You want hidebound "middle aged white guys" just listen to 14208 in the morning. SSB hurts my ears, CW forever!
Doug W6JD ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen W. Kercel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Elecraft Reflector" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2005 8:57 PM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT: VOA Article about Hams in India > Hi Fred: > > I'm very encouraged that some young people are taking up ham radio. Given > the "politically correct" attitude of the times, I have heard ham radio > dismissed as a "middle aged white guy's" amusement. It is good that events > show that this is not strictly true. > > Frankly, I hope that a lot of newcomers do take up the more sophisticated > digital modes. Ham radio has always had a tradition of advancing the > technology, and now is no time to stop. Although I think that there will > always be CW, I suspect that the analogy to sailing is very sound. It will > be a popular (and even indispensable) niche within a much wider range of > activities. > > Your point about publicizing the no-infrastructure character of CW is well > taken. Beyond that, with rare exceptions nobody but hams use CW these days. > We're keeping the art from becoming lost. > > BTW. I'm strictly CW myself. I tried operating SSB a few times but could > never get the hang of it. CW is far less difficult. > > 73, > > Steve > AA4AK > > > At 07:01 PM 1/5/2005 -0800, you wrote: > >Hi Steve, > > > >We are of a similar mind. I too was initially dismayed at the > >possibility that CW would be dropped, in the US and worldwide, as a > >licensing requirement. Your response was somewhat courageous in these > >polarized times. I think I've begun to realize that any newcomer to the > >hobby, and the younger the better, is an asset. Some will embrace CW, > >some will go for FM and repeaters, some (the really young ones) will > >advance the digital radio arts. All of it benefits you and me. > > > >Here in Placer County, the HS students must complete a Senior Project to > >graduate. It is something they must "do", just not report on. I serve > >on the community boards for these students, and it is something I look > >forward to each and every year ... it renews my faith in the coming > >generations. Two years ago, I was a mentor (a required part of the > >project) for the son of a ham friend. Like all 18 yr olds, he was a bit > >distracted at times during the project ... we raised four kids, we're > >somewhat aclimated! Of course, I was not on his Community Board. > > > >He got his license -- that was the goal of his project. For his > >Community Board presentation (I wasn't on it of course), he operated > >from my station in the CQ WPX using his Dad's call ... a WX6 prefix, > >presented a description of ham radio, emergency service, and his > >experience in the contest ... and got hooked on the competition. > >Somewhere, he figured out that phone was one mode, but there were > >others, and CW wasn't that hard to learn (he was still young, that's > >when we all did it, no?) > > > >Infrastructure-free communications is still a critical issue in times of > >severe disaster. I wish there was more "press" about it. > > > >73, > > > >Fred K6DGW > >Auburn, CA CM98lw > > > _______________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Post to: [email protected] > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
