[Milsurplus] Hamfests, et al

[CL in NC]

"I talked to one fellow who told me the turnout was due to aging - out of the ham radio enthusiasts,..."

Fellows, there has been a quantum shift in what hamming is all about it seems.  Ham radio is nothing more than another form of WIFI for the computer crowd, and not as an adjunct to operating, but the one and only way to operate.  Hams don't want old gear, or semi-new gear, they want a box where the antenna goes here, and the computer plugs in there.  They buy their coax with the connectors installed, and hook it to some 500-1000 buck vertical aluminum tube and are happy as clams.  They strive for obtaining awards that a few years ago took the best station, the best operating practice, and the best luck to be the best at, now, nothing more than a spotter site and a computer that does all the work.  I had a friend that got his ticket in 1992, had got it all in 10 years, one of the first I knew of to have his computer do all the watching on the VHF DX Packet cluster, with computer and rig that tuned his freq, directed his antenna, and woke him up at 3 in the morning for the one he needed.   Honor Roll, County Hunters, WAS, WAC, every certificate with any letter combination, and when he was done, he was wondering what to do next as he had no interest in the radio.  He didn't get much farther as he became a SK.

I am in my own old style ham world, keeping the fires lit, or in this case the filaments, restoring and fixing stuff and putting it on the air, and I am also happy as a clam.  Of late, my contacts are with like mined individuals, and at the rate it is going, unanswered CQ's may be in my future.  I still need a QSL from Utah though, after 53 years of trying.  Never was one for extrinsic rewards.

Charlie in NC