Barry et al;
I agree. I have a Apple SmartPhone 5. My wife has a SmartPhone 5 plus a
Kindle HD. Both are touch screen devices. I am reasonably fluent in
computer operation. As to those "touch screen" devices........nothing but a
royal pain in the butt! I'll be glad when my contract ends. I need a phone
where I can reliably talk to someone when needed. I don't need no stinking
device to fumble around on and send hieroglyphics and three letter acronyms.
And it is those devices that have contributed to an enormous increase in
auto accidents and fatalities requiring states to pass and enforce laws
where the average person needs protection from the "new breed" of
communicators. Plus we have lost the ability to actually communicate as
well.
I love the latest and greatest digital technology but for gosh sakes, make
it user friendly with some degree of common sense application.
As recently said "this country was built by men wearing overalls and
military uniforms , but is being destroyed by men wearing suits and texting
with SmartPhones".
73
Bob, K4TAX
----- Original Message -----
From: "Barry N1EU" <barry.n1eu@gmail.com>
To: "Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment" <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 01, 2014 7:56 AM
Subject: Re: [TenTec] New Radios in the Future
The hf rig front panel evolved its knobbed interface over a period of
nearly 100 years. It works. I don't need no steenkin'
smartphone/touchscreen/mouse/whatever modern interface for my radio.
Sure,
let the radio hardware be the latest greatest direct digital sampling, but
keep my user interface classical.
73, Barry N1EU
On Sat, Nov 1, 2014 at 8:33 AM, Phil Sussman <psussman@pactor.com> wrote:
I do agree with Rick to some extent. The days of building from
scratch are quickly waning away. Yes, it still possible to make
simple devices, but the degree of complexity of modern items
outpaces the ability to create.
Consider fiber optic cable -vs- wire. Over the years there's
been a wide variety of wire of various gauges and materials.
But still wire was something that you could connect, crimp,
or solder. Not so with fiber optics - - the diameter is small
yet it can conduct for miles with very low loss without the
issues of EMP or moisture. If you want to splice it, you need
a fusion splicer costing thousands of dollars. If you want to
connect it, the tools and equipment required to clean, inspect,
and terminate it place that ability beyond the average technician.
Yes, progress moves on. But that does not mean innovation is
dead .. it is just different. We still find pleasure in making
the seemingly impossible work. I speak of homemade antennas that
defy logic. I speak of emergency power systems that can power
equipment for days (because of the decreasing power consumption).
Just as LED's have progressed in technology over filament bulbs,
so has our ability to innovate progressed. We might not be able
to repair a circuit board full of SMD components. We still, however,
can take pride in making things work.
Just my thoughts,
73 de Phil - N8PS
-------
Quoting Rick - DJ0IP / NJ0IP <Rick@DJ0IP.de>:
"there is no better time to be a radio UI homebrewer"
Oh, I do not agree with that!
I agree it is a good thing that people continue to home brew anything at
all, but I can't see how the thrill of programming a computer board or
radio
that they bought can compare with the thrill of hearing that first radio
station when I built my first crystal radio in 1958, cat-whisker and
all.
Or with building a 20m CW transceiver from a schematic and magazine
article....
Weeks of collecting parts, 40 or 50 hours of soldering it all together,
then
finally turning it on and hearing radio signals...
Then sitting down in the living room with the little rig running off of
a
battery and using a home brew indoor magnetic loop antenna just 3' in
diameter, and working about 20 stations around Europe in a contest, the
first 30 minutes on the air. This was excitement.
I built my first computer in 1977, also from an article in a magazine.
Gathered the components and soldered it together, just as I had done
with
radios. And I was proud when it worked. But that didn't match the
thrill
of
hearing radio stations, at least not for me.
I don't want to take anything away from the people participating in the
makers movement, but let's not sell the past too short either. These
makers
could still build their own radio today if they wanted to. They have
other
interests.
73
Rick, DJ0IP
On 10/31/2014 11:54 PM, Neil Martinsen-Burrell wrote:
it is also true that there is
no better time to be a radio UI homebrewer. There will be a great
deal of innovation on this front in the next 10 years. Kudos to
TenTec for giving us the Rebel and allowing innovation to thrive again.
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