Hi Brian, > Wayne was interesting to work for. He was aptly > noted for being a > cheapskate and it turned out that was true. OTOH, > one time when I was > up there he took me out to lunch and we had a great > argument about > the future of amateur radio. (Several people in the > office dropped in > a dead faint when they learned that Wayne actually > bought me, an > employee, lunch. :-) I was, of course, suggesting > that digital > communications was the future of amateur radio. He > wasn't sure. Seems > we were both at least part right because here it is > 18 years later > and we are only just starting to see changes in the > communications > landscape.
I met him once very briefly. I was just a kid so other than him being the publisher of 73 and being reasonably nice, I can't say I knew him. He stirred strong emotions one way or the other in the older hams. The technical hams often dismissed 73 as a bunch of hoowie. Still a lot of VHF/UHF guys liked the publication. I certainly enjoyed some of the covers ;o) > > Anyway, he sure annoyed the hell out of everyone but > you have to > admit, he had an effect on what we do and how we do > it. > > Never Say Die. "220, Use It or Lose It" I still have the button for this somewhere... > > And speaking of digital communications, the loss of > The Code as a > gating factor is going to prompt a shift away from > CW as the > minimalist mode for HF. I believe that PSK31 is > probably going to > slowly take over that position as it can be done > with equipment > almost as simple as a CW rig and provides the same > level of > communications at similar power levels. > > (BTW, I am teaching code to my kids at school as I > want them to be > able to build the simplest radio possible to get on > the air. I just > don't think that CW will remain as the mainstay > "last resort" > communications mode.) You're probably correct in your assessment on digital modes. I think the K3 will go a long way in opening up digital modes for those of us who haven't tried them yet. Whether is PSK or another protocol, is to be seen. Judging by the numbers of participants in RTTY contests these days, it is a fast growing segment. Change is good, unsettling yes, but the possibilities are worth the uncertainty... 73, Julius n2wn _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net 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
