Airy R. Bean wrote:
No, the question is not pointless. Ham Radio is a technical pursuit.

If it's not technical for you, then you may be an
unwitting CBer-Masquerading-As-A-Radio-Ham

In addition to being a technical pursuit, Ham Radio also provides
some self-delusional people the opportunity to make precious
distinctions between themselves and others in order to provide
those self delusionists with a sense of smug superiority. It's just
another of the psychological benefits of participating in the hobby.
73,
Tom Donaly, KA6RUH

Behold, Bob Monaghan signalled from keyed 4-1000A filament:

snip

my $.02 ;-)

bobm

Very well put Bob!

Ah, yes. Growing up to Forrest Mims books was the cat's meow of DIY of
the time :-)

--
Gregg t3h g33k
"Ratings are for transistors....tubes have guidelines"
http://geek.scorpiorising.ca

There are some of us "CBer's" who enjoy the equipment as much as or more
than the use of it. I definitely won't argue that CB radio is corrupt beyond
salvaging. That's why many CBer's turn to ham. I have known many hams who dx
on ham bands but use CB to talk to locals. That's how I learned alot of what
I know and got interested in amateur radio. I don't have my license yet but
I have the resources to study. I just hope that not too many CBer's who want
to convert are met by hams who shun them. In one of my other hobbies, R/C
aircraft, there are always people willing to spend their evenings and
weekends teaching the newbies. The market there is also dominated by
ready-made equipment now but if not for the dedicated builders who help
others, no one would build there own anymore. One thing is common to both
hobbies. The more you do it yourself, the more you learn. For now, it's back
to studying.

Chris

"Airy R. Bean" wrote in message
...
| Yes it is, but such a characteristic seems to be totally lost
| on most newcomers who are no better than CBers who buy
| their complete station off-the-shelf and even send it back to the
| dealer for repairs.
|
| Sadly they are misled by the Mongolian hordes of
| CBers-Masquerading-As-Radio-Hams who have corrupted
| Ham Radio in recent years. (And you don't have to have ever
| held a CB licence to qualify for membership of that class
| of failures - merely having a station of entirely off-the-shelf
| consumer-type purchases puts you fairly and squarely
| in that group!)
|
| "Paul Burridge" wrote in message
| ...
| Well do you think it is? I personally can't think of any other
| passtime accessible to the individual which requires such a high
| degree of technical knowledge to succeed at. If anyone can think of
| something more complex, let's hear it!
|
|

actually, I would suggest that ham radio is the MOST visible technical
hobby, esp. lately, at least here in the USA. The recent spate of
hurricanes in florida has highlighted the role of amateur radio during
such communications down events. The Sept. 11th (9/11) terrorist attack
video programs are playing now on PBS, and the crucial role of amateur
radio during the loss of communications seems to get cited a lot too. The
recent video on the web (cited in radionews latest issue IIRC) is another
example drawing amateur radio to the attention of millions.

Amateur radio's profile on our campus took a big jump after 9/11 too, as
we are now increasingly an integral part of our new campus emergency
communications program, with a new emergency powered UHF repeater project
underway as I write this for this semester.

Now astronomy, for that we head out to dark skies as far away from other
people and lights as possible - now that's a nearly invisible technical
hobby ;-) Only a relative handful of people build their own planes, vs.
650,000 hams in the USA alone. About the closest group to beating us in
public visibility is probably those guys and gals with the battling robots
with buzz saws on PBS robot wars, right? ;-) ;-)

grins bobm
--
************************************************** *********************
* Robert Monaghan POB 752182 Southern Methodist Univ. Dallas Tx 75275 *
********************Standard Disclaimers Apply*************************

I think that you are confusing my wish to preserve Ham
Radio as a technical pursuit with your own mental processes
which you project so well below.

Perhaps it is that you are an unwitting CBer-Masquerading-
As-A-Radio-Ham who is annoyed at being "outed" and which
annoyance results in you revealing the innermost workings
of your psyche as below?

It is a very exciting and inspiring thing to continue to
educate yourself in all matters of technology - try it and
you'll find that there is more to Ham Radio than your
own CBisation of it!

"Tom Donaly" wrote in message
. com...
Airy R. Bean wrote:
No, the question is not pointless. Ham Radio is a technical pursuit.
If it's not technical for you, then you may be an
unwitting CBer-Masquerading-As-A-Radio-Ham
In addition to being a technical pursuit, Ham Radio also provides
some self-delusional people the opportunity to make precious
distinctions between themselves and others in order to provide
those self delusionists with a sense of smug superiority. It's just
another of the psychological benefits of participating in the hobby.

About the closest group to beating us in
public visibility is probably those guys and gals with the battling robots
with buzz saws on PBS robot wars, right? ;-) ;-)

But technically, those machines are NOT robots. If they were true robots, they
would devise their own strategy. They are simply radio controlled devices.

Yes Chris, you're correct, similar situation for myself and some of the kids
on the block years ago.

Just show up at the 'airstrip' and one of the old timers would be more then
happy to take up your new plane for the maiden voyage, give it a going over
and then hand the r/c box over to you and let you learn by doing. Soon we all
were flying on our own and teaching the new kids.

Our neighbor was retired engineer with Grumman, noticed we had in interest in
model rockets and r/c planes, he could not build himself anymore due to
arthritis
but he taught all of us everything he could in the short time he had left.

That was a long time ago but all of us young pups ended up working for
Boeing and Northrup. Otherwise we would have ended up in trouble !

jeff


Chris wrote:

There are some of us "CBer's" who enjoy the equipment as much as or more
than the use of it. I definitely won't argue that CB radio is corrupt beyond
salvaging. That's why many CBer's turn to ham. I have known many hams who dx
on ham bands but use CB to talk to locals. That's how I learned alot of what
I know and got interested in amateur radio. I don't have my license yet but
I have the resources to study. I just hope that not too many CBer's who want
to convert are met by hams who shun them. In one of my other hobbies, R/C
aircraft, there are always people willing to spend their evenings and
weekends teaching the newbies. The market there is also dominated by
ready-made equipment now but if not for the dedicated builders who help
others, no one would build there own anymore. One thing is common to both
hobbies. The more you do it yourself, the more you learn. For now, it's back
to studying.

Chris

"Airy R. Bean" wrote in message
...
| Yes it is, but such a characteristic seems to be totally lost
| on most newcomers who are no better than CBers who buy
| their complete station off-the-shelf and even send it back to the
| dealer for repairs.
|
| Sadly they are misled by the Mongolian hordes of
| CBers-Masquerading-As-Radio-Hams who have corrupted
| Ham Radio in recent years. (And you don't have to have ever
| held a CB licence to qualify for membership of that class
| of failures - merely having a station of entirely off-the-shelf
| consumer-type purchases puts you fairly and squarely
| in that group!)
|
| "Paul Burridge" wrote in message
| ...
| Well do you think it is? I personally can't think of any other
| passtime accessible to the individual which requires such a high
| degree of technical knowledge to succeed at. If anyone can think of
| something more complex, let's hear it!
|
|

On 09 Sep 2004 11:42:56 GMT, (Troglodite) wrote:

About the closest group to beating us in
public visibility is probably those guys and gals with the battling robots
with buzz saws on PBS robot wars, right? ;-) ;-)

But technically, those machines are NOT robots. If they were true robots, they
would devise their own strategy. They are simply radio controlled devices.

Yes, as yet. But given time, no doubt there'll be a category for
autonymous fighting robots. A few of us have attempted it, but only
scratched the surface of the possibilities.

--

"What is now proved was once only imagin'd." - William Blake, 1793.

Airy R. Bean wrote:
I think that you are confusing my wish to preserve Ham
Radio as a technical pursuit with your own mental processes
which you project so well below.

Perhaps it is that you are an unwitting CBer-Masquerading-
As-A-Radio-Ham who is annoyed at being "outed" and which
annoyance results in you revealing the innermost workings
of your psyche as below?

It is a very exciting and inspiring thing to continue to
educate yourself in all matters of technology - try it and
you'll find that there is more to Ham Radio than your
own CBisation of it!

"Tom Donaly" wrote in message
. com...

Airy R. Bean wrote:

No, the question is not pointless. Ham Radio is a technical pursuit.
If it's not technical for you, then you may be an
unwitting CBer-Masquerading-As-A-Radio-Ham

In addition to being a technical pursuit, Ham Radio also provides
some self-delusional people the opportunity to make precious
distinctions between themselves and others in order to provide
those self delusionists with a sense of smug superiority. It's just
another of the psychological benefits of participating in the hobby.




If you're trying to "preserve Ham Radio as a technical pursuit,"
you won't do it by belittling other's contributions to the hobby.
You will however reinforce other's belief that you're just another
grouchy, old, British crackpot who is constantly getting exercised
over what other people consider trivial matters. On the antenna
newsgroup, there's another Briton like yourself who thinks it's of
the utmost importance that hams change the name of their SWR meters
to "transmitter loading indicators." I expect some day to hear of
some Englishman who wants to change the name "spoon" to "pie-hole
insertion device."
73,
Tom Donaly, KA6RUH

In article , says...
I shun CBers who wish to remain as CBers.

They are the death of Ham Radio (A good example
of which is the gangrenous degeneration that is the
M3/CB Fools' Licence scheme in Britland)

I encourage all comers who wish to develop their
technical skills and become _REAL_ Radio Hams.


Does this also include your fellow Land Rover drivers, with whom you chat
on the CB?

Or the M3 friend of yours, whom you are instructing in the fine art of
ballsing up an aerial?