Rediscover the magic of radio by becoming an amateur radio operator. There
are so many marvelous things to do these days. Check out www.arrl.org

I have listened to ham radio and did not hear any magic only boring
conversations.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California



I think ham radio operators are good folks, and they can be
lifesavers in emergency situations - willing to stay at the mike for 24
hours straight if need be.

But aside from that - I have to agree. Most of them are bores. 45
minutes on changing a tire on one's car is a typical ham conversation.
Better than Sominex.

Tony

Let's not forget the ever-popular (and very boring) conversations about health
problems and doctor visits I often hear on the local 2 meter repeaters as well
as the HF bands. With some hams, it seems like ailments are just about all
they can talk about. These conversations are part of the reason why ham radio
still has a reputation as a hobby that's associated with boring old men. Yes,
I realize there are a lot of interesting modes out there on the bands (PSK31,
SSTV, packet, etc.), but what's most people's first experience with amateur
radio? In many instances, it's listening to hams on 2 meters or HF drone on
endlessly about their health problems.

CB isn't much better. In fact, many truckers don't even turn on their CB's any
more unless they are at a truck stop, preferring to listen to XM Radio instead.
Where I live, channel 19 is dead most of the time, even on the weekends. The
few miscreants still on CB locally just seem to want to harass the truck
drivers, or key their mikes over and over to hear their roger beeps on a
talkback radio. That having been said, you still can't beat CB radio for
traffic information on the interstates, especially if you are miles away from
the big cities where all the dorks with the "big radios" take out their
frustrations on anyone who will argue with them.

73,
David