Re: [AMRadio] In Defense Of The ARRL
Don: It is equally apparent to me that you've seized on one sentence I said and are taking it totally out of context. I don't doubt that we need people with good "business sense" in some ways, but amateur radio is not about business anymore than it's about specturm. All the spectrum in the world does no good if you lack the authority to or means of utilizing it.That's the real issue, justifying our existence. Why would any intelligent government leave huges chunks of spectrum vacant for an organization like the ARRL when their main concern is making money? As someone pointed out earlier, you really don't need commercial Harris rigs in a ham radio organization. Why not good ol' American made Ten Tec gear throughout? (We have the Harris gear in our EOC, I know how much it costs and how over priced it is). Why not a working classic radio position? The references to AM, CW, and 220 were merely to outline specific areas that (at least until recently) didn't receive anywhere near the support, publicity, or praise that SSB and 2 meter VHF have from the ARRL. The references to business were in regard to their approach to selling books and radios for their advertisers and making that their #1 priority. The last time I was a member, they had a series of articles called 'Mike and Wally'(?) or such, about the new no-code tech and how the old timer W1 station was wrong, bad, evil for not accepting him. Afterall, the no code tech had gotten his license after buying "The ARRL License guide". And his wife as a good person too because she bought "Now You're Talking" etc etc. Basically these ARRL columns were nothing but advertisements for their publications, and chose to chastise current hams in favor of the newbies because the newbies were buying ARRL products. It was and is a farce. It became clear to me at that point where the League's priorities were, and it's been reinforced repeatedly by some of their people here in New England. An orginazation that professes to be the 'voice of the amateur radio community' should be that, not a business seeking to sign up more members to sell more subscriptions, books, or radios for their advertisers. They should do their best to hold their members to the highest standards, not dumb down the requirements in favor of higher numbers. When you earn something, you tend to appreciate and respect it more than if it's given to you. Nothing invested? No great loss if it's gone. Instead of making an amateur radio license a skill and tool worth honing and using, the emphasis has instead been shifted to making it as simple as possible for anyone to join, not realizing that *most* of the people you attract this way will grow bored and be gone before long. IMHO, you don't 'save amateur radio' by turning it into something meaningless. They already tried that by giving away CB licenses and selling cheap radios. Honestly, why would the government or any agency turn to amateur radio for help in an emergency if they have no apparent level of competence? What sets us apart from CBers or any ol' person with a radio stuffed into their mitts is a *working* knowledge of RADIO, including specifics such as CW which is still used in emergency situations when no other means of communications are available (the sunken Russian sub comes to mind). I've had ARRL people tell me that it's no longer important that hams understand how a radio works or its major components because "no one but an engineer could fix it if it broke anyhow". In an emergency situation, a real ham could likely come up with something to work using this knowledge, or at least know where to look for a problem beyond the ON/OFF switch. I know extra class licensees who can't even program their HTs. Is this *really* what we want for the future of ham radio? Is this approach of selecting what will likely bring in the most users or new licensees really a good idea? Obviously not if the ARRL has been "saving ham radio" for the last 10+ years and it's gotten worse to the point of having to lessen requirements with the dumbing down approach. Put the business sense to work in Washington and put basic, practical sense to work in the field. Personally it irks me a bit that the ARRL did it their way and failed repeatedly, but since everything else has been tried *now* they're willing to try to some attention to basic radio issues and history. Is it any wonder so few want to be a part of such an organization? One of the primary reasons for the amateur radio "service" is to provide a source of trained radio operators to help out in times of local and national emergency. This seems to have gotten lost long ago in the rush to promote amateur radio as a hobby. As far as the railroads go, they were still in operation last I knew. Maybe cheaper trucks and gasoline had something to do with a more convenient and economical way of shipping? I bet 5-10 freight and 2 AMTRAK trains roll through my dinky little to
Re: [AMRadio] Support the ARRL
well i agree with some of that and the statement below is correct but i think the real reason is that they want to push the REAL ham radio (sic sic ) ECHO-LINK , now that is radio just be a computer wiz and you do not even have to own a radio.. think ill sell everything and get me some software for it.. CQ CYBER SKIP LAND Hum. If the ARRL is going to put the AM endorsement that will be great but i think the Golden Boys of Newington Will come out with WAS cyber space or non radio first just my thoughts.. WELL back to the cyber dx chasing. 73 Tony AM since 1962 At 03:28 AM 11/21/2002 -0500, you wrote: messing with AM is about the last thing on their minds these days. Ham radio is what they are about ANTHONY W. (Tony) DePrato WA4JQS CALLS HELD: WA4JQS/ZS1, WA4JQS/KC4, WA4JQS/4K1 ZD8JQS, V31SS, VP8BZL, VP8SSI, 3Y0PI --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/html The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML or had an attachment. Attachments are not allowed. Please post in Plain-Text only.---
[AMRadio] AM Mobile
In case anyone is up & about in their shack between about 1930 & 2030 UTC on a daily weekday business, I'm always looking for some good mobile 10- meter AM QSOs on my commute home from work... These past few days I've had to QSY down to the SSB portion of the band, due to inactivity in the AM window..."QRZ AM?"... ~73~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ/m
Re: [AMRadio] In Defense Of The ARRL
Todd: Like you, I shunned the ARRL for many years. I was disenchanted with QST and the views of my peers who represented Amateur Radio to official circles. Now that I am older I look back and see many mistakes made by the orgainzation like the position of eliminating AM. While I am a bit ambevilent about CW, it has more numerous proponents than AM and they have valid points concerning the mode. I also see my mistakes of not contacting my ARRL representatives and making my views known. One thing that has surfaced in recent years is the advocacy and vocal support of AM on this and other reflectors. Recently the election of directors in the eastern part of the United States had the support of the AM mode included as an issue, pushed by members of this very reflector. So, in my view, the ARRL can be changed or at least acknowledge our wishes (a proponent and operator of AM was elected). It has been pointed out here that economic interests are constantly attacking our bandwidth for monetary benefit. I live in a state that our representative in on the Telecommunications Committee in the house. Recently the representative wrote a letter to the Chairman of the FCC advocating the position of SAVI who wishes to develop and implement a system they claim will help in the war against terrorism. It will be a broad banded device that will harm the spectrum outside its operational frequencies, with dubious benefit, in my view, and they want to take a ham band for its final operating frequencies. The ARRL contacted the representative opposing the device, but she advocated it anyway. So, seeing that, I have decided to support the ARRL. While far from perfect, they do take positions that support Amateur Radio, no matter what the frequency or mode. It is up to us to guard our chosen mode of operation and I do that when possible. I have written our repersentative three times concerning issues on CC&Rs and SAVI techonology. I have yet to receive an answer as a constitutant but the ARRL has. If you belong to any club, I suggest you invite the ARRL district representative to a meeting to hold a forum so the issues you are concerned about may be discussed. Most of the ARRL repersentatives will attend such a meeting if at all possible and if they see formitable opposition to any position, surely, they will take it into account. If they don't, join and challenge their re-election. While I believe the ARRL is on the road to creating two classes of hams by their certification program, what can be done? The ranks are full of people who do not know the correct operating procedure for passing traffic in emergencies. In years past most hams (and I empasize MOST), through either the ARRL or MARS, were trained for this very task. Amateurs were in the forefront of experimentation (now in commercial labs) and emergency traffic handling. Now that we have almost two generations of hams that have never passed an emergency message, those skills are regulated to the dust bin but they can dial a cheap cell phone. Since we no longer lead the way in experimentation, I think the ARRL has chosen to highlight our one remaining functional possibility to justify our existance, emergency message handling. The recent porposal for the 60 meter band by the ARRL was justified in their pleadings for propogation reasons to enable hams to communicate over intermediate distances for "Emergency situations". Forty meters was too long and 75/80 too short during certain hours. When not in use for emergencies, we could use the band for our hobby (including the AM mode). I find that support, especially, since they proposed full allowable power and no mode restrictions that some wanted (a CW proponent directly petitioned the FCC to make the band CW only). While our gains as AM operators are small, we can still operate our chosen mode thanks, in part, to the ARRL who did oppose the banning of the mode in the 70s. I urge everyone to look at this issue with a broad view and not be myopic about their chosen modes and operating habits. Reasses our failure to contact our representatives of the ARRL and government whether we are members or not. If you are a member, the director will be more likely to take your views more seriously, but I think they will listen anyway. No I don't like everything the ARRL does, but they have to support themselves in todays expensive world. Costs of that support have to come from somewhere and if they make those bucks in QST, that is less the membership has to put up in dues and donations, considering how many hams don't belong and pay dues or donate. This is long in the tooth so I won't give my views on the money position. But, again with certain reservations, I do support them. I urge everyone to step back from the issue and view the picture from different prospectives. You might be suprised. By the way, have you noticed the Yaecomwood now put a button on their equipment for AM, wonder why? 73 Jim de W5
RE: [AMRadio] In Defense Of The ARRL
Todd: >From the quote below, it is clear that you have missed the whole point. An >organization that makes sure it takes care of BUSINESS FIRST is what we MUST >HAVE. When we focus on "RADIO" we are defining the problem too narrowly. >Paradoxically, "Amateur Radio" IS NOT ABOUT RADIO. It's about SPECTRUM. If we >have no spectrum, we have no RADIO. And spectrum is BUSINESS. So what we need >is an organization that protects our spectrum and responds to threats by being >a player in the process we call "free enterprise". Let me give you an example of what your kind of thinking did to a great American industry. The American railroads thought that their business was railroading--rails, trains, freight, schedules, etc. But this narrow definition of their business cost them their business. What they failed to appreciate was that their real business was transportation. And what they really should have defined as the key elements of their business was interstate tariffs and federal subsidies for the National Defense Highway System. The railroads missed the point and they are (basically) gone. As soon as anyone starts talking about the ARRL in terms of "CW" and "AM" and "220". they are already in the trees, having forgotten about the forest. The ARRL today clearly makes spectrum protection and legislative action their TOP PRIORITIES. This is correct. This is what we must have to survive as a service and a hobby. Like the railroads, we too will be gone if too many of us think like you do. 73, Don Merz, N3RHT - Subject: Re: [AMRadio] In Defense Of The ARRL I think we need a new organization that is oriented more towards RADIO and less towards sales and business. 73 de Todd/'Boomer' KA1KAQ
[AMRadio] 160-Meters AM
Hi All, Man, it sure feels nice to be back on 160-meters AM after such a long absence! Conditions these past couple of nights have been GREAT, too---no QRN, lotsa space from adjacent SSB'ers, and big, beautiful-sounding audio from the AM'ers I've heard/worked on 1885-KHz... Only one drawback: whenever I run QRO (125 watts) output from my 2x813 linear in AM, I come in "...five-by-nine-plus" on my daughter's 2.4-GHz portable telephone. I've tried wrapping both the power cord and phone line of the base unit around a large ferrite core, to no avail..I suspect the handheld unit itself is somehow getting overwhelmed in the presence of my RF. Short of my simply chucking this telephone into the nearest dumpsite, is anyone aware of any possible cure to such RFI...? Thanks in advance, & my very ~73~ Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ
Re: [AMRadio] In Defense Of The ARRL
Merz Donald S wrote: > The ARRL is the only organized and funded voice that we have. All the > arguments below sound just like this one: "I don't vote because all > politicians are bad." Well if you don't vote--or in this case, if you choose > not to support the ARRL, then you are assuredly getting what you deserve. > > The management of spectrum and the technologies that use that spectrum are > continuously changing. For better or worse is a judgment call--change is the > only certainly. > > If we want to protect what we have--if ham radio is to survive--then we MUST > have the ARRL or something like it. Example: All TV broadcast stations have > to go digital by 2007. Why not all ham stations? Are we next? If so, you can > forget AM--and sideband too! > > If you believe in and love democracy, then by heaven please vote. If you > believe in and love ham radio, then for heaven's sake please support the > ARRL. To paraphrase Mr. Churchill, the ARRL is the worst form of a ham > organization--except that we have no other. > > 73, Don Merz, N3RHT Nah, I don't buy it, Don - The difference is this: with politics, you have some choice in party, candidate, write-in, etc. With the Amateur Radio Retail Lobby, you have no voice but theirs and a deck stacked against you by their changes to the rules in the last 15 or so years. It's more akin to an unpopular dictatorship, really. Our democracy supports minority rights, even to the extreme. The ARRL versions supports what best suits their needs as they see it, regardless of whoever else in overlooked or excluded as a result. What you basically seem to be saying is that we should support a corrupt dictatorship because we have no choice - it's either that or nothing. I disagree. I have a choice, and I've exercised it. Don't you find it just a bit interesting how things like AM, CW, and 220 have somehow not gotten the same protection or 'representation' as SSB and the 2 meter CB band? Why do you suppose that is? Also, maybe you can explain how the once-useful QST magazine went from being full of useful information like construction projects to being made up of mostly ads and contest results? This is one of the main reasons I dropped my ARRL membership in the early 90s after 'giving them another try' or 'the benefit of the doubt' etc. Aside from the lack of representation and bad attitude of the ARRL representatives I'd talked to, getting QST each month and having to dig through it hoping to find something of substance in it besides the classified was pointless. I've heard this same argument from ARRL reps themselves "We're the ones who represent amateur radio, you need to support us". Why? They don't represent me and when I try to point out issues of importance to me, they roll their eyes and act like I'm not up with the times or in their clique. Don't get me wrong - one of these times I'd really like to be wrong and see that the ARRL really HAS changed - for the history of the organization and amateur radio, if nothing else. I don't see it happening as long as they continue to have administrators and reps whose main concern is selling subscriptions and Yaecomwood radios for their advertisers and claiming it's 'what is best for the future of ham radio'. One thing being neglected here in the defense of this so-called 'democracy' is that you have to pay to be a member. So, apparently if you're a licensed ham it's your duty to pay up for the priviledge of being ignored and not represented, or dismissed like an unknowledgable child when you try to voice your opinion? Thanks, but no. And if you really want to see the League in action, check into the chunk of money allotted to them after 9/11 last year to help train emergency communications operators. The federal gov't saw fit to put them in charge of it, but from all I've seen the only way groups eligible for any of this public funding are ARRL-affiliates. Some democracy. I agree with this much - amateur radio needs representation. I do not agree that the ARRL is currently the best option, simply the only option. With so many hams out there who don't participate because of the biased leadership, it would seem another organization would indeed be in order. Vote? Sure, I suspect many have voted by not renewing. I know I have, twice. What's more, the ARRL may not have been too successful in supporting AM, CW, 220 or other 'less than popular' issues, but they've seemed to do quite well at supporting rule changes and other approaches that have let more people join - the majority of which don't have the background or necessarily even the interest in radio (probably why the no-code tech deal swelled the ranks temporarily then died when cell phones became cheap), but support the league's view of plug-n-play, throw it away, buy a new one next year. Yes - I had an ARRL representative tell me how important it is to support the Yaecomewood advertisers so 'they'll keep making radios f
Re: [AMRadio] Monitoring 14.286kc AM
GM Geo, I fired up agn last nite, but nothing hrd. Sure glad the V3 is up es running agn. Been using it on ten AM a lot. Glad I took it toW3HM - Howard for repair. He does FB work on these black faced rigs. 73, Tom - K0PJG - Original Message - From: "George Pritchard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2002 8:27 AM Subject: RE: [AMRadio] Monitoring 14.286kc AM > I should be up and running again on 14.286 AM... Just got the quad up. Only > have to add the gamma match and I'll be there again. Been off more than a > month. The 4-1000A and 304tls are awaiting it's load! > George AB2KC > > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of K0PJG > Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2002 7:09 PM > To: amradio@mailman.qth.net > Subject: [AMRadio] Monitoring 14.286kc AM > > > Will be monitoring for an hour or so. > > Thomas F. Fischel - KØPJG - > 8274 Cullowhee Mountain Road > Cullowhee, NC 28723 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To view Collins equipment ; > http://www.qrz.com/callsign/k0pjg > > Life Member of A.R.R.L. > > > > > > > --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- > multipart/related > multipart/alternative > text/plain (text body -- kept) > text/html > application/octet-stream > application/octet-stream > The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML > or had an attachment. Attachments are not allowed. > Please post in Plain-Text only.--- > ___ > AMRadio mailing list > AMRadio@mailman.qth.net > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio > > ___ > AMRadio mailing list > AMRadio@mailman.qth.net > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio
RE: [AMRadio] Monitoring 14.286kc AM
I should be up and running again on 14.286 AM... Just got the quad up. Only have to add the gamma match and I'll be there again. Been off more than a month. The 4-1000A and 304tls are awaiting it's load! George AB2KC -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of K0PJG Sent: Tuesday, November 19, 2002 7:09 PM To: amradio@mailman.qth.net Subject: [AMRadio] Monitoring 14.286kc AM Will be monitoring for an hour or so. Thomas F. Fischel - KØPJG - 8274 Cullowhee Mountain Road Cullowhee, NC 28723 [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view Collins equipment ; http://www.qrz.com/callsign/k0pjg Life Member of A.R.R.L. --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/related multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/html application/octet-stream application/octet-stream The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML or had an attachment. Attachments are not allowed. Please post in Plain-Text only.--- ___ AMRadio mailing list AMRadio@mailman.qth.net http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio
Re: [AMRadio] Support the ARRL
I am a longtime AMer, an old timer at this point, since around 1966 (on the ham bands). I had played around with 1620 in the old days, but the FCC convinced me that wasn't a good idea. CB too. I have generally been an ARRL member over the years. Although I considered them kind of parental, and despite their disinterest in, and general opposition to amateur AM, I had to acknowledge their contribution to the continued existence of ham radio. And I still do. When I moved to Virginia in 1996, I soon discovered the technical group known as AMRAD, and I joined. It turns out that the president of AMRAD is Paul Rinaldo, the ARRL Technical Relations Manager, formerly QST Editor and ARRL Technical Department Manager, and a fellow who is often reviled for his real or perceived pro-FCC/anti-AM stance over the years. Knowing Paul now, seeing him traveling all over the world literally all the time, in pursuit of the survival and possibly the expansion of ham radio, I don't hold any grudge. Many guys like Paul at the ARRL are fighting for the survival of ham radio every day. They are constantly parrying some commercial attack on amateur frequencies. They are trying to make ham radio interesting for newcomers, and trying to help them get started. They publish the ARRL Handbook, one of the most useful publications in the whole field of radio. The list goes on and on. Pretty much nobody else is doing anything. We know how clever they are. They are using those wits to defend ham radio. With AM, I think they thought they were doing the right thing. No, it wasn't good. But I'll tell you this: messing with AM is about the last thing on their minds these days. Ham radio is what they are about. Yes, they have to survive financially to do their work. We better hope they can continue. People have to realize that amateur radio is not a right guaranteed by scripture, or the Constitution, etc. It is a gift from the pioneers of radio, a gift that we need to protect and defend. There are conflicts between real-world political necessities and the "boistrous sea of liberty," as Irb W2VJZ might call it, but we should recognize, respect and support those who are defending and trying to stimulate our hobby. They are working hard. They are not just a bunch of fun-hating old cronies. You should meet them some time. I support the ARRL. That's why. Bacon, WA3WDR
