CW is much more popular since the FCC removed the requirement for
code.....Think about that for a minute. People have are trying and
using CW much more now that it is not forced on them. Ham Radio did not
die that day. The bands are not filled with anymore LIDS than they were
before that day.
The no code license has also allowed a huge number of people to work in
their local communities interfacing with their local emergency services
departments, Red Cross, hospitals etc. Most of these people we hardly
hear about.
A remote contact requires radio and rf and both ends of the contact.
My remote, which I don't have tells my transmitter to xmit then I
receive. The station on the other end is also using RF.
Remote radio is simply an extension of the mic cord, keyer cord and
headphones.
We are not talking about working people on the internet without RF such
as chat rooms.
Everything was always better in the old days right? I don't think so.
Maybe for some of you guys that are 20 years older than me. Interfacing
with computers, remote operation, the amazing work of weak signal
processing, SteppIR antennas, 8 element circle shortened rcv arrays and
rtty and cw decoding and spotting are very interesting to me. They keep
me interested in the hobby.
I enjoy chasing new ones and breaking pileups. People demand new things
to work so people have to dream up new "countries" ie sand bars and
rocks that require scaffolding to operate from to keep the people
happy. We have created a bunch of rules to allow unihabited locations
such as BS7, KP1, KP5 and many more to become "countries".
You don't like remote operation. I don't like creating countries that
don't really exist just so I have another new one to work.
Mike W0MU
On 2/26/2015 8:29 AM, kolson@rcn.com wrote:
Sometimes it's more in how things are presented. The thing that struck me was
how the ARRL looked at it was some kind of triumphant feat when it struck me
as, ultimately, kind of sad.
It was late in 2006 when it c ame out that the FCC would remove the CW requirement for
HF operation in early 2007 . Actua lly, I had expected it to happen, figured it was
inevitable and had come to grips. But the President of our local Radio club anounced it
on the reflector to the membership with the message title "A Chris tmas gift to
all". Mostly I am a laid-back guy, but somehow this made me see red. Why?
Back in the day, when a fellow ham would screw up, we would kid him with "where'd you get your license, out of a Cracker
Jack Box?" (or if you are Firesignian in nature, a Cracker Back Jox) Well, in this case, at least the guy would have had to
buy the box of Cracker Jack! It was the idea that a HF Amateur Radio license should be a "gift" that stuck in my craw.
This also became tinged with sadness as I realized that the "powers that be" had come to the (probably correct)
conclusion that people would no longer see an Amateur Radio lic ense as being worth putting in some effort for and would only
deign to be licensed if it was all but "given" to them. BTW, this is not intended as a "you kids get off my
lawn" kind of rant, just a statement on how it is.
Ham radio will go on, but the glory days as we knew them are pretty much the province of
us veteran hams . That shouldn't stop us from enjoying it as we have been doing or
welcoming the new hams that "get" what we do. I just doubt that all that many
future hams will look at ham radio as we do. They will find their own ways and
interests, but the romance of putting together their own station to work some far away
island through the noise on top band will probably (and, I guess, understandingly) elude
them in a time where you can walk down the street talking to your buddy in Australia on
your smart phone, rent a few minutes on a remote superstation to work the latest
Dxpedition, or operate from a big multi-multi contest station without leaving your
apartment.
Best, Kevin
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eddy Swynar" <deswynar@xplornet.ca>
To: topband@contesting.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2015 4:05:09 PM
Subject: Topband: Brave New World
Hi Guys,
I am really & truly surprised that nobody here has raised so much as even an
eyebrow at this story:
http://www.arrl.org/news/no-one-in-the-shack-as-station-logs-4200-contacts-in-arrl-dx-cw-contest
The whole notion---to me, at any rate---compromises the very essence & the "...joie de
vivre!" of operating on 160-meters, don't you think...? And to imagine that one of the
"perpetrators" in all this is actually exuberant about his accomplishment...
“...'No one was in the K4VV shack for the entire contest!' said Mike L*, W0**, who
took part in the contest via K4** from his own shack in Virginia..."
This too is "progress"...? Oh well, I guess maybe it is. Time marches on, things evolve,
things "de-evolve," & nothing stays quite the same.
~73~ de Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
|