[MRCA] Three week review - Caution Opinion / Rant
MICHAEL ST ANGELO
mstangelo at comcast.net
Wed May 23 14:56:10 EDT 2018
Ray,
Thanks for the feedback on your travels. I enjoy your reports; keep them coming.
I didn't take your comment as an insult but just a suggestion on another way of enjoying our hobby.
I was planning on going to Sussex and probably Fort Miles this spring but unexpected chores came first. Our town picks up bursh in early May and I had planned to get the yard cleanup before Sussex but the last Nor'easter took down a tree, which destroyed a second tree so I've been busy chopping up both trees and lugging them out to the street. At the least it is good exercise...
I'm also busy at work but retirement isn't too far away and I hope the get to my projects when the time comes. Am I being too optimistic with this expectation? Maybe some retirees could comment.
Mike N2MS
> On May 23, 2018 at 2:32 PM Ray Fantini <RAFANTINI at salisbury.edu> wrote:
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> Once again I will apologize to any individual that I may have offended and say that it was completely unintended on my part.
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> Ray F/KA3EKH
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> From: mrca-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:mrca-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Michael Hanz
> Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2018 1:15 PM
> To: Rob Flory <farmer.rob.flory at gmail.com>
> Cc: mrca <mrca at mailman.qth.net>
> Subject: Re: [MRCA] Three week review - Caution Opinion / Rant
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> I was sort of wondering about the expressed viewpoint as well, Rob. Seems like if you don't do one you are limited to only the other. Mike and Ray are probably still young enough to have that old fever at a hamfest or military meet, but I've noticed that the process of aging age does have an effect on such a binary choice. Like you, I went to Dayton for years, but now my priorities have gradually changed and broadened, from playing in a local symphony and chamber music groups to making increasingly esoteric aircraft radio parts in my machine shop. Add to that just keeping up with the normal medical issues and maintaining a 6 acre estate, and the result is that hamfests or military meets are now pretty near the bottom of my bucket list now. I've made a lot of good friends at hamfests, but I continue to find fascinating new people to engage in these later focus areas. The world is not all old military radio, and I'm not sure I would consider this latest phase of my life "missing out on living"...it seems quite the opposite to me. Ray's observation, "...if your situation is different well then that’s your thing isn’t it. [sic]" can point two ways, so I have to agree with that.
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> Mike KC4TOS
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> On 5/23/2018 12:16 PM, Rob Flory wrote:
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> > The basement is a figurative dungeon that Ray put everyone who doesn't show up at events into.
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> > People have things like work, family, and other hobbies and activities that distract them.
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> > There's also more than one way to enjoy this particular hobby.
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> > Please tell us how much fun you are having at events, just leave out the superior attitude.
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> > I've had a lot of fun at events but now my ass is more likely to be found in the stands at my kid's athletic events, a deer stand, or up on my feet coaching other people's kids.
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> > I still like to follow along.
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> > RF
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> > On Wed, May 23, 2018 at 11:51 AM, <mkdorney at aol.com mailto:mkdorney at aol.com > wrote:
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> > > We had a saying when I was in the Army: " To get on your feet, you have to get off your butt." I suppose if somebody's idea of living is sitting on their gluteus maximus all day watching life pass them by, well, it's a free country. It's sad. Also, one's chances of meeting anybody interesting or experiencing anything besides the widening of ones hips doing so is significantly diminished, So yes, they will miss out on living. As far as being interested in meeting somebody like that, I'm not sure said person would have a lot of interesting experiences that would entice me into wanting to go out of my way to meet with or talk to them about their experiences in the first place, and the opportunity to do so would be almost non-existent anyway.
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> > > If you rest, you rust.
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> > > Mark
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> > > WW2RDO
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> > > In a message dated 5/23/2018 11:08:03 AM Eastern Standard Time, farmer.rob.flory at gmail.com mailto:farmer.rob.flory at gmail.com writes:
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> > > > Do you think the vibe of this statement makes anyone want to come out of their basement to meet you?
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> > > > "Suppose in these days of Email and web pages you can find some fulfillment in staying in your basement and never venturing out to Hamfest, reenactor’s events or events like Aberdeen and Gilbert but at least in my book if you don’t take part you missed out.
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> > > > At least that’s how I see it, if your situation is different well then that’s your thing isn’t it. "
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> > > > RF
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> > > > On Wed, May 23, 2018 at 10:22 AM, Ray Fantini <RAFANTINI at salisbury.edu mailto:RAFANTINI at salisbury.edu > wrote:
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> > > > > Afterthoughts and echoes.
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> > > > > Its Wednesday and starting to get back to my regular rhythms or patterns. In the past three or four weeks have had an almost nonstop series of events, first the two day event at Fort Miles that was an radio operation only followed by three days at Aberdeen that was a mixture of radio operation and buying and finally the big event at Dayton that includes things like the side trips to Fair Radio and the US Air Force Museum. Selling, buying and radio operation.
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> > > > > In filling out my time sheet at work yesterday I only had four days at work in the past two week pay period. Good thing is that I work for a university and have been here forever so I get lots of vacation time.
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> > > > > As everyone may know by now I operate my M151A1 with its complement of radios including the huge AN/GRC-106A, VRC-12 and assorted smaller VHF FM radios in the field whenever I can. At Fort Miles and Aberdeen everything was transported to the site via car trailer and had some real fun setting up and operating. Somehow have more fun getting there and setting up the radios along with getting them all working and all the logistics involved that often from working on the air. This year at Aberdeen used the external MEP-025 for an added level of complexity. The more components and complexity the more fun, will at some point have to look at running everything over telephone remotes just to add another level of difficulty.
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> > > > > The other and perhaps the greatest benefit of getting out in the field is that you have the opportunity of getting together with all of the people that make this hobby and somewhat obscure field of military radio collecting possible. New friends and old both local and from far away along with new groups like the MMRCG coming on line to further develop the hobby. I know I have implied this before but have to say it again that if you don’t come out to events like Dayton and take part, then you have missed out.
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> > > > > Suppose in these days of Email and web pages you can find some fulfillment in staying in your basement and never venturing out to Hamfest, reenactor’s events or events like Aberdeen and Gilbert but at least in my book if you don’t take part you missed out.
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> > > > > At least that’s how I see it, if your situation is different well then that’s your thing isn’t it.
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> > > > > Significant purchases this last couple weeks included a British PCR2 invasion Broadcast receiver, although I only had it a couple days now already know it was not intended as an entertainment receiver but was to be used as a receiver after the D Day invasion to provide information to military units. It’s an interesting looking receiver that’s the size of a WS-19 with a minimum of controls that will make a great addition to the collection and will require me to build up the necessary power supply and do a hundred other things to get that back into shape. I had no intentions of buying one but it’s turning up and being unusual to me just sucked me into buying it. Tried my best not to purchase it by offering the seller a stupid low amount but when he accepted had to buy it and now that I have it and in doing the research and learning about it find it was worth twice what I paid for it in providing me with this new project that I never saw coming.
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> > > > > Speaking of education and the cost of it, the PCR2 is a good example of something that at the time you buy it grows on you and turns out to be a real value but there are other items that you become educated on that are somewhat different. Back at FrostFest I bought a Motorola HT-1000 handheld radio and convertacom. For years I have had some strange desire to learn how to build code plugs and program Motorola radios. Think I paid $20 for the first Motorola and then $30 or so for the Motorola software and programing cable and then discovered that I had to build up a 386 system running DOS to effectively use the software. No big deal at first being I have several vintage military laptops running 286 to 486 processors but like everything else I decided that I need to build up a 386 system just for this function and before it was over had to spend another $20 for a new ISA controller card for the system that I was throwing together for that.
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> > > > > Now that I can read, write and modify code plugs on the handheld I have decided that my life won’t be complete until I have a full size radio for my work truck. The same vehicle that is used to pull the car trailer and go to events. Looking at what others have been doing it looks like the Motorola Spectra is the radio to have. So while at Dayton was walking around buying tons of Motorola Spectra stuff.
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> > > > > Forgot some of the most basic rules of Hamfest, First: buy everything together. Think I bought a radio here, a cable there and someplace else the mounting bracket. Although everything was in the $5 to $20 price range it all starts to add up. Second: Buy it when you see it. My wife always tells me that I am stupid to the extent that when I see something that I want I should just go ahead and buy it. Instead what I will do is look at it, talk to the seller and then walk away and think about it and by the time I decide to buy it its gone. Could have bought a milk crate full of everything I needed for $50 but because I did not do it ended up spending more for all the items separately and that had its own issues.
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> > > > > Third: Trust No one! What is it that they say? “Everything works at a Hamfest” bought two separate Spectras that were both allegedly VHF sets to get them home and discover that one is an 800 MHz trunking radio and the other is on 900 MHz making both radios useless. It’s not just the thing that I am out around $50 for threes two useless radios but if I had known what I know now about disassembling the radios to see what range they are I would have been easily able to purchase the correct radio at the event. There were tons of Spectras there being these radios are not compliant with the new FCC rules on bandwidth and I don’t see any opportunity in the near future for picking one up now short of EBay. So I figure I have about $200 sunk into this ongoing Motorola software boondoggle with no clear end in sight but am just going to figure that it’s a cost of education.
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> > > > > The good thing about Dayton is that it is the place for selling military radios, I sold all three of the R-390A receivers that I brought. Two working receivers and one parts radio that will provide an education for its new owner and just about everything else that I brought with me. So some items that you never anticipate things like the PCR2 receiver that turn out to be big wins but other items like the Motorola project can still frustrate but have to say at the end of it all its way better to be doing this then just sitting around talking about doing it or watching TV or some other useless pass time.
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> > > > > Ray F/KA3EKH
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