[TenTec] tenTec merger, etc.

[Paul Gentry]

I disagree with the history you present below.  It was not as I have read
"...for fun, it was not as a hobby, and it was not intended to create a
group of technology experimenters that it became later."  It was
experimentation and research at the beginning.  The technology
experimenters is what it started with, became, and still is.  It was
arguably for fun (enjoyment) because people passionate do what they love
for fun, enjoy it, and can do nothing else.  Sometimes it turns into a
job.  Benefit was seen to allow experimenters who had a passion for the
physics of radio to learn by doing along with some regulation- the
license.  No one at the turn of the 20th century envisioned an army of
radio operators ready to serve the country.  Amateur Radio Emergency
Service is arguably what you point out but it came much later...

Just my take and obviously has little to do with TT radios.

Paul K4BWG

On Thu, May 22, 2014 at 2:28 AM, geoffrey mendelson <
geoffreymendelson at gmail.com> wrote:

> On 5/22/2014 7:28 AM, TTMaven wrote:
>
>> Your comments fit with my take... after attending the Homeland Security
>> Forum at Dayton last week.  The government workers are getting ham
>> licenses.  They think that gives them training as radio operators.  It
>> appears they will be in charge, and we must work for them.  Not that is all
>> bad, but we will not be in charge. The image of the ham operator showing up
>> to save the day is long gone already.  Hams "might" be used as auxiliary
>> operators, when there are not enough trained government guys, and hams will
>> be working for the govt boys - not the other way around.
>>
>
> The original idea behind ham radio was to create a pool of trained radio
> operators in case of rapid need, e.g. war. It was not for fun, it was not
> as a hobby, and it was not intended to create a group of technology
> experimenters that it became later.
>
> That is why called the Amateur Radio Service.
>
> In other countries it is a sport (e.g. the Soviet Union), or an almost
> ignored hobby, e.g. Israel. My SWAG is that here in Israel, there are  as
> many people with old Motorola and new Baofeng radios illegally using them
> on PMR446 (the EU equivalent to FRS), and the "American"
> frequencies (FRS and GMRS) as active hams on UHF and almost as many as on
> VHF. :-(
>
> Geoff.
>
> --
> Geoffrey S. Mendelson 4X1GM/N3OWJ
> Jerusalem Israel.
>
>
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