[Boatanchors] OT: Radio Australia dropping their shortwave service.

[Bry Carling]

2m FM is quite busy in my area but you HAVE To know where to look. There are SO many repeaters due to the extreme wealth of Americans

 these days. In the 1970s very few hams could afford one. Mostly the clubs put them on and everyone paid. Or wealthy doctors and lawyers would put on on 440 for their friends to chat with them. Autopatches were important back then too.


NOW there are many repeaters all over 2m and 70 cm but it SEEMS like nobody using them. You just have to be patient and find when they are on and monitor your busiest local machine.


Bry AF4K



________________________________
From: Boatanchors <boatanchors-bounces at mailman.qth.net> on behalf of Donald Chester <k4kyv at hotmail.com>
Sent: Monday, December 26, 2016 8:31 PM
To: boatanchors at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] OT: Radio Australia dropping their shortwave service.

> > -----Original Message-----

>> I really feel that the demise of short-wave broadcasting is depressing
>> the market for our beloved general-coverage boatanchor receivers.

> This development is sad, but maybe this will be an opportunity for hams
> worldwide to petition for additional frequencies.

> Jim W5JO

Sometimes I wonder what would be the point.  Activity on the ham bands is dwindling alongside SWBC stations.  Despite the widely-touted 700,000-plus licensees in the  current FCC data base, activity on the lower bands 160-80-40 has dwindled the past 2-3 years to the point that we may have a static-free weekend night and still, at peak prime-time operating hours there are wide swathes of unoccupied frequencies on those bands.  Used to be, that under such condx you would have to hunt patiently hoping to find a clear spot to call CQ.  From what I hear from others, the situation on 2m FM isn't any better.  Repeaters are still up and running, but no-one is using them.

Is it just because the propagation has gone long as sunspot numbers head down, or is this the new normal?

If it's the latter, the only way we could justify expanding our existing bands is that nobody else is using them, but would that fly with the FCC and other countries' regulatory agencies, who would probably just as soon see amateur radio disappear altogether so they wouldn't have to bother with "administering" licences, regulating the "service" and enforcing the rules.


Don k4kyv
______________________________________________________________
Boatanchors mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/boatanchors
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:Boatanchors at mailman.qth.net

List Administrator: Duane Fischer, W8DBF
** For Assistance: dfischer at usol.com **


This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html