In article . com,
says...

What is Ham Radio?

snippety

Sooooo many more things than Airy R. Bean, no matter how he may
have misspelled his name in the message headers, could ever imagine.

Radio Hams are in a unique privileged position in that
they can construct and operate their own equipment! No-one
else has this privilege. Users, such as broadcasters,
the po lice and armed farces, CBers and mobile phone
^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Isn't that what we have going on in Iraq at this very moment?

users have to purchase ready-made gear. Manufacturers
are not licensed to operate their gear. Radio Hams
are qualified to design, build and then
operate their own pieces of equipment. They do this

A gross (and inaccurate) generalization. A great many hams I've
met in recent years barely remember what Ohm's Law is, let alone how to
do anything resembling design. They do indeed purchase their radios
'off-the-shelf,' talk about the things that matter to them on the air,
however non-technical the subject matter may be, and often show up at
radio club meetings.

And you know what? The vast majority of them are very smart, very
nice people who, while they're very interested in the public-service and
volunteer emergency service aspects of amateur radio, and may have made
significant contributions to the hobby and their community in other
ways, may never have so much as learned how to pick up a soldering
pencil.

Lack of real electronics experience does not make someone with a
ham license any less worthy of respect, Beany, no matter what you may
believe. I say this as an amateur radio license holder for the last 27
years (first as WD6EOS, then later as KC7GR), and as a professional
electronics engineering tech (for just about the same number of years).

And, for the record: Yes, I've been tinkering with electronic and
radio projects for most of my life.

Many have said that amateur radio is a dying hobby. Personally, I
don't believe that. However, if there is any grain of truth to such
statements, it's not the lack of technical skill in SOME newcomers to
the hobby that's hurting the hobby.

What will quickly kill amateur radio will be expressing ongoing
disrespect and hostility to those who choose to contribute to the
service in non-technical ways. You don't need to know how to use a
multimeter or whatever to be a good on-air operator, or to be of value
in a disaster situation.

You can continue to post whatever kind of misguided "FAQ" you want
to, Beany-boy. It won't change the fact that I, at least, have seen
enough of your previous rantings on Usenet over the last few years to
know your true colors.

*PLONK!*


--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"