Don,

I'll be sure to play dead serious radio with you if we ever talk.  There is
a time and place for everything.  After 41 years of being a ham, contesting,
passing more traffic in an average year than most hams do in a life time,
being active in Mars nets for many years, sideband and CW Mars both,
handling overseas phone patch traffic during the Vietnam period of time, net
controlling local nets and regional nets for many years, I think I have a
pretty good handle on when to be serious and when to enjoy the hobby.
Thanks for the warning anyhow.  In all my years, however, I have never seen
a club that wasn't concerned about money in order to maintain equipment.  In
fact, I wouldn't join a club that wasn't interested in such.

Phil,
K0NX

----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Tarbet" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, January 02, 2005 4:55 PM
Subject: Re: I have to comment on the use of 73


> No, dollars aren't all we are after.  We are interested in public service,
> emergency communications, and protecting our spectrum.  Cute and clever
> works among your friends, but has no place in the wider world of radio
> where communication is the issue.  I have heard so many instances in which
> the clever degrades comprehensibility that I have little patience with it.
>
> The idea is to communicate.  Use the ITU phonetic alphabet or something
> close to it.  I have heard too many broken QSOs in which somebody tried to
> be cute, but language barriers, QRM, QSB, QRN, and just differences in
> style prevented communications.  And there are people like me whose
hearing
> is bad.  If you play games, you and I can't talk on the radio, except on
CW
> which I did on SKN.  Communication, not cleverness, is the name of the
game.
>
> ...and I am president of a ham club, an officer of ARES, and an officer of
> REACT.  Money is nice, but it doesn't define us.  Communication defines
us,
> and cutesy stuff degrades what we are.  Have fun with your friends, but
> don't bother to speak radio pig-english with me.
>
> 73
> Don KD1XU
>
> At 03:42 PM 1/2/2005 -0700, you wrote:
> >I prefer saying seventy freeze.  Difficult to do on CW but what the hay.
> >Furthermore, on voice, I have created a whole new set of things.  For
> >example, on two meters, a bunch of us now say, Bull Winkle when we mean
> >affirmative.  Signing off, I say,toodles which is short for toodleilou.
It
> >drives People crazy.  I often also, on two meters in particular since
there
> >are so many ham cops on there telling others how to operate their radio,
> >sign off with somebody saying this is K0NX over and out.  The club I am a
> >member of let's me get away with it because I have brought so many new
hams
> >into their club.  Money means everything in ham clubs.  By the way, I
talk with a blind friend who also uses two, not one, but two ear implants
and I know how to talk to him so he hears me so rest easy Don.
> >
> >Phil.