January 5, 2000: Ham Radio - Wayne Green

Art Bell welcomes Wayne Green, the 77-year-old editor of 73 Magazine, to discuss a landmark FCC ruling that reduces the Morse code requirement for all amateur radio license classes to just five words per minute. Both men celebrate the change as essential to reversing the steep decline in new ham operators, noting that Japan has long thrived with a no-code license and school-based radio clubs that feed its technology workforce.

Wayne shares stories from a life shaped by amateur radio, including a $690 African safari arranged through an on-air contact in Nairobi and his experience testing equipment at GE during World War II. He advocates for entrepreneurship through his Secret Guide book series, arguing that owning a small business in a field you love is the surest path to wealth. Art recalls pacing off his property to mark his tower location before even planning his house.

The discussion also covers the growing threat of local antenna ordinances, the lack of federal law protecting ham operators, cold fusion research, and the importance of getting young people into amateur radio as a gateway to technical careers and lifelong adventure.