Topband: Brave New World

[kolson at rcn.com]

Sometimes it's more in how things are presented. The thing that struck me was how the ARRL looked at it was some kind of triumphant feat when it struck me as, ultimately, kind of sad. 

It was late in 2006 when it c ame out that the FCC would remove  the CW requirement  for HF operation in early 2007 . Actua lly, I had expected it to happen, figured it was inevitable and had come to grips. But the President of our local Radio club anounced it on the reflector to the membership with the message title "A Chris tmas gift to all". Mostly I am a laid-back guy, but somehow this made me see red. Why? 

Back in the day, when a fellow ham would screw up, we would kid him with "where'd you get your license, out of a Cracker Jack Box?" (or if you are Firesignian in nature, a Cracker Back Jox) Well, in this case, at least the guy would have had to buy the box of Cracker Jack! It was the idea that a HF  Amateur Radio license should be a "gift" that stuck in my craw. This also became tinged with sadness as I realized that the "powers that be" had come to the (probably correct) conclusion that people would no longer see an Amateur Radio lic ense as being worth putting in some effort  for and would only deign to be licensed if it was all but  "given" to them. BTW, this is not intended as a "you kids get off my lawn" kind of rant, just a statement on how it is. 

Ham radio will go on, but the glory days as we knew them are pretty much the province of us veteran hams . That shouldn't stop us from enjoying it as we have been doing or welcoming the new hams that "get" what we do. I just doubt that all that many future hams will look at ham radio  as  we do. They will find their own ways and interests, but the  romance of putting together their own  station to work some far away island through the noise on top band will probably (and, I guess,  understandingly) elude them  in a time where you can walk down the street talking to your buddy in Australia on your smart phone, rent a few minutes  on a remote superstation to work the latest Dxpedition, or operate from a big multi-multi contest station without leaving your apartment. 

Best, Kevin 

----- Original Message -----

From: "Eddy Swynar" <deswynar at xplornet.ca> 
To: topband at contesting.com 
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2015 4:05:09 PM 
Subject: Topband: Brave New World 

Hi Guys, 

I am really & truly surprised that nobody here has raised so much as even an eyebrow at this story: 

http://www.arrl.org/news/no-one-in-the-shack-as-station-logs-4200-contacts-in-arrl-dx-cw-contest 

The whole notion---to me, at any rate---compromises the very essence & the "...joie de vivre!" of operating on 160-meters, don't you think...? And to imagine that one of the "perpetrators" in all this is actually exuberant about his accomplishment... 

“...'No one was in the K4VV shack for the entire contest!' said Mike L*, W0**, who took part in the contest via K4** from his own shack in Virginia..." 

This too is "progress"...? Oh well, I guess maybe it is. Time marches on, things evolve, things "de-evolve," & nothing stays quite the same. 

~73~ de Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ 
_________________ 
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband