On Apr 7, 9:27�pm, "Michael J. Coslo" wrote:
The issue I've always had with comparing Ham
radio to the internet is that it's a real apples/oranges thing.

It all depends on one's motivation.

For
some strange reason, the internet is/was thought
of as some sort of
high tech wonderland.

The thing is, for most people, it's not about the technology.

With the internet, cell phones, PCs, etc., what's interesting is the
content more than how it gets to you. Most people *expect* it all to
work perfectly 100% of the time on the first try, automatically. It's
the email/phone call/message/website that's the important part; the
technology is just how you get to it.

But ham radio is about "radio for its own sake" and is all about the
journey rather than the destination. It's the difference between
riding in an airliner from, say, New York to San Francisco and
piloting your own airplane over the same route. Sure, in both cases
you "flew", but the journey was completely different.

If you send an email to Australia, you *expect* it to get there in a
few minutes at most. But working Australia on the air is a completely
different thing.

Some people don't get this - in fact, most people don't get it. When
someone's first question about ham radio is "what do you talk about?",
it's an indication that they don't get it. That's not a bad thing,
just a different view.

73 de Jim, N2EY