[TowerTalk] The CW filter and dumbing down

[Michael Tope]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chuck Gooden" <cgooden at insightbb.com>

> Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML wrote:
> 
>> Examining the myths of CW we find at the top of the list "CW kept the 
>> CBers out."
> 
> All one needs to do is to tune across the HF Bands and listen to the 
> bickering going on, or listen to your local repeaters, or the whining 
> that hams do on email reflectors.  Doing so you will soon realize the 
> CB'ers are in ham radio already.
> 

A friend from work brough in an old QST one day (I think it was 
from the 1930's). There was an article in that QST discussing an 
earthquake in Southern California and how there were some jerks 
jamming an emergency net that had been set up to pass health and 
welfare traffic. What's that old saying "The more things change the
more than stay the same"? Whenever you cast a wide net in the 
general population you are apt to reel in some bad apples. The
converse is true as well. My neighbor up the street is a CBer. 
He is one of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet. If he
were interested, he would make a fine ham. 

If anything is repelling people from amateur radio today it is 
this obsession with stupid bickering about standards. Whenever 
young people hear a bunch of old gray hairs waxing on about 
how they had to walk 10 miles through the snow in their bare 
feet to get the school, they will smell the death and run as fast as 
they can in the other direction. If they see a bunch of old salts 
building something cool like a remote base, or stacking 40 meters 
yagis, or building a big power amplifier, then they will be interested. 
Go do something cool. You will be happier and your enthusiasm 
will infect others. 

73 de Mike, W4EF...............................................

> Why don't I see those who are correcting the misinformation that is 
> being published in QST writing articles to correct it?  Why do we sit 
> back an complain about no code, or the declining technical standards in 
> ham radio when we don't teach classes on the electronic theory, or 
> operating practices.
> 

I second that!!