RFI
[Top] [All Lists]

RE: [RFI] Today's Wall Stree Journal front page article on hams & BPL

To: <wrt@dslextreme.com>, <dj2001@mn.rr.com>
Subject: RE: [RFI] Today's Wall Stree Journal front page article on hams & BPL
From: "Hare,Ed, W1RFI" <w1rfi@arrl.org>
Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 19:40:56 -0500
List-post: <mailto:rfi@contesting.com>
The reporter personally saw S9+ noise levels on the mobile transceiver.  He 
personally saw that receiver hearing signals from all over the world as we 
drove to the test area.  He saw that recevier receive interference for a half 
mile past the BPL test area and he heard that interference on MHz after MHz.

After all that, he talked about how amateur radio "claims" there is 
interference instead of portraying it as fact.

Still, overall, I think it was important to get the interfernce aspects of BPL 
into national attention. It did get top billing in the article.

73,
Ed Hare, W1RFI



-----Original Message-----
From: rfi-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:rfi-bounces@contesting.com]On
Behalf Of Bill Turner
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 10:17 AM
To: dj2001@mn.rr.com
Cc: RFI@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [RFI] Today's Wall Stree Journal front page article on hams
& BPL


On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 18:01:17 -0600, dj2001@mn.rr.com wrote:

>Not a very helpful article.  Someone with good writing skills should 
>reply to the WSJ and let the writer and their boss (The Editor) know 
>that Amateur Radio is not just a "hobby", rather a public service and 
>that we ARE on the cutting edge of technology, not just a bunch of 
>old guys that built "crystal sets" in their youth.

_________________________________________________________

Like the blind men and the elephant, we all have our different
perceptions, but I thought the article was quite fair and correct.  For
nearly all hams, it is indeed a hobby.  Those who do perform a true
"public service" are so rare they get written up in QST.  Most of us
either chase DX, contest or ragchew, none of which is a "public
service".

When you say "we ARE on the cutting edge of technology" I think of an
appliance operator with the latest from Kenwood, ICOM or Yaesu.  To me,
the most exotic thing hams do now is probably EME, and even that is
decades old.  Years ago I built my own gear, including a complete 40
meter transceiver which was my own design from the ground up, but those
days are gone.

Don't get me wrong; I love my hobby, but I would be embarrassed to tell
someone I was "cutting edge".  What part of ham radio were you thinking
of?

--
Bill, W6WRT
QSLs via LoTW

_______________________________________________
RFI mailing list
RFI@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi
_______________________________________________
RFI mailing list
RFI@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>