[Boatanchors] If I had to buy something advertised in QST today...

[Jack Dunigan]

Hi, my name is Jack and I live on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. I have been a lurker on this list for a few weeks. I grew up in the 50's working alongside my father in his radio/TV repair shop, a skill he learned on the GI bill after WWII. As I got into my teens in the mid-60's I had a keen interest in amateur radio and dreamed of owning Drake equipment but it was way beyond reach. Eventually, my interest waned as college, marriage, and career overtook my life. 

Because I live in a hurricane zone, I got out my weather radio and scanner earlier this summer to check the batteries and get ready for the season. Holding that Radio Shack scanner in my hand a strange and wondefull thing happened. The fire that once burned for a ham license suddenly rekindled and I have started the license process once again. I was surprised to discover there is no longer a code requirement. The technical side of the exam is not an issue because of my background in radio (be it long long ago). So I am comfortable with the threshold of knowledge about frequencies and FCC regs for getting a Technician class license, but I want a General class so I can access the HF bands. This brings me to the subject line of the message.

I joined ARRL a couple of months ago and have received two issues. I joined the local amateur radio club and have been to three meetings. They are encouraging and accommodating, ready to schedule a test date on my word. I told them I was interested only in vintage gear, the kind I can afford now but couldn't back then. Some of the local guys have tried to talk me out of it saying the modern gear is more reliable, easier to operate, and easier to find parts for (does anyone actually repair that stuff themselves?). Lots of it is for sale and discussed at length in QST.

If I had to buy something advertised there today, and if amateur radio meant using the stuff I see advertised and others have recommended, frankly I wouldn't! The challenge and fun of amateur radio for me is not plugging in some do-everything-including-make-coffee box coupled to an out-of-the-carton WhizzBang antenna. It is in the experimentation and assembly of homebrew and vintage stuff. When I take the back off my Drake TR-3 I am restoring I see components I can literally get my hands on. There are no micro-processors, no PCB's, no teensy little lites. There are, instead, components I can understand, can check, and replace if needed. Are parts tough to find? As a classic car restorer (I've done 4) I know how to scrounge for parts and the Internet makes is a lot easier. In the 60's I saw firsthand the radio/TV repair business change when solid state components took over. Over the years my father stopped repairing anything. He simply replaced PCB's. Nothing more could be done. With vintage gear I can modify, adjust, tinker, and have a helluva time.

I don't think of the gear we use and discuss on this list as boat anchors. For me, they are the boat. Nothing else is worthy of the trip.

Thanks for listening to me rant.

Jack