[Fists] Amateurs indeed!

[W1EOF]

I've noticed multiple uses of the word "amateur" in reference to this
distinguished group of people we call "hams."

According to the book "200 Meters and Down" and others about the beginning
of ham radio, the word amateur was never meant to mean unskillful or lacking
in some "professionalism." On the contrary it meant someone who pursues
something fervently as an art or high-skill yet without financial
compensation.

Or according to one dictionary: Am`a*teur"\, n. [F., fr. L. amator lover,
fr. amare to love.] A person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or
science as to music or painting; esp. one who cultivates any study or art,
from taste or attachment, without pursuing it professionally.


73,

Mark W1EOF