Feb. 2008

Confessions of a Drive-By Ham

I've never been a contester, but I think I'd be a natural at it. In the early days of my Amateur Radio career I gravitated toward the Special Event stations. All I had to do was throw out my call, give a signal report and send off for my Special Event certificate.

I even put on a special event back in the mid 1980s. All I had to do was make a few calls then wait for the mini pileup. I'd recognize a station, exchange signal reports and wait for their QSL card and certificate request.

To me, this was much better that talking to someone about what type of antenna they were using, whether their rig was an Icom, Yeasu, or Kenwood, and how many watts they were getting everything all excited with.

I mean, how many different variations of this stuff can there be. Not enough to get me through 25 years of that type of QSO. Weather cold and wet. Seems to me I've experienced that before so no need to tell me about it.

Now I would possibly hang on for a little information exchange dealing with flying or skydiving, but there's not too many people into that.

After a few years of boredom, I began to examine why I got interested in Amateur Radio to begin with. It was the technology of the contact. I used to marvel at the sight of a long whip antenna on a military jeep or the sheriff's patrol car back in the 60's. Oh, and nothing, not even to this day, topped the pocket communicators used by Napoleon Solo or Illya Kuryaken in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV series. "Open Channel D, Overseas Relay".

So, once I've made contact with a station, the magic has been performed. The thrill of that particular contact is over for me. Don't take it personally. Just give me my signal report and let me move on!

73,

WF5TX