** Reply to note from beaton@wintermute.co.uk 06/03/96 2:42pm +0100
> Picture the scene:
> Amateur radio loses 2m and 70cm. All over the world, tens of thousands of
> EME and VHF contests enthusiasts are told their thousands of dollars worth
> of transceivers, Yagi arrays, 3CX1500s, etc are now worthless, because
Hah! I bet the EME guys would burn those little LEOs right out of the sky!
73, Brian
*****************************
* Brian McGinness WA3WJD *
* Potomac Valley Radio Club *
* wa3wjd@wirelessinc.com *
*****************************
>From aa4lr@radio.org (Bill Coleman AA4LR) Mon Jun 3 19:30:03 1996
From: aa4lr@radio.org (Bill Coleman AA4LR) (Bill Coleman AA4LR)
Subject: CW
Message-ID: <v01540b01add8dd16ca2d@[206.28.194.40]>
>Is it just dawning on me, or have we all been missing the point on the CW
>thing? If the CW requirement is dropped, then there will be no reason
>to protect the CW mode with band plans.
Huh? What protection? You completely lost me with this leap of logic.
CW has no such "protection." If you look at the US band plans, you'll find
that digital modes are confined to the lower end of the band and phone and
video modes the upper end of the band. CW is allowed throughout.
If anything, the bandplans is designed to keep the wider bandwidth digital
and analog modulations out of each other's hair. CW is narrow enough to fit
anywhere, and is permitted everywhere.
I'd also like to point out that there are countries that have no such
segregated bandplan and their RF spectrum has not degenerated into chaos.
We even have such a plan for our own 160m band.
>I also figured that while after that dreaded date, there would never be another
>new ham that could copy code, ...
Huh? I thought CW was supposed to be fun. That's what all the CW gurus tell
me -- about how much fun they have with CW. Why wouldn't someone want to do
something fun with radio, even if it took a bit of work to pick up the
skill?
>...they would leave us dinosaurs alone,
>and CW would at least live until the last one of us died at the key.
>But now I think not so; it looks to me like they'll run us off the bands
>in less than six months after they kill the requirement.
Pure, wild, speculation. I don't see one shred of evidence that any of this
would happen, regardless of the international agreement.
I remember other types of wild speculation surrounding the Codeless
Technician class. Contrary to those predictions, the hobby hasn't
disappeared. Indeed, it is much the same as it was.
>Anybody want to write an internet program that sends CW over the net?
Sorta defeats the whole purpose.
Bill Coleman, AA4LR, AA96LR Mail: aa4lr@radio.org
Quote: "Not in a thousand years will man ever fly!"
-- Wilbur Wright, 1901
>From rlboyd@CapAccess.org (Rich L. Boyd) Mon Jun 3 19:45:45 1996
From: rlboyd@CapAccess.org (Rich L. Boyd) (Rich L. Boyd)
Subject: Results: Hamfest+CONTEST PROMO
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91-FP.960603144033.22788C-100000@cap1.capaccess.org>
I like AA4NU's approach to recruiting! It seems to me one of us needs to
create a 3-5 minute-long video that explains the very basics of
contesting, maybe ending by referencing the CQ video for more info. As
AA4NU said, guys stopped and watched it for 2-3 minutes at a time.
Presumably most came in "in the middle" somewhere.
Certainly things like "Contests are open to everyone, they're not closed
and private," "they're fun," a brief explanation of why they're fun and
why they're a constructive part of ham radio, what video to go get for
more info, who to contact for more info (probably with a handout sheet
with the email adr and regular mail adr for more info, etc.) would be
helpful in a short video before they lose interest and wander away.
In doing PVRC recruiting one of the interesting questions/concerns that
surprised me was that some newer contesters worried that giving their
score to the club would mean they would be ineligible for individual
awards. They wanted to get their top QRP score section certificate and
worried that giving their score to the club would make them ineligible!
I explained that no, it's like the second chance lottery tickets -- the
club competition is a bonus opportunity.
So, there's much that isn't understood about what we do! 73
Rich Boyd KE3Q
>From n4kw@citrus.infi.net (Pete Raymond) Mon Jun 3 21:02:01 1996
From: n4kw@citrus.infi.net (Pete Raymond) (Pete Raymond)
Subject: Costa Rica
Message-ID: <199606032002.QAA03708@mh004.infi.net>
I will be traveling to San Jose, Costa Rica on 10 June 1996 for about one
month. If possible I would like to meet fellow contesters. I have been
told that there is a repeater on 146.46 simplex for English speaking folks.
I was also advised that visitors to Costa Rica may carry a 2 meter hand
held. 73, Pete N4KW
n4kw@citrus.infi.net
|