[Elecraft] K3/0

Dale Putnam daleputnam at hotmail.com
Mon Jan 16 21:18:47 EST 2012 

And I, for one, am so glad that there are those around that "buy the Qs" ...because that just gives me that much more satisfaction, when I blow past them,in a contest, a pileup, or what have you.... not being mean.. but it does give me just a little bit of a thrill, when my "cost per Q" is immeasurably less!But my "Thrill per Q" is so immeasurably MORE!!

--...   ...--
Dale - WC7S in Wy
 > Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:51:17 -0500
> From: w3fpr at embarqmail.com
> To: lists at subich.com
> CC: elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] K3/0
> 
> Joe,
> 
> I support and applaud your position.
> There are those who will support "contacts at any cost", and that is 
> just not ham radio to me - if you can buy contacts for dollars (or 
> pounds or pesos), then it is no longer ham radio.
> One of the main rules of ham radio for me is the "no pecuniary interest" 
> rule.  That says to me that ham radio is all about sharing, and not for 
> personal gain.  When we begin to talk about "stations for hire", that is 
> when my interest wanes. Many of us take pride in our stations and our 
> operating skills, and strive to improve on our previous 'score' in the 
> same contest from last year.  We do not all have to be "top dogs" in 
> order to have satisfaction.
> This is a hobby, enjoy it in what ever way you are able - there are 
> many, many facets, and you do not have to excel in all of them - pick 
> what appeals to you and 'just do it'.
> 
> If HOAs restrict you to attic antennas, so be it, you can still work 
> DXCC with that attic antenna, and be rightfully proud of your 
> accomplishment.  Sure, you will not do it in a weekend like those with 
> monster antennas and 1.5kW transmitters, but you can still do it and 
> stand proud of your accomplishment.
> 
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
> 
> On 1/16/2012 8:33 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
> >   >  Joe said it "smells" and I'm just really curious why.
> >
> > You misquote me ... I said that argument that remote operation was a
> > necessary answer to HOAs/other antenna restrictions and the only way
> > to get on the air did not pass the smell test.
> >
> > As far as I am concerned, remote operation changes the character of
> > amateur radio from over the air "amateur radio" to "landline based
> > commercial communication" at least in part.  When the operator is not
> > present at the station (transmitting/receiving site) the "radio" part
> > of the communications path can become infinitesimal - nothing more
> > than a hand-held link to the nearest access point.
> >
> > That eliminates everything that makes amateur radio unique.  Taking
> > that one step further ... if the mode is digital, one might as well
> > be using keyboard chat on the internet.
> >
> > In my career as an amateur I've seen repeaters go from something
> > built in the garage/shack to multi-site, statewide linked, trunked
> > communications systems.  I have watched packet radio go from a random
> > network of individual stations to nothing more than the equivalent of
> > wireless access points linked by commercial wired networks (internet).
> >
> > I don't want to see HF devolve to the point that "amateurs" will need
> > to pay for membership in and access to a series of "mega stations" in
> > northeast Maine, southern Florida, northwest Washington and southern
> > California to have the best shot at DX ... or even worse Radio Arcla
> > class facilities all over the world just to be able to "chat" with
> > any amateur, anywhere without regard to propagation, local conditions
> > and time of day.
> >
> > I've already seen evidence of individuals working a DX contest from
> > KP2 or other locations in the Caribbean while setting at home in New
> > York or Boston or San Francisco, etc.  I'd rather *never* work a P5
> > than "work" someone operating a multi-band remote transmitter located
> > on the roof of a PyongYang hotel (or cell-phone factory) with operators
> > in Oakland, Atlanta, London, Berlin and Helsinki.
> >
> > Is remote technology "fun"?  Is it an engineering challenge?  Yes.
> > Is it appropriate for amateur radio?  Not in my book (even though
> > that opinion may be contrary to my own bank account before long)!
> >
> > Remote operation/remote technology offers a huge opportunity for
> > regulators and those commercial interests (primarily messaging
> > and remote sensing companies) who would like to acquire amateur
> > spectrum to argue that "amateur radio" can be accommodated entirely
> > on-line rather than continue to occupy more than 15% of the spectrum
> > below 30 MHz.
> >
> > 73,
> >
> >      ... Joe, W4TV
> >
> >
> > On 1/16/2012 7:11 PM, David Gilbert wrote:
> >> Although I've never had to deal with an HOA, I lived for thirty years in
> >> a neighborhood that "frowned" upon any kind of tower, and the lot was
> >> small enough that I didn't want one to dominate everything anyway.  I
> >> worked over 300 countries with simple homebrew verticals and had lots of
> >> fun doing so, but for you or anyone else to tell me that I should just
> >> be content to live with those restrictions is beyond your pay grade.
> >>
> >> Antenna restrictions are not the only limitation some folks have to live
> >> with.  Local QRN can be a real issue for some, and trust me ... it is a
> >> LOT more fun to be able to hear stations than it is not to hear them.
> >> Ask any contester how much fun it is to endlessly call stations only to
> >> have most of your RF end up as heat loss in the ground or a nearby building.
> >>
> >> I now have a tower with excellent antennas on a nice hillside lot.  Very
> >> few people get to enjoy what I experience during a contest, where I can
> >> run a frequency for hours and not have to rely solely on S&P.   Remote
> >> operation potentially gives some folks that opportunity and I can't see
> >> a thing wrong with it.   Joe said it "smells" and I'm just really
> >> curious why.
> >>
> >> Dave   AB7E
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On 1/16/2012 4:27 PM, Phil Hystad wrote:
> >>> I will guess that Joe is suggesting that remote operation should not be needed to enjoy ham radio from any location.  Maybe, I am just guessing.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Jan 16, 2012, at 3:25 PM, David Gilbert wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> So ... what exactly about that "smells"?  You figure they're trying to
> >>>> cheat in some way?  What else would you have against somebody doing that?
> >>>>
> >>>> Dave   AB7E
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On 1/16/2012 2:09 PM, Joe Subich, W4TV wrote:
> >>>>>> I have thought for many years that it would be a great feature if a
> >>>>>> radio club could set up a super station and offer remote access to its
> >>>>>> apartment-bound members.
> >>>>> I keep hearing this - and the "HOA limitation" - as justification for
> >>>>> remote operation.  As far as I'm concerned both just don't "pass the
> >>>>> smell test."
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