Hi this isBrian Sackrider n8mnx and you need to rembember that lots of 
people live in places with very restrictive antenna restrictions I live in 
an apartment am I very limited on what antennas that will fit on my balcony 
and I use the cq100 program on my computer this is a vertual hf radio no 
it's real hf radio but it's all that some of us have you are required to 
send prove of your licence to by a membership on cq100.  there is a 90 day 
free trial and then it cost 39 dollars per year.  there people on it that 
are in nursing homes and in hhospitals and they can still can communicate 
and on the issue of echo link and irlp they are 2 other modes that people 
with antenna restrictions can still operate so it's always that people are 
to lazy to putup antenas please think and get your facts before you judge 
put yourself in our place I got my licence to communicate

-----Original Message----- 
From: John Miller
Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2013 1:25 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: 47 years as a ham

When *I* pick up the phone, it generally is a complete waste of time but
        that's beside the point. I didn't get a radio license to talk on the 
phone
or the internet, that's not radio and I'd be flat out embarrassed to brag
about my last phone call to NY or skype call to TN or where ever it was all
those months ago and I certainly would never call an internet conversation
or phone call DX, accept a card or anything for it. Why anyone would get a
radio license just to use the internet is well beyond me but then, that's
why I never get on 2 meters, that's all anyone seems to do these days and
they're so happy they never have to actually work to make a contact,
upgrade, put up antennas or anything. As far as I'm concerned, they
shouldn't be any part of radio with that attitude since they don't even know
what radio is if they're calling the internet radio.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Howard Kaufman" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2013 8:47 AM
Subject: Re: 47 years as a ham


> So john, does that mean if you pick up a telephone you are just wasting
> your
> time?
> How is that different than incorporating the Internet?