-----Original Message-----
From: Geoffrey Mackenzie-Kennedy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
On Sept.06/07 Julian G4ILO <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
N2EY:
And consider this: The Ancient Ones were working the Antipodes on
HF 75+
years ago with simple regenerative receivers, wire antennas and
oscilator
transmitters putting out a few watts of RF power. All of the
improvements >> in
our methods, rigs and antenna systems since then have been the
direct
results of radio competition of various kinds.
But it does put into perspective the need for high power and high
specs, doesn't it. :)
All depends how you define "need".....
Perhaps, but the Ancient Ones (hmmpf - Elders please)
Ancient Ones is a term of respect. Consider the age of anyone who
actually operated an amateur station 75+ years ago....
did not have to contend with the amount of interference that we have
today, even in 1946 the HF bands were still >quite "quiet" by
comparison.
A lot depends on how the comparison is made.
75+ years ago, there were far fewer hams. Here in the USA, there were
less than 40,000 hams in 1932.
But almost all of them were on 160, 80, 40 or 20 meters. Their
transmitters were mostly not T9X and their receivers (mostly
regeneratives) were rarely narrower than 10 kc. Crystal filters in
receivers came about in the 1930s as a direct result of crowded bands.
And since those bands weren't all open at the same time, the ones that
were tended to be rather crowded....
By 1946, there were about 60,000 US hams (but a lot of them, as well as
hams all over the world, were inactive, still dealing with the
aftermath of WW2). Yet by 1946 the regen receiver and self-controlled
transmitter of 1932 were largely obsolete with hams. Note that in 1946
the WARC bands and 15 meters weren't ham bands yet, and 160 was gone to
LORAN, and we wouldn't get it all back for decades.
Most of the improvements in our methods, rigs and antenna systems have
been the direct results of competition of various kinds. For example:
- Computers in the shack were pioneered by contesters looking for a
better way to log.
- Transceivers with split operation (multiple VFOs) were pioneered by
DXers working split
- More dynamic range (in all its forms), better filters, etc., were
first pushed for by contesters and DXers.
- QRP, in and of itself, is competitive. When most of the stations on
the band are running 100 to 1500 watts out, making QSOs with 5 watts
*by choice* is certainly a challenge!
Competition takes many forms. The ham who looks at the available rigs
and says "I can do better than that" is being competitive, whether
"better" means more performance, lower cost, smaller size, more
features, etc.
Would we have the K3 - or any Elecraft rigs - if Eric, Wayne & Co.
hadn't looked at the available rigs of the time and said "We can do
better than that?"
73 de Jim, N2EY
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