[AMRadio] I ntolerance (was: IARU bandplan)

[Jim Wilhite]

Bob I have been working on radios (land mobile) and amateur for over 40 
years and my experience has been that there are many who cannot work on 
the radios they own.  It was better when I started but has diminished to 
the point that so few hams repair their own radios it is infinitesimal.

I would estimate 40 years ago 1 in 4 or 5 did some type of repairs, 
today maybe 1 in 100.  The great example of people involved in repair is 
in the CW and AM fields.  Here almost everyone does some repair or 
refurbishment.

What is even more disturbing is the quality of work so many of today's 
amateurs do.  In past years hams used what they had to repair a radio 
and a lot of the work was shoddy at best, but that was because of parts 
availability in the smaller towns.  Today a ham is lucky if he/she can 
remove the top covers and install an accessory without causing trouble.

Add to that the necessity of test gear and you can understand.  For most 
hams the test gear on hand is an SWR meter; whereas in years past they 
had at least a basic bench test facility.

Jim/W5JO



>I wonder how many hams there are today that are capable of building a 
>SSB
> rig? It's easier to do it with tubes if you can find the parts than it 
> is
> with solid state.
>
> With the exception of the lM602 I don't know of any IC's that would be 
> SSB
> specific. Ie, there is no eqivilent to one of the FM ICs. It has to be 
> built
> up from individual parts. Just like a tube rig would be.
>
> Bob Macklin
> K5MYJ
> Seattle, Wa,
> "Real Radios Glow in the Dark"