On Sat, Dec 16, 2006 at 04:24:20PM -0600, Howard Kaufman wrote:
> To predict the future, study the past.
> What will HF sound like?
> Listen to VHF, and quake in your boots.
What, because VHF sounds civilized and orderly, or what?
I've lived in three cities csince I've been a ham: Austin and DFW,
Texas, and Erie, PA. In all three, local ham radio traffic has been
fairly civilized. In all three, the good operators far outweighed the
bad, and courtesy was more the order of the day than was rude
behavior and bad operating. Were there jammers and idiots? Sure, but
we had those before February 14, 1991 as well. We even had them on HF!
(Oh, gasp, horror!) So, what are you trying to say, anyway?
You're right in one respect: to predict the future, study the
past. And ham radio's past tells me that it's always been
changing. It's always been at death's doorstep. There have always been
those resistant to change. And in spite of all that, ham radio's
survived and thrived. So...my study of the past tells me that this
most recent change isn't a whole lot different than other changes. Do
I like it? Nah, not really. Do I wish it had happened differently?
Sure I do. Am I sad to see the code requirement go away? Yeah, I
really am. Am I going to lose any sleep over it? No. What I *will* do,
however, is welcome newcomers with open arms and treat them with
respect, as I was treated when I got my ticket almost 20 years ago. I
will do my best to pass along our heritage and teach our new ham
brothers and sisters and help them any way I can to become good
operators. If they want to learn code, I'm happy to help. Until any
ham proves he isn't worthy of respect, he will get it from me, whether
he passed a test in 1938 or 2007.
If anyone's going to kill off this hobby, it's going to be us. I
suggest we don't.
>
>
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--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV: Executive In Training!
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