[ARC5] Vocation vs. Avocation with emphasis on the latter

[Clare Owens]

Hear hear, Michael.  Well put.  I hope things are going well with your
projects.

73,

Clare  N2RJB

On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 11:23 AM, Michael Tauson <wh7hg.hi at gmail.com> wrote:

> Something that seems to be forgotten here is that this is an avocation - a
> hobby - and not a vocation - business.  Were this a business, yes, things
> like MHz vs. MC etc would be important (although there is a 1:1
> correspondence between them so it's a trivial case) much as quarts vs.
> liters, kilograms vs. pounds, apples vs. oranges etc.  In hobbies, there is
> considerable latitude for a great number of things, units of measure
> included.
>
> Each of us is here for a different reason and views the hobby differently.
> As a partial result, some will, in this case and what started the
> "discussion", use KC & MC and others kHz & MHz.  Every radio I have with
> the
> exception of my East German one (which is the odd puppy anyway since it's
> semiconductor) is calibrated in KC or MC so that's what I use.  (Counter to
> this, I use MHz and GHz when talking about computers no matter the
> vintage.)
> Within context, there should be no problem with this but only in context.
> If someone wants to use kHz or MHz with radio equipment of the age of the
> equipment supposedly discussed here, I can't see a problem with that either
> but I would hope they would afford me the same courtesy in return.  Getting
> all fussy about it accomplishes nothing since no one's going to change
> anyone else's ways.  No one.
>
> It's kind of like model railroading.  There are two broad groups, scale
> rails and freelancers with the former going for more prototypical equipment
> and operation - often based on an existing or past road - while the latter
> is a bit less true to prototype (although in railroading you can find a
> prototype for practically anything), going closer to some of the smaller
> branch or, in a few cases, narrow gauge roads.  These are generally
> depicted
> as caricatures - backwoods roads operating many generation old cast offs
> from bigger branch or class 1 roads modified to suit their needs and shop
> built equipment to fill in the gaps.  Scale rails hate freelancers because
> "they ain't prototypical" and freelancers laugh at scale rails as being
> "rivet counters."  (While I was a freelancer, I always tried to find a
> prototype for what I built which frustrated the scale rails no end.)  Thing
> is, they're both right since it is *ONLY A HOBBY.*
>
> So it is here.  This is *ONLY A HOBBY.*  It's an avocation, not a vocation.
> There's only one person who's business is related to this and, memory
> serving, he comes down on the side of Imperial measure.  The world will not
> stop turning on its axis nor will it crash into the sun if someone's
> viewpoint differs from yours.  The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal will
> not devour you should someone's approach not agree with yours.  And I can
> guarantee that the Apocalypse will not be scheduled for next Tuesday if
> someone's usage of units, their spelling or their grammar does not fall in
> line with what you believe are acceptable bounds no matter how atrocious
> they are.
>
> Continuing on a branching line of thought, finding unmodified equipment and
> leaving it as such is the ideal solution for about everyone here present
> although it's not always possible.  Restoring what can be restored, while
> not to some people's tastes, is far better than considering it trash, or it
> is in my eyes, since it is being put back as God intended it and ARC (or
> someone) built it.
>
> While a larger number of people here don't like them, conversions exist and
> all the gnashing of teeth and waving of arms can't change that.  Yes, most
> of the ham conversions were trash and complete wastes of time & energy but
> that wasn't realized in the 50s & 60s when surplus in general and the Type
> K-derived sets in particular were a Big Thing in ham radio.  On the other
> hand, some were not all that shabby and are worthy of note as is Dave
> Stinson's work on operating them at much lower voltages.  (Sorry if it
> sounds like I'm always picking on you, Dave.  I'm not, really.  You're one
> of the geniuses here whose work I admire & appreciate greatly so I refer to
> it a lot.)  These conversions taught a lot of people basic electronics and
> provided a means of getting on the air for a number of people who could not
> have otherwise afforded to do so.  I'm one of them and they're the reason
> for the EE part of my studies.
>
> People still convert equipment simply because they don't share the
> preservationist point of view most here have.  On the positive side, there
> is plenty of pre-converted equipment available at hamfests for them to play
> with which improves the odds of virgin equipment remaining untouched.
> Rather than get all irate, why not try education - writing articles etc
> about how and why they should be preserved?  Or, like Dave did (Really, I'm
> not picking in you!) and I'm working on, building displays of the equipment
> in original form for what are essentially "show and tell" exhibitions?  Or
> any of a number of other *positive* steps?
>
> With that are the commercial and government conversions like Lockheed's
> crystal control conversion to put BC-696s on 3105 KC & BC-458s on 6210 KC,
> and Central Electronics' BC-458-based VFO.  (A BC-457 worked too with a
> little convincing.)  Even the NRL got into the act with the crystal
> controlled ARA/ATA equipment.  There were others but I'll have to dig
> through my notes to find them.
>
> Oddly enough, commercial conversions are more acceptable than the better
> ham
> conversions even though they both adapted existing equipment to fulfill a
> new set of requirements.  They are both branches from the original
> application thread for the equipment and are part of the overall history of
> the equipment.  Not the military history, the *entire* history.  There's a
> huge difference.  My interest is in the entire history not some narrow
> portion of it.  This doesn't set well with others but that's their problem,
> not mine.  History is a tapestry not a single thread and to follow only a
> single thread without paying attention to what happened around it is
> missing
> out on a lot of material that is still pertinent today.
>
> Where am I going with all this?  Very simple.  This *is* a hobby and not
> everyone is going to be happy with what others do nor are they going to
> like
> the units someone uses etc.  Trying to "correct" them isn't going to change
> a thing.  All the ranting and raving in the world is not going to do
> anything except generate hard feelings and generally tick people off.  So
> the best thing to do is, as I said before, suck it up, Buttercup, and move
> on.
>
> Now, on to quotes ... and, interesting enough, the two respondents to my
> post were the same ones I mentioned in my first one, to wit: "Much to the
> chagrin, dismay and disappointment of at least two members here, I have not
> become a silent key.  Sorry about that, guys.  Better luck next time."
> Funny how that works, isn't it.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "J. Forster" <jfor at quikus.com>
> >> Every year (or more often) this comes up and results in some form of
> >> debate. WHO ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH CARES?
> > Engineers. Anyone who is involved with high-dynamic range measurements.
>
> Hmmm ... like the ones who designed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge or broke that
> Mars probe a few years ago?  Or, for all that, designed the Titanic?
>
> Guess what, John.  I AM an engineer - AE & EE with almost enough credits in
> my minors (Math & Physics) to have declared them as majors instead.  (Being
> married to a Math professor at the time is probably largely responsible for
> that.)  When I was doing engineer stuff, I was bloody picky about units.  I
> still am since it looks like I've got to pick up my sly drool again.  In
> this case I'll be working with wood a lot which will be amusing since some
> is measured in inches and the rest in millimeters - but only in thickness.
> There will be other places where units will be mixed, not all of them
> metric
> vs. Imperial, and I'll have to keep them straight as well.  But, y'know,
> that's the nice thing about standards.  There are so many to choose from.
>
> Take an area with which I have some familiarity, watch making & repair,
> more
> the latter.  Let's use lathes as the first example.  Precision, even on my
> turn of the century German-made Lorche 6mm, is given in inches (.00005" in
> this case) and the bed length is in inches but the spindle height and
> collet
> sizes are metric.  Even better, with all that the threads where they attach
> to the drawbar go back to decimal inches again on many lathes.  Crystals
> are
> measured in lignes while the diameter of movements can be given in any of
> several units which bear no real relationship to one another.  (There is a
> solution to all this but I'll leave that up to the readers.)  Even
> something
> as simple as screws is subject to confusion with some metric (and many of
> them not actually numbered accordingly) and some not related to any
> specific
> system.  I have drills (made in France, I think) that were standard on both
> sides of the Atlantic that go down to .0028" - roughly .05mm - and have
> been
> in use for at least a century.  But this is what happens when watchmakers
> in
> the US, England, France, Germany and Switzerland all used internal systems
> without reference to the others.  Many of those "standards" are still with
> us today, especially in restoration work, which makes life so much fun.
> With all of that going on, watch makers managed to hand make lady's
> mechanical movements which, if you've ever looked at one - even a factory
> machine made one, are precision machines.  (As an aside, at one time I
> could
> repair them but my hands shake too much now so I'm limited to cleaning and
> lubricating movements to put the ones I can back in service.)
>
> That may not be engineering per se but it is still a real world environment
> where units become chaos in short order yet calls for a high degree of
> precision.  On the other hand, the degree of precision needed is something
> I
> enjoy if having four watchmaker's lathes and a precision drill press made
> to
> the same tolerances (.00005" to .000025") means anything.  Even my "loose"
> equipment is reasonably precise being guaranteed to .0005" for the most
> part.
>
> >> If you don't like the units someone uses, suck it up, Buttercup, and
> >> move on.
> > Is that a Marine slogan?
>
> No, it's a me saying learned through a school you never attended so could
> never possibly understand.  My military time was only a small part of that
> school although it did add its own twists on a few things.  But then, being
> homeless was as well as have numerous other experiences.  There is a broad
> range of experiences behind it but I've always believed - and still believe
> - it's better to be a has-been than a never-was.  I've done things, seen
> things and experienced things you can't even imagine, largely because
> you're
> so wrapped up in hiding behind your sheepskin.  In that regard, I truly
> feel
> sorry for you.  I really do.
>
> But with that, I'm not sure what you have against the Corps but it would
> appear you're bordering on disrespect for a service to which you owe a
> great
> deal - like not having to speak German or Japanese and having the freedom
> to
> be who you are.
>
> I have never served or worked* with a finer group of men and women than
> Marines - and that's coming from someone who was in the Navy.  Never.  Not
> even SEALs who are in my own branch.  From the military side, there has
> never been a better fighting force on this (or very likely any other world)
> than the US Marine Corps nor shall there ever be one.  But these same
> Marines (with Navy Corpsmen) were the first boots on the ground after the
> 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia with food, medical supplies and other assistance
> which is also part of their purpose in life - humanitarian aid.  They were
> there while other counties were squabbling over who could pledge more money
> for assistance and the UN was calling meetings rather than actually doing
> anything.  They were there going about the business of being Marines while
> other countries - notably France - complained we weren't doing anything
> because we hadn't joined in what was almost like an eBay bidding war.
>  These
> same Marines are responsible for the annual Christmas Toys for Tots**
> program and numerous other things that rarely if ever get any press.
>
> * "Once a Marine, always a Marine" is very true and it shows even in the
> workplace.  They are always first on hand when assistance is needed with
> anything and I discovered their Esprit de Corps is infectious even - or
> especially - with non-Marines.  In my private life, when I needed help it
> was always a Marine who provided it, whether it was building the new front
> steps to my 2nd house or just someone to talk with.
>
> ** There is nothing more fun than to watch a bunch of Marines just back
> from
> Iraq in K-Mart's & WalMart's toy departments ... supposedly picking out
> toys
> for the kids but having at least as much fun as the kids did later on.
>  What
> was even better was the expressions on the various clerks' faces.
>
> In any event, I would tread lightly.  There are several Marines here as
> well
> as the father of two Marines who may take exception to having the Corps
> treated with disrespect.  And this squid will be right there with them.
> Does that make me an "honorary Marine"?  I could only hope since it was my
> first choice of services.
>
> >> Beat on a wall, a pillow, a punching
> >> bag or a disliked neighbor.  Pour yourself another drink.
> > If you think that's a solution, get some help.
>
> No, I go for the next sentence, "Do something but deal with it elsewhere."
> You conveniently omitted that one.  What I do varies from taking a nap
> (always a wonderful "activity" even when not being used to back away from a
> situation) to taking a walk or using my exercise bands to working on any of
> several projects.  One result is that I'm being disgustingly polite in this
> post where I would much rather not be.  On the other hand, a key project -
> building the Noelle AV Project universe - is receiving a lot of attention
> which is always good.
>
> ------------------------------
> From: Mike Morrow <kk5f at earthlink.net>
> > MT wrote:
> >> Every ... lists ...
> > Relax.
>
> You relax.  I'm loose and quite comfortable.  The universe is going about
> its business as it should so I've no reason not to be.  My world, being
> part
> of the universe - or at least this one, is stable and progressing at a
> reasonable pace which is not as quickly as I'd like but all good things
> take
> time.  Time is something of which I've enough to accomplish what I need to
> accomplish so, again, I've no reason not to be.
>
> And, again, to both of you ... sorry about not being an SK.  Your
> objections
> to this will be duly ignored with due diligence.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Michael, WH7HG, A&P 1803851
> The primary reason I am not an expert on anything is because I haven't
> invented my own field.
> http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/NTH/index.aspx
> http://wh7hg.blogspot.com/
> http://kludges-other-blog.blogspot.com
> Hiki Nô!
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> ARC5 mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/arc5
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:ARC5 at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>