Hi Dave,
On 7/16/2013 6:42 AM, Dyarnes wrote:
Hi All,
But CW is a conundrum. It takes skill! That is what seems to be
disappearing from ham radio! Look at the decline in the ability of
the average ham to build his/her own gear, let alone repair it!
Admittedly, the radios we buy these days don't lend themselves to DIY
repair, mainly due to the advanced technology of things like SMD's,
etc. These days, if you have a problem, it usually means swapping out
an entire board rather than replacing a single part.
This is one reason that I didn't pursue electronics as a career.
Back in the early 70s I was in the Air Force, working on FAA-style air
traffic control radar systems.
One unit that I worked on was tube-based, with probably 100 or more
adjustments to keep it properly aligned (per channel - there were two of
them).
While the most common cause of problems was tube failure, we were
required to troubleshoot and repair to the component level.
Fast forward a couple of years, and we had installed a completely
solid-state/digital auxiliary system. The only adjustment was the +5V;
not that we ever had to touch that after installation.
If anything failed, we had a flowchart to follow to determine the most
likely *board* that was the problem! Power down, swap the board, power
up, see if the problem disappeared.
We were specifically prohibited from attempting to repair these boards
in the field.
The absence of a mandatory level of CW proficiency has clearly reduced
the level of CW activity--except in contests!!!!! Interestingly,
though, now that CW is no longer mandatory, a lot of newer hams (and
some old ones too) seem to be having some sort of epiphany about the
virtues of CW, and are voluntarily taking it up. Very interesting!!!
I'm no psychologist, but it seems that humans respond more favorably to
discovering things on their own, rather than being forced to do so.
Heck, as afar as I'm concerned, anything to further my favorite mode of
communication on the radio.
The bottom line is that technology is apt to change everything! It
might even substantially wipe away ham radio all together! It
certainly has distracted newcomers who now seem to be nearly totally
focused on computers. I have some serious concerns about the survival
of ham radio itself, but for now, I think the biggest threat is CC &
R's! Hi.
You got that right! It's becoming almost impossible to find a new home
without CC&Rs.
We're planning a final move in the next few years, possibly to
KH6-land. My two challenges to the realtor: no CC&Rs and no HOA.
Dave W7AQK
73 de Jim - AD6CW
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