[Elecraft] The heart of ham radio

[Dan Barker]

There's a bit of life ham left on the Glowbugs list too, if you aren't
completely "over" glow-bottles.

Dan / WG4S / K2 #2456

-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Dale Kretzer
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 1:01 PM
To: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [Elecraft] The heart of ham radio

            As the new owner/builder of K1 #2092, I've been reading the mail
here for awhile and want to pass along my compliments on the handling of
this forum and my delight in discovering a great group of true hams.

            At age 63, I have 50 years of ham radio behind me and admit that
up until a few months ago I was suffering burnout, very disappointed in the
direction our hobby appeared to be headed. I felt the heart and soul of our
pursuits were being left behind, that few were continuing the
experimentation and construction so necessary to ham radio's growth and
prosperity.

            I am so very pleased to find I was wrong. The vitality of ham
radio is alive and strong within this fine group of Elecraft users. The
brotherhood of sharing knowledge and troubleshooting skills, plus the
challenge of QRP operating, is to be cherished and nurtured, and you all are
doing a wonderful job of it.

            Like many of you, I've worked hard at self-educating myself with
all the changes in electronics over the years, starting with vacuum tube
equipment and graduating to construction of solid-state equipment. Most of
this took the form of scratch-built test gear and QRP transmitters and
receivers. Heathkit also was a big help in the past, particularly the HW-8,
but nothing like it came along to fill the void until the creators of the
Elecraft products burst upon the scene. Talk about a giant step forward in
quality! The Elecraft team's combination of fine design, solid
documentation, and immediate, friendly support has truly rekindled the fire
in me to plunge headfirst right back into the wonders of ham radio.

            Reading all the discussions and following the threads on this
forum has confirmed for me that I simply must purchase and assemble more of
these great products, just as so many of you have done.  If they are
anywhere near as satisfying to operate as the little K1, I'm going to be in
ham heaven the rest of my days.

            Thanks to you all for reaffirming my faith in this hobby, and
for being the heart and soul of ham radio I thought had slowly faded away. I
see a K2 kit looming on the horizon J

            73, Dale

            K6PJV, Sacramento, CA.