Adding one more question on this pile that's about to fall over. Say you had a General license, but lack and adequate "rig" is there a method of remotely working a call? Now ( unlike back 20 years ago ) we have the Internet. So I'm wondering with software and VoIP could remote CQ equipment be accessed?
The idea being I rather pay a monthly fee/dues and sign up for a slot to get access to a well placed transmitter/receiver etc. Rather blow my money on cool handled then install a tower at my house. On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 10:45 AM, Chris Knadle <[email protected]>wrote: > On 2011-05-03 09:13, Joseph Apuzzo wrote: > >> full circle... What made the "Geek Trifecta" So powerful back in the day >> was the three elements: Independent communication "the radio", Building >> the modem, "the soldering iron", and that new device "the home >> computer". I clearly recall watching the packet network for hours on my >> DOS XT system. >> >> But now, we have Android and hand held "hot spots"... so why bother? >> Like almost all that posted to this thread, it was fun while it lasted. >> It seems it's day is gone. Sure there are people creating cool stuff, >> but who wants to be Gram Bell with no Watson? >> > > Because in a DISASTER, the cellular network might be taken out, as well as > typically becoming overloaded. And keep in mind that your fancy smart > phones typically have an 8-hour battery life, and that you don't have a > solar charger for it. The cell phones won't communicate between each other > directly without the base stations being up and running. > > This is the reason why ham radio is still often used during disasters. It's > still cool to be able to talk from the car over the radio, and it works over > a much longer range than cell phones do. > > Being a ham today is still fun, and it still has a purpose -- it's just > that if your purpose is to send data at a high speed, the internet is faster > and will always be faster -- first because the internet uses wires and > optical, secondly because it uses unlicensed spectrum rather than licensed > spectrum with strict rules. > > So again -- it goes back to what your specific goals are. > > Another angle is the social angle. You can meet some very interesting and > bright people over ham radio that you may not meet otherwise. For instance, > why do you go to MHVLUG meetings? I know I mainly go for the social angle > -- it's an opportunity to discuss Linux-related technologies with people > that have similar interests. Same goes for ham radio -- it's another kind > of social group. > > > > So now that you've leaped from one end of the spectrum to the other, try to > think about this as a whole so you can at least get some kind of reasonable > overall perspective. ;-) > > > -- > -- Chris > > -- > Chris Knadle > [email protected] > _______________________________________________ > Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org > http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug > > Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium > May 4 - Inkscape > Jun 1 - Zimbra > Jul 6 - Jul 2011 >
_______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium May 4 - Inkscape Jun 1 - Zimbra Jul 6 - Jul 2011
