On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 asciibaron@comcast.net wrote:
> > Congratulations! What about others? Have you considered that
> > some others might need just a little bit of extra help to
> > "see the light" that you were fortunate (or gifted enough)
> > to stumble upon? Or do you think that if someone does not
> > "get it" immediately and therefore "seek it" they are less
> > worthy?
>
> there are always exceptions. the assertion that the 2m repeater crowd
> needs a bit of extra help does not ring true. my co-worker who pushed
> me to get into the hobby thinks my contesting efforts are a terrific
> waste. i have preached the contesting gospel since my first one (a
> state QSO party in 2003 which i worked 2m FM mobile). i have invited
> several EXTRA CLASS hams to my shack to join in the fun of contesting -
> i have been told i'm wasting my time and getting in the way of their
> nets.
>
> i have tried to get others involved and have been labeled as a bad
> apple because i enjoy contesting. time to reciprocate the warm fuzzy i
> guess.
>
Hmm ... waste of time ... isn't that what hobbies are for? With the
exception of public service activities, you could consider ALL ham radio
activities an elegant waste of time (and money). What I don't get is
anyone who would decry contesting (or any other ham activity, for that
matter) without at least giving it a try.
I've been a ham for 37 years. I think the only ham radio activity I
haven't really gotten into (yet) is ATV. I've even done some traffic
handling on the public service nets occasionally.
I've seen a lot of changes come and go. There has definitely been a
change in the type of person who gets involved in ham radio. The entry
level used to be the Novice license, which was HF CW. Now it appears to be
the no-code Tech on VHF FM. So it goes. (Kurt Vonnegut notwithstanding)
:-) I do chat on 2m FM now and then, usually while driving. I do
my best to get new people interested in the phases of ham radio that I
consider exciting. Sometimes it works, so I'm not likely to give up trying.
I think we ALL need to do that.
73, Zack W9SZ
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