Tinkering and hands-on experience is of course important - but tinkering
with what? You'll have about as much luck with kids and HF today as you
would have with kids and steam locomotives back in the 50's; not zero,
but hardly compelling. If you want to inspire kids today, get them
tinkering with WIFI, BlueTooth, DSP, and Java; show them how to design,
model, and build antennas for those kinds of systems.
I am as anxious to preserve HF from the ravages of BPL as is any other
DXer or contester. By positioning ourselves as "defenders of the old
ways", however, we are all-too-easily dismissed; "ham radio is how I got
started 40 years ago" may be true for many in our generation, but is as
counterproductive a strike at BPL as its analog was against diesel
locomotives 40 years ago.
If we're going to overcome BPL, it will be with better technology in the
marketplace, not by plying lobbyists, politicians, and regulatory
agencies with emotional arguments that appeal to no one but us.
73,
Dave, AA6YQ
-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of VR2BrettGraham
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 21:55
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] BPL: Presidential Backing
tongaloa@alltel.net replied to AA6YQ about where folks of my generation
or later get "turned on" technically:
>I can direct you to a professor at Ga Tech who will argue this one with
>you. With rare exception the ONLY kids who are able understand how
>things work are the kids who
>tinker. His job, in addition to EE professor, is motivating secondary
>school kids with
>an interest in technology and science! No, he's not an 'old fart!
I may be an exception, having dropped out of college & done fairly well
in the Far East, where what you can do & not the letters behind your
name register with employers. As K9YC noted, amateur radio was a big
driver for folks in his generation to get into a technical career & I
can confirm that many of my contemporaries back in my native W7 (now
staring at or already on the wrong side of 40) would have to give credit
to their amateur radio interest, too.
There is no substitute for hands-on experience & the ability to think in
the real world - something that mucking with amateur radio as a kid has
given me... something that my colleagues here have no ability with
whatsoever with their higher qualifications (remember Asia - we took
over your consumer electronics industry a few decades back, shortly
after the introduction of Incentive Licensing that stunted the US
amateur population).
For me, amateur radio was the best qualification I could have had for
the last 20 years of my working life & with the continued hollowing out
of knowledge about RF & in particular analog stuff, there is bound to be
plenty of opportunity for those behind me. HF is one of the many facets
of this hobby that was crucial to get me where I am now & it would be
sad to see this door closed to others should BPL pollute the HF spectrum
& the amateur service (based on international convention & treaties)
again get the short end of the stick in the blind pursuit of profit.
Should that Georgia Tech prof ever come to HK, I & a few of my tinkering
drop-out mates would like to buy him a beer or two or six - as he's spot
on...
73, VR2BrettGraham
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless
Weather Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with
any questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
_______________________________________________
TowerTalk mailing list
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http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
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