Sad to agree we are viewed as glorified CB operators. Tune across
75-meters any evening (or 7.200 and 14.310) and the reason for that
impression is clear. That's the main motivation for my placing Segal's
"The Amateurs Code" at the end of my QRZ page. Not that anyone seems to
care these days, but at least I made the statement.
Dave, I won't belabor the point, but when the FCC let us go to volunteer
examiners, multiple guess exams, and the "study guides" which fosters
memorize-and-forget, any technical prowess within the hobby was ultimately
doomed. You can gather I'm technical and a classic nerd, but I find it
rather difficult to land a rewarding QSO these days on our phone bands. I
still prefer CW, but those portions of our bands have become rather empty
(FT8??).
Amateur radio isn't the hobby it was when I was first licensed almost 65
years ago. But one thing in life is absolutely certain: change.
Dave - WØLEV
On Tue, Jul 30, 2024 at 2:36 AM Dave (NK7Z) <dave@nk7z.net> wrote:
> Hi Dave E,
>
> What you are doing is not at all what I am talking about... I do
> exactly the same thing here, I have a relationship with the cable
> company. I locate leaks in their system, and they fix them... It works
> great. I recently got contacted by one of their Network engineers about
> a very high BER on one of their amps... We tracked it to a local ham,
> and the cable company's leaky system. They terminated the loose drop,
> and the BER dropped to an acceptable level for them, and one more RFI
> source in my area bit the dust.
>
> Of late, the local cable company, (get this), has, by written decree
> within the management, allowed unterminated drops on all move outs.
> They are learning that this is not working... This is the second
> instance of this I am aware of in the last month... So... No grass
> roots movement needed...
>
> Yes, again unfortunately, I think we have also lost it with the DOD as
> well...
>
> I believe the FCC, (not all within the FCC but a good part of the FCC),
> now looks at Amateur Radio as a sort of glorified CB radio service, with
> only slightly smarter operators. Yes that hurts...
>
> One of the ways to change that perception is by careful orchestration of
> contact with the FCC... We need to look like pros, we need to act like
> pros, and we need to prove we are not a dispirit group of CB operators
> to the FCC. I believe the best way to do this is via the ARRL's efforts...
> 73, and thanks,
> Dave (NK7Z)
> https://www.nk7z.net
> ARRL Volunteer Examiner
> ARRL Technical Specialist, RFI
> ARRL Asst. Director, NW Division, Technical Resources
> I never learned from a man who agreed with me. (HeinLein)
>
> On 7/29/24 14:54, David Eckhardt wrote:
> > QUOTE (DAVE, NK7Z): We are just lucky we USED to have emergency status,
> > we don't
> > have that anymore in the FCC's
> > eyes, so the rules are different.
> >
> > We also had the attention of DoD. Is that still in place, or has that
> > gone down with the emergency loss as well?
> >
> > I hear you on a coordinated effort through ARRL. But I have graciously
> > done several individual problems with my equipment. for hams All have
> > been the "fault" of our power provider in the county and out of the
> > cities. Here in N. Colorado in the county, we have a very good
> > relationship with them. Once reported, they were on it the next day.
> >
> > Are you proposing to tie my hands behind my back with such efforts? I
> > do not charge anything for hams. Nor do I do solar installation as they
> > are a given.
> >
> > If I can't help others with my equipment and training as an EMC/RFI
> > engineer, its time for my pine box.
> >
> > Dave - WØLEV
> >
> > On Mon, Jul 29, 2024 at 9:43 PM Dave (NK7Z) <dave@nk7z.net
> > <mailto:dave@nk7z.net>> wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > I would think that we would want a single voice speaking for us.
> Not a
> > bunch of discordant, non organized, not communicating between
> > themselves, citizen groups, all talking to the same companys the ARRL
> > has spent a few years creating working relationships with, and then
> one
> > of them threatening an entity with a lawsuit. The first time that
> > happens, is the last time the threatened entity, (and maybe all of
> > them), talks to the ARRL or anyone else for that matter, without a
> > lawyer reviewing everything said and done. At that point the focus
> > shifts from RFI corrections, to a game of legal cover ass...
> >
> > I guarantee you-- someone sometime soon, will threaten a lawsuit to
> one
> > of the companies the ARRL is currently working with, and crap up the
> > relationship the ARRL has worked so hard to create...
> >
> > That is why you discourage people from forming grass roots, anti RFI
> > groups, that are not affiliated with the biggest dog the Amateur
> > community has right now, the ARRL. This HAS to be a coordinated
> effort!
> >
> > We need to wake up and realize that the cat is already out of the
> bag,
> > some of the foreign, (and probably some of the American
> manufacturers),
> > have already discovered they can submit a test article to a lab,
> obtain
> > a pass, get FCC blessing, and then remove components and sell the
> "new"
> > device without a low pass filter in it, saving them tons of money,
> > (while spraying RFI all over), until they get caught.
> >
> > We are no longer in the PROACTIVE FCC world we grew up in, we are
> > now in
> > the REACTIVE FCC world that exists today, and will NEVER go back to
> > PROACTIVE FCC again...
> >
> > I suspect if the FCC were to hit the companies doing switch game with
> > meaningful punishments, (read that as millions of bucks in fines,
> and a
> > hiatus on importation, or sale into the US markets, for at least one
> > year), things would get somewhat better.
> >
> > The fact of the matter is we are small potatoes to the FCC, and the
> > vendors. We are just lucky we USED to have emergency status, we
> don't
> > have that anymore in the FCC's eyes, so the rules are different. We
> > need to adapt to the new environment... We all know what happens to
> > species that fail to adapt...
> >
> > 73, and thanks,
> > Dave (NK7Z)
> > https://www.nk7z.net <https://www.nk7z.net>
> > ARRL Volunteer Examiner
> > ARRL Technical Specialist, RFI
> > ARRL Asst. Director, NW Division, Technical Resources
> > I never learned from a man who agreed with me. (HeinLein)
> >
> > On 7/29/24 09:24, Mike Fatchett W0MU wrote:
> > > Why would we want to discourage people from actually organizing a
> > grass
> > > roots movement and make our case heard.
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > RFI mailing list
> > RFI@contesting.com <mailto:RFI@contesting.com>
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi
> > <http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > *Dave - WØLEV
> > *
> >
> >
>
--
*Dave - WØLEV*
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