[CW] Ain't it awful?

[Gregory W. Moore]

K0HB de WA3IVX
You are dead right with your comments. Sure, ham radio has changed, in some
instances to unrecognizability, but, as long as there are "us" who still pound
brass, and use equipment which glows, and emits heat, the basics will never go
away.
    I complain about people using computers to copy/generate CW, I complain about
the absence of "Real RTTY" (RATT to me, I am an ex Navy RM, with a speed key
ticket to boot), and a host of other things, but the hobby is still there.
The "radio rows" have gone, replaced with upscale shopping and convention centers,
There really isn't any good surplus the way it used to be, its tough to get tubes,
or any part rated for real voltages, and not just for 5-15VDC, but we still try,
and keep the stuff we have operating.
Yes, there may come a day when the hobby is reduced to the bare minimum, with
techies and ex CB'ers running the show, but that day is not yet here.
As for me, I still fire up my Eico 753, fight the ever present VFO drift,  change
bad caps regularly, and do alignment even more regularly, but I still  happily
pound brass on the 3 bands available. I won't part with my GAP Titan vertical
which happily resides on my roof with no ground plane needed, so some of the new
stuff is truly an improvement.
Remember, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
73 de Greg WA3IVX

K�HB wrote:

> Somebody wrote
>
> > Don't look now, but ham radio has been going downhill a lot longer than
> > 12 years.  Most "old timers" refer to the '50's and '60's as the "Golden
> > Era" of amateur radio, and from all accounts, they were right.  It was
> > in the late '60's when they started playing with the licensing requirements,
> > and Incentive Licensing, which was botched by the ARRL by not
> > making adequate grandfathering provisions, began the NCTA and the
> > ultimate Balkanization of the ARS we experience now.  As to when
> > ham radio is going to "crash," I'd say that's pretty much already
> > happened, as of 4/15/2000 with the announcement of "Restructuring."
>
> Larry, your jeremiad is not original. This same dismayed chant has
> been going on for 90 years, ever since 1912 when Hiram Percy Maxim
> was forced to give up his call, "SNY", move above 200 meters, and
> knuckle under to government regulation including a (gasp) 5WPM
> Morse test.
>
> "Ain't it awful what they've done to us?" was the cry.  But ham radio
> went on and flourished.
>
> Then in 1919 they raised the Morse test to 10WPM.
>
> "Ain't it awful what they've done to us?" was the cry.  But ham radio
> went on and flourished.
>
> Throughout the 20's CW gradually replaced King Spark, and spark was
> eventually outlawed.
>
> "Ain't it awful what they've done to us?" was the cry.  But ham radio
> went on and flourished.
>
> In 1923 they introduced something called "Amateur Extra First Grade"
> with special calls and privileges.  The class was discontinued
> when only 6 people applied in 1926.
>
> "Ain't it awful what they've done to us?" was the cry.  But ham radio
> went on and flourished.
>
> Then in 1927 they reduced the license classes from two to only one
> class.  Old "Second Grade" had to upgrade within one year, or go
> QRT.
>
> "Ain't it awful what they've done to us?" was the cry.  But ham radio
> went on and flourished.
>
> In 1932 they changed it all again, dividing us up into Class A, B,
> and C, all with a 10WPM code test.
>
> "Ain't it awful what they've done to us?" was the cry.  But ham radio
> went on and flourished.
>
> In 1936 they said there were too many new hams coming into the
> hobby, so they raised the Morse test speed to 13WPM.
>
> "Ain't it awful what they've done to us?" was the cry.  But ham radio
> went on and flourished.
>
> In the early 50's they renamed everybody from A, B, or C to
> Advanced, General, or Conditional. They also introduced 3
> new license classes called Novice, and Technician at 5WPM, and
> Extra at 20WPM.
>
> "Ain't it awful what they've done to us?" was the cry.  But ham radio
> went on and flourished.
>
> In the late 60's they invented something called Incentive Licensing.
>
> "Ain't it awful what they've done to us?" was the cry.  But ham radio
> went on and flourished.
>
> In 1976 they quit requiring us to certify we had been on the air
> for 12 hours last year (for renewal).  They also ended the
> Conditional license.
>
> "Ain't it awful what they've done to us?" was the cry.  But ham radio
> went on and flourished.
>
> In 1991 they removed the Morse requirement for VHF/UHF-only
> licensees.
>
> "Ain't it awful what they've done to us?" was the cry.  But ham radio
> went on and flourished.
>
> In 2000 they changed Morse testing back to the 1912 requirement of
> 5WPM, and the number of classes to 3.
>
> "Ain't it awful what they've done to us?" is the cry.
>
> With all kind wishes,
>
> de Hans, K0HB
>
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