Posts Tagged ‘Opinion’
Enjoying the journey
June 1st, 2016 | 
Author: There's an active post on the ARRL NPOTA Facebook page, where someone is lamenting the fact that some of the NPOTA Activators are not loading up their logs to Logbook of the World in a "timely" enough manner to his satisfaction.
I think we have to keep in mind, that for many of the Activators, this is not a "free" exercise. Maybe they have to pay to get into a National Park, perhaps not. Destinations a long way from home involve gas, wear and tear on the car, perhaps even lodging and meals. There are also other considerations that don't involve money, but still involve expense. Time away from home, friends and family. These all factor into the equation.
Yes, Activators are putting the Parks on the air, because they want to. No one is holding a gun to their heads. So they pretty much ignore the personal expense because they're having a good time and are getting some personal satisfaction from doing their activations. At the same time, they are giving all the Chasers something invaluable, too. They are giving you a good time! They are providing you with something fun, something exciting, and new.
There have been anecdotes told of those who have their dwindling interest in the hobby rekindled because of NPOTA. In my own personal experience, I had a dormant Ham come up to me while I was activating the National Gateway (RC08) at Sandy Hook, NJ. He saw my antenna and me, sitting at my little table, putting The Hook on the air. He bicycled up and introduced himself with this name and call and proceeded to ask me "What's going on?" He then proceeded to tell me how he was licensed, but was inactive. I in turn, explained all about NPOTA and portable ops. Not only was his interest in the hobby rekindled (you could tell by "that look" in his eyes), but he also brought his young son over to take a look. You could almost see the light bulb go off over his head. To him, the idea of not being stuck in a Ham shack, but being able to be operate outside in the sunshine, with the breeze in his hair struck a resonant chord with him. It was almost like he never thought of the possibility before.
Let's also not forget that NPOTA is not a contest. Yes, there's a Leader Board and yes, stats are being kept; but that doesn't mean that NPOTA is radio sport and nothing else. If anything, it's an operating event - designed by the ARRL to put a new, shiny face on our wonderful hobby.
With that, I'm going to go off on a tangent here, and am going to state my personal opinion that Amateur Radio has gone somewhat off the rails and has become too much "radio sport". We worry too much about DXCC tallies and contests in general. Look, I'm as guilty as anyone else in that regard, as I run a QRP contest each August ........ but what's happened to the rag chew? When was the last time you had a QSO with a DX station that was more than "599 TU"? When was the last time you talked about the weather with a foreign Ham, or about some other subject not related directly to radio?
I remember when I was a Novice in the late 70s, and actually had conversations with DX stations! I know, unheard of, right? And the QSL cards I received actually contained friendly letters, sometimes with photos of the DX Ham's station or hometown. Why have we largely gotten away from that? That was the best part of the hobby!
Before I get accused of contest bashing - let me state that radio sport has its time and place. There are people that exist only for that - and that's fine. That's another facet of this hobby that is perfectly legitimate. However, it seems to me that we've let a little bit too much of that mentality creep into the rest of our hobby. We worry too much about scores, standings and results. I think what we need to do is slow down and enjoy the journey and not worry so much about the destination.
The journey is the fun part and the destination should be the fond memories of the things we enjoyed along the way. We need to exist for each other, not just for standings, results, wallpaper and trophies.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I think we have to keep in mind, that for many of the Activators, this is not a "free" exercise. Maybe they have to pay to get into a National Park, perhaps not. Destinations a long way from home involve gas, wear and tear on the car, perhaps even lodging and meals. There are also other considerations that don't involve money, but still involve expense. Time away from home, friends and family. These all factor into the equation.
Yes, Activators are putting the Parks on the air, because they want to. No one is holding a gun to their heads. So they pretty much ignore the personal expense because they're having a good time and are getting some personal satisfaction from doing their activations. At the same time, they are giving all the Chasers something invaluable, too. They are giving you a good time! They are providing you with something fun, something exciting, and new.
There have been anecdotes told of those who have their dwindling interest in the hobby rekindled because of NPOTA. In my own personal experience, I had a dormant Ham come up to me while I was activating the National Gateway (RC08) at Sandy Hook, NJ. He saw my antenna and me, sitting at my little table, putting The Hook on the air. He bicycled up and introduced himself with this name and call and proceeded to ask me "What's going on?" He then proceeded to tell me how he was licensed, but was inactive. I in turn, explained all about NPOTA and portable ops. Not only was his interest in the hobby rekindled (you could tell by "that look" in his eyes), but he also brought his young son over to take a look. You could almost see the light bulb go off over his head. To him, the idea of not being stuck in a Ham shack, but being able to be operate outside in the sunshine, with the breeze in his hair struck a resonant chord with him. It was almost like he never thought of the possibility before.
Let's also not forget that NPOTA is not a contest. Yes, there's a Leader Board and yes, stats are being kept; but that doesn't mean that NPOTA is radio sport and nothing else. If anything, it's an operating event - designed by the ARRL to put a new, shiny face on our wonderful hobby.
With that, I'm going to go off on a tangent here, and am going to state my personal opinion that Amateur Radio has gone somewhat off the rails and has become too much "radio sport". We worry too much about DXCC tallies and contests in general. Look, I'm as guilty as anyone else in that regard, as I run a QRP contest each August ........ but what's happened to the rag chew? When was the last time you had a QSO with a DX station that was more than "599 TU"? When was the last time you talked about the weather with a foreign Ham, or about some other subject not related directly to radio?
I remember when I was a Novice in the late 70s, and actually had conversations with DX stations! I know, unheard of, right? And the QSL cards I received actually contained friendly letters, sometimes with photos of the DX Ham's station or hometown. Why have we largely gotten away from that? That was the best part of the hobby!
Before I get accused of contest bashing - let me state that radio sport has its time and place. There are people that exist only for that - and that's fine. That's another facet of this hobby that is perfectly legitimate. However, it seems to me that we've let a little bit too much of that mentality creep into the rest of our hobby. We worry too much about scores, standings and results. I think what we need to do is slow down and enjoy the journey and not worry so much about the destination.
The journey is the fun part and the destination should be the fond memories of the things we enjoyed along the way. We need to exist for each other, not just for standings, results, wallpaper and trophies.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Never heard Heard
I saw on Facebook this morning, that many were thanking the VK0EK expedition for the ATNO and were thanking them, in general, for a wonderful DXpedition. I would suspect they have gone QRT.
And I would guess I'm in the minority as I'm not in any of their logs. In fact, I never even heard them decently well enough to work them. There were a couple of times that I could tell they were on a given frequency, but they never loud enough that I would be able to hear my own call come back to me, on the off-chance that they would have heard me. It didn't seem right to just add to the QRM.
Am I disappointed? You're darn tootin' I am! Working VK0EK would have been an ATNO for me and I sure as heck would love to have them in my DXCC tally. But I'm not depressed about it.
It all goes back to that post a few weeks ago about balance. Yes, I do not have Heard Island as an entity worked. However, the sun is still shining, the birds are still chirping, our solar system is still plowing its way throughout the galaxy. I still have to go to work tomorrow and earn a living.
And while I didn't work them, and life goes on, I still applaud their effort. It's not easy to go to a remote island near Antarctica, and brave the elements and hardships to provide the rest of us Amateur Radio ops with a bunch of excitement and fun.
Thank you Team VK0EK - even though I'm not in your log - thank you for a job very well done, indeed!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
And I would guess I'm in the minority as I'm not in any of their logs. In fact, I never even heard them decently well enough to work them. There were a couple of times that I could tell they were on a given frequency, but they never loud enough that I would be able to hear my own call come back to me, on the off-chance that they would have heard me. It didn't seem right to just add to the QRM.
Am I disappointed? You're darn tootin' I am! Working VK0EK would have been an ATNO for me and I sure as heck would love to have them in my DXCC tally. But I'm not depressed about it.
It all goes back to that post a few weeks ago about balance. Yes, I do not have Heard Island as an entity worked. However, the sun is still shining, the birds are still chirping, our solar system is still plowing its way throughout the galaxy. I still have to go to work tomorrow and earn a living.
And while I didn't work them, and life goes on, I still applaud their effort. It's not easy to go to a remote island near Antarctica, and brave the elements and hardships to provide the rest of us Amateur Radio ops with a bunch of excitement and fun.
Thank you Team VK0EK - even though I'm not in your log - thank you for a job very well done, indeed!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Never heard Heard
I saw on Facebook this morning, that many were thanking the VK0EK expedition for the ATNO and were thanking them, in general, for a wonderful DXpedition. I would suspect they have gone QRT.
And I would guess I'm in the minority as I'm not in any of their logs. In fact, I never even heard them decently well enough to work them. There were a couple of times that I could tell they were on a given frequency, but they never loud enough that I would be able to hear my own call come back to me, on the off-chance that they would have heard me. It didn't seem right to just add to the QRM.
Am I disappointed? You're darn tootin' I am! Working VK0EK would have been an ATNO for me and I sure as heck would love to have them in my DXCC tally. But I'm not depressed about it.
It all goes back to that post a few weeks ago about balance. Yes, I do not have Heard Island as an entity worked. However, the sun is still shining, the birds are still chirping, our solar system is still plowing its way throughout the galaxy. I still have to go to work tomorrow and earn a living.
And while I didn't work them, and life goes on, I still applaud their effort. It's not easy to go to a remote island near Antarctica, and brave the elements and hardships to provide the rest of us Amateur Radio ops with a bunch of excitement and fun.
Thank you Team VK0EK - even though I'm not in your log - thank you for a job very well done, indeed!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
And I would guess I'm in the minority as I'm not in any of their logs. In fact, I never even heard them decently well enough to work them. There were a couple of times that I could tell they were on a given frequency, but they never loud enough that I would be able to hear my own call come back to me, on the off-chance that they would have heard me. It didn't seem right to just add to the QRM.
Am I disappointed? You're darn tootin' I am! Working VK0EK would have been an ATNO for me and I sure as heck would love to have them in my DXCC tally. But I'm not depressed about it.
It all goes back to that post a few weeks ago about balance. Yes, I do not have Heard Island as an entity worked. However, the sun is still shining, the birds are still chirping, our solar system is still plowing its way throughout the galaxy. I still have to go to work tomorrow and earn a living.
And while I didn't work them, and life goes on, I still applaud their effort. It's not easy to go to a remote island near Antarctica, and brave the elements and hardships to provide the rest of us Amateur Radio ops with a bunch of excitement and fun.
Thank you Team VK0EK - even though I'm not in your log - thank you for a job very well done, indeed!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
The Sub-Hobby
It’s often been said that amateur radio is a hobby consisting of many sub-hobbies. This is true when you consider the different modes we use (like RTTY, CW, PSK), technical endeavors like equipment design and building, special operating techniques like satellite and moonbounce, different bands each with their own characteristics and fans like LF, HF, VHF/UHF, and microwave, and activity based sub-hobbies like contesting and DXing. It’s multidimensional and there is often overlap between the various sub-hobbies.
Unfortunately there’s a detrimental sub-hobby that’s been around a long time, perhaps as far back as when there was spark and a new mode called CW was emerging. It’s complaining about what everyone else is doing or how they’re doing it.
I was reminded of this on an unnamed social networking site that starts with the letter F and rhymes with the word crook. Perhaps you’ve been there. A poster in an amateur radio group couldn’t make sense out of people sending and receiving CW using computers, and quipped that operating this way was taking the “radio out of radio”. Never mind that you can’t do this sort of operating without a radio. The most vocal complainers in amateur radio tend to rant about amateurs who don’t operate CW, so it was ironic that this complaint was about people actually operating CW but not in a way that the poster and others like to do it. As expected, the discussion was lively with many people lamenting over this operating method, and a lesser few defending it.
Any time I look an amateur radio activity, I ask a few basic questions:
- Is someone getting enjoyment out of it?
- Is it not harming anyone else and not detracting from anyone’s enjoyment of the hobby?
- Does it positively reflect amateur radio, both within the amateur radio community and the general public, or at least not reflect negatively on the hobby?
- Is it spectrally and resource efficient, and reasonable from an engineering perspective?
- Is it consistent with the spirit and nature of amateur radio?
If you can answer YES to all of these questions, I see no reason to complain about the activity.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years about amateur radio, it’s that if you’re more concerned about what others are doing, and not what you’re doing, and having fun doing it, it’s a sure fire way to be unhappy in amateur radio.
So sad
I was browsing Facebook today when I saw this sad post (not verbatim) in the Amateur Radio group. "I am leaving the hobby after 10 years. I am tired of having people tell me that unless I have thousands of dollars of equipment, and lots of land for antennas that I am not a "real Ham" (I hate that phrase!). Have a nice life."
I feel badly for this individual, and I suspect there's more going on here under the surface. But, if that's the definition of a "real Ham" then I'm not one, either ...... and I've been at this "Ham Radio thing" for 38 years now.
I am not going to insult anyone's intelligence by feigning that I don't own expensive Amateur Radio equipment. I do. But when you look at my shack compared to a lot of others out there, mine is relatively modest. No, I'm way beyond two tin cans and a wire, but I'm also do not own enough equipment that would equal the GDP of a small nation.
In the same breath, let me say that I do NOT begrudge anyone from owning enough equipment that would equal the GDP of a small nation. Hey, if you are wealthy enough, and you're not ignoring the basic needs of yourself or your family in order to fund your hobby - more power to you.
The second part of his definition is nearer and dearer to my heart, though. I have never been in a situation where I felt I could put up the kind of antennas that I would like to have. At both my QTHs, the one in East Brunswick, where I grew up, and the one in South Plainfield where I currently live - both are typical NJ suburban lots that are 50 feet wide by 100 feet long. (15M X 30M).
I had a G5RV here in South Plainfield that took so may twists and turns that it looked like I was playing the three dimensional chess board from Star Trek. Everything I have has to fit on my property, even the radials under by Butternut have twists and angles to them. I'm not complaining, just stating the facts. Do I wish I had plenty of land where I could lay out a classic Beverage antenna for 160 Meters - or even put up a half wave dipole for 160 Meters? You're darn tootin' I would. But I don't, so I'm not going to shed tears over it. As bad as my case is, at least I can have outdoor antennas. A lot of people have to live with a lot less than I have, and I think about that every time I am tempted to complain or feel sorry for myself.
In the end, you make do with what you have. I'll probably never make DXCC Honor Roll, but I am closing in on 200 countries worked. Given the antennas that I have (and had), I think that's a pretty fair accomplishment.
The bottom line is that you can't let another person dictate to you what something as wide in scope as Amateur Radio..... is. Amateur Radio is many things to many people. My excitement over working Australia with 5 Watts might make you yawn. Your excitement over having your 100th message passed this month might earn just a shrug of my shoulders from me. Are either of us wrong? No, both of us are enjoying what we like best in a hobby that has enough room for everyone!
So the next time someone tells you that you're not a "real Ham", just smile and walk away. Anyone who truly thinks they know what a "real Ham' is, is just kidding themselves, anyway.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I feel badly for this individual, and I suspect there's more going on here under the surface. But, if that's the definition of a "real Ham" then I'm not one, either ...... and I've been at this "Ham Radio thing" for 38 years now.
I am not going to insult anyone's intelligence by feigning that I don't own expensive Amateur Radio equipment. I do. But when you look at my shack compared to a lot of others out there, mine is relatively modest. No, I'm way beyond two tin cans and a wire, but I'm also do not own enough equipment that would equal the GDP of a small nation.
In the same breath, let me say that I do NOT begrudge anyone from owning enough equipment that would equal the GDP of a small nation. Hey, if you are wealthy enough, and you're not ignoring the basic needs of yourself or your family in order to fund your hobby - more power to you.
The second part of his definition is nearer and dearer to my heart, though. I have never been in a situation where I felt I could put up the kind of antennas that I would like to have. At both my QTHs, the one in East Brunswick, where I grew up, and the one in South Plainfield where I currently live - both are typical NJ suburban lots that are 50 feet wide by 100 feet long. (15M X 30M).
I had a G5RV here in South Plainfield that took so may twists and turns that it looked like I was playing the three dimensional chess board from Star Trek. Everything I have has to fit on my property, even the radials under by Butternut have twists and angles to them. I'm not complaining, just stating the facts. Do I wish I had plenty of land where I could lay out a classic Beverage antenna for 160 Meters - or even put up a half wave dipole for 160 Meters? You're darn tootin' I would. But I don't, so I'm not going to shed tears over it. As bad as my case is, at least I can have outdoor antennas. A lot of people have to live with a lot less than I have, and I think about that every time I am tempted to complain or feel sorry for myself.
In the end, you make do with what you have. I'll probably never make DXCC Honor Roll, but I am closing in on 200 countries worked. Given the antennas that I have (and had), I think that's a pretty fair accomplishment.
The bottom line is that you can't let another person dictate to you what something as wide in scope as Amateur Radio..... is. Amateur Radio is many things to many people. My excitement over working Australia with 5 Watts might make you yawn. Your excitement over having your 100th message passed this month might earn just a shrug of my shoulders from me. Are either of us wrong? No, both of us are enjoying what we like best in a hobby that has enough room for everyone!
So the next time someone tells you that you're not a "real Ham", just smile and walk away. Anyone who truly thinks they know what a "real Ham' is, is just kidding themselves, anyway.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Nasty OT Ham – Reality or Myth?
Every now and then I wander over to eHam. net. And sometimes I wonder why I bother to wander.
It's not uncommon for me to read the articles, and then inevitably, come across some comment by a self-proclaimed "newbie" wherein he or she begins to bemoan the treatment they've received from some "old fart", nasty, mean ol' Ham.
The common scenario seems to be:
"I'm new, bright-eyed, bushy tailed, full of exuberance and spit and vinegar - but yet somewhat lacking in knowledge and experience. I've gone to WB#XYZ repeater or to the Amateur Radio Club of Greater Podunk, where my inquiries were met with laughter, ridicule, sarcasm and down right meanness from Joe Ham. I am now going to sell all my Amateur Radio equipment because I'm traumatized and I never even want to hear the words "Amateur Radio" again."
I've seen this retold several times, in several different instances. I hate to question the veracity of the people making these claims - but can they be true? This has become a pet peeve of mine.
I've mentioned many times now, that I've been licensed for over 35 years. In all that time, I have never, ever, not even once come across treatment like that from an older Ham. Don't get me wrong, I've had to withstand my share of newbie ribbing, and have received my share of friendly and gentle reprimanding when doing something wrong - but nothing like these guys are describing.
A case in point. Shortly after upgrading to General in 1979, I joined the Old Bridge Amateur Radio Association. They owned and operated the KB2TX repeater at the time (well actually, it became the KB2TX repeater after Walt, the owner, changed his callsign to KB2TX - I forget what it was before that). Anyway, I had installed a used non-Icom microphone with a DTMF pad on my Icom 2 Meter mobile, so that I could make phone patches if the need came up. Back in those days, (am I dating myself?) it was rare for a mobile microphone to come with a keypad pre-installed. Unbeknownst to me, the microphone's element wasn't working. The DTMF tones were making it through, but my voice wasn't. So Walt got on the air and in his usual gruff and no-nosense manner announced, "Hey! Whoever's sending the tones - you've got no audio. Stop it and identify yourself". I was saying "KA2DOH (my call at the time) testing.", but it wasn't coming through. I had Walt's phone number and gave him a call, explaining the problem. After listening to my profuse apology, he got quiet and thought for a few seconds. Instead of giving me a tongue lashing, as technically I was breaking the rules, he suggested that the impedance of the microphone element might not be the proper valuthat the rig was looking for - a mismatch. Sure enough, that's what it turned out to be.
I listened and I learned something (that had never occurred to me) and was able to remedy the situation by going to Radio Shack, where I purchased and soldered into my microphone an element with the proper impedance. Walt could have dressed me down, and read me the riot act, but he didn't. He was that way to everybody. In fact, in dealing with all the Old Timers throughout my Amateur Radio career (there were many) - they were all like that. I can't ever remember a time where I received a snotty, snarky or sarcastic reply to a question. In fact, in my dealing with experienced Hams, they have always been helpful, accommodating and educational. And I live in New Jersey, too - supposedly the home of unfriendly, sarcastic, snarky and just plain mean ol' human beings in general!
So where does this curmudgeon live? DOES this curmudgeon live? Or have we become so hyper-sensitive to any kind of criticism that even helpful criticism is taken as an incidence of ego-shattering reprimand?
Maybe they do exist, and maybe I'm lucky that I've never come across one. Maybe I just need to go down on bended knee and be grateful that I've never run across the "No kids, no lids, no space cadets" type of Ham. I can tell you that I have become dear friends with several "Old Timer" Hams who did have very rough and gruff reputations, only to find out after spending some time talking with and listening to them, that they had hearts of pure gold. Sometimes that's all it takes, just listening for a bit instead of always chattering and insisting that we know everything, and that we're always right - when maybe, just perhaps, we're not.
Food for thought.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
It's not uncommon for me to read the articles, and then inevitably, come across some comment by a self-proclaimed "newbie" wherein he or she begins to bemoan the treatment they've received from some "old fart", nasty, mean ol' Ham.
The common scenario seems to be:
"I'm new, bright-eyed, bushy tailed, full of exuberance and spit and vinegar - but yet somewhat lacking in knowledge and experience. I've gone to WB#XYZ repeater or to the Amateur Radio Club of Greater Podunk, where my inquiries were met with laughter, ridicule, sarcasm and down right meanness from Joe Ham. I am now going to sell all my Amateur Radio equipment because I'm traumatized and I never even want to hear the words "Amateur Radio" again."
I've seen this retold several times, in several different instances. I hate to question the veracity of the people making these claims - but can they be true? This has become a pet peeve of mine.
I've mentioned many times now, that I've been licensed for over 35 years. In all that time, I have never, ever, not even once come across treatment like that from an older Ham. Don't get me wrong, I've had to withstand my share of newbie ribbing, and have received my share of friendly and gentle reprimanding when doing something wrong - but nothing like these guys are describing.
A case in point. Shortly after upgrading to General in 1979, I joined the Old Bridge Amateur Radio Association. They owned and operated the KB2TX repeater at the time (well actually, it became the KB2TX repeater after Walt, the owner, changed his callsign to KB2TX - I forget what it was before that). Anyway, I had installed a used non-Icom microphone with a DTMF pad on my Icom 2 Meter mobile, so that I could make phone patches if the need came up. Back in those days, (am I dating myself?) it was rare for a mobile microphone to come with a keypad pre-installed. Unbeknownst to me, the microphone's element wasn't working. The DTMF tones were making it through, but my voice wasn't. So Walt got on the air and in his usual gruff and no-nosense manner announced, "Hey! Whoever's sending the tones - you've got no audio. Stop it and identify yourself". I was saying "KA2DOH (my call at the time) testing.", but it wasn't coming through. I had Walt's phone number and gave him a call, explaining the problem. After listening to my profuse apology, he got quiet and thought for a few seconds. Instead of giving me a tongue lashing, as technically I was breaking the rules, he suggested that the impedance of the microphone element might not be the proper valuthat the rig was looking for - a mismatch. Sure enough, that's what it turned out to be.
I listened and I learned something (that had never occurred to me) and was able to remedy the situation by going to Radio Shack, where I purchased and soldered into my microphone an element with the proper impedance. Walt could have dressed me down, and read me the riot act, but he didn't. He was that way to everybody. In fact, in dealing with all the Old Timers throughout my Amateur Radio career (there were many) - they were all like that. I can't ever remember a time where I received a snotty, snarky or sarcastic reply to a question. In fact, in my dealing with experienced Hams, they have always been helpful, accommodating and educational. And I live in New Jersey, too - supposedly the home of unfriendly, sarcastic, snarky and just plain mean ol' human beings in general!
So where does this curmudgeon live? DOES this curmudgeon live? Or have we become so hyper-sensitive to any kind of criticism that even helpful criticism is taken as an incidence of ego-shattering reprimand?
Maybe they do exist, and maybe I'm lucky that I've never come across one. Maybe I just need to go down on bended knee and be grateful that I've never run across the "No kids, no lids, no space cadets" type of Ham. I can tell you that I have become dear friends with several "Old Timer" Hams who did have very rough and gruff reputations, only to find out after spending some time talking with and listening to them, that they had hearts of pure gold. Sometimes that's all it takes, just listening for a bit instead of always chattering and insisting that we know everything, and that we're always right - when maybe, just perhaps, we're not.
Food for thought.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Trading freedom for safety
Courtesy hamnieuws.nl
Privacy and freedom are constantly traded in for a (often false) sense of security. This has nothing to do with ham radio, you’d probably think, but even our hobby isn’t immune.
Repeaters
Repeaters are only useful if the antennas can be placed high above ground. In the Netherlands we use a number of existing locations, most of which were once used for analog TV and radio. The owners of the towers decided that safety and security will prevail over (safe, terrorist-free) ham radio.
The following systems will be affected:
- ATV repeater PI6ATV, both analog and digital,
- 2 meter repeater PI3UTR,
- D-star repeater PI1UTR,
- DMR repeater PI1UTR,
- RX co-location for the 70cm repeater PI2NOS,
- RX co-location for the 10 meter repeater PI6TEN,
- Four Hamnet access points and links.
There is a chance that the equipment can be relocated to a lower section of the tower while keeping the antennas on the original altitude. Even in the best case scenario the costs of relocating will exceed the minimal financial reserves – good coax cable is expensive, and we would need a lot of it.
I’ll end with this quote: Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. (Benjamin Franklin)
