Kevin:

I think what you describe here is part of the reason a lot of us continue to 
be involved in amateur radio.

Sure the internet and smart phones are amazing, and have their uses and 
benefits.

But, I think what sustains us is the ability to do what we do, using the 
knowledge we have, with our own personally-designed station set-ups.  There 
simply is a real sense of accomplishment in that.

I think this, too, is why ham radio will always continue.  It works when all 
else fails, and allows us to have fun with a great hobby and serve society 
as well.

It always amazes me, for example, how so many people say that CW is a lost 
art that is going by the way-side.  All you have to do to dampen that 
argument is go on the bottom of the HF bands on many contest week-ends, and 
you'll hear more CW crammed into the CW portions of the bands than you ever 
thought possible.

Tom Behler: KB8TYJ

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kevin Minor" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:14 AM
Subject: Listening to stations far away: was RE: Baseball on the Radio Part 
3


> Hi.
>
> I changed the subject to better fit what we're talking about.  I think 
> what
> we as ham operators enjoy about far off AM stations is the same reason why
> we put up antennas for HF to get that rare DX contact.  For me, it was
> realizing that I was actually hearing a transmitted signal from that 
> distant
> location direct, point to point.  It's true that we have things like
> EchoLink and our smart phones, but these rely on a network of relaying
> points to get to us with that crystal clear signal.  Presently I don't 
> have
> HF, except what I could get on my TH-F6A.  I hope to be able to get back 
> on
> HF soon, and experience the excitement of getting that rare DX.  I 
> remember
> my Novice days, back when you could only use CW on four HF bands.  I was 
> in
> high school, and I well remember getting up at five in the morning to work
> west coast stations on 40 meters.  I lived near Cincinnati, Ohio back 
> then,
> and I had a blast!  Technology has sure changed in the 31 years since I've
> been licensed, and I wonder if the public understands that we hams 
> pioneered
> a lot of it.
>
> Have a good night, and don't work too hard.
>
> Kevin Minor, Lexington, KY
> [log in to unmask]
>