I don't hate Comcast and I don't wish them any ill will. I do wish them better management that will be customer-centric (think Apple) but I don't see that happening any time soon.

After being a good customer with them for fifteen years,  I will stay with them for another fifteen WEEKS at which time I should know how to keep their Internet, put up an antenna for local stations, join some streaming services (we have Prime and Netflix already) and cut out their TV service and their constant price increases with no added value received.

It is sad. They were a great company when they first came to our part of the country. And their field people are quite good.  But it looks like their corporate culture has been dominated by a management team obsessed with greed, avarice, and arrogance.

Comcast is today what Microsoft was in the the 90s, an 00s. But in 2013 the Microsoft CEO stepped down (or was forced out) and a new management team came and that company changed so that today they are nothing like the company they were in the past. Maybe one day the same will happen with Comcast.

I hold a lot of Comcast stock (CMCSA)... so I'm 'working' on it, but no one in Philadelphia, PA listens.

Pacificon Hamfest - 2018

by Alan Canton (K6AAI)

It was good to attend Pacificon again. I always enjoy reporting on it.

I missed it last year and to be honest given what I saw this year, it does not look like I missed much. Of course I'm only speaking about the vendor exhibits. I did not attend any of the seminars or other functions.

Since not many (or any!) new radios are released each year, if you only attend every other year to see 'what's out there,' you really won't miss much, if my experience this year is valid.

There were two irritations that did not change from two years ago.

The first was the abysmal parking situation. The Marriott in San Ramon has a large parking lot, but not near large enough to accommodate the cars for both hotel guests and Pacificon visitors. I was told there was an off-site parking area with a shuttle bus but I never saw a sign for it. People were parked on the grass, in red zones, etc. Those who knew the situation knew to park around the corner at the Target shopping center and make the walk to the hotel.

The second commonality from the last time I attended was the abysmal prices for food... at least compared to the quality of it. I don't know if it is a money-grab by the hotel or if they split some of it with the Mount Diablo Radio Club who hosts on the show.

* * *

For the third year in a row, Kenwood http://www.kenwood.com/usa/com/amateur/ didn't see fit to support the show. They did not exhibit. I'm a Kenwood 'guy,' all my radios are Kenwood so their decision to pass on Pacificon was disappointing to me.

Being a good reporter, I asked people about it. Everyone noticed the absence of Kenwood. I heard these comments from hams I spoke with about the issue:

"If Kenwood won't support the ham community, perhaps we should not support Kenwood."

"I guess we're not good enough for Kenwood. What arrogance!"

"It looks like Kenwood is a silent key."

Kenwood didn't make any friends this weekend, that's for sure. ICOM and Elecraft and Flex and Yaesu took space, sent reps and had lots and lots of people at their booths asking questions, turning knobs, looking at waterfalls, and thinking about buying a new radio.

* * *

About the only 'buzz' besides the Kenwood no-show was the price-drop for the mega-popular ICOM 7300 http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/hf/7300/default.aspx transceiver now selling for around $970 depending on what vendor you buy from. A few people commented that maybe ICOM was clearing out old inventory to make way for an upgrade to the model. (I'd love to see them add D-Star to it but that would probably cannibalize some of their other products.)

* * *

Elecraft https://elecraft.com/ had the entire 'back wall' of the main exhibit hall and at times it was two-people-deep to see their equipment... and seeing their equipment is a real treat. The fit and finish of their products is top-notch. Their equipment is made on-shore and no one has a better reputation for quality and service. When I win the lottery I will build out an Elecraft station.

* * *

I had a nice talk with an author selling his "Fast Track" https://fasttrackham.com/ books on passing the various ham license tests. He and I agreed that the Extra exam is way harder than it has to be. I shared with him a short piece of wrote about 'gaming' the exam that has received many favorable comments.

* * *

A very interesting line of products for QRP is from QRPworks https://www.qrpworks.com/ . I didn't know much about QRP before talking with these guys. I just returned from a week on the Mendocino coast overlooking the ocean and it would have been nice to have had a QRP rig with a wire antenna and a battery so I could sit out on the deck overlooking the Pacific and maybe work Asia if there was any skip at all.

* * *

There were several antenna companies that exhibited. One that I had not seen before was N6BT https://nextgenerationantennas.com/ I don't know much about their products but they claim to be the "next generation" of antennas. (I guess "antenna hype" never ends!)

* * *

Also exhibiting was Elk https://elkantennas.com/ who were selling their portable 2M/440 antennas like Canadian marijuana. I really like this product and am going to get one when I get my new HT (probably the ICOM 51A.)

* * *

Finally, there was a company called Mastwerks https://trademarks.justia.com/owners/mastwerks-llc-3755425/ that plans to sell high-end antenna masts. It is a spin-off from Buddipole. They had one sample there but had no other info. The Buddipole people were at the next booth so I guess Buddipole took the extra space to get some eyeballs on their new company.

* * *

As I said above, I enjoyed attending the show even though I'd seen most of it before. As with many shows I attend (mostly in the book publishing and web design biz as I own Adams-Blake Publishing https://adams-blake.com and NewMedia Create https://newmediacreate.com talking with the attendees and often meeting up with people I have only spoken with but have never met is the best part.

If you have the opportunity to attend Pacificon you will see and meet radio voices you know well but have never had a F2F with. I urge you to go... maybe not every single year, but at least every once in a while.

Alan Canton
K6AAI
Fair Oaks, CA
http://www.qrz.com/db/K6AAI
https://www.k6aai.net/

"I am often asked how radio works. 

Well, you see, wire telegraphy is like a very long cat. 

You yank his tail in New York and he meows in Los Angeles. 

Do you understand this? 

Now, radio is exactly the same, except that there is no cat." 

  - Attributed to Albert Einstein

BEA Diary 2018

By Alan Canton...  with editorial assistance from Mayapriya Long and Alice Walker
[Note: Click on any pix to see it enlarged.]

Is silence golden? If so, then this year's BEA could pay off the national debt!

My guess is that this year the amount of floor space sold was about 30% LESS than last year... and last year was less than the year before. A bunch of large publishers decided to pull out and the venerable IBPA decided not to buy space this year... a decision I disagreed with and terminated my membership with them.

I'm a big supporter of BEA. I think the industry NEEDS a large and vibrant trade show, especially with the reported resurgence of small bookstores I keep hearing about. It is also important to vendors.

I read that attendance was up by 2% over last year, with some 7,000+ people in the room. In some part of the hall it was crowded, but to be honest, it did not feel like there was a 'crush' of people on either day. 

We came with a new service... AdamsBlakeBookServices.com:

While the aisles were not as empty as the opening picture throughout the hall, there was no doubt that attendance way down compared to the BookExpo shows of years ago when upward to 20,000+ people would jam the place.

Anyway, there were not that many exhibits of great interest to me this year as in the past years, so this missive will be (probably thankfully) shorter than previous versions of this electronic fish-wrap. 

One of the strangest books I saw was Alphabodies. By using the female figure to create universal graphics of the English alphabet directed under the female gaze, the project allows the viewer to celebrate the human body in a space free from the stereotypical taboos often imposed by society. 

Alphabodies: very interesting but not sure it will sel

I always admire the single author with a single book who comes to BEA in the hope that lightening will strike and that his book will be discovered. A Hero Dreams won a Ben Franklin award and that means something. 

Author Mark Ristau and his novel

A pioneer in organizing freelancers into a network for mutual support and advancement, the Editorial Freelancers Association is now recognized throughout the publishing industry as the source for professional editorial assistance. It sounds like a worthwhile group to me.

Cindi Powell of EFA

Another organization that I was not very familiar with is PEN America. They write: "PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world.  Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible."

Elly Brinkely of Pen America

Me, My Dog and a Sheep is a new illustrated children’s book that tells the story of a tenderhearted boy and a good-natured dog who must overcome unique challenges together when the dog is suddenly struck with an illness that could leave him paralyzed. I'm not sure where the sheep fits in! I love it when authors tie merchandise to their book. Every author should do so. (We build great ecom sites... https://newmediaecom.com.)

I believe this is the publicist for the book

Unlike previous years there was not a lot of high-tech stuff at the show. But I found one item that is terrific. It is an app that has music and sound that syncs with your voice while you read a book to kids. I can't explain it well... just see the video on the Novel Effect website. 

Carmela Orsini (left) and Melody  Fuize of Novel Effect. This is very cool tech!

There are always giveaway items at BEA and this year's most favored was a rubber duck given by the American Academy of Pediatrics. They publish a bunch of books on children's health issues. Everyone wanted a blue rubber duck!

Sara Hoerdeman with the best promotional item of BEA 2018

I have no idea who Blackstone Publishing is... never heard of them before and no one wanted to bother talking to me.. but they had one of the largest booths of the show (which was not saying much since most were downsized from years ago.) 

No one wanted to talk to me

Everyone loves Workman Publishing and each year they build a most imaginative large booth. If I were ever to go to work for a publisher it would be Workman. They are terrific.

Great list from a great publisher

Each BEA has tech stuff of dubious merit. I think this was about the dumbest idea I've seen in a while... but I bet it will sell. Their pitch: "The Freewrite by Astrohaus is a distraction-free writing instrument designed to help the modern writer get in a flow state and stay there." $500 for a... typewriter? C'mon man!

It will sell... lots of dumb ideas do!

There are always celebrities at BEA hawking their new book. One was former Secretary of State John Kerry. In Every Day is Extra John Kerry tells the story of his remarkable American life—from son of a diplomat to decorated Vietnam veteran, five-term United States senator, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, and Secretary of State for four years—a revealing memoir by a witness to some of the most important events of our recent history.

Sorry for the bad pix... no flash was allowed.

A huge line that ran around the building was for Sally Field who was doing an in-booth signing. Her new book, In Pieces, is her account of a challenging and lonely childhood, the craft that helped her find her voice, and a powerful emotional legacy that shaped her journey as a daughter and a mother.

Sally Field (Yeah, we really do like her!)

There wasn't much in the way of interesting sidelines this year... and the only one that I saw that had much in the way of sales potential was eco-dough. eco-kids® is a line of art supplies that gives children the tools to create using non-toxic, natural ingredients and environmentally friendly packaging.

They say you can eat it... like the paste we ate in 1st grade

I've seen lots of dogs and cats and birds and even a goldfish as 'authors' at BEA but I can't remember seeing a little kid. According to the publicist, John Humphreys (John John) author of Be Amazing, is a "motivator, educator, actor, model, science kid, magician, pianist, singer, and all around happy Earthling." 

The youngest author I've ever seen at BEA

There are always a ton of kid-books at BEA and this year was no exception. I thought that Piggy and Pug was the best of a whole bunch of really good child-lit tomes. Also Anne Wheaton wins the award for the author who looks most like her poster!

Anne Wheaton, author

Do you remember that I said that not nearly as much booth space had been sold this year as in previous years? Well, in previous years all this space would have been publisher booths teeming with people. 

CONCLUSION

So what is the colophon here? I don't know. I just don't. Even though there were fewer publishers and even though I didn't see any breakout books, it was still a very good show from the standpoint of a book buyer, librarian, or a major exhibitor. But the booths in the marginal areas of the floor just didn't get the traffic that they got when there were 3X the number of attendees.

I want to be optimistic about the chances for survival, but I just can't seem to accumulate the metrics to base such a prediction on. I could see the BEA trade show canceled and only the open-to-the-public (for a price) BookCon continuing. It will all depend on if the major publishers continue to get value from BEA and, of course, continue to buy floor space.

But I don't know. This was the 21st consecutive BEA that I've attended and it was easy to wax nostalgic about "back in the day." 

When walking through the empty areas I kept hearing the lyrics from an old song from the 1960s...

Those were the days my friend

We thought they'd never end

We'd sing and dance forever and a day

We'd live the life we choose

We'd fight and never lose

For we were young and sure to have our way.

-30-

Thanks for reading this... a lot of work went into it and I hope your time was well spent. Below are Diaries of previous shows, should you be interested.

2018: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2018/06/bea-diary-2018.html

2017: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2017/06/bea-diary-2017.html

2016: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2016/05/bea-diary-2016_21.html

2015: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2015/06/bea-diary-2015.html

2014: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2014/06/bea-diary-2014.html

2013: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2013/06/bea-diary-2013.html

2012: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2012/06/bea-2012.html

2011: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2011/06/bea-diary-2011.html

2010: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2010/06/bea-diary-2010.html

2009: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2009/06/bea-2009.html

2008: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2008/06/bea-diary-2008.html

2007: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2007/06/bea-diary-2007.html

2006: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_archive.html

2005: http://asaturdayrant.blogspot.com/2005/06/bea-diary-2005.html

* * *

You MAY (and are encouraged to) share the link to this piece or reprint any part of it without prior permission so long as you use the following attribution:

Alan N. Canton, Managing Partner
NewMedia Create
http://www.NewMediaCreate.com
"Websites for authors, publishers, and small businesses at an affordable price"
Fair Oaks, CA
916-962-9296

* * *

Per usual, if you have comments or corrections, please send them to bea-diary at adams-blake dot com

How I Chose My New Amateur (Ham) Radio Vanity Callsign

After you have been granted an amateur (i.e. 'ham') radio FCC callsign you have the option to exchange it for a different one that is available and allowed for your license class.

I was assigned KM6AAI ...[ kilo mike six alpha alpha india.] I liked it but I wanted a shorter call by dropping the 'M' and perhaps getting a 'better' suffix. (I'm always amazed that the FCC gave out [kilo six alpha sierra sierra] and [whiskey four tango india tango])!!!

While studying for my Extra exam I did three months of "on and off" research on what vanity call to "reward' myself with upon passing.

I wanted a 1x2 [K6_ _] but given how few come up for grabs and the competition for them, at my age I figured I would not get one in this life!!! So I decided I wanted a 1x3 ... [K6_ _ _]. I thought about a 2x2 [K _6_ _] but I find them hard to 'copy' as well as remember.

My goal was to find a callsign letter-combo that upon hearing was easy to remember as well as one that (subjectively) rolled off the tongue.

While my method was not scientific by any means, after talking to hams and non-hams and doing some testing I learned a lot of things. In no particular order, here are my findings.

I learned that people remembered a letter followed by a number [K6] better than two letters followed by a number [KM6], which reinforced my intent to get a 1x3 and and not the 2x2.

Given five sets of 3 letters (like what might be heard in a DX pileup) I found that my test group of people remembered the combinations with double letters [AAX] or where all 3 were the same [BBB] better than any other grouping EXCEPT if the 3 letters form a known word like CAT or DOG or GOD or GUN or BAT, etc.

All of the 'K6' three-letter common words [map, cop, etc] as well as the three-single-letter options [BBB, GGG] were taken so I had to look for a combination of double-letters followed by a third letter that would tend to stand out and be easily remembered.

I found that the better remembered groups were those that were easy to pronounce phonetically... they rolled off the tongue. Combos like [GGK... golf, golf, kilo] did not work as well as something like [AAL... alpha, alpha, lima].

I found that letters that were vowels or phonetics ending in vowels tended to sound better and be remembered better than harder consonants... 'alpha' worked better than 'hotel.'

I found that the double-letter pair coming first was better remembered than if the pair came last. [AAF ... alpha, alpha, foxtrot] was recalled more often than [FAA... foxtrot, alpha, alpha] because often people didn't hear the final letter of a double letter combo. They hear [FA] and not [FAA].

I learned that when the final syllable of the third letter rhymed or sounded like the final syllable of the combo pair, retention was increased.... like in [delta delta alpha].... all three end in an 'ah' sound.... [charlie, charlie, yankee]... all have an 'eee' sound. The combo of  [golf, golf, uniform] didn't work as well.

I also learned that phonetics that had the emphasis on the first syllable (echo) were better remembered than when the emphasis was in the middle (november, sierra) or at the end (quebec, hotel).

While it was a very minor issue, I found that a two-syllable final letter phonetic like "echo" was more often remembered than a three-syllable third letter like [sierra ...see-air-ahh]. (There are only 2 one-syllable letters... golf, mike.)

I liked the sound of 'india' and while it is a three-syllable word, it gets slurred and often sounds like a two-syllable phonetic...  'in-jah.' It helped that 'india' is a well-known country.

I also liked the sound of 'lima.' While 'lima' is a city (in Peru and Ohio,) few people had ever heard of it. Perhaps if 'L' was phonetically 'lie-mah' (like the bean) it might work better than 'lee-mah!')

I gathered a lot of data. The argument can be made that it was just random and I won't dispute that. But random data is better (at some level) than a SWAG (https://www.acronymfinder.com/SWAG.html).

So at the end of the day... I decided to drop the 'M' and  keep the suffix that the FCC had given me...[alpha, alpha, india] which was as good as I could get. Everything better was taken.

The above was MY methodology.

YMMV!! (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/ymmv)

73s,

Al

Alan Canton
K6AAI
Fair Oaks, CA
http://www.qrz.com/db/K6AAI

"I am often asked how radio works.
Well, you see, wire telegraphy is like a very long cat.
You yank his tail in New York and he meows in Los Angeles.
Do you understand this?
Now, radio is exactly the same, except that there is no cat."
  - Attributed to Albert Einstein

Hints and Tips For Passing the Amateur Extra 'Ham' Exam

Having just passed the Extra Class exam I have some tips for anyone out there who is thinking about upgrading their license or in the process of studying or getting ready to sit for the test.

One thing you should know is that this is not an easy exam. I have it on good authority that the current question-pool put into service in July 2016 is far more difficult than the previous one.

I'm told that there was a lot of push-back from 'old-guard' hams (especially the guys still upset over the elimination of CW!) who claimed that too many people were passing the exam... that it was too easy. When the new question-pool was created there was a concerted effort to make the exam more difficult, at least that is what I hear.

Thus, you are going to study the answers to a lot of questions that have only marginal (and sometimes zero) congruence to running a radio station. Your only option is to plan a lot of extra time to prepare for the exam as well as taking it. As I said, it is not easy.

I do not believe it is possible to cram for this exam unless you have advanced degrees in both quantum mechanics and astrophysics! While you can memorize some questions and answers, by and large you will have to 'know' most the material, or at least have the cognitive ability to 'figure it out' while taking the test.

There are some "tried and true" ways to make the process a bit easier and help insure success on the exam. I present the ones that worked for me (in no particular order.)

- The ARRL Extra manual is not a great exam study guide. I bought it and found it to be a college-level textbook on radio theory, semiconductor physics, and endless explanations for the many arcane FCC rules. I don't suggest buying it until after you pass and want to know in more detail advanced radio theory, etc.

- I'm told the Gorden West "Extra" book is good but I bought it for the General and was not impressed with it and so I didn't get it this time.

- I found that the 100 page "No-Nonsense! Extra Class License Study Guide" by Dan Romanchik KB6NU (http://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/) to be well worth the $10 PDF cost. Spend a few days with this after you have put in a lot of time with the online sites answering questions. I read it a few days before I took the exam and found it to be a good review as it answers all 700+ questions.

- I used http://hamstudy.org, and found a good protocol to follow is to spend several weeks reading the entire 700+ question-pool, followed by another several weeks doing the flash cards. Finally take at least 50+ practice exams to where you consistently get 80% or better. (Make sure you are using the current question-pool: 2016-2020. Some sites have previous exams still online.)

- When starting out, tell whatever program you use to eliminate the "distractor" (i.e. the wrong) answers.

- The analysis that I did (subject to an unknown margin of error) is that 75% of the time the longest answer was the correct answer. So if you have to guess, choose the longest answer.

- Many times a keyword (like 'network' or 'phase') that is in the question also shows up in only one answer... and that is the correct one.

- Some non-common words only show up ONCE in the entire question/answer pool... like "astable" which is the right answer to the one question it is in:

E7A05

Which of the following is a circuit that continuously alternates between two states without an external clock? 

A. Monostable multivibrator
B. J-K flip-flop
C. T flip-flop
D. Astable multivibrator

- When taking the exam at the VE session do as many of the 50 questions as you can and skip over the ones you are not totally sure about. Then go back and do them. Often the answer to them can be found in other questions toward the end.

- Give yourself plenty of time to study for the exam, but be consistent. Find 60 minutes or so a day to read text or flash cards or do exams. The week before the exam, allocate two hours every night to take practice exams.

- Try to schedule the exam for an afternoon or evening VE session. Spend several hours before the exam reading flash cards, preferably right up until they pass out the exam books. That way your brain is 'tuned' to "resonate."

- I passed the first time but I've been told by many VEs that if you fail by a couple of questions you should go ahead and pay another $15 and take it again as you may get a sub-set of the question-pool where you know more of the answers.

- For some questions you can create easy-to-remember mnemonics to give you a hint of the answer. For example there is a question as to whether a T-net is high pass or low pass. The answer is high-pass and you can remember that T stands for Touchdown in football and often is the result of a HIGH PASS from the QB. Another answer about meteor showers is Sporadic-E. "E" rhymes with "meteor."

- Another technique I employed was to make a list "word associations" that I simply memorized. A list of ones that worked for me are at the end of this missive. Memorize as many of these as you can and you stand a good chance at passing. (But you still need to do the studying!)

At the risk of being too repetitious, for most of you (us) this will be the hardest exam you have ever taken in your post-college/graduate school life. You can't 'guess' your way though this one.

====== EDITORIAL =========

The following is my opinion. Your opinion may be different and I'm OK with that:

Some people say that this version of the exam was designed to insure that Extra class operators would be the "best of the best."

I disagree.

At least half the exam consists of questions that have zero relation to running a radio station. They are overly technical, contain math that most of us have long forgotten, and encompass theory more congruent with academic pursuits than practical application.

It was designed to be hard.

It was designed so that you will fail, at least the first time... expecially if you didn't PUT IN the time.

Many say, and I believe it to be true, that it was designed so that the Extra class would continue to be an 'old-boy' club. If true, they did a really good job of it! If you want to gain access to this club, you will indeed pay your dues by losing a lot of sleep and perhaps some hair as well!

The lyrics Ringo Star once wrote are true:

"Got to pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues
And you know it don't come easy"

One thing that I'm certain of (since I asked many many operators) is that hams who got their Extra 15+ years ago could not pass the exam today.

For those who are considering taking the Extra exam, I hope I've helped a little bit.

Alan Canton
K6AAI
Fair Oaks, CA
https://www.qrz.com/db/K6AAI

==================================

KEYWORDS AND PHRASES THAT WORKED FOR ME. 

(Try to associate the word to the left of the dash with what comes after. Some will make no sense until after you have studied the questions.)

elliptical - notch
transequatorial - 5000
polar - positive angle - PoPA
33,50,10 - 7.12 MHz
undesirable - undesired
drop-out - min input to output
phase shift - least
BiCMOS - bipolar
RF vector - short, open, 50
Automatic - automatic
polyethylene - route 66
load coil - has a cap and reacts
NTSC - 30 rock
factor of 3/4 - interpolate the fac-a-tor
FET - left arrow simple
E9-1 - 14 or 9+1+4 = 14
hopping - rapidly
6dB - 2.15 - 3.85
Spread spec - room 222
multi-conductor - is common
aurora - code
boost - pre-emphasis
noise blank - wide spec
fraction of a wavelength - delta
multiple digital - logical
crystal oscillators - NPO
multiple turn loop - increase or
E74 - 38
forward gain - 21 Skeedoo
meteor - rhymes with E
1/4 shorten - high
Q RLC - resistance divided
JT65 - a minute (65 seconds!)
E7-3 - linear
E7-3 - current-handling
antenna gain - reference antenna
Direct FSK - VFO
APRS - gets the ax
L & S band - look for 3s
anti-aliasing - hi then low
multiplexing - base (ball)
vestigial - I "AM" a vestigial
class D - low passing grade
Normalization - impedance
Symbol rate - rate
blocking - 1 db around the block
liberation - flutter flutter
noise blanker - emission
long path - 20 miles home
bridge circuit - null, null, null
Semiconductor diode - heavy metal
total resistance - ohmic
electric motor - brute force
NEC - Electromagnetic
Toroidal - confine
two states - astable
flare - twice an ass
diodes - detector
pin - RF switch
phase lock loop - synthesis
Optical shaft - wheel
JT - and the monotones!
Sporadic - summer
beam width - beam 3 up, Scotty
emitter amplifier - half way to Saturn
taps - algor
baseband - components
SSB - see you at the QUAD
phase lock loop - FM
block FM by another - Capture the FM flag
Q 3.7 - 31.4
220 microfrad - 220 seconds
digital time division multiplexing - is discrete
idle PSK car - 30 miles an hour
opto-isolater - LED the parade
Pi - can be varied... like slices of appple pie
linear volt reg - 'shunt' up Reggie
50-J25 - it resists with a cap