Back to Eric's original question: "Where is the "ham spirit" these days?"
Well, I ask, WHEN did the true spirit of ham radio CHANGE to the point where we can demean fellow hams in public message groups - WITHOUT simply contacting an "offending" ham privately to see if we could help them with their system? A simple email message to the "offending" station asking if he was able to hear the bird ... If he has had any problems with the FM birds in the past ... and find out if he knew he was accidentally stepping on another ham ... THAT'S what any responsible amateur radio licensee should have done FIRST. And THEN write up the experience here. Something like ... "Hey, guys and gals. Was working SO-50 earlier this week, and booming in with a strong signal was K6LCS. That's the good news. The bad news is that he was stepping on everyone else - as if he could not hear the downlinks from the bird. I called him up (his phone number is all over his Web sites) and we both identified the problem: a shorted earpiece cable forced him to work without his normal receive audio setup. He profusely apologized ... and he is not really a "repeat offender." LESSON LEARNED: Purchase quality audio accessories!" Instead, the original message criticizes a fellow ham ... and two more fellow hams publicly chime in with, "Way to go, Eric!" - before finding out the facts of the matter. Call me "old school," I guess. But I am not changing. Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
