Topband: Unfortunately I also feel that Ham radio is more or less lost.- Hans Hjelmstr?m

Wed Oct 25 22:09:27 EDT 2017

There was a time when SSB was considered evil.

73, Larry W6NWS

On 10/25/2017 4:23 PM, Bryon Paul Veal NØAH wrote:
> RF/IP will save amateur radio.  It is a HUGE industry and is  growing by
> leaps and bounds. School's are ridiculously slow in getting RF into
> standard STEM curriculum but it will happen. Kids already use so many
> wireless devices...compare and contrast what they use with what we have and
> the light bulb turns on.
>
>   As for digital, relax, all because you don't like it doesn't mean anything
> to the hobby. 21st century technologies will naturally be what drives our
> hobby, and that is mostly the digital modes.
>
> Yes, there is a gap right now with youth and licensure, but it will close
> soon enough.
>
>   160M rocks, just be glad it has new energy with modes common with the
> times.....I just got my 160M DXCC, 92 CW, 6 PH, 2 JT65.  It has easy to
> associate antennas and other components making RF a lot of fun to teach and
> learn and apply to the MW and above stuff you can't see!
>
> 73
>
> Paul. N0AH
>
>
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> http://www.aqua-mail.com
>
>
> On October 25, 2017 9:46:19 AM W0MU Mike Fatchett <w0mu at w0mu.com> wrote:
>
>> Ham radio is not dead.  It has been dying since I got into it.
>>
>> 1 - Fear of the FCC and loss of license is gone
>>
>> This was a rarity anyway.  People are still losing their licenses and
>> the fines can be huge.
>>> 2 - Profanity and other on-air forms of civil disrespect abound
>> Society in general acts this way not just hams.  Hams are people too.
>>> 3 - 8 and 9-YO EXTRA Class ticket holders - Cracker-Jack-prize
>>> ticket-holders
>> The tests have been made easier. Why does this matter?  My son who got
>> is tech at 13 could of had his extra by 15 but he got his general and
>> stopped.  He have very little interest in radio.  Some of it is because
>> of the nasty people he has heard and had to deal with, lousy conditions
>> and his free time is chewed up with fantasy football, Drones, gaming
>> etc.  There are so many more outlets for kids and young people today
>> than ever.
>>> 4 - Cell phone comms to anywhere in the world kills mystery of radio
>> What really has killed radio is the steep price to get in and dwindling
>> locations in which to do it.  To be competitive you must have a pretty
>> nice station.  That is a major turn off.  You can be a competitive gamer
>> with middle of the road computers.
>>> 5 - Examine QST's "The Doctor Is In" column and look at questions Extra's
>>> are asking
>> People have been asking silly questions for years in that column.
>>> 6 - It appears today's kids are more interested in gaming as opposed to
>>> things math/science
>>>        they are just application-experts and have little or no understanding
>>> of HOW a computer
>>>        functions.(I have to admit my digital hardware skills are quite
>>> lacking too.)
>> How many kids were interested in ham radio when you were growing up?  I
>> bet not many.  I went to a Junior high school and we had one teacher and
>> about 8 students interested in a school about about 300 people.  I bet
>> that percentage is off the charts high for interest in radio.  I just
>> happened to live in a very rural area with a bunch of hams around.
>>
>> Those gamer kids probably know more about computer than most of us on
>> this list.  They know how to over clock and get the most out of their
>> rigs, etc.  Different skill sets.  They will be driving unmanned fighter
>> jets, drones, tanks and more and will do it far better than any of us.
>>
>> How many hams can explain how their radios work.  Take a K3 or flex for
>> example.  I bet most hams would not be able to tell you how a modern rig
>> works.
>>> 7 - CC&R restrictions against antennas has crippled many op's driving them
>>> to being
>>>        repeater-band operators
>> Which is why FT8 and other modes like this and whatever is coming will
>> keep ham radio alive.
>>> 8 - Loss of CW as an entry-into-Ham-Radio-Filter has seriously dumbed-down
>>> the technical
>>>        side of Ham Radio
>> Wrong.  Dead wrong.  There are more people interested in CW now than
>> ever.  When you allow people to learn what they want instead of forcing
>> them down a path you get more out of them.   I can't tell you the number
>> of Parks on the air SSB or county hunter ops that have started to learn
>> CW because they want to make more contacts and have figured out CW is
>> better when condx suck.
>>> 9 - Repeater systems linked together by commercial fiber lines, etc.
>> Why is this bad?  Linking is good for statewide coverage, you get to
>> talk to more people and the systems are more robust and can handle
>> emergency and rescue ops better.
>>
>>> 73 Dick/w7wkr at CN98pi and CN97uj
>>> ===============================================================
>>> Message: 3
>>> Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2017 12:23:51 +0200
>>> From: Hans Hjelmstr?m <sm6cvx at hjelmstrom.se>
>>> To: Steve Ireland <vk6vz at arach.net.au>, sm5djz at ssa.se,  sm6cmU
>>>           <sm6cmu at inolit.se>, topband at contesting.com
>>> Cc: Kjell Nerlich <sm6ctq at gmail.com>, sm6ctq at ssa.se,    Peter Andersson
>>>           <sm6mcw at skara.net>
>>> Subject: Re: Topband: FT8 - the end of 160m old school DXing? (long)
>>> Message-ID: <435447A1-A63A-4146-B55B-F17403D3234C at hjelmstrom.se>
>>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
>>>
>>> Hi Steve
>>>
>>> I FULLY agree on all you write.  Unfortunately I also feel that Ham radio
>>> is more or less lost.
>>>
>>> According to me,,,this is NOT Ham radio,, it is digi to digi without any
>>> personal feeling.
>>> And even more ,it destroy completely the challenge of Ham radio?..
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