[Elecraft] Reaching across the chronological divide

Sun Jan 3 13:22:06 EST 2021

Well I have been an extra class since 1963.  I too, have patents and am a
retired EE design engineer.  I run three Elecraft rigs and two computers.
But I admit that I feel dumber than a hammer when looking at all the
software options  and menu items.  I haven't even considered a Flex because
of my limited computer skills.

Btw, at age 79, I can still build with SMDs.  It's a matter of being
blessed with good enough eyesight  and steady hands.

I got over looking down on others without my level of expertise when I
realized there were just as many who have skills I don't have.

If amateur radio is to survive, we need to be teammates, not adversaries.

End of soapbox session.

73,

Dave, K4TO

On Sun, Jan 3, 2021, 11:01 AM Buddy Brannan <buddy at brannan.name> wrote:

> I am, sadly, one of those dumber than a hammer types. Never learned to
> solder anything. Theory was not my strength, and if you sat me in front of
> an Extra test, chances are better than even that I’d fail it. I mean a lot
> better than even. Like…OK, I’d fail it for sure. But I passed the 20 wpm
> three times, twice with 100% perfect copy for all five minutes. This skill,
> while handy in a pinch, doesn’t confer much more than bragging rights,
> whereas actually being good at the technical side would actually be dead
> useful. As opposed to, well, making me dead by some crazy accident.
>
> Still, and getting back to the age divide, I’d agree that if we’re
> focusing on the ability to talk to people anywhere in the world, we’re
> focusing on the wrong thing. Radio is magic? Yeah, closer, because it is,
> and I think we all of us who do this thing appreciate that. But I think the
> ARRL had the right idea when it started an initiative to court the
> so-called maker community, because there’s a lot of common ground there,
> harkening back to old traditions of home brewing (an aspect of the hobby on
> which I Feel I’ve sadly missed). Also, communication without infrastructure
> has a certain appeal, and I don’t think it gets enough press. Sure, we’ll
> use it if it’s there. But we don’t have to, and this is an aspect that
> definitely deserves more airplay than it gets. Add in competitive aspects
> to the no infrastructure. I think all of these things could appeal to
> younger people if presented right.
>
> On the other hand, I was a 14-year-old ham in 1987, and I had exactly zero
> success in getting much of anyone interested in this greatest of all
> hobbies, so that could mean I don’t have any idea what I’m talking about.
>
>
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Email: buddy at brannan.name
> Mobile: (814) 431-0962
>
>
>
> > On Jan 3, 2021, at 10:21 AM, <len at ka7ftp.com> <len at ka7ftp.com> wrote:
> >
> > This is funny:
> >
> > " I expect a fire war when I say this and that is, most extra class hams
> > licensed with in the last 15 years are dumber than a bag of hammers when
> it
> > comes to radio theory, operation, station building, safe practices or
> > anything as simple as soldering or crimping on a PL259."
> >
> > I'm one of those Hams that is dumber than a hammer.  I got my Novice
> license
> > in 1974 and finally got around to upgrading to Extra in the last 15 year.
> > Actually since CW is my favorite mode of operation I was ambivalent about
> > upgrading.  Only till I realized Extras don't need to memorize that band
> > edges did I upgrade.
> >
> > No, I don't waste time on games.  I spent the last forty years building a
> > career.  I ran an R&D team for 5, was CTO of multiple companies, I do
> both
> > electronic and software engineering, oh did I mention I have 14
> patents?  I
> > can solder the smallest surface mount devices by hand.  I just finished
> > building an observatory in my back yard.  I built a 1965 replica Cobra, a
> > GIANT analog synth, and I restore vintage computers.  (Real ones
> 8008/8080
> > era...)
> >
> > No, please just send me the golden hammer, I admit, I'm the dumbest of
> all
> > dummies and proud of it.
> >
> > 73
> >
> > len
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> > [mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Morgan Bailey
> > Sent: Saturday, January 02, 2021 1:32 PM
> > To: Tom Azlin W7SUA <tom at nilza.org>; Elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> > Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Reaching across the chronological divide
> >
> > Chronological divide, Heh. I am 67 years old, for 7 years I played WoW,
> for
> > 6 years I played Everquest and for 5 years I have played Guild Wars 2. I
> > enjoyed each of these games. I moved on to the more progressive game but
> > still enjoy playing them from time to time. I only play GW2 at this time.
> > Making the games set up and work with all peripherals is no harder than
> > setting up FT8. Setting up RTTY with 2 or 3 decoders and getting
> everything
> > to work...much harder. I am finding that many people in their 40s and 50s
> > are getting into Amateur Radio. Some want the challenge of making stuff
> > work, some want the antenna building experience, some want kit building
> but
> > most seem to be from a subset of the population that are what one might
> call
> > internet geeks. These guys do great in the transition to ham radio.
> > Many gamers spend upwards to 2k$ on a video card only for their game box.
> > So, $$$ is generally not a limiting option for this group. When they get
> > hooked, they are hooked hard. In NCJ a few years ago, there was an
> article
> > about contesting and video games. The parallels between the 2 of being
> "in
> > the zone" were made. The same psychological high is involved but
> actually,
> > it is more involved and dynamic than an online game.
> >
> > Pile ups, gotta love them, any mode you can get them, cw or ssb will
> provide
> > that psychological high that melts the time away and keeps you on your
> toes.
> > One can get so involved that you have to force yourself to take a deep
> > breath and relax the shoulders and refocus on your posture so you can
> > continue to run. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 hours later, you have to pee, get a
> drink,
> > grab a snack and get at it again. It is addicting. I am glad that cw
> > contests are not every weekend because my life would end. LOL. SERIOUS
> > online gaming requires raiding to really advance in MMORPG games. Serious
> > ranking for WRTC takes the same. It takes tech, engineering, $$$ and
> > commitment to advance in the world of contesting. What reward? Well, if
> you
> > like to compete then this is your mojo. If you like to collect wallpaper
> for
> > working all places, counties, countries, etc it is there. If you want to
> be
> > recognised in a magazine for contest performance that is here.
> >
> > In the ham radio world there are no cash prizes. Not so in the gaming
> world,
> > there really are professional gamers. Heh for that matter, I used to farm
> > gold in games and sell it for $$$. I did this while waiting to Raid.
> > In games you have dps meters and one always tried to be on the top of the
> > pile by being best in your class for whatever your function was. N1MM
> has a
> > rate meter and mults window based on band population and  feedback and
> > spotting networks. How does one get these gamers to transition to Amateur
> > Radio? Good question. When I state that my hobby is Ham Radio, I get, "I
> did
> > not think people did that now. Or Really, what is that? Why would you do
> > that?" the conclusion that I get from these comments is: there is not
> enough
> > exposure of the population to Amateur Radio. Plain and simple people just
> > don't hear about it or see it in action. There are no public special
> events.
> > There are not enough elmers to encourage people. There are no longer any
> > towers being put up because of HOA and zoning ordinance rules.
> > Towers used to be focal points for people to talk about. Why does he
> have a
> > tower? Once that question was asked then a tour of the shack generally
> was
> > involved and maybe 1 in 10 or 20 became interested to progress into the
> > hobby. Rarely do you see a tower any more. Less exposure, less questions,
> > about the hobby. People in general are curious.
> >
> > If we want Amateur Radio to survive, we as a whole have to whet that
> > curiosity. We have to be Elmers. We have to welcome people and encourage
> > them to get involved. We have to be honest about the realistic
> expectations
> > of the hobby both in what it can and can not do, what is going to be the
> > realistic cost to get going from marginal rig/station to contest capable
> > station. The greatest disservice that is currently being done is
> licensing.
> > I traveled for 23 years up and down the east coast. I have attended many
> > radio club meetings and the focus has been licensing, getting more hams.
> > Sadly, that is not the answer. Many of those that got the license never
> > operated. Then there are the shack-on-the-crack 2 meter hams that just
> get
> > on repeaters and yack all day long. The same 3 or 4 guys on the repeater
> day
> > in and day out talking about the same thing. Heck if I were a new ham, I
> > would give it up in short order and try to sell my baufong asap. The
> problem
> > is even though we get people licensed there is little or No followup with
> > helping them get on the air. When I got my license over 50 years ago, I
> > studied the Ameco Radio theory course. I bought the ARRL handbook. That
> was
> > my bible, my religion when I was 12 years old and living on the farm.
> Today
> > you buy a license manual. It has all the questions and answers. Marking
> out
> > all the wrong answers so that only the question and right answer appears
> and
> > after reading just the question and the answer through 6 times and never
> > reading anything else, there is a good chance that a person will pass the
> > exam and never know a damned thing about radio but they will be an Extra.
> > Whoopie. I expect a fire war when I say this and that is, most extra
> class
> > hams licensed with in the last 15 years are dumber than a bag of hammers
> > when it comes to radio theory, operation, station building, safe
> practices
> > or anything as simple as soldering or crimping on a PL259. Much less do
> they
> > know what an SO239 is and what it is used for. Then there are those that
> > sell new hams broken or marginal radios and that despoils them on the
> hobby.
> > There are tons of pitfalls to getting new hams into the hobby. The
> problem
> > is not licensing, it is helping the peer get going so they can have fun.
> > Whether it be CW, SSB, Contesting, Satellite work, building antennas or
> kits
> > or just helping choose equipment and antennas and helping with that first
> > QSO, those are the things we need to be doing. I have no proof of this,
> but,
> > if a new ham does not get on HF quickly after getting licensed he or she
> > will not be long for the hobby.
> > Getting them invested in more than listening to a squelch tail is what
> needs
> > to be done.
> >
> > I praise Elecraft in their business model. First and foremost, they do
> not
> > produce crap radios. They are clean. They can be used in tough
> conditions.
> > For the most part with reasonable care and feeding, they are bombproof.
> > Plus, they have a price point for almost every entry into the HF
> spectrum of
> > the hobby. Their KX2 is a marvel for mountain top operating or the
> traveling
> > ham that wants a park-bench QSO in his down time. It is a quality radio
> > under the 1k$ mark. Next is their KX3. It has a way better RX, extra
> bands
> > and more power and sells well equipped for under 2K$. Then enter the K3S,
> > now discontinued. It was the gold standard of all contest radios well
> > equipped for Under 4k$. Now they have the K4 iterations which I believe
> will
> > set a new standard for further manufacture of ham radios. In wondering if
> > Eric and Wayne were gamers, they made a radio that can be upgraded by
> > plugging in new cards which is congruent with upgrading a computer game
> > machine. Because their focus has been quality before beauty, seemingly,
> they
> > produce an excellent radio, which is durable and does not have the LS
> > branding of chrome and fancy knobs to detract from lack of performance
> found
> > in other brands. Any of their radios can be used to contest and they are
> not
> > painful to use. Every time I have called Elecraft, I get someone who
> answers
> > my questions. Honest, to the point answers and service beyond what any
> other
> > manufacturer has today. I am not forwarded to the call center where it is
> > like working DX with QRM and QSB trying to understand the person on the
> > other end. Yes, I own some junk radios, 991A, 450D, 746, Xeigu, and not
> one
> > of those radios compares to a KX2 in functionality of RX. If you can't
> hear
> > them you can't work them. My current radio for the past 5 years is the
> K3S
> > with a second RX. I have worked thousands of QSOs on that radio. Nothing
> > keeps its trade in value like an Elecraft. If a new ham can afford an
> > Elecraft, you have not done him a disservice in recommending one to him.
> For
> > a new ham, buying an Elecraft and putting up a resonant antenna is
> almost a
> > guarantee for successful communication.
> >
> > Yes, I drank the koolaid, and I continue to do so. It tastes great. I
> want
> > more. I guess that is why I ordered 2 K4s in group 1.
> >
> > 73,
> > Morgan NJ8M
> >
> >
> > BS + MS + $2.98 = COFFEE
> > Real Life Experience = Priceless, says the man who set his back yard on
> fire
> > with a breadboard tuner loading a 160 meter inverted L with 1000 watts.
> LOL
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Jan 2, 2021 at 12:27 PM Tom Azlin W7SUA <tom at nilza.org> wrote:
> >
> >> Sorry to not agree EricJ.
> >>
> >> I have made a lot of friends over multiple QSOs, in my case digital
> >> modes. To me that is the magic that continues. Including long QSOs
> >> with hams across the ponds. But then I got my Novice in 1972.
> >>
> >> At local neighborhood watch got asked if I could help if we in this
> >> rural area lost land lines and cell phone service. So I explained how
> >> ham radio can help. No kids there so getting them excited still work
> >> in progress.
> >>
> >> 73, tom w7sua
> >>
> >> On 12/14/2019 7:46 PM, EricJ wrote:
> >>> We're missing the point here somehow. Siri's answer should have been
> >>> "The best way to contact Helen is to pick up your phone and call
> >>> her."
> >>>
> >>> Anything else is pretty much a waste of time and resources just to
> >>> talk to Helen. Seriously, there's a sizable investment in
> >>> specialized  equipment to make contact via AMSAT or whatever. The
> >>> contact is set up for them. Then Jon and Helen wait to be told when
> >>> the link is ready. If that's worth doing and will attract young
> >>> people, then just shoot me. It sounds terminally boring.
> >>>
> >>> Making that investment in specialized equipment can't be justified
> >>> as  utilitarian communication because it's expensive and
> >>> inefficient. If the point is to contact your friends any time you
> >>> want to, they are already doing that with a half a dozen reliable
> >>> instant technologies all accessible from the same smartphone. I
> >>> don't get where ham radio comes in to solve a problem they have
> >>> already solved. Certainly not with a system that requires waiting 15
> >>> minutes for a satellite to get in position, and a Cupertino Robot to
> set
> > up the call.
> >>>
> >>> I don't have the answer to attracting young people to a rapidly
> >>> changing hobby in an even more rapidly changing world. The aspects
> >>> of the hobby that attracted many of us was the sheer magic of radio
> >>> itself. We weren't attracted to it because it let us contact our
> >>> friends. Even then we had the telephone for that. We were attracted
> >>> to the magic. Nine times out of ten, the communication part was "599
> >>> OM PSE QSL".
> >>>
> >>> I always heard how DX contacts would allow me to learn about other
> >>> cultures. Actually, it did. After exchanging signal reports, I'd
> >>> look up their city with an atlas or encyclopedia. But I learned zip
> >>> on the air. A few California Kilowatts could hog a DX station, and
> >>> chit chat for a few minutes, and did because they could. But the
> >>> rest of us never got beyond the basic exchange and fought like hell for
> > that.
> >>> But it was magic so it didn't matter that it wasn't all that
> >>> practical.
> >>>
> >>> The magic that attracted us is gone. Maybe there's new magic to be
> >>> found, but it's different magic that most of us with 30-70 years in
> >>> the hobby won't understand...and probably won't like. We are the
> >>> wrong people to even be considering answers but anyone expecting to
> >>> make a living from the hobby will have to find that new magic. It
> >>> ain't instant communication and it ain't the ham radio equivalent of
> >>> retro turntables.
> >>>
> >>> Eric KE6US
> >>>
> >>> ex-K1DCK, WA6YCF, WB2PVW
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On 12/14/2019 5:35 PM, andy.moorwood at moorcom.com wrote:
> >>>> Question: Can amateur radio reach across the digital divide ? My
> >>>> answer: It could Follow up Question: Do you think it will ? My
> >>>> answer:  No, not with current products and modes of use
> >>>>
> >>>> Why do I say this ? My 20 year old wants a turntable for Christmas.
> >>>> Why on earth does he want one when he can download any song he
> >>>> wants from his apple music account ? Answer: People of his
> >>>> generation are moving beyond mere utility (listening to any song
> >>>> anywhere anytime), they now want a musical experience, playing a
> >>>> vinyl record - could be one of mine - with all the "atmosphere"
> >>>> (hiss and scratches) to experience the music as it was "made".
> >>>>
> >>>> Could this experiential notion morph to a communications form?
> >>>> Communications utility is being able to contact your friends at
> >>>> anytime from anywhere, instantly,  AKA the ubiquitous smartphone.
> >>>> A communications experience could be one where the path / mode is
> >>>> dynamic and not guaranteed to succeed (applies to VHF linked
> >>>> repeater systems and HF).
> >>>>
> >>>> So why won't this happen ? We (amateur radio hobbyists and
> >>>> industry) don't follow the usage paradigms they are used to and
> >>>> frankly expect, built around their smartphones.
> >>>>
> >>>> The turn tables I'm looking at have RCA jacks to connect to an
> >>>> amplifier but they also have Bluetooth to connect to your phone and
> >>>> speakers, and of course "there's an App for that" on the
> >>>> smartphone.
> >>>>
> >>>> People of this generation are not going to configure virtual COM
> >>>> ports so their apps can access a radio.  Neither will they work
> >>>> through windows "wizard" configuration screens.  Apple and the
> >>>> other developers have made set up effortlessly work  and offer
> >>>> digital assistants to help you on your way.  For example, below is
> >>>> a conversation from a possible radio future.
> >>>>
> >>>> Jon, Ham Radio Operator: "Hey Siri what repeaters are near me and
> >>>> can I link to Helen in Scotland ?" Siri: " Yes Jon there are
> >>>> several repeaters nearby but the best way to contact Helen is via
> >>>> Amsat, one will be over horizon in 15 minutes, shall I let Helen
> >>>> know you want to contact her ? conditions are favorable" Jon: " Yes
> >>>> Siri, let her know, I'll get the antenna ready"
> >>>>
> >>>> Sounds like science fiction ?- no this is technically feasible
> >>>> today - question is will some entity make the investments to make
> >>>> it happen   ?
> >>>>
> >>>> Best Regards Andy K3CAQ
> >>>>
> >>>> -----Original Message----- From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> >>>> <elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of Wayne Burdick Sent:
> >>>> Friday, December 13, 2019 6:24 PM To: Elecraft Reflector
> >>>> <elecraft at mailman.qth.net> Subject: [Elecraft] Reaching across the
> >>>> chronological divide
> >>>>
> >>>> Hams of a certain age, including yours truly (first licensed in
> >>>> 1971) recall their excitement on joining the hobby: there was the
> >>>> promise of contact with faraway places, collection of vivid QSL
> >>>> cards, mastery of esoteric equipment, synchrony with the rhythms of
> >>>> Morse code, and the crafting of antennas to harness action at a
> >>>> distance.
> >>>>
> >>>> Most of us still feel that spark, occasionally--some on a daily
> >>>> basis--experiencing the wonder all over again.
> >>>>
> >>>> While the accoutrements and equipage of youth have evolved over the
> >>>> decades, their DNA has not. Somewhere, nestled between the genetic
> >>>> codes for half-pipe snowboarding, Instagram, Juul, and ambient
> >>>> house, there's a dormant sequence for the Radio Art waiting to be
> >>>> stirred.
> >>>>
> >>>> Is there a Battle Royale for ham radio? A tactical RPG?
> >>>>
> >>>> What is our sorcerer's stone? Our rap?
> >>>>
> >>>> Will Gen-Z or Gen-Alpha tickle the ionosphere, and if so...why?
> >>>>
> >>>> To hand our batons across the chronological divide, we'll need
> >>>> empathetic, open-ended inquiry.
> >>>>
> >>>> 73, Wayne N6KR
> >>
> >> ______________________________________________________________
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> >> mbaileycrna at gmail.com
> >>
> > ______________________________________________________________
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> > delivered to len at ka7ftp.com
> >
> >
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