[AMRadio] Was what is this???? now why i like am

[Rob Atkinson]

Bob,

I agree with about 90% of what you say.  I have concluded that what
has changed is this:  Back in the 60s and 70s if a person wanted to be
a ham, he had to (except for novice and conditional) learn the theory,
rules, etc. and CW and then go to the FCC to take the test.  There
were none of these memorization deals out there with the actual QandA
pool to memorize, no software to use to drill and drill until getting
everything right without having to learn anything and no VECs.  IOW, a
person usually had to make some effort and actually learn.  The people
willing to put forth that effort seemed to a passion and love for
radio beyond just wanting a new toy to play with.  Before everyone
starts yelling that all that happens now, I realize that plenty of
folks can get licensed now and learn way more than I have ever known,
and be model hams and all that, BUT it is also possible to get an
extra class license now in one morning and not have to learn a thing
if you don't want to, and we all know some of these sessions are
fixed.


Now, all you VECs reading this, don't get all huffy--look at the past
number of sessions over the years that have been "investigated" by
FCC, with people being recalled for testing (and not showing up).  I
think there are a number of signs of more and more hams wanting a plug
and play entertainment center ham shack, and that bothers me.  Maybe I
am in need of an attitude adjustment.  I sent an email with pretty
much this sentiment as a comment to my local ARRL guys and one of them
called me elitist.  Hum.  I guess not everyone out there shares my
desire to know how the black boxes in the shack work, but I thought
that was one of the basic points of ham radio.   Oh well, as always,
my opinion and one among a million.


73

Rob
K5UJ

On Wed, Dec 1, 2010 at 9:58 AM, Robert Nickels <ranickel at comcast.net> wrote:
> On 12/1/2010 5:50 AM, Jim Wilhite wrote:
>> I believe we have two commonalities here, AM radio and the fact we are
>> all Amateur operators.
> I see the relevance of CB in a couple of ways.  As one who first got
> interested in ham radio in the early 60s, it was a toss-up for a while
> which way to go - ham or CB?    But while you didn't have to learn code
> to get a CB license you did have to be 18, and even my Knight Kit Span
> Master was enough of a receiver to prove that CB chat wasn't what I was
> after.  Fortunately I found a good "Elmer" and made the right choice.
> Fast forward 10 years and the CB craze of the 70s attracted another
> group of radio enthusiasts, many of whom later became hams.   So CB has
> always been a kind of entry point for ham radio, and many of us probably
> got our first taste of AM by listening to or operating on 11 meters.   I
> think most hams have taken pride in operating legally and
> professionally, and quickly encouraged those who came into the hobby via
> the CB route to meet the same standards.
>
> While I've got the soapbox I'll just say that while some CBers and
> unlicensed operators flaunt the rules and regulations, there's a very
> small minority of hams (including some on AM) who aren't much better.
> You know what I mean.    Setting a high standard of conduct on the air
> goes hand in hand with obeying the rules and running a clean,
> high-quality AM signal.
>
> 73, Bob W9RAN
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