[Elecraft] High-End Hams

[Dauer, Edward]

When its author first used the self-congratulatory phrase “high-end” and the flaming by the offended began, I though briefly about posting a defense – suggesting that we elect to believe he meant “high-end” as in “expensive,” referring to the $6,000 dropped on the latest buy, rather than some qualitative judgment about other members of the hobby.  But later posts, regrettably,  negated that possibility.  The phrase actually was used to make judgments about other hams whose passion if not intellect is different from that of others.

If “high end” is a qualitative judgment about people in the hobby, then to me a high end ham is one who with some personal sacrifice helps youngsters into the hobby, who allows other callers their time in the pile-up rather than deliberately stepping on them, who does a little public service work from time to time, who keeps their splatter to a minimum, who always QSLs when asked, who experiments with advances in their own practice and knowledge in a way consistent with their means and their abilities, and who graciously helps others with their problems when their own experience and knowledge may be the better – sort of like most of the participants in this reflector.

Ted, KN1CBR