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
