OT: VOA Article about Hams in India

[Daniel Reynolds-2]

Here's an article I stepped upon as I was doing my daily news read.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-01-05-voa24.cfm
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[roncasa]

Maybe someone should send this to Times magazine, whom called ham radio,
"embarrassing".
Ron wb1hga


 Subject: [Elecraft] OT: VOA Article about Hams in India

Here's an article I stepped upon as I was doing my daily news read.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-01-05-voa24.cfm
 

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[lonnie.m.juli]

I also understand that the DXpedition relied on CW at the beginning of their relief effort so that they could operate successfully with small antenna systems and low power. If the FCC and its counterparts around the world keep doing away with the Morse requirement, who will be there to copy weak, hastily assembled stations in the future?

Stepping off the soap box now...

73,

Lonnie  NY2LJ

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[Daniel Reynolds-2]

--- [hidden email] wrote:
> I also understand that the DXpedition relied on CW at the beginning of their
> relief effort so that they could operate successfully with small antenna
> systems and low power. If the FCC and its counterparts around the world keep
> doing away with the Morse requirement, who will be there to copy weak,
> hastily assembled stations in the future?


Here Here!!! (... however - I think you just preached to the choir)

I think that as long as there is QRP, Elecraft, kit building, and ham radio in
general - there will always be CW (unless they one day decide to make CW
illegal ... which would be really dumb - they still use AM don't they - however
I think they did ban spark gap transmitters, but not because they were morse
code). I don't think CW will ever go out of style. People still use sailboats
(and sailboards!) even though steam ships were developed over 100 years ago.
People still use hot air baloons even though we just celebrated the first
century of powered flight. We still make kids learn how to write by hand with
#2 pencils even though most American students have access to a computer and
know how to use one. No - I think that we are quite a long way from seeing the
end of CW. The CW bug 'infects' a certain kind of person. There's no known
antivirus/antibiotic for this kind of 'infection' - and it spreads readily.

72,
Daniel / AA0NI
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[Ron D'Eau Claire-2]

I appreciate the link. In our town, we have an internet e-mail list with a
couple of hundred subscribers (in a town of 17K people) where we discuss
things of interest to our community. I posted there a message about being a
"Ham" and proud of it and provided the link to the story
(http://tinyurl.com/3zbc5).

My mailbox immediately started filling up with people around town telling
stories about how a Ham had helped them some time in the past - one had a
relative "lost" in Anchorage back in the big quake in '64 that finally got
word out via Amateur radio.

Always good to pass the "word" demonstrating ways to show how our hobby can
serve the community as well as entertain us.

Ron AC7AC



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[k6dgw]

As a member of the choir:  I think hams will always preserve competency
in CW, regardless of what the ITU and FCC does, as long as a CW Q counts
more than a fone Q in most contests.

That said, this is yet another example of infrastructure-free
communications that hams can provide and hardly anyone or anything else
can.  When the going gets tough, the power is scarce, and the noise is
high, a radio/ ham operator at each end of a 15,000 km circuit can still
communicate.  Note in the VOA article ... it was all the other
commercial communications that were lost.  It's not something I hear
much about.  Naybe we should change that.

73,

Fred K6DGW
Auburn CA CM98lw
"not even faintly embarrassed"

Daniel Reynolds wrote:

>
> --- [hidden email] wrote:
> > I also understand that the DXpedition relied on CW at the beginning of their
> > relief effort so that they could operate successfully with small antenna
> > systems and low power. If the FCC and its counterparts around the world keep
> > doing away with the Morse requirement, who will be there to copy weak,
> > hastily assembled stations in the future?
>
> Here Here!!! (... however - I think you just preached to the choir)
>
> I think that as long as there is QRP, Elecraft, kit building, and ham radio in
> general - there will always be CW (unless they one day decide to make CW
> illegal ... which would be really dumb - they still use AM don't they - however
> I think they did ban spark gap transmitters, but not because they were morse
> code). I don't think CW will ever go out of style. People still use sailboats
> (and sailboards!) even though steam ships were developed over 100 years ago.
> People still use hot air baloons even though we just celebrated the first
> century of powered flight. We still make kids learn how to write by hand with
> #2 pencils even though most American students have access to a computer and
> know how to use one. No - I think that we are quite a long way from seeing the
> end of CW. The CW bug 'infects' a certain kind of person. There's no known
> antivirus/antibiotic for this kind of 'infection' - and it spreads readily.
>
> 72,
> Daniel / AA0NI
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[Stephen W. Kercel]

About 20 years ago, I was active in League politics, and quite a vocal
critic of the movement to drop the CW requirement from ham licensing. Two
things have become apparent in the meantime. First, our political effort
has obviously failed miserably. Second, having some no-code ham licenses
has not heralded the beginning of the end of western civilization as we
were predicting it would back then. CW operation is thriving.

As yet another member of the choir, I expect that CW will continue its
popularity irrespective of any examination requirement. It is just so much
more effective than any other mode, especially for those of us who use low
powered gear and small antennas.

Two points already made by other posters are telling:

1) It is an effective infrastructure-free mode.

2) Like sailing or cooking over an open fire, it is so effective that it
retains some advantages over much more sophisticated technologies.

Also, unlike the data modes, CW is more art than science. It depends
critically on the skill of the operator. It is in that challenge that it
has its appeal. No doubt, yauchtsmen and barBQ  chefs say much the same thing.

I suspect that the sense of community that one finds in the Elecraft group,
and the sense of accomplishment that arises from doing do much with such
simple (even a K-2 is orders of magnitude simpler than the typical PC, much
less computer networking apparatus) gear will do more to preserve CW than
all the regulating (or lobbying of regulatory authorities) in the world.

73,

Steve Kercel
AA4AK


At 02:21 PM 1/5/2005 -0800, you wrote:

>As a member of the choir:  I think hams will always preserve competency
>in CW, regardless of what the ITU and FCC does, as long as a CW Q counts
>more than a fone Q in most contests.
>
>That said, this is yet another example of infrastructure-free
>communications that hams can provide and hardly anyone or anything else
>can.  When the going gets tough, the power is scarce, and the noise is
>high, a radio/ ham operator at each end of a 15,000 km circuit can still
>communicate.  Note in the VOA article ... it was all the other
>commercial communications that were lost.  It's not something I hear
>much about.  Naybe we should change that.
>
>73,
>
>Fred K6DGW
>Auburn CA CM98lw
>"not even faintly embarrassed"
>
>Daniel Reynolds wrote:
> >
> > --- [hidden email] wrote:
> > > I also understand that the DXpedition relied on CW at the beginning
> of their
> > > relief effort so that they could operate successfully with small antenna
> > > systems and low power. If the FCC and its counterparts around the
> world keep
> > > doing away with the Morse requirement, who will be there to copy weak,
> > > hastily assembled stations in the future?
> >
> > Here Here!!! (... however - I think you just preached to the choir)
> >
> > I think that as long as there is QRP, Elecraft, kit building, and ham
> radio in
> > general - there will always be CW (unless they one day decide to make CW
> > illegal ... which would be really dumb - they still use AM don't they -
> however
> > I think they did ban spark gap transmitters, but not because they were
> morse
> > code). I don't think CW will ever go out of style. People still use
> sailboats
> > (and sailboards!) even though steam ships were developed over 100 years
> ago.
> > People still use hot air baloons even though we just celebrated the first
> > century of powered flight. We still make kids learn how to write by
> hand with
> > #2 pencils even though most American students have access to a computer and
> > know how to use one. No - I think that we are quite a long way from
> seeing the
> > end of CW. The CW bug 'infects' a certain kind of person. There's no known
> > antivirus/antibiotic for this kind of 'infection' - and it spreads readily.
> >
> > 72,
> > Daniel / AA0NI
> > _______________________________________________
> > Elecraft mailing list
> > Post to: [hidden email]
> > You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
> >  http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> >
> > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>
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[Ron D'Eau Claire-2]

Fred, K6DGW wrote:

this is yet another example of infrastructure-free communications that hams
can provide and hardly anyone or anything else can.  When the going gets
tough, the power is scarce, and the noise is high, a radio/ ham operator at
each end of a 15,000 km circuit can still communicate.

--------------------------

As things are going it may not be long before Hams, especially Hams
proficient in CW, are the ONLY ones who can communicate independently of the
highly-complex communications infrastructure.

After posting information with a link to that story on our local town e-mail
list, a number of townspeople replied with stories about how they had been
helped by hams in emergencies in years past. To one message I replied:
"...Things have changed over the years. I have sitting nearby a miniature
radio station that fits in a coat pocket, batteries and all. It's about the
size of most pocket cameras. It's Morse code only, which means it takes a
trained operator to use it, but with a hank of wire thrown over a nearby
tree limb I can communicate with Amateur emergency networks half way around
the world if need be and stay in touch for days without any additional
power, satellites, or other infrastructure."

Of course I'm talking about my KX1.

One of the townspeople wrote back:

"...Hams are wonderful folks - keep up the good work! .. we are happily
residing over an earthquake waiting to happen - hopefully not for many
generations, but if it does shake things up, folks like you are going to be
in BIG demand.  Keep those batteries recharged!"

A little "PR" goes a l-o-n-g ways...

Ron AC7AC


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[Stephen W. Kercel]

Hi Fred:

I'm very encouraged that some young people are taking up ham radio. Given
the "politically correct" attitude of the times, I have heard ham radio
dismissed as a "middle aged white guy's" amusement. It is good that events
show that this is not strictly true.

Frankly, I hope that a lot of newcomers do take up the more sophisticated
digital modes. Ham radio has always had a tradition of advancing the
technology, and now is no time to stop. Although I think that there will
always be CW, I suspect that the analogy to sailing is very sound. It will
be a popular (and even indispensable) niche within a much wider range of
activities.

Your point about publicizing the no-infrastructure character of CW is well
taken. Beyond that, with rare exceptions nobody but hams use CW these days.
We're keeping the art from becoming lost.

BTW. I'm strictly CW myself. I tried operating SSB a few times but could
never get the hang of it. CW is far less difficult.

73,

Steve
AA4AK


At 07:01 PM 1/5/2005 -0800, you wrote:

>Hi Steve,
>
>We are of a similar mind.  I too was initially dismayed at the
>possibility that CW would be dropped, in the US and worldwide, as a
>licensing requirement.  Your response was somewhat courageous in these
>polarized times.  I think I've begun to realize that any newcomer to the
>hobby, and the younger the better, is an asset.  Some will embrace CW,
>some will go for FM and repeaters, some (the really young ones) will
>advance the digital radio arts.  All of it benefits you and me.
>
>Here in Placer County, the HS students must complete a Senior Project to
>graduate.  It is something they must "do", just not report on.  I serve
>on the community boards for these students, and it is something I look
>forward to each and every year ... it renews my faith in the coming
>generations.  Two years ago, I was a mentor (a required part of the
>project) for the son of a ham friend.  Like all 18 yr olds, he was a bit
>distracted at times during the project ... we raised four kids, we're
>somewhat aclimated!  Of course, I was not on his Community Board.
>
>He got his license -- that was the goal of his project.  For his
>Community Board presentation (I wasn't on it of course), he operated
>from my station in the CQ WPX using his Dad's call ... a WX6 prefix,
>presented a description of ham radio, emergency service, and his
>experience in the contest ... and got hooked on the competition.
>Somewhere, he figured out that phone was one mode, but there were
>others, and CW wasn't that hard to learn (he was still young, that's
>when we all did it, no?)
>
>Infrastructure-free communications is still a critical issue in times of
>severe disaster.  I wish there was more "press" about it.
>
>73,
>
>Fred K6DGW
>Auburn, CA CM98lw

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[Douglas Westover]

You want hidebound "middle aged white guys" just listen to
14208 in the morning. SSB hurts my ears, CW forever!

Doug
W6JD

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen W. Kercel" <[hidden email]>
To: "Elecraft Reflector" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2005 8:57 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT: VOA Article about Hams in India

> Hi Fred:
>
> I'm very encouraged that some young people are taking up ham radio. Given
> the "politically correct" attitude of the times, I have heard ham radio
> dismissed as a "middle aged white guy's" amusement. It is good that events
> show that this is not strictly true.
>
> Frankly, I hope that a lot of newcomers do take up the more sophisticated
> digital modes. Ham radio has always had a tradition of advancing the
> technology, and now is no time to stop. Although I think that there will
> always be CW, I suspect that the analogy to sailing is very sound. It will
> be a popular (and even indispensable) niche within a much wider range of
> activities.
>
> Your point about publicizing the no-infrastructure character of CW is well
> taken. Beyond that, with rare exceptions nobody but hams use CW these

days.

> We're keeping the art from becoming lost.
>
> BTW. I'm strictly CW myself. I tried operating SSB a few times but could
> never get the hang of it. CW is far less difficult.
>
> 73,
>
> Steve
> AA4AK
>
>
> At 07:01 PM 1/5/2005 -0800, you wrote:
> >Hi Steve,
> >
> >We are of a similar mind.  I too was initially dismayed at the
> >possibility that CW would be dropped, in the US and worldwide, as a
> >licensing requirement.  Your response was somewhat courageous in these
> >polarized times.  I think I've begun to realize that any newcomer to the
> >hobby, and the younger the better, is an asset.  Some will embrace CW,
> >some will go for FM and repeaters, some (the really young ones) will
> >advance the digital radio arts.  All of it benefits you and me.
> >
> >Here in Placer County, the HS students must complete a Senior Project to
> >graduate.  It is something they must "do", just not report on.  I serve
> >on the community boards for these students, and it is something I look
> >forward to each and every year ... it renews my faith in the coming
> >generations.  Two years ago, I was a mentor (a required part of the
> >project) for the son of a ham friend.  Like all 18 yr olds, he was a bit
> >distracted at times during the project ... we raised four kids, we're
> >somewhat aclimated!  Of course, I was not on his Community Board.
> >
> >He got his license -- that was the goal of his project.  For his
> >Community Board presentation (I wasn't on it of course), he operated
> >from my station in the CQ WPX using his Dad's call ... a WX6 prefix,
> >presented a description of ham radio, emergency service, and his
> >experience in the contest ... and got hooked on the competition.
> >Somewhere, he figured out that phone was one mode, but there were
> >others, and CW wasn't that hard to learn (he was still young, that's
> >when we all did it, no?)
> >
> >Infrastructure-free communications is still a critical issue in times of
> >severe disaster.  I wish there was more "press" about it.
> >
> >73,
> >
> >Fred K6DGW
> >Auburn, CA CM98lw
>
>
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[N2EY]

In a message dated 1/5/2005 2:58:28 PM Eastern Standard Time, Daniel Reynolds <[hidden email]> writes:

>I think that as long as there is QRP, Elecraft, >kit building, and ham radio in
>general - there will always be CW (unless they >one day decide to make CW
>illegal.

I hope you're right. I also hope there is always a place for CW and home construction in ham radio.

Outfits like Elecraft are helping to preserve CW by making really good build-it-yourself CW equipment available and affordable.

>We still make kids learn how to write by hand with
>#2 pencils even though most American students have access to a computer and
>know how to use one.

Also things like doing arithmetic by hand are *required learning*.

Traditions and skills do not perpetuate themselves. Some folks, probably
quite well-meaning, seek to reduce the
qualifications for an amateur license even further.
In at least one case, a "no-code, no-homebrew" license has been proposed to FCC, with the additional requirement that the transmitter not
use voltages greater than 30!

To save space, here are some links for those interested:

Proposal:

http://www.rrsta.com/rain/ncvec.html


Paper that preceded the proposal:

http://gahleos.obarr.net/messages/0002.html

Response to proposal (3 parts)

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.radio.amateur.policy/msg/1f29355163c4ed4e?dmode=source

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.radio.amateur.policy/msg/a0bb67064e87e3d8?dmode=source

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.radio.amateur.policy/msg/0fceb52701a89334?dmode=source

Related discussion off-reflector is invited.

73 de Jim, N2EY

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