On 11/22/06, Brett gazdzinski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I always thought Tim was an original, and harmless, when in a one on one QSO, he makes for a pleasant QSO.
I agree, Brett. I also know only a small portion of what he's given back to amateur radio over the years, and it would fill volumes. I'm not excusing or even trying to explain what could or couldn't be called 'bad behavior' because it isn't up to me to decide for others. It does seem to be more of a herd-mentality. No one has mentioned the 'Prime Minister' as he calls himself, up in VE land. Dale makes anything Tim could say or do seem tame in comparison.
He does have a lot of imitators though, who just sound like morons to me.
Ah, yes....the 'Timitators'. To me, they've always been the real issue with poor operating practices. Tim is Tim, take him or leave him - your choice. With the Timitators, it seems to become more an issue of who can act more outrageous, using Tim's persona as a basis or excuse. We have a local 2 Lander here who not only tries to sound like Tim, he appends his name with 'tron'. Also uses one of those Berringer CB toys. We just have to accept that some people don't have a clue, muchless a life.
There are a LOT of ego's on 80 meters, people who love to show off their knowledge and/or money. Its quite cliquish.
Yep, there are. To some, the ability to buy a collection or claim some sacred knowledge of XYZ seems to be the only reason for being on the air. I know a W3 on 40m who is big into the 'mine's bigger than yours' pissing match, bragging about having 6 of these and 7 of those 'desirable pieces of gear'. I've always thought web pages were a pretty good yardstick for determining what matters most to folks. And Mark said:
> I remember back in the 1920s there were > guys who acted > like that. It's only a small percentage so you're best off > ignoring them and > being one of the good guys". So this is not a new phenomenon.
Your memory is much better than mine, Mark. You've aged well. I have trouble remembering the 60s! But seriously, you can read old QST columns from TOM and others with comments about how ham radio is going down the tubes, horrible operators on 80, etc etc. You have it today with the some of the AM antics, the 'this is MY NET frequency' ragchew crowd, the knuckle-dragger SSB ops, and so on. They are all the exception to the rule or a small percentage of their group, whereas contesting is the opposite. Contesting is all about outdoing anyone else and using whatever means to do so. Those who don't approach it this way are clearly in the minority to my ears and on-air experience. What does contesting offer beyond certificates, bragging rights, and the opportunity to know you outdid someone else? Working DX offers at least as much challenge, as does weak signal work. Probably more. Best advice - don't participate or encourage. If you don't like it, don't be part of it. When I come across a QSO that I don't want to be in because of any number of reasons (size of group, break-in or R/T, stupid behavior, idiot op, etc), I just move on to another group. If there isn't one, I find a spot and call CQ. Or change bands. Or go do something else. Too many feel the need to be led, instructed what to do, when to get on, or whatever else. They clump on a frequency or join a QSO in progress, then complain about it. As someone said, it's a symptom of society in general. Few want to take responsibility for themselves or their actions, others want to complain and not simply remove themselves from the situation. Yet another good argument for *multiple* QSOs on the same band, at the same time. Vote with your feet, or VFO in this case. You'll never be able to change the characters you don't like into a reflection of your ideals. ~ Todd, KA1KAQ ______________________________________________________________ AMRadio mailing list List Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio Partner Website: http://www.amfone.net Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.html Post: mailto:[email protected]
