[TowerTalk] BPL: Presidential Backing

[VR2BrettGraham]

tongaloa at alltel.net replied to AA6YQ about where folks of my generation or
later get "turned on" technically:

>I can direct you to a professor at Ga Tech who will argue this one with
>you. With rare
>exception the ONLY kids who are able understand how things work are the
>kids who
>tinker. His job, in addition to EE professor, is motivating secondary
>school kids with
>an interest in technology and science! No, he's not an 'old fart!

I may be an exception, having dropped out of college & done fairly well in the
Far East, where what you can do & not the letters behind your name register
with employers.  As K9YC noted, amateur radio was a big driver for folks in
his generation to get into a technical career & I can confirm that many of my
contemporaries back in my native W7 (now staring at or already on the wrong
side of 40) would have to give credit to their amateur radio interest, too.

There is no substitute for hands-on experience & the ability to think in the
real world - something that mucking with amateur radio as a kid has given
me... something that my colleagues here have no ability with whatsoever
with their higher qualifications (remember Asia - we took over your consumer
electronics industry a few decades back, shortly after the introduction of
Incentive Licensing that stunted the US amateur population).

For me, amateur radio was the best qualification I could have had for the
last 20 years of my working life & with the continued hollowing out of
knowledge about RF & in particular analog stuff, there is bound to be plenty
of opportunity for those behind me.  HF is one of the many facets of this
hobby that was crucial to get me where I am now & it would be sad to see
this door closed to others should BPL pollute the HF spectrum & the
amateur service (based on international convention & treaties) again get the
short end of the stick in the blind pursuit of profit.

Should that Georgia Tech prof ever come to HK, I & a few of my tinkering
drop-out mates would like to buy him a beer or two or six - as he's spot on...

73, VR2BrettGraham