Ham radio was the main focus of communications in nyc when the phones and
pagers and everything else was down. Police and firemen saluted the hams and
guess still do! 73,
Barb [log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Buddy Brannan" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2001 11:58 AM
Subject: Re: radio


> Peter A Goodhall said the following on Sun, Oct 14, 2001 at
09:47:09AM -0400:
> > 1. it costs a lot of money
>
> Doesn't have to. It costs a lot of money if you insist on buying new
> gear. It costs a lot of money if you cannot be ingenious about getting
> your equipment. Building antennas, perhaps building a kit, finding
> good bargains at ham fests. But yes, if you insist on commercial
> antennas, rotators, and towers, and brand-new gear, it is
> expensive. However, lots of folks have, and lots more will, get on the
> air without much cash outlay at all.
>
> > 2. young people can speak to people in vk on there mobile phone
>
> You just try calling some random number in VK-land and chat with the
person
> who answers the phone. They'll probably think you're a nut, you
> probably won't get much of a conversation out of them, and you'll
> spend even more money on your mobile phone bill than you would have
> done on your radio gear in the first place.
>
> > 3. The internet
>
> Hardly. The Internet is a completely different beastie from ham
> radio. Sure, if you look at ham radio as simply a hobby wherein people
> can chat with people they happen to find, you're likely to find that a
> lot of those don't want the hassle (albeit a small one, these days) of
> studying for a ham license. But someone pointed out that when the
> no-code license came around here, folks got into it for communications
> ease, then found cheap mobile phones and Internet access and lost
> interest. What we have to realize and come to grips with, is that ham
> radio is *not* *just* a communications hobby. It's much, much broader
> than that. Radio is magic. Radio is an amazing thing. The ones that
> will carry this hobby forward are those who love radio, want to learn
> about radio, are interested in its history (technically and otherwise)
> and are also interested in pushing its boundaries into the
> future. So yeah, a lot of us like to communicate with our radios, but
> we like to do so for the radio, and not so much for the communication
> for its own sake, if you get what I mean. Not to say we don't like
> communication for its own sake, but that isn't enough, really. Hams
> are hams because, plain and simple, they love radio. And I'd hardly
> say the Internet is the death of ham radio. Look at all the neat ways
> hams use the Internet! EQsl's, DX spotting, the Internet Radio linking
> Project (www.irlp.net), mailing lists. Need I say more?
>
> > 4. it is hard passing the exam for a ticket
>
> *ROFL* Since when?
>
> > 5. there is no adversing of amateur radio
>
> Eh? Perhaps you mean advetising. And on this I would agree. We
> absolutely need more widespread and effective PR. What the hell is
> this ham radio thing anyway? I couldn't agree with this point
> more. Part of the problem is that, while we love ham radio, we don't
> know how to most effectively promote it. I know I don't. What do you
> say when someone asks you what ham radio is? I know I can't properly
> answer the question in 25 words or less. It's a broad and
> far-encompassing activity, and it's *not* what you're likely to bill
> it to people as--solely communication--as the Internet and your mobile
> phone, as you say, accomplish that gol fine for a lot of folks. So
> that's the trick: How do we tell people about the magic of radio so
> they understand and are excited by it?
>
> I've noticed a decrease in activity on the HF bands myself, at least,
> a little bit. I'm not sure if it's real decrease, radio conditions, or
> nostalgia for my first years ass a ham in the last solar cycle kicking
> in, but hard numbers would definitely be interesting to look at, I
> think. It's at least interesting to note that QRP is very popular
> these days, and cw doesn't seem to be going away, in spite of some
> people's best efforts. I sure hate to see it go as a testing
> requirement. (Sigh) If there is indeed a decline in activity and it
> isn't just radio conditions or nostalgia, I'm inclined to agree with
> Howard--the license is getting so easy to get, people aren't placing
> as much value on it. It's at least interesting that the restructuring
> hasn't been the hoped-for magic bullet to swell our numbers...but I'm
> sure somebodies had already figured it wouldn't be.
>
> 73,
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV    | From the pines down to the projects,
> Email: [log in to unmask] | Life pushes up through the cracks.
> Phone: (972) 276-6360    | And it's only going forward,
> ICQ: 36621210            | And it's never going back.--Small Potatoes
>