Walt:

I agree with you almost completely (surprise!).  I think some of the
things which made radio alluring in the past -- talking to people in
faraway places, making new and sometimes interesting friends and the
like -- are, for most people, now more easily accomplished via the
Internet.  Never mind that the Internet doesn't work as it should
always; never mind that one of the things which is so fascinating about
radio is its unpredictability.  The fact is that some of the DX-like and
geeky aspects of the Internet have, to some degree, supplanted those
aspects of radio as being of paramount interest to many people.  Also, I
agree with Walt that cellular telephones have, to some degree, taken
over the functions of such stuff as autopatches.  I used to always carry
around a two-meter handheld.  Now I do so only intermittently; I carry a
cellphone at all times.

I also think that the development of so-called "turn-key" systems
allowing Internet access has spurred interest in it at the expense of
radio.  Many people don't want to have to study at all (look at the
number of Internet ads for diploma-mills!).  Never mind that ultimately
the Internet is more complex than is at first advertised.  I'm not a
Rush Limbaugh fan but he's right when he says that many people these
days value form over substance.  If it looks like you're doing
something, it's as good as doing it.

I think this attitude is mistaken.  Perhaps September 11 will wake us up
a bit.  (Let's not get started on the WTC disaster, please!)  But I see
a sea-change so that people are taking things more seriously.  And we
must remember that cell systems were overloaded.  (Interestingly enough,
though, several people have stated that before they bailed out of the
WTC, Internet E-mail was still working -- and fiberoptic telephone kept
right on chugging during the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989).

The one area where I disagree with Walt is that I believe radio not to
be dying out.  There's still a lot of it around and will be for a long
time to come.  This includes ham radio and international broadcasting.
After all, China blocks certain websites and even if the infrastructure
existed, you can bet that the Taleban would do the same.  But radio
knows no boundaries.

73!

Mike Freeman <[log in to unmask]>
Amateur Radio: K 7 U I J

----- Original Message -----
From: "Walt Smith" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2001 7:35 AM
Subject: Re: radio


> Well, the fact that it's an expensive hobby has _never_ been a barrier
in
> the past.  Really _good_ commercial ham gear has always been expensive
and
> my interest in gear goes back to the 1950's when, in fact, a good
> transmitter and receiver set were proportionally a _lot_ more
expensive than
> a decent transceiver is now.  Also, I think it's much easier to get a
ticket
> today than it was, say, thirty or forty years ago, especially since
the CW
> requirement was altered.  I think that the Internet and the general
change
> in culture are the responsible culprits ... people today just don't
have the
> interest, patience, or attention span to sit at a desk for several
hours a
> day with only sound coming at them.  Because of television, we've
become a
> visually-oriented culture and the Internet meets a lot of this need.
Also,
> the fundamental concept behind ham radio ... the making of
acquaintances and
> even good friends by some remote means ... has just lost a lot of its
> appeal.
>
> I just found out the other day that the Voicespondence Club, the
world's
> oldest tape recording hobby club, is disbanding next year.  It's
fallen
> victim to the same things ... the allure of the Internet and the
decline in
> a need for relationships of a more than casual or superficial kind.
Email
> can and will never substitute for the human voice, but Internet chat
is so
> popular today; as are virtually no-cost telephone rates; that those
who want
> that kind of involvement can get it a lot easier than by radio.  As a
> medium, radio is simply dying out ... and that applies to all forms,
not
> just to ham radio.
>
> --
> Walt Smith - Raleigh, NC
> [log in to unmask]
>
>