"Steffan" wrote in message
...
My dad was a ham back in the 50's/60's and early 70's and as a child I
remember seeing his "shack" which consisted mostly of Heathkit, a
Hallicrafters SX125 (?) and some Eico and Collins stuff.....

So anyway, shoot ahead 40 years and here I am in a mid life crisis!!!!
As it turns out I became an EE, but my job for the last 24 years or so has
been as a computer tech so my EE skills are, err....lacking shall we say


Code comes easy to me because I am also a professional musician and for
some reason, it just makes sense to me which I suppose is odd in it's own
way.

So anyhow, I still have access to Dad's old gear, but I'm looking for
something modern and some instructions on how to get started.
I had looked into this in high school circa 1975 and it was Novice, Tec,
General and I think Extra class at the time and if you didn't know code
you were pretty limited.
I think Dad is an extra.

So anyway, I plan on contacting a local club and checking out the ARRL
site but any other general advice would be appreciated.
Don't take this the wrong way, but I kind of got the impression that
current technology (pda, wireless, cell phones etc) has kind of put a huge
dent in Amateur radio?
True?
False?


False. There are more licensed hams than at any time in history.
Unfortunately some are very bashful about actually getting on the air. The
biggest problem is that today, the average person has never heard of ham
radio and has no idea what it is.

Every piece of technology has its place. PDA, wireless, cell phones, etc
have different abilities than ham radio as they are on different frequencies
and have other limitations. Hams know this but don't do a good job of
getting out the info on the different capabilities of the different
technologies. Perhaps sometimes the hams themselves aren't up on the
advantages and disadvantages of each technology.

Dee D. Flint, N8UZE

Old gear's function is to radiate and receive RF.

What is it that you expect "modern" gear to do?

The _REAL_ Radio Ham builds and/or modifies and
adapts existing equipment. It is the CBer who goes out to
buy off-the-shelf "modern" gear.

"Steffan" wrote in message
...
So anyhow, I still have access to Dad's old gear, but I'm looking for
something modern and some instructions on how to get started.

"Steffan" wrote in message
...
My dad was a ham back in the 50's/60's ... I
remember seeing his "shack" which consisted mostly of Heathkit, a
Hallicrafters SX125 (?) and some Eico and Collins stuff.....

So anyway, shoot ahead 40 years and here I am in a mid life crisis!!!!
[...snip...] I plan on contacting a local club

Steffan,

WELCOME! The club is your best bet. We're just a lot of old farts here
(:-) There's so much neat stuff to do and neat new equipment. BUT the old
stuff, particularly Heath, is in demand. Be careful if you get offers.
There's a new FM satellite just up, some new modes like PSK31 and all
the rigs are computer controllable, so you can mix various interests.

I'm working on some computer control software for blind hams and I say
that I am fixing it so I can have my 'computer-toy' play with my 'ham
radio-toy' so I can go up stairs and relax watching TV !! (:-)

--
Steve N, K,9;d, c. i My email has no u's.

Then it is probable that you are not a _REAL_ Radio Ham,
but a CBer-Masquerading-As-A-Radio-Ham.

"Steffan" wrote in message
...
The _REAL_ Radio Ham builds and/or modifies and
adapts existing equipment. It is the CBer who goes out to
buy off-the-shelf "modern" gear.
That's one way to look at it, but I prefer to make contacts, learn to use
modern gear as opposed to becoming a collector/restorer of older gear.

Perhaps it is simply that you cannot face up to the truth of what is Ham
Radio, a technical pursuit, and what is CB Radio, a consumerist hobby
for those who buy ready-made equipment and just press buttons?

There are many, many CBers-Masquerading-As-Radio_Hams today
whose numbers far outweigh those of _REAL_ Radio Hams. It is
a pity that you have been seduced by the former, for your description
of your Dad made him seem like the latter.

It is sad that another possible recruit to Ham Radio, you, has fallen by
the wayside of mediocrity so soon, especially considering your
claims about your technical background.

Sic transit gloria Mundi.

"Steffan" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 04 Sep 2004 19:08:09 +0100, Airy R. Bean wrote:

Then it is probable that you are not a _REAL_ Radio Ham,
but a CBer-Masquerading-As-A-Radio-Ham.

You're obviously a troll, and not a very good one at that.

If you think that there is a war on, can it be that you see
no difference between CB Radio and Ham Radio, which ISTR
was the point that I was making?

"Steffan" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 04 Sep 2004 19:08:09 +0100, Airy R. Bean wrote:
It's hard to believe the CB vs Ham wars are still going on since I last
used a CB radio circa 1975.

Why not offer a URL showing the things that I have posted, rather
than the outpourings of rather silly and childish people who resort
to personal abuse?

You do your claim no value by siding with ill-mannered people.

"Steffan" wrote in message
news
You're obviously a troll, and not a very good one at that.

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=Ai...&btnG=Google+S
earch

The essence of Ham radio is that it is a technical hobby that also
carries the capability to chat to other people. It seems that by
being incapable of dealing with trivial faults that you have fallen at the
first hurdle. Indeed, as you said that your Dad's gear has been in the
attic for years you are not in a position to make the criticism that
you do below.

You are creating problems where possibly none exist.

Mediocrity such as you display below is one of the marks
of the CBer. The _REAL_ Radio Ham tackles such issues
with enthusiasm; the enthusiasm for technical challenges
that is the mark of the _REAL Radio Ham.

Perhaps you would feel more at home in one of the CB groups, OM?

"Steffan" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 03 Sep 2004 13:26:49 +0100, Airy R. Bean wrote:
Old gear's function is to radiate and receive RF.
It also consists of difficult to find tubes out of spec, leaky capacitors,
noisy resistors, sucks a lot of power and generates a lot of heat and in
most cases is inferior technology compared to today's gear. It still has
charm though and I can see why people would want to restore and collect
it.