Well I have been an extra class since 1963. I too, have patents and am a retired EE design engineer. I run three Elecraft rigs and two computers. But I admit that I feel dumber than a hammer when looking at all the software options and menu items. I haven't even considered a Flex because of my limited computer skills.
Btw, at age 79, I can still build with SMDs. It's a matter of being blessed with good enough eyesight and steady hands. I got over looking down on others without my level of expertise when I realized there were just as many who have skills I don't have. If amateur radio is to survive, we need to be teammates, not adversaries. End of soapbox session. 73, Dave, K4TO On Sun, Jan 3, 2021, 11:01 AM Buddy Brannan <[email protected]> wrote: > I am, sadly, one of those dumber than a hammer types. Never learned to > solder anything. Theory was not my strength, and if you sat me in front of > an Extra test, chances are better than even that I’d fail it. I mean a lot > better than even. Like…OK, I’d fail it for sure. But I passed the 20 wpm > three times, twice with 100% perfect copy for all five minutes. This skill, > while handy in a pinch, doesn’t confer much more than bragging rights, > whereas actually being good at the technical side would actually be dead > useful. As opposed to, well, making me dead by some crazy accident. > > Still, and getting back to the age divide, I’d agree that if we’re > focusing on the ability to talk to people anywhere in the world, we’re > focusing on the wrong thing. Radio is magic? Yeah, closer, because it is, > and I think we all of us who do this thing appreciate that. But I think the > ARRL had the right idea when it started an initiative to court the > so-called maker community, because there’s a lot of common ground there, > harkening back to old traditions of home brewing (an aspect of the hobby on > which I Feel I’ve sadly missed). Also, communication without infrastructure > has a certain appeal, and I don’t think it gets enough press. Sure, we’ll > use it if it’s there. But we don’t have to, and this is an aspect that > definitely deserves more airplay than it gets. Add in competitive aspects > to the no infrastructure. I think all of these things could appeal to > younger people if presented right. > > On the other hand, I was a 14-year-old ham in 1987, and I had exactly zero > success in getting much of anyone interested in this greatest of all > hobbies, so that could mean I don’t have any idea what I’m talking about. > > > Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA > Email: [email protected] > Mobile: (814) 431-0962 > > > > > On Jan 3, 2021, at 10:21 AM, <[email protected]> <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > This is funny: > > > > " I expect a fire war when I say this and that is, most extra class hams > > licensed with in the last 15 years are dumber than a bag of hammers when > it > > comes to radio theory, operation, station building, safe practices or > > anything as simple as soldering or crimping on a PL259." > > > > I'm one of those Hams that is dumber than a hammer. I got my Novice > license > > in 1974 and finally got around to upgrading to Extra in the last 15 year. > > Actually since CW is my favorite mode of operation I was ambivalent about > > upgrading. Only till I realized Extras don't need to memorize that band > > edges did I upgrade. > > > > No, I don't waste time on games. I spent the last forty years building a > > career. I ran an R&D team for 5, was CTO of multiple companies, I do > both > > electronic and software engineering, oh did I mention I have 14 > patents? I > > can solder the smallest surface mount devices by hand. I just finished > > building an observatory in my back yard. I built a 1965 replica Cobra, a > > GIANT analog synth, and I restore vintage computers. (Real ones > 8008/8080 > > era...) > > > > No, please just send me the golden hammer, I admit, I'm the dumbest of > all > > dummies and proud of it. > > > > 73 > > > > len > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [email protected] > > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Morgan Bailey > > Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2021 1:32 PM > > To: Tom Azlin W7SUA <[email protected]>; [email protected] > > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Reaching across the chronological divide > > > > Chronological divide, Heh. I am 67 years old, for 7 years I played WoW, > for > > 6 years I played Everquest and for 5 years I have played Guild Wars 2. I > > enjoyed each of these games. I moved on to the more progressive game but > > still enjoy playing them from time to time. I only play GW2 at this time. > > Making the games set up and work with all peripherals is no harder than > > setting up FT8. Setting up RTTY with 2 or 3 decoders and getting > everything > > to work...much harder. I am finding that many people in their 40s and 50s > > are getting into Amateur Radio. Some want the challenge of making stuff > > work, some want the antenna building experience, some want kit building > but > > most seem to be from a subset of the population that are what one might > call > > internet geeks. These guys do great in the transition to ham radio. > > Many gamers spend upwards to 2k$ on a video card only for their game box. > > So, $$$ is generally not a limiting option for this group. When they get > > hooked, they are hooked hard. In NCJ a few years ago, there was an > article > > about contesting and video games. The parallels between the 2 of being > "in > > the zone" were made. The same psychological high is involved but > actually, > > it is more involved and dynamic than an online game. > > > > Pile ups, gotta love them, any mode you can get them, cw or ssb will > provide > > that psychological high that melts the time away and keeps you on your > toes. > > One can get so involved that you have to force yourself to take a deep > > breath and relax the shoulders and refocus on your posture so you can > > continue to run. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 hours later, you have to pee, get a > drink, > > grab a snack and get at it again. It is addicting. I am glad that cw > > contests are not every weekend because my life would end. LOL. SERIOUS > > online gaming requires raiding to really advance in MMORPG games. Serious > > ranking for WRTC takes the same. It takes tech, engineering, $$$ and > > commitment to advance in the world of contesting. What reward? Well, if > you > > like to compete then this is your mojo. If you like to collect wallpaper > for > > working all places, counties, countries, etc it is there. If you want to > be > > recognised in a magazine for contest performance that is here. > > > > In the ham radio world there are no cash prizes. Not so in the gaming > world, > > there really are professional gamers. Heh for that matter, I used to farm > > gold in games and sell it for $$$. I did this while waiting to Raid. > > In games you have dps meters and one always tried to be on the top of the > > pile by being best in your class for whatever your function was. N1MM > has a > > rate meter and mults window based on band population and feedback and > > spotting networks. How does one get these gamers to transition to Amateur > > Radio? Good question. When I state that my hobby is Ham Radio, I get, "I > did > > not think people did that now. Or Really, what is that? Why would you do > > that?" the conclusion that I get from these comments is: there is not > enough > > exposure of the population to Amateur Radio. Plain and simple people just > > don't hear about it or see it in action. There are no public special > events. > > There are not enough elmers to encourage people. There are no longer any > > towers being put up because of HOA and zoning ordinance rules. > > Towers used to be focal points for people to talk about. Why does he > have a > > tower? Once that question was asked then a tour of the shack generally > was > > involved and maybe 1 in 10 or 20 became interested to progress into the > > hobby. Rarely do you see a tower any more. Less exposure, less questions, > > about the hobby. People in general are curious. > > > > If we want Amateur Radio to survive, we as a whole have to whet that > > curiosity. We have to be Elmers. We have to welcome people and encourage > > them to get involved. We have to be honest about the realistic > expectations > > of the hobby both in what it can and can not do, what is going to be the > > realistic cost to get going from marginal rig/station to contest capable > > station. The greatest disservice that is currently being done is > licensing. > > I traveled for 23 years up and down the east coast. I have attended many > > radio club meetings and the focus has been licensing, getting more hams. > > Sadly, that is not the answer. Many of those that got the license never > > operated. Then there are the shack-on-the-crack 2 meter hams that just > get > > on repeaters and yack all day long. The same 3 or 4 guys on the repeater > day > > in and day out talking about the same thing. Heck if I were a new ham, I > > would give it up in short order and try to sell my baufong asap. The > problem > > is even though we get people licensed there is little or No followup with > > helping them get on the air. When I got my license over 50 years ago, I > > studied the Ameco Radio theory course. I bought the ARRL handbook. That > was > > my bible, my religion when I was 12 years old and living on the farm. > Today > > you buy a license manual. It has all the questions and answers. Marking > out > > all the wrong answers so that only the question and right answer appears > and > > after reading just the question and the answer through 6 times and never > > reading anything else, there is a good chance that a person will pass the > > exam and never know a damned thing about radio but they will be an Extra. > > Whoopie. I expect a fire war when I say this and that is, most extra > class > > hams licensed with in the last 15 years are dumber than a bag of hammers > > when it comes to radio theory, operation, station building, safe > practices > > or anything as simple as soldering or crimping on a PL259. Much less do > they > > know what an SO239 is and what it is used for. Then there are those that > > sell new hams broken or marginal radios and that despoils them on the > hobby. > > There are tons of pitfalls to getting new hams into the hobby. The > problem > > is not licensing, it is helping the peer get going so they can have fun. > > Whether it be CW, SSB, Contesting, Satellite work, building antennas or > kits > > or just helping choose equipment and antennas and helping with that first > > QSO, those are the things we need to be doing. I have no proof of this, > but, > > if a new ham does not get on HF quickly after getting licensed he or she > > will not be long for the hobby. > > Getting them invested in more than listening to a squelch tail is what > needs > > to be done. > > > > I praise Elecraft in their business model. First and foremost, they do > not > > produce crap radios. They are clean. They can be used in tough > conditions. > > For the most part with reasonable care and feeding, they are bombproof. > > Plus, they have a price point for almost every entry into the HF > spectrum of > > the hobby. Their KX2 is a marvel for mountain top operating or the > traveling > > ham that wants a park-bench QSO in his down time. It is a quality radio > > under the 1k$ mark. Next is their KX3. It has a way better RX, extra > bands > > and more power and sells well equipped for under 2K$. Then enter the K3S, > > now discontinued. It was the gold standard of all contest radios well > > equipped for Under 4k$. Now they have the K4 iterations which I believe > will > > set a new standard for further manufacture of ham radios. In wondering if > > Eric and Wayne were gamers, they made a radio that can be upgraded by > > plugging in new cards which is congruent with upgrading a computer game > > machine. Because their focus has been quality before beauty, seemingly, > they > > produce an excellent radio, which is durable and does not have the LS > > branding of chrome and fancy knobs to detract from lack of performance > found > > in other brands. Any of their radios can be used to contest and they are > not > > painful to use. Every time I have called Elecraft, I get someone who > answers > > my questions. Honest, to the point answers and service beyond what any > other > > manufacturer has today. I am not forwarded to the call center where it is > > like working DX with QRM and QSB trying to understand the person on the > > other end. Yes, I own some junk radios, 991A, 450D, 746, Xeigu, and not > one > > of those radios compares to a KX2 in functionality of RX. If you can't > hear > > them you can't work them. My current radio for the past 5 years is the > K3S > > with a second RX. I have worked thousands of QSOs on that radio. Nothing > > keeps its trade in value like an Elecraft. If a new ham can afford an > > Elecraft, you have not done him a disservice in recommending one to him. > For > > a new ham, buying an Elecraft and putting up a resonant antenna is > almost a > > guarantee for successful communication. > > > > Yes, I drank the koolaid, and I continue to do so. It tastes great. I > want > > more. I guess that is why I ordered 2 K4s in group 1. > > > > 73, > > Morgan NJ8M > > > > > > BS + MS + $2.98 = COFFEE > > Real Life Experience = Priceless, says the man who set his back yard on > fire > > with a breadboard tuner loading a 160 meter inverted L with 1000 watts. > LOL > > > > > > On Sat, Jan 2, 2021 at 12:27 PM Tom Azlin W7SUA <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> Sorry to not agree EricJ. > >> > >> I have made a lot of friends over multiple QSOs, in my case digital > >> modes. To me that is the magic that continues. Including long QSOs > >> with hams across the ponds. But then I got my Novice in 1972. > >> > >> At local neighborhood watch got asked if I could help if we in this > >> rural area lost land lines and cell phone service. So I explained how > >> ham radio can help. No kids there so getting them excited still work > >> in progress. > >> > >> 73, tom w7sua > >> > >> On 12/14/2019 7:46 PM, EricJ wrote: > >>> We're missing the point here somehow. Siri's answer should have been > >>> "The best way to contact Helen is to pick up your phone and call > >>> her." > >>> > >>> Anything else is pretty much a waste of time and resources just to > >>> talk to Helen. Seriously, there's a sizable investment in > >>> specialized equipment to make contact via AMSAT or whatever. The > >>> contact is set up for them. Then Jon and Helen wait to be told when > >>> the link is ready. If that's worth doing and will attract young > >>> people, then just shoot me. It sounds terminally boring. > >>> > >>> Making that investment in specialized equipment can't be justified > >>> as utilitarian communication because it's expensive and > >>> inefficient. If the point is to contact your friends any time you > >>> want to, they are already doing that with a half a dozen reliable > >>> instant technologies all accessible from the same smartphone. I > >>> don't get where ham radio comes in to solve a problem they have > >>> already solved. Certainly not with a system that requires waiting 15 > >>> minutes for a satellite to get in position, and a Cupertino Robot to > set > > up the call. > >>> > >>> I don't have the answer to attracting young people to a rapidly > >>> changing hobby in an even more rapidly changing world. The aspects > >>> of the hobby that attracted many of us was the sheer magic of radio > >>> itself. We weren't attracted to it because it let us contact our > >>> friends. Even then we had the telephone for that. We were attracted > >>> to the magic. Nine times out of ten, the communication part was "599 > >>> OM PSE QSL". > >>> > >>> I always heard how DX contacts would allow me to learn about other > >>> cultures. Actually, it did. After exchanging signal reports, I'd > >>> look up their city with an atlas or encyclopedia. But I learned zip > >>> on the air. A few California Kilowatts could hog a DX station, and > >>> chit chat for a few minutes, and did because they could. But the > >>> rest of us never got beyond the basic exchange and fought like hell for > > that. > >>> But it was magic so it didn't matter that it wasn't all that > >>> practical. > >>> > >>> The magic that attracted us is gone. Maybe there's new magic to be > >>> found, but it's different magic that most of us with 30-70 years in > >>> the hobby won't understand...and probably won't like. We are the > >>> wrong people to even be considering answers but anyone expecting to > >>> make a living from the hobby will have to find that new magic. It > >>> ain't instant communication and it ain't the ham radio equivalent of > >>> retro turntables. > >>> > >>> Eric KE6US > >>> > >>> ex-K1DCK, WA6YCF, WB2PVW > >>> > >>> > >>> On 12/14/2019 5:35 PM, [email protected] wrote: > >>>> Question: Can amateur radio reach across the digital divide ? My > >>>> answer: It could Follow up Question: Do you think it will ? My > >>>> answer: No, not with current products and modes of use > >>>> > >>>> Why do I say this ? My 20 year old wants a turntable for Christmas. > >>>> Why on earth does he want one when he can download any song he > >>>> wants from his apple music account ? Answer: People of his > >>>> generation are moving beyond mere utility (listening to any song > >>>> anywhere anytime), they now want a musical experience, playing a > >>>> vinyl record - could be one of mine - with all the "atmosphere" > >>>> (hiss and scratches) to experience the music as it was "made". > >>>> > >>>> Could this experiential notion morph to a communications form? > >>>> Communications utility is being able to contact your friends at > >>>> anytime from anywhere, instantly, AKA the ubiquitous smartphone. > >>>> A communications experience could be one where the path / mode is > >>>> dynamic and not guaranteed to succeed (applies to VHF linked > >>>> repeater systems and HF). > >>>> > >>>> So why won't this happen ? We (amateur radio hobbyists and > >>>> industry) don't follow the usage paradigms they are used to and > >>>> frankly expect, built around their smartphones. > >>>> > >>>> The turn tables I'm looking at have RCA jacks to connect to an > >>>> amplifier but they also have Bluetooth to connect to your phone and > >>>> speakers, and of course "there's an App for that" on the > >>>> smartphone. > >>>> > >>>> People of this generation are not going to configure virtual COM > >>>> ports so their apps can access a radio. Neither will they work > >>>> through windows "wizard" configuration screens. Apple and the > >>>> other developers have made set up effortlessly work and offer > >>>> digital assistants to help you on your way. For example, below is > >>>> a conversation from a possible radio future. > >>>> > >>>> Jon, Ham Radio Operator: "Hey Siri what repeaters are near me and > >>>> can I link to Helen in Scotland ?" Siri: " Yes Jon there are > >>>> several repeaters nearby but the best way to contact Helen is via > >>>> Amsat, one will be over horizon in 15 minutes, shall I let Helen > >>>> know you want to contact her ? conditions are favorable" Jon: " Yes > >>>> Siri, let her know, I'll get the antenna ready" > >>>> > >>>> Sounds like science fiction ?- no this is technically feasible > >>>> today - question is will some entity make the investments to make > >>>> it happen ? > >>>> > >>>> Best Regards Andy K3CAQ > >>>> > >>>> -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] > >>>> <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Wayne Burdick Sent: > >>>> Friday, December 13, 2019 6:24 PM To: Elecraft Reflector > >>>> <[email protected]> Subject: [Elecraft] Reaching across the > >>>> chronological divide > >>>> > >>>> Hams of a certain age, including yours truly (first licensed in > >>>> 1971) recall their excitement on joining the hobby: there was the > >>>> promise of contact with faraway places, collection of vivid QSL > >>>> cards, mastery of esoteric equipment, synchrony with the rhythms of > >>>> Morse code, and the crafting of antennas to harness action at a > >>>> distance. > >>>> > >>>> Most of us still feel that spark, occasionally--some on a daily > >>>> basis--experiencing the wonder all over again. > >>>> > >>>> While the accoutrements and equipage of youth have evolved over the > >>>> decades, their DNA has not. Somewhere, nestled between the genetic > >>>> codes for half-pipe snowboarding, Instagram, Juul, and ambient > >>>> house, there's a dormant sequence for the Radio Art waiting to be > >>>> stirred. > >>>> > >>>> Is there a Battle Royale for ham radio? A tactical RPG? > >>>> > >>>> What is our sorcerer's stone? Our rap? > >>>> > >>>> Will Gen-Z or Gen-Alpha tickle the ionosphere, and if so...why? > >>>> > >>>> To hand our batons across the chronological divide, we'll need > >>>> empathetic, open-ended inquiry. > >>>> > >>>> 73, Wayne N6KR > >> > >> ______________________________________________________________ > >> Elecraft mailing list > >> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > >> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > >> Post: mailto:[email protected] > >> > >> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email > >> list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to > >> [email protected] > >> > > ______________________________________________________________ > > Elecraft mailing list > > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message > > delivered to [email protected] > > > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > > Elecraft mailing list > > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > > Message delivered to [email protected] > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to [email protected] ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
