Re: [Elecraft] Collecting stamps vs. seashells -- and why this is not wildly O.T.
Once one becomes competent at CW, other modes loose much of their attraction. ...robert KE2WY On 6/12/2022 16:24, w7a...@gmail.com wrote: I found Wayne's post to be both amusing and insightful. "Collecting" is a big part of many hobbies, and ham radio is no exception. Nearly all of us collect something, if not a lot of things, as part of our practice of this hobby. We collect certificates indicating accomplishments like WAS, WAC, DXCC, etc., we may become collectors of keys and paddles, or of "boat anchors", and on and on. Certainly nearly every one of us has a collection of QSL cards! Before ham radio I collected a lot of things as a youth. Stamps were one of the things I collected, and I was frequently purchasing packets of stamps from companies I saw advertising in various magazines. This was kind of a neighborhood thing, as several of us all did the same thing. Perhaps the strangest thing we collected was a list of license plate numbers of out of state cars passing through our little town of Bend, Oregon. The ultimate objective was to hopefully have at least one identified plate from every state! I came close!! It's ironic how similar this process is to WAS-Delaware was one of the few states I never documented! In my case, collecting became an early obsession in my ham radio life. I was licensed at 13, and had managed to accumulate enough paper route money to purchase a BC-348 receiver. However, initially I had no transmitter. My two "Elmers" were quite aware of this problem, and at one of our local ham club meetings they announced that they were going to donate all the necessary parts, and expertise, allowing me to construct my own transmitter-with considerable assistance from them!! That process included making a chassis from sheet aluminum and winding a home made power transformer large enough to power an 807! The whole process, from the time my Elmer scribbled out a schematic on paper to completion, took about 10 days or so. One of my Elmers (W7GNJ) owned a bike shop (where the construction process took place), and it's amazing how many parts he had tucked away in corners and boxes there! There was a "hitch" to this gift. My Elmers wanted to make sure that I became reasonably competent as a CW op. So, they put a price on this gift. I had to collect 150 QSL cards, signifying CW contacts, before I could fully claim actual ownership of the transmitter! The process took several months and 2 or 3 batches of QSL cards purchased from either Walter Ashe or World Radio Labs (100 for $1)! Not everyone was willing (or able) to exchange cards. Completing that requirement was more rewarding to me than just about any other "certificate" I've ever gotten. Also, I think I can say I did become reasonably competent at CW. At least competent enough to be invited to become an NCS on the Oregon State CW Net. I've been a 95% CW op ever since! Dave W7AQK __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to rc...@verizon.net -- Robert G Strickland, PhD ABPH - KE2WY rc...@verizon.net.usa Syracuse, New York, USA __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] Collecting stamps vs. seashells -- and why this is not wildly O.T.
I found Wayne's post to be both amusing and insightful. "Collecting" is a big part of many hobbies, and ham radio is no exception. Nearly all of us collect something, if not a lot of things, as part of our practice of this hobby. We collect certificates indicating accomplishments like WAS, WAC, DXCC, etc., we may become collectors of keys and paddles, or of "boat anchors", and on and on. Certainly nearly every one of us has a collection of QSL cards! Before ham radio I collected a lot of things as a youth. Stamps were one of the things I collected, and I was frequently purchasing packets of stamps from companies I saw advertising in various magazines. This was kind of a neighborhood thing, as several of us all did the same thing. Perhaps the strangest thing we collected was a list of license plate numbers of out of state cars passing through our little town of Bend, Oregon. The ultimate objective was to hopefully have at least one identified plate from every state! I came close!! It's ironic how similar this process is to WAS-Delaware was one of the few states I never documented! In my case, collecting became an early obsession in my ham radio life. I was licensed at 13, and had managed to accumulate enough paper route money to purchase a BC-348 receiver. However, initially I had no transmitter. My two "Elmers" were quite aware of this problem, and at one of our local ham club meetings they announced that they were going to donate all the necessary parts, and expertise, allowing me to construct my own transmitter-with considerable assistance from them!! That process included making a chassis from sheet aluminum and winding a home made power transformer large enough to power an 807! The whole process, from the time my Elmer scribbled out a schematic on paper to completion, took about 10 days or so. One of my Elmers (W7GNJ) owned a bike shop (where the construction process took place), and it's amazing how many parts he had tucked away in corners and boxes there! There was a "hitch" to this gift. My Elmers wanted to make sure that I became reasonably competent as a CW op. So, they put a price on this gift. I had to collect 150 QSL cards, signifying CW contacts, before I could fully claim actual ownership of the transmitter! The process took several months and 2 or 3 batches of QSL cards purchased from either Walter Ashe or World Radio Labs (100 for $1)! Not everyone was willing (or able) to exchange cards. Completing that requirement was more rewarding to me than just about any other "certificate" I've ever gotten. Also, I think I can say I did become reasonably competent at CW. At least competent enough to be invited to become an NCS on the Oregon State CW Net. I've been a 95% CW op ever since! Dave W7AQK __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] Collecting stamps vs. seashells -- and why this is not wildly O.T.
Dad would fill a bowl with water, soak the stamps until they floated free,then lay them on a piece of wood by a window to dry in the hot San Diego sunshine. Once they were dry enough to handle, he'd pull out the albums and cement the stamps to blank pages in perfect rows and columns. Holy cow…the stamps would have been ruined or useless to a collector! I sure hope he used removable *stamp hinges* instead of glue/cement. Saul W3WHK __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] Collecting stamps vs. seashells -- and why this is not wildly O.T.
This was definitely worth reading, well done Wayne! John KK9A Wayne Burdick n6kr wrote: During my childhood, I watched my dad indulge his hobby: collecting stamps. Most of the time his collection hibernated in two large photo albums on a shelf in the family room, seemingly forgotten. Then once a month, by prior arrangement, he'd receive a package of envelopes and postcards in the mail. Each item sported one or more cancelled stamps. Dad would fill a bowl with water, soak the stamps until they floated free, then lay them on a piece of wood by a window to dry in the hot San Diego sunshine. Once they were dry enough to handle, he'd pull out the albums and cement the stamps to blank pages in perfect rows and columns. One album held foreign stamps, the other domestic. I'd admire their colors and artwork. Sometimes I'd ask him questions about their monarchs, palaces, and currency denominations. But Dad seemed most interested in the fact that they were each slightly different -- their social, political, or geographical nature was secondary. When I was six or seven I started collecting coins in binders, emulating the lazy rhythm of my dad's pastime. This didn't last long, because I was soon consumed by an obsession with seashells in all their varied species. I lived in the perfect place for it. San Diego is famous for its beaches and coves, and I took full advantage of both. On summer weekends, my mother would take my friend Jeff and me to La Jolla, then let us roam while she stretched out on a lawn chair to read and tan. She was oblivious to the risks we were taking. We found three effective ways to collect shells in their native environment, with escalating levels of difficulty. First, you could arrive at the beach earlier than anyone else, at low tide, and scavenge for shells among the piles of pebbles and seaweed. This you would do barefoot, while dodging sharp stones, jellyfish, and rogue waves. Second, you might wander far out onto the sandstone formations to find tide pools that hadn't been raided. The substrate was slippery with moss; pockmarked with littoral snails, mussels, and keyhole limpets; and periodically doused by by breakers. Yet with luck you might reach deep into a bucket-sized hollow and find a well-polished chestnut cowrie among the anemones and hermit crabs. Indians used these egg-shaped cowries as wampum, and considering their beauty and diversity of form, it's easy to see why. These two methods soon gave way to what Jeff and I really craved: searching the ocean floor itself for living mollusks. Once we'd both acquired masks, snorkels and fins, there was nothing to stop us, and no one to teach us how to do it right. We learned the hard way, swallowing seawater and popping our ear drums in pursuit of the deepest free dives we dared attempt. This was probably no more than 15 or 20 feet. But when you're ten years old, this made you the next Jacques Cousteau. We swam with bright orange garibaldis, snapper, and the occasional bat ray as we scanned the coral shelves for whelks, queen's tops, turrets, cones, and other spectacular univalves. Now, we could have collected shells the easy way, by simply purchasing them from the Cove Gift Shop, like everyone else. We considered this cheating, though, taking pride in our arduous adventures. Our treasure was hard-won. * * * A few years later, armed with a ham license, I began a new collection. I worked stations all over the world first in CW mode, then SSB. Even as a teen I drew a parallel between seashells and DX, not just in terms of rarity or diversity, but in the visceral nature of the hunt. CW is not any easy skill to master. SSB also requires considerable skill with equipment, on-air technique, timing, and etiquette. Both allow the freedom to carry on short or long QSOs, over wide segments of spectrum, while expressing your individual style. Both can be pursued at home or in the field, even operating hand-held, no computer required. CW and SSB signals are there if you know where and when to look. They're hidden within atmospheric noise, like colorful shells of all sizes hidden by grains of sand. The hunt is still rewarding these days, but more difficult thanks to other preoccupations. Speaking of which, if you get tired of collecting stamps, let's say with your VFO parked at 14.074 MHz, wander up or down the band and take a crack at doing things the hard way, using other modes. Listen. Search. Wade knee-deep among the hazards, taking chances, employing new skills. Better yet, become a mollusk. Get outdoors and call CQ from a wild, windy perch. Or from home, aim your beam in a new direction and pound some old brass. Let everyone else collect you. 73, Wayne N6KR __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by:
[Elecraft] Collecting stamps vs. seashells -- and why this is not wildly, O.T.
Lovely prose, Mr. Wayne. Very nicely put - best post so far this year - especially the suggestion we invite other ops to call CQ as we move up the bands !! Happy trails, OM. K8JHR __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] Collecting stamps vs. seashells -- and why this is not wildly O.T.
I can certainly relate to the parallels. I’ve been US stamp collected (and now online dealer) since age eight. My collection now is at the point where adding just about any stamp to a blank spot could run close to what it would take to buy a used car. Thus, the poor collection is opened only occasionally. I’ve been hamming since age 16 as a novice back in PA. Still chasing DX, mostly on CW, but every once in a while on FT8. As opposed to those rare stamps, the rare DX costs next to nothing to acquire, save some time away from family matters. But the beauty of ham radio is that there are s many other facets of it besides DX’ing. One can collect counties, try for 9BWAS (Nine Band Worked All States), or even go for it with QRP. Lots of great reasons to get on the air and actually converse with people! Jm / K7TXA Eagle, ID __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] Collecting stamps vs. seashells -- and why this is not wildly O.T.
Amen and Amen. K9ZTV On 6/7/2022 12:21 PM, Wayne Burdick wrote: ... if you get tired of collecting stamps, let's say with your VFO parked at 14.074 MHz, wander up or down the band and take a crack at doing things the hard way ... and*/pound some old brass/*. __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
Re: [Elecraft] Collecting stamps vs. seashells -- and why this is not wildly O.T.
Beautiful piece. Thanks for sharing. On Tue, Jun 7, 2022 at 1:22 PM Wayne Burdick wrote: > During my childhood, I watched my dad indulge his hobby: collecting stamps. > > Most of the time his collection hibernated in two large photo albums on a > shelf in the family room, seemingly forgotten. > > Then once a month, by prior arrangement, he'd receive a package of > envelopes and postcards in the mail. Each item sported one or more > cancelled stamps. Dad would fill a bowl with water, soak the stamps until > they floated free, then lay them on a piece of wood by a window to dry in > the hot San Diego sunshine. Once they were dry enough to handle, he'd pull > out the albums and cement the stamps to blank pages in perfect rows and > columns. > > One album held foreign stamps, the other domestic. I'd admire their colors > and artwork. Sometimes I'd ask him questions about their monarchs, palaces, > and currency denominations. But Dad seemed most interested in the fact that > they were each slightly different -- their social, political, or > geographical nature was secondary. > > When I was six or seven I started collecting coins in binders, emulating > the lazy rhythm of my dad's pastime. This didn't last long, because I was > soon consumed by an obsession with seashells in all their varied species. > > I lived in the perfect place for it. San Diego is famous for its beaches > and coves, and I took full advantage of both. On summer weekends, my mother > would take my friend Jeff and me to La Jolla, then let us roam while she > stretched out on a lawn chair to read and tan. She was oblivious to the > risks we were taking. > > We found three effective ways to collect shells in their native > environment, with escalating levels of difficulty. > > First, you could arrive at the beach earlier than anyone else, at low > tide, and scavenge for shells among the piles of pebbles and seaweed. This > you would do barefoot, while dodging sharp stones, jellyfish, and rogue > waves. > > Second, you might wander far out onto the sandstone formations to find > tide pools that hadn't been raided. The substrate was slippery with moss; > pockmarked with littoral snails, mussels, and keyhole limpets; and > periodically doused by by breakers. Yet with luck you might reach deep into > a bucket-sized hollow and find a well-polished chestnut cowrie among the > anemones and hermit crabs. Indians used these egg-shaped cowries as wampum, > and considering their beauty and diversity of form, it's easy to see why. > > These two methods soon gave way to what Jeff and I really craved: > searching the ocean floor itself for living mollusks. Once we'd both > acquired masks, snorkels and fins, there was nothing to stop us, and no one > to teach us how to do it right. We learned the hard way, swallowing > seawater and popping our ear drums in pursuit of the deepest free dives we > dared attempt. This was probably no more than 15 or 20 feet. But when > you're ten years old, this made you the next Jacques Cousteau. We swam with > bright orange garibaldis, snapper, and the occasional bat ray as we scanned > the coral shelves for whelks, queen's tops, turrets, cones, and other > spectacular univalves. > > Now, we could have collected shells the easy way, by simply purchasing > them from the Cove Gift Shop, like everyone else. We considered this > cheating, though, taking pride in our arduous adventures. Our treasure was > hard-won. > > * * * > > A few years later, armed with a ham license, I began a new collection. I > worked stations all over the world first in CW mode, then SSB. Even as a > teen I drew a parallel between seashells and DX, not just in terms of > rarity or diversity, but in the visceral nature of the hunt. > > CW is not any easy skill to master. SSB also requires considerable skill > with equipment, on-air technique, timing, and etiquette. Both allow the > freedom to carry on short or long QSOs, over wide segments of spectrum, > while expressing your individual style. Both can be pursued at home or in > the field, even operating hand-held, no computer required. > > CW and SSB signals are there if you know where and when to look. They're > hidden within atmospheric noise, like colorful shells of all sizes hidden > by grains of sand. The hunt is still rewarding these days, but more > difficult thanks to other preoccupations. > > Speaking of which, if you get tired of collecting stamps, let's say with > your VFO parked at 14.074 MHz, wander up or down the band and take a crack > at doing things the hard way, using other modes. Listen. Search. Wade > knee-deep among the hazards, taking chances, employing new skills. > > Better yet, become a mollusk. Get outdoors and call CQ from a wild, windy > perch. Or from home, aim your beam in a new direction and pound some old > brass. > > Let everyone else collect you. > > 73, > Wayne > N6KR > > > > > > > > > > > __ > Elecraft
Re: [Elecraft] Collecting stamps vs. seashells -- and why this is not wildly O.T.
Wayne, Very interesting perspective. I'm finishing 7 days in Yosemite NP today! Many things to see and places to go! I did manage to make a little time to play radio. My KX3 makes portable operation easy. I'm always shocked on these outings away from sources of man made noise at what I can copy. All CW this trip. Hopefully there will be more radio time on the next outing. Robie AJ4F On Tue, Jun 7, 2022, 10:23 AM Wayne Burdick wrote: > During my childhood, I watched my dad indulge his hobby: collecting stamps. > > Most of the time his collection hibernated in two large photo albums on a > shelf in the family room, seemingly forgotten. > > Then once a month, by prior arrangement, he'd receive a package of > envelopes and postcards in the mail. Each item sported one or more > cancelled stamps. Dad would fill a bowl with water, soak the stamps until > they floated free, then lay them on a piece of wood by a window to dry in > the hot San Diego sunshine. Once they were dry enough to handle, he'd pull > out the albums and cement the stamps to blank pages in perfect rows and > columns. > > One album held foreign stamps, the other domestic. I'd admire their colors > and artwork. Sometimes I'd ask him questions about their monarchs, palaces, > and currency denominations. But Dad seemed most interested in the fact that > they were each slightly different -- their social, political, or > geographical nature was secondary. > > When I was six or seven I started collecting coins in binders, emulating > the lazy rhythm of my dad's pastime. This didn't last long, because I was > soon consumed by an obsession with seashells in all their varied species. > > I lived in the perfect place for it. San Diego is famous for its beaches > and coves, and I took full advantage of both. On summer weekends, my mother > would take my friend Jeff and me to La Jolla, then let us roam while she > stretched out on a lawn chair to read and tan. She was oblivious to the > risks we were taking. > > We found three effective ways to collect shells in their native > environment, with escalating levels of difficulty. > > First, you could arrive at the beach earlier than anyone else, at low > tide, and scavenge for shells among the piles of pebbles and seaweed. This > you would do barefoot, while dodging sharp stones, jellyfish, and rogue > waves. > > Second, you might wander far out onto the sandstone formations to find > tide pools that hadn't been raided. The substrate was slippery with moss; > pockmarked with littoral snails, mussels, and keyhole limpets; and > periodically doused by by breakers. Yet with luck you might reach deep into > a bucket-sized hollow and find a well-polished chestnut cowrie among the > anemones and hermit crabs. Indians used these egg-shaped cowries as wampum, > and considering their beauty and diversity of form, it's easy to see why. > > These two methods soon gave way to what Jeff and I really craved: > searching the ocean floor itself for living mollusks. Once we'd both > acquired masks, snorkels and fins, there was nothing to stop us, and no one > to teach us how to do it right. We learned the hard way, swallowing > seawater and popping our ear drums in pursuit of the deepest free dives we > dared attempt. This was probably no more than 15 or 20 feet. But when > you're ten years old, this made you the next Jacques Cousteau. We swam with > bright orange garibaldis, snapper, and the occasional bat ray as we scanned > the coral shelves for whelks, queen's tops, turrets, cones, and other > spectacular univalves. > > Now, we could have collected shells the easy way, by simply purchasing > them from the Cove Gift Shop, like everyone else. We considered this > cheating, though, taking pride in our arduous adventures. Our treasure was > hard-won. > > * * * > > A few years later, armed with a ham license, I began a new collection. I > worked stations all over the world first in CW mode, then SSB. Even as a > teen I drew a parallel between seashells and DX, not just in terms of > rarity or diversity, but in the visceral nature of the hunt. > > CW is not any easy skill to master. SSB also requires considerable skill > with equipment, on-air technique, timing, and etiquette. Both allow the > freedom to carry on short or long QSOs, over wide segments of spectrum, > while expressing your individual style. Both can be pursued at home or in > the field, even operating hand-held, no computer required. > > CW and SSB signals are there if you know where and when to look. They're > hidden within atmospheric noise, like colorful shells of all sizes hidden > by grains of sand. The hunt is still rewarding these days, but more > difficult thanks to other preoccupations. > > Speaking of which, if you get tired of collecting stamps, let's say with > your VFO parked at 14.074 MHz, wander up or down the band and take a crack > at doing things the hard way, using other modes. Listen. Search. Wade > knee-deep among the hazards,
Re: [Elecraft] Collecting stamps vs. seashells -- and why this is not wildly O.T.
On 6/7/22 10:21 AM, Wayne Burdick wrote: One album held foreign stamps, the other domestic. I'd admire their colors and artwork. Sometimes I'd ask him questions about their monarchs, palaces, and currency denominations. But Dad seemed most interested in the fact that they were each slightly different -- their social, political, or geographical nature was secondary. In casually collecting world coins I discovered from "The Phone Book" -- a catalogue of world coins -- that the true political and cultural history of a country was reveled through the coinage. Like stamps, I preferred circulated coins. The stories I imagined they could tell. Fast forward to my new-found love of DX. Those faraway people and places now come to life. Not so OT after all. Lovely essay Wayne. Thanks. Eric KG6MZS __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
[Elecraft] Collecting stamps vs. seashells -- and why this is not wildly O.T.
During my childhood, I watched my dad indulge his hobby: collecting stamps. Most of the time his collection hibernated in two large photo albums on a shelf in the family room, seemingly forgotten. Then once a month, by prior arrangement, he'd receive a package of envelopes and postcards in the mail. Each item sported one or more cancelled stamps. Dad would fill a bowl with water, soak the stamps until they floated free, then lay them on a piece of wood by a window to dry in the hot San Diego sunshine. Once they were dry enough to handle, he'd pull out the albums and cement the stamps to blank pages in perfect rows and columns. One album held foreign stamps, the other domestic. I'd admire their colors and artwork. Sometimes I'd ask him questions about their monarchs, palaces, and currency denominations. But Dad seemed most interested in the fact that they were each slightly different -- their social, political, or geographical nature was secondary. When I was six or seven I started collecting coins in binders, emulating the lazy rhythm of my dad's pastime. This didn't last long, because I was soon consumed by an obsession with seashells in all their varied species. I lived in the perfect place for it. San Diego is famous for its beaches and coves, and I took full advantage of both. On summer weekends, my mother would take my friend Jeff and me to La Jolla, then let us roam while she stretched out on a lawn chair to read and tan. She was oblivious to the risks we were taking. We found three effective ways to collect shells in their native environment, with escalating levels of difficulty. First, you could arrive at the beach earlier than anyone else, at low tide, and scavenge for shells among the piles of pebbles and seaweed. This you would do barefoot, while dodging sharp stones, jellyfish, and rogue waves. Second, you might wander far out onto the sandstone formations to find tide pools that hadn't been raided. The substrate was slippery with moss; pockmarked with littoral snails, mussels, and keyhole limpets; and periodically doused by by breakers. Yet with luck you might reach deep into a bucket-sized hollow and find a well-polished chestnut cowrie among the anemones and hermit crabs. Indians used these egg-shaped cowries as wampum, and considering their beauty and diversity of form, it's easy to see why. These two methods soon gave way to what Jeff and I really craved: searching the ocean floor itself for living mollusks. Once we'd both acquired masks, snorkels and fins, there was nothing to stop us, and no one to teach us how to do it right. We learned the hard way, swallowing seawater and popping our ear drums in pursuit of the deepest free dives we dared attempt. This was probably no more than 15 or 20 feet. But when you're ten years old, this made you the next Jacques Cousteau. We swam with bright orange garibaldis, snapper, and the occasional bat ray as we scanned the coral shelves for whelks, queen's tops, turrets, cones, and other spectacular univalves. Now, we could have collected shells the easy way, by simply purchasing them from the Cove Gift Shop, like everyone else. We considered this cheating, though, taking pride in our arduous adventures. Our treasure was hard-won. * * * A few years later, armed with a ham license, I began a new collection. I worked stations all over the world first in CW mode, then SSB. Even as a teen I drew a parallel between seashells and DX, not just in terms of rarity or diversity, but in the visceral nature of the hunt. CW is not any easy skill to master. SSB also requires considerable skill with equipment, on-air technique, timing, and etiquette. Both allow the freedom to carry on short or long QSOs, over wide segments of spectrum, while expressing your individual style. Both can be pursued at home or in the field, even operating hand-held, no computer required. CW and SSB signals are there if you know where and when to look. They're hidden within atmospheric noise, like colorful shells of all sizes hidden by grains of sand. The hunt is still rewarding these days, but more difficult thanks to other preoccupations. Speaking of which, if you get tired of collecting stamps, let's say with your VFO parked at 14.074 MHz, wander up or down the band and take a crack at doing things the hard way, using other modes. Listen. Search. Wade knee-deep among the hazards, taking chances, employing new skills. Better yet, become a mollusk. Get outdoors and call CQ from a wild, windy perch. Or from home, aim your beam in a new direction and pound some old brass. Let everyone else collect you. 73, Wayne N6KR __ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email
