[CQ-Contest] Contesting from HOA neighborhoods -- Pro and Con on the Amateur Radio Parity Act

[Bob Burns W9BU]

On 8/18/2017 1:21 PM, Jim Brown wrote:
> AND, we as a country have been doing a lousy job of educating our 
> younger citizens about many subjects, including, but not limited to, 
> science, math, geography, history, and civics.

I think we are venturing a bit off topic, but I couldn't agree more.

I recently had a conversation with a fairly new ham that actually 
restored my faith in our future. He had purchased a radio from me, but 
the speaker quit working after he had the radio for a while. Instead of 
blaming me for selling him a defective product (it worked fine at time 
of sale), he dug into the problem and found the cause. Unfortunately, 
the cause is something he can't easily fix, so he has ordered a new part 
from the manufacturer and will install the new part when it comes in. He 
even made a YouTube video showing how he diagnosed the problem and 
referred me as "a friend" in the video.

Given the number of people getting into amateur radio these days who 
have absolutely no clue about electronics and who would either toss a 
defective radio in the trash or send it back to the manufacturer, this 
guy did a great job with his diagnosis and he wasn't afraid to tear into 
a new-to-him radio. There may be hope yet!

Bob...