Hi Eddie and Chas,
Each to their own, but I would add one other aspect that might be a great skill
builder. Recently I've had a great time troubleshooting broken rigs. While
not explicitly "home brew", troubleshooting and repair of various ham gear can
be quite challenging, especially the gear of 1980's vintage, microprocessor
controlled, but with lots of discrete components, most which are discontinued
and substitute or even replacement circuits have to be designed into the system.
--
Paul Decker, KG7HF
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2008 08:43:23 -0500
> From: "EP Swynar"
> Subject: Re: [Amps] Linear Amplifiers
> To:
> Cc: amps@contesting.com
> Message-ID: <004e01c953ba$cb095a20$7e21334a@SwynarComputer>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> On 30th November, Chas wrote:
>
> "...Those are a LOT of skills for anyone who has not been learning and
> excercising all of them pretty much constantly over the last 30 yrs or so.
> Unfortunately, many of us have spent those valuable years doing other things
> like, raising families, fighting in wars, fighting debilitating diseases,
> trying to make a living in fields far abroad from HF electronics and SO
> ON...."
>
> *************************************
>
> Hi Chas,
>
> Well, believe you me, I haven't exactly been letting the proverbial grass
> grow under my B-hind here either for the 37+ years that I've been a Ham!
>
> In that time I earned a university degree, got married, raised two kids,
> paid off the mortgages on two homes, worked 35 years before retiring, and
> fought cancer 4 years ago, to boot...yet somehow I still managed to build
> three completely homebrewed superhet receivers, one regenerative receiver,
> three linear amplifiers, two transmatches, six transmitters, two modulators,
> and umpteen power supplies & related paraphernalia!
>
> Now, Iam NOT in any way, shape, or form saying that all this might make me a
> "better" Ham than you --- far from it! I merely bring this up as an example
> of what one can do, despite the day-to-day pressures of living (indeed, many
> were the mornings that saw me wake up an hour earlier than needed to get
> ready for work, as I headed straight downstairs to the workshop).
>
> The point I'm trying to make, I guess --- and I DON'T mean to offend anyone,
> so no flames, please! --- is that I personally feel being a Ham without at
> least ONE homebrewed major piece of equipment in the shack is like taking a
> shower with one's clothes on: oh you'll get good & wet & soapy, alright, but
> the full effect just isn't there...
>
> Non-homebrewers --- IMHO --- really and truly are missing a core element of
> what makes one a Ham. Our mantra USED to be that the fraternity was composed
> of "...tinkerers and experimenters"...I shall continue to try to personally
> live up to that philosophy for as long as I might continue to be fortunate
> enough to stay one step ahead of the ranks of Silent Keys, Hi Hi...
>
> ~73!~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ
>
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