[RFI] Today's Wall Stree Journal front page article on hams & BPL
Jim Smith
jimsmith at shaw.ca
Wed Mar 24 22:26:00 EST 2004
For a very complete dissertation on the contributions of ham radio to
society in the areas of science, industry, and social services, both in
the past and the present, along with some comment about the
irreplaceable nature of the Amateur Radio Service see VE7ZD's Master's
Degree thesis on the subject which may be found at
http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/thesis/
Click on the pdf link and prepare to be overwhelmed.
73 de Jim Smith VE7FO
dgsvetan at rockwellcollins.com wrote:
>
>
>Bill and All,
>
>I believe that the most damaging aspect of the article is the reference to
>"hobby". I see that term used by so many hams in all sorts of
>correspondance, and that is very unfortunate. Yes, it IS a hobby to us as
>individuals, but it is a SERVICE in the eyes of the FCC and non-technical
>public. There is no other justification for the allocated spectrum in
>today's bottom line thinking (whether we agree with that sort of thinking
>or not). Sadly, the article makes no mention of 9-11 services by hams, or
>the natural disaster assistance record over many decades.
>
>Bill, you strike a mostly true note with your comment about the public
>service providers within ham radio's ranks. To be fair, I do personally
>know DXers and contesters who participate in public service events and
>support work in association with various local radio clubs and RACES, ARES,
>etc. However, many more do not. I have frequently seen where contesters
>and DXers write letters to editors extoling the virtues of their activities
>as "utilizing the amateur radio frequencies". Yes, that's true, but to
>what or whose purpose? IMHO, it is exactly that sort of distorted thinking
>that can lead to our HF spectrum getting trampled by the greedy (and well
>heeled) power lobby and our VHF/UHF bands being parceled off to other
>interests who offer more "public service", however it may be defined.
>
>BPL should be treated strictly as an RFI issue on technical terms, but it
>is not. It has severe economic and political side issues linked with it.
>Hams have only one significant arguement: free public service to the
>country and its citizens. In these days of terrible natural disasters and
>the threat of even worse problems caused by terrorists, having the ability
>to provide wide range emergency communications is where it's at and is all
>that has a chance to grab the public's attention and any possible support
>in our favor. Clear HF communications capability is very important to a
>government or emergency organization official so that hams can talk across
>the country support and disaster reflief issues that extend beyond the
>local area (where VHF/UHF could do the job). If BPL messes up your chances
>for DXCC or to be king of the CQ Worldwide, who (in the public or
>government) really cares? Remember, amateur radio and private "general"
>aviation are the only two hobbies that require federal licensing. There
>are widely differing reasons for that, but the bottom line is we need to
>hold up our "service" end of the "hobby" if we expect to have a chance of
>drawing the kind of attention we need from the right people in order to win
>this thing.
>
>I hope that the fantastic efforts of hams in support of emergencies
>continue to be written up in as many media outlets as possible, not just
>the ham rags. Many excellent articles about preparing for and providing
>public service continue to appear (as they have for many decades) in all of
>the amateur radio publications, plus the training courses now offered by
>ARRL. (It would be nice to point that out to the public and elected
>officials.) One of the best sources for "nuts and bolts" of emergency
>communications I have found is the long-running "Search and Rescue" column
>written by W7SAR and appearing monthly in "World Radio". Check it out.
>
>Finally, "cutting edge" was the norm for articles in "ham radio" and
>"Communications Quarterly", and continues now primarily in the form of
>"QEX". I don't have to think very long about why the first two
>publications are no longer with us (I was a long-time subscriber to both).
>The last time I checked, the exam for a US amateur radio license had
>techncial questions on it. In my mind, that says our "hobby" is a
>technically-based "service". Do any of you realize that major corporations
>who dealt with RF technology actually had subscriptions to the major ham
>radio magazines for their tech libraries because of the technical content?
>Does anyone care to guess why the support for true cutting edge
>communications technology information has dwindled within our ranks?
>
>73, Dale
>WA9ENA
>
>
>
>
>
> Bill Turner
> <wrt at dslextreme.c To: dj2001 at mn.rr.com
> om> cc: RFI at contesting.com
> Sent by: Subject: Re: [RFI] Today's Wall Stree Journal front page article on hams & BPL
> rfi-bounces at conte
> sting.com
>
>
> 03/24/2004 09:17
> AM
> Please respond to
> wrt
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>
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>On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 18:01:17 -0600, dj2001 at mn.rr.com wrote:
>
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>>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
>
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