General Observations in Amateur Radio #127

                        
                            Feb. 2008
                          
                            General Observations In Amateur Radio # 127
                          
                          I've given up on "connecting". I will now start "hooking" things up. My wife has been licensed for almost a year now. In our conversations about assembling various Amateur Radio items, she frequently refers to "hooking" this part to that part, etc. I'm sure it's just me, but I'd rather "connect" this high-tech stuff rather than "hook it up", so I've been gently correcting her as we move right along. Well, I think it's about time to give up on this crusade. I sometimes try to get her to watch something technical on TV such as "Modern Marvels" on the History Channel. Of course it never fails that some high-powered engineer, while explaining some seriously complicated piece of machinery, will show how Part A is "hooked up" to Part B. And it's not just Modern Marvels, it's everywhere. She likes to watch those Home Shopping Channel type shows, where, of course, they have to show you how easy it is to assemble whatever it is they are selling. Do they "connect" anything? Of course not… they "hook it up"! So, as John Lithgow's character in the movie "The Tuskegee Airmen" said "I know a dead horse when I beat one".
                        
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                          Bluetooth headset geeks; don't you know that, in general, the more "reachable" you are the less important you probably are? Watch the news. See any important people with one stuck in their ear? I'm sure they can afford one. It looks like an electronic "ball & chain" to me. 
                        
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                          With more than one repeater for each active repeater user, Wichita Falls, Texas might be the "repeater capitol" of the USA. Not counting APRS, IRLP and EchoLink frequencies, there are about 21 repeaters listed for Wichita Falls. I listen to the local repeater nets each week and count the number of check-ins. Rarely does the total unique call signs for the combined nets equal 21. I have to go by net check-ins because that's when 99% of the repeater traffic occurs. The repeaters are normally pretty dead at other times. Unless a cloud passes overhead.
                        
                          Now I'm sure these folks are off enjoying other modes of Amateur Radio, but it just makes me scratch my head when I hear a local ham talk about putting up another repeater. But why should I care…it's not my money. Just leave me a few simplex frequencies and I'm happy.
                        
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                          I'm a firm believer that the Amateur Radio spectrum should go to those who use it. If 50% of local hams want to use simplex and the other 50% love repeaters, then there should be a 50/50 split in the coordination of frequencies. If it's 95/5, then it should go that way, with the biggest user getting the biggest slice of the pie. It's only fair. My message: if you like simplex… use it! If you like repeaters…use them! If you like both…use both!
                        
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                          I know this has nothing to do with Amateur Radio, but I often wonder what German and Japanese school books say about World War II. Maybe I should find English translations of a few and find out. This thought occurs to me whenever I watch a documentary on the subject such as the recently-aired Ken Burns masterpiece "The War". Oh, and let's not leave out the French. What's their version?
                        
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                          As I troll the big Amateur Radio forum sites, I continue to be entertained by the D-STAR topic. Some love the idea, and of course, some hate it. Some mention the high initial expense and others are afraid it will make their radios obsolete. And then there are those that probably don't care one way or the other but just stop by to deliver a meaningless one-line comment that has nothing to do with the original topic. 
                        
                          I personally, as they say here in the Great Southwest, "don't have a dog in that hunt", so the future of D-STAR doesn't really matter to me. If D-STAR will be a benefit to the EMCOMM and Weather Watch people, or any other group of users, then I hope it works out well for them. Just leave me a few simplex frequencies! (I bet you knew I was going to say that.)
                        
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                          I have a small collection of Wayne Green's 73 Amateur Radio magazines from the 1960's. His editorials make great entertainment. The things that he and others griped about back then are pretty much the same as we hear about today. One frequent theme is the unresponsiveness of the ARRL to it's membership. Have we not heard that one before? Morse Code, incentive licensing, bad on-the-air manners and other familiar topics show up regularly. Technology has changed, but not what we gripe about. At one point, Wayne apparently lost a few pounds and decided to try to recruit other hams to do the same. He went so far as to say "I see you at those hamfests with that lard hanging over your belts"! 
                        
                            73,

                            WF5TX