On 6/28/2010 1:45 PM, Michael J. Coslo wrote:

I might point out that technical advancement does not have to be
furtherance of some basic science or physics. Indeed, I think Gordon
has missed the boat a little here. He's looking at it from a RF
centric view. The person that applied phase shift keying with a
computer sound card with programming on a computer is also performing
advancement of the art. This sort of thing is largely overlooked
because many amateurs are thinking that unless it is the discovery of
say one particular GHz frequency that otherwise behaves like 160
meters, it isn't worthwhile. It's a fairly mature science, and our
advancements are incremental. But we've done a lot more advancement
than Gordon gives us credit for.

I recall some years ago, Reading a news article on how doctors at a
local teaching hospital had developed a system (not unlike the one Dr.
Hawking uses) to allow a patient who could not speak or type to use a
puff-sip switch to convert puffs and sips into text which a computer
could then translate to speach.

They spend well over 100,000 dollars doing it

At that time, a Commodore VIC-20 was under 100 bucks, and could be
powered by the 12 or 24 volt battery on an electric wheel chair (using a
regulator in the 24 volt case) since it only needed 12VDC to work

A Curtis Keyer chip which could translate puff/sip to morse code (With
the addition of the puff sip switch) was about 10 bucks plus supporting
hardware, and could be powreed by the 9-v accessory line on the VIC's
expansion port.. Ham radio software could have been downloaded or
purchases for a few bucks.

Basically.. A ham could have built such a system for under 200 dollars,
AND. what's more, Opened a whole new world to the patient at the same
time (Since he would have been a world class CW operator in less than a
month of practice with the puff/sip to Speach system, and all he'd need
to do is study and pass the Technician test to get on the air)

Now in this case, Ham radio was not involved.

But think of how much better it woudl have been for the patient if he
could have done for a couple hundred, what cost over a hundred though.

I did send a message to the doctors at that hospital (Via another
doctor, who was my customer, I sold Commodore computers at the time, he
had a C=64 and his very cute Korean wife an Amiga. They were both a lot
of fun to be around in the store