What I am curious about is: Will they stop the use of AM on the MW
Broadcast band, the private/commercial VHF and UHF aircraft band, (that is
picking the primary users of AM) and the amateur bands? Also will they
decide that the use of CW will become illegal on the amateur bands, FM
services to indicate calls signs, the aero NDB's and VORs using CW for ID
indicators? To substitute some digital technology for these essential and
simple equipment technologies just because "they are out of date"?
Considering the non radio and non engineering political/legal types who are
taking over as FCC Commissioners, I would bet they want to "rub out" the
"old" systems from ceiling to floor!
Considering the engineering types and the nostalgists and the growing
interest of newbie amateur telegraphers, I would doubt it! The iPhone and
cellphone still hasn't completely erased the CW rag chewer from the
airwaves.
It would be completely stupid to eliminate the "root of radio" Continuous
Wave Telegraphy. It is slow, but it is simple and it WORKS. Why get rid
of it.
73 to all,
Sandy W5TVW
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Lowman
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2013 12:03 PM
To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] O.T.: End of (another) era
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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