[Elecraft] "Cheap Hams" ???

[Don Wilhelm]

What you are referring to is " Hams helping other hams", and that is 
completely opposite the "hams are cheap" end of things.
Think about the hams who are quite willing to spend $3000 on their ham 
gear and do not want to spend $75 on a dummy load (or other accessory).  
That is the main reason for the opinion that "hams are cheap".

I have been through those "cheap ham days" out of necessity when the 
family needs came first and there was not enough extra to spend on ham 
gear.  Those days are gone now that the kids are on their own. But then 
in those days, I did not spend $3000 for a ham rig either.

I was once there where I did the best bargaining that I could for ham 
gear and appealed to my other ham friends for their discards. Those days 
are behind me, and I can now afford top of the line gear.  I do reserve 
some funds for top of the line test gear and other additions to the 
hamshack that will provide me with the proper tools to keep my hamshack 
in order.

Yes, I have been 'thrifty', but not at the expense of having proper 
tools to evaluate my ham station.  A dummy load and an antenna analyzer 
are on the top end of my list of desired gear for any ham station.  
Other gear may be helpful, but not essential.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 4/21/2015 9:15 PM, G4GNX wrote:
> It's generally been accepted for many years that if one ham has a 
> component that he doesn't need and another ham wants it, it will 
> usually be given for free. This culture has grown from the days when 
> most shack equipment was homebrew.
> Hams also tend to help each other with projects, antenna farming etc., 
> usually without payment.
> At our local club, members often bring unwanted items along for 
> distribution, mostly for free. Sometimes if an item has some higher 
> value, a donation to club funds is expected.
> Like other hobbies, we have "junk sales", where valued equipment can 
> sometimes be sold for silly prices.
>
> I think that the above is where the "cheap" label has emerged from. I 
> prefer to think of hams as "thrifty". :-)