Do you know there are 31 countries involved in SOTA ?
In France we say ‘L’union fait la force’ (Unity make strength)
Having a look to the SOTA data base, (Activator roll of honor), I found a new countrie: S2 Bangladesh…
But no ARM for this country… I suppose they should apply P10 prominence to find some summits there…
I also found that W6 country doesn’t know meter or kilometer unit. The all ARM is in feet ! Fortunatly, Silicon Valley is not far, and they will be able to buy some computer to make the conversion (like all other countries did).
Yes, Alain, whilst even the traditionalist Brits eventually went metric in everything except the vital matter of measures of beer, the Americans still cling to the old units of measurement. Odd, isn’t it?
In France, sometimes, we can buy ‘1 meter’ beer…
that is one meter of glasses, one against the other…
73 Alain
Is that one metre horizontally or vertically? In many pubs here the old “Yard of Ale” measure hangs up waiting for somebody to accept the challenge of drinking it down in one go!
I also found that W6 country doesn’t know meter or kilometer unit.
Yes, just like articles in QST, all measurements in inches etc. It’s quite entertaining using metric measurements when in the USA and seeing the baffled look on faces. The use of imperial measurements is probably more of a problem for mainland Europeans than UK hams as we are used to using both systems in parallel. In the UK the majority of measurements are now metric with the engineering industry having gone metric a long time ago. But I can still go into a shop and ask for 1/2 pound of cheese and I’ll be served somewhere around 200-220 grammes.
Petrol has been sold in litres for I think about 10 years yet 30 years of driving experience means I calculate fuel economy to miles per gallon as road distances are still measured in miles. With miles per gallon, bigger is better but the favoured metric measurement of l/100km means smaller is better which feels wrong.
Walking is a strange mixture for me, UK maps are metric so I know how far a km is to walk and how long it will take me. I know how much effort is needed to climb 100m. But I think of the distance to drive to a hill in miles. Express walking distances in miles and heights in feet and I have to work back to metric units. So for some measurements I’m converting metric to imperial and for others imperial to metric. It still confusing when looking at UK maps over 35 years old which are not metric.
You could say we should just use metric measurements and the response is we do most of the time. Where most UK people get annoyed is being forced to change because some political dogma insists on it. It’s not a problem for us to run both systems. Most Europeans can speak English as well as people in the UK whereas most British people have almost no ability to speak other languages. So we stick to using archaic measurements and using confusing speech dialects to maintain our (misplaced) feeling of superiority over other countries
You could say we should just use metric measurements and the response
is we do most of the time.
Andy, I don’t say that. I can understand it’s not easy for you, like driving left for us…
But…if one day…may be… your government could choose Euro, it would be nice for everybody!
Europe ??
It’s only difficult if you are in the wrong flavour car. Driving LHD cars in mainland EU is simple. Driving RHD cars in mainland EU is challenging! Driving any car in USA is easy as everyone drives so slow you’d think you were going to a funeral!
Euros? If we can fix the exchange rate. My sister lives near Nimes and was over here last week. She thought getting almost 1:1 was a brilliant. It’s not so hot for us right now
… whilst even the traditionalist Brits eventually went metric
in everything except the vital matter of measures of beer …
You still have an opportunity to improve…
When I was an undergraduate at the Faculty of Electronic Engineering, Technical University of Budapest some 30-35 years ago, our friendly community used to drink beer per square meters having absolved a successful written test or examination! This peculiar “measuring unit” is equal to the content of the locally standard half litre beer-jugs completely filling up a square meter table-surface! :-)))
In reply to F5AKL:
Cul sec is a new one for me, Andy. Unfortunately my schooldays are very far behind me so I used a translator program, and when I finished laughing I decided I am going to use that one myself!
Reminds me of why I never fancied living in a Cul de Sac, which according to our school boy translations was an ‘ass bag’, which these days might be handy for cycling. So in French is it a dead end or a bum bag?
Languages are loads of fun but I never did any at school. I remember in my teens walking up Snowdon with an French exchange student who would not stop talking. We tried all sorts of things to stop her and then when she finally stopped we spent most of the climb trying to work out what that sweet old Liverpudlian saying “Shut your cake hole!” would be in French. We came up with “Fermé votre gâteau gouge!” No wonder we Brits get in so much trouble abroad.
In reply to F6ENO et al.:
I do not mean to squash the fun gentlemen, but I find myself wandering about, muttering to myself, and must respond.
I considered the ARM to be a reference for those wishing to activate in W6, and since our government produced maps, road and trail signage, and local information will be found in British Imperial Units, I chose to publish as such. The data in the SOTA database has been appropriately converted to Metric units.
Most in the US are quite familiar with the Metric System, and some are even capable of conversion without the use of slide rule or having to expose all of their toes. Those who function exclusively in the Metric system may not have such permenently etched memory as 25.4mm/in, 1.8F/C, and 28g/oz, among others. Illegal drugs and handgun ammunition are sold in Metric units. Need I say more?
Carry on,
Stu- KI6J
But I can still go into a shop and ask for 1/2 pound of cheese and I’ll be served somewhere around 200-220 grammes<<
But have you tried asking for ‘half a dozen’ of something though? All I got was a blank look… Then it took two of them to get the total for 6 items at 9p each… LOL
I have dark rememberings of “A fifth of Whiskey” (fifth of a gill) in the UK, which was a fifth of a quarter of a pint IIRC (do you still use this measure?), the same amount would have been hard to stand if ordered in the US (a fifth of a US-gallon, hic)
I have dark rememberings of “A fifth of Whiskey” (fifth of a gill) in the UK, >which was a fifth of a quarter of a pint IIRC (do you still use this measure?)
Hello Bernhard!
LOL! No, in England we have used 25 ml measures for whisky and other spirits for many years, but I do remember when it was sold in “a fifth of a gill”. However, in Scotland it was always sold in “quarter of a gill” measures! I remember I once asked a barmaid in Scotland why there was the difference. She replied, “A fifth of a gill? That’s not enough to wet your back teeth!”
sweet old Liverpudlian saying “Shut your cake hole!”
Long live the friendly Liverpudlian people! We have almost the very same saing: “csukd be a lepénylesödet!” (= shut your pie chaser!) And a bit more coarse version: “nyelj dugót!” (= swallow a cork/stopper!).
And what about “húzz bört a fogadra!” (= pull skin on top of your teeth! >> That is stop grinning.)
QRO,