"Sal M. Onella" wrote in
:

....
I don't cling to anything, desperately or otherwise. I keep an
open
mind. I've learned a lot but I haven't learned everything.


Sal / John,

I think Roy may have been referring to another 'helper' who lurks here.

Give me credit for having been the victim of conventional wisdom
or
[insert your favorite disparaging term for misinformation]. It's that
simple.

I think we were / are all vulnerable to learning from each other... it is
what amateur radio is about, the collective 'self training' that is part
of the ITU defintion of the amateur service.

Like yourself, I learned from the hobby elders, and some of it, a lot of
it was BS, and I freely admit that I am uncertain of some of what I
'know'.

We all need to test our own 'knowledge', especially the widely held stuff
that you just don't find in reputable text books. You have to ask have we
hams got an edge on the rest of the world, or is the proposition a myth.

A few years ago I worked on development of a handbook for our new six
hour hams. It was a considerable struggle to keep the 'reflected power is
dissipated in the PA and causes damage' myth out of the handbook that
would feed the hobby intake in this country.

Imagine a multiple choice question in the assessment:

Reflected power:
a) increases the power bill;
b) is a technique for operating 12V equipment in modern 24V vehicles;
c) reinforces your signal provided it is re-reflected by an ATU;
d) overheats transmitters causing serious damage;
e) is a fire hazard.


Owen