Paul W. Schleck " wrote in
:


I believe that there is a significant difference between "never heard"
of ham radio versus just aren't aware of aspects of ham radio that may
be appealing to them personally. The latter is far more prevalent,
and worrisome, in my opinion. What is the lay perception of ham
radio? Probably the most positive is that of of hard-core techies with
antennas all over their houses and cars (as hard-core techies are the
force behind popular, sometimes useful, things like the space program,
cellular telephones, digital music, HDTV, the Internet, etc.). Being
admired as techie heroes doesn't necessarily mean that a lot of people
want to become such techie heroes themselves, however. The most
negative image would be that of reclusive individuals engaging in an
obscure, possibly obsolete, pastime with no apparent redeeming social
value beyond preserving history and reminiscing about the past.


This rings true for me, Paul.

I've been trying to talk my XYL into getting a license for a bit
now. Unfortunately she is convinced that my approach to the hobby is de
rigeur. She sees my pile of test equipment in the garage, and all the
homebrewing that I do, and has assumed that that is how Hams have to be.
I'm still working on convincing her that you don't have to be an ubergeek
to be a Ham.

It sure would be nice to have someone to talk to in the shack while
I'm in the backyard or on the roof tuning the antennas.... 8^)

- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -