Al Alcorn, creator of Pong, explains the NTSC color graphics trick

Re:Al Alcorn, creator of Pong, explains the NTSC color graph... by fortran77 on Thursday April 30, 2020 @01:32PM (#23033513)

Back in my day, you were able to take the "First Class Radiotelephone Exam" at the local FCC office and be able to get a job at radio stations easily. I worked my way through college this way.

This license no longer exists. It was several hundred multiple choice questions about operating commercial radio stations.

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Re:Al Alcorn, creator of Pong, explains the NTSC color graph... by jrockway on Thursday April 30, 2020 @02:18PM (#23034154)

Are you sure that these licenses no longer exist? The FCC has a detailed section of their website about them: https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-divis...

I am not sure what relevance they have these days. The FAA seems to handle everything involving aviation radios. I know nothing about shipping. Everything else seems to be computer-based (so you don't operate the radio, you operate a computer that operates the radio in accordance with FCC rules).

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Re:Al Alcorn, creator of Pong, explains the NTSC color graph... by fortran77 on Thursday April 30, 2020 @02:27PM (#23034266)

The licence that remains is equivalent to the old "General Radio Telephone" licence. This was a much easier, shorter test and wasn't considered the equivalent of a "degree" by employers.

Read to the bottom of the page. It lists the "First Class Radiotelephone Licence" as "no longer operative" https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-divis...

When I renewed mine, it was "downgraded" to the General Radiotelephone license.

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