[Elecraft] THE FUTURE OF OUR HOBBY

[Bob McGraw K4TAX]

As I recall BAOFENG has basically accomplished that with a $29.95 
VHF/UHF 8 watt radio.   The kids in the neighborhood love them. And the 
parents can summon the kids using my repeater. License?????   What's 
that?   It is like CB, no license required.   Just ask one of them and 
you'll find out the real story.  Plus it is way less expensive than a 
cell phone and there is no monthly fee.

Asking, do we want more of that "quality" on the air, specially on HF?  
   And for those that say "mine works great",  have you looked at the 
output on a spectrum analyzer?    I doubt it.    Oh but it is approved 
by the FCC.   NO, the paperwork was approved as submitted.  The FCC does 
not test radios.    As I recall, ARRL checked one of those at Dayton a 
couple years back.    Nope, didn't pass the tests.

Many of the JA's are bad enough as it is?  Key clicks, spurious sigs, 
and broad band transmitter noise abound.    But it seems we only want 
better receivers for which to hear the crap being transmitted.   If it 
is in the receiver passband, we will hear it.

Rob Sherwood nailed it in the recent QST article on transmitter 
purity.   We must demand better, otherwise, it won't get better. Some of 
those old relics found on the air today, and a few new ones too, should 
be put in a bucket of water 3 times and taken out twice.

I'm just waiting in the sidelines for the appearance of a 160M - 6M HF 
radio, ~100 watts targeted at way under $500.    I think my 10" 
reflector telescope may be the only way to enjoy some part of the 
spectrum in the future.

73

Bob, K4TAX