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#9
August 2nd 05, 05:45 PM
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Mike Coslo wrote:
wrote: Kardiac Korner wrote: Previous posters have commented that the HF bands are populated by Seventy-Somethings who oft compare their surgeries with their fellows. Well, this is not endemic to the HF bands. On 'phone, maybe. Not on Morse Code. Not on Phone either. Of course, I think you knew that already, Jim! There are some spots on 'phone where such conversations go on. 75 meters is a common place for them. I've never encountered one on Morse Code even though I spend far more time using that mode than all the others put together. Case in point. This afternoon three of the youth challenged Old Timers tied up a local repeater as they compared notes and even argued over whose heart surgery was the worst. They droned on and on about the incisions made in their legs, their chests, and even went into graphic detail about the drainage tube that had been implanted in one of their abdomens. Does sound gross. I tend to get sympathy pains - so my skin would have been crawling listening to that. But!.... Me too. How did they "tie up" the repeater? Did they refuse to let others use it? Or would it have simply been silent without them? almost certainly the latter... And it this was not depressing enough, one of the Codgers went on to regale the listeners with details of his wife's cancer and chemo treatments and detailed the prescription drugs his wife uses. Come on, guys. My heart goes out to you, but MUST you discuss it for hours on end? On a repeater? Or anywhere? These oldsters are understandably caught up in their dilemma but someone, some day, is going to have to ask them to please, please, stop. Why? These Oldsters, all Extra licensees, have no idea how depressing it is to listen to them. See below. And, guys. When someone asks you how you are doing, don't go into an hour long history of your medical trials and health tribulations. Spare us the details and the resultant depression. Please? A couple of observations: First off, with a few exceptions, the subject matter of amateur radio conversations isn't regulated or restricted by FCC. Unless you can make a case that the conversations involved violated some provision of Part 97 or the Communications Act, they're allowed. Second, I hope no one, including you, ever gets seriously ill or has a loved one in perilous health. May we all live to very old ages with all our faculties intact, and go quietly and peacefully in our sleep when the time comes. But in reality, many if not most people have to deal with such health situations. While those conversations may be boring and depressing to *you*, those involved may find them a source of strength, support and comfort. Also information. Would you rather those hams go through such times without the support of fellow amateurs, whom they may have known for decades? One of the biggest reasons that some hams have a problem with those types of conversations is their *own personal* fear of their *own personal* mortality. And the oldsters with their discussions remind those fearful ones of that very mortality. And they do not like that. Understandable, but not a reason to tell folks to shut up. One of the most gripping conversations I ever heard on the bands was one fellow talking to another. He was in the last stages of something or other. But he was wheezing and gurgling on the air. I was fearful that he was going to pass on right there in the middle of the QSO. Real funny stuff, that. Let's go make some hilarious jokes, eh? 8^( Probably emphysema or CHF. Neither is any fun. Two big reasons I never took up smoking. Third, a repeater's owners have the right to shut down a repeater if they don't like the way it is being used, or who is using it. But that didn't happen. Are you one of the repeater's owners, or an authorized control operator for it? Anyone who would turn off their repeater for *that* is a heartless *******. Agreed - but they'd be within their rights as repeater owners. Then again, maybe the folks talking *were* the repeater owners. The Karma buildup would be very bad - and deserved. Yup. Fourth, almost all of the ham rigs I've seen have both a frequency control and an on-off switch. Use them! Finally! And good advice. I do know that one thing that is much more annoying than old dudes talking about their ailments is people that try to control what other people can or can't say on the air. What you can't say is pretty well laid out in Part 97 and the Communications Act. The rest is pretty much open. Of course there are folks everywhere who have a hard time gauging their audience. For example, there are folks on the Internet who can't seem to learn to spell, use grammar or punctuation, or even post in the same style as others in the particular forum. Some haven't even learned that using all caps is the equivalent of SHOUTING. And of course there are the folks who will tell you the same story of their life over and over and over....and over again, even though there's no point to it and it has nothing to do with the discussion at hand... A simply excellent response, Jim. Thanks! 73 de Jim, N2EY 313 |
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