On May 23, 12:11 pm, Michael Coslo wrote:

My thoughts are that having some sort of device that young people can
use to communicate with each other, in a manner such are they are used
to, such as texting, might just be a good thing.

The operative word there, IMHO, is "might".

Add a couple more
friends, and you have a VHF chat room. No need for repeaters, no need to
intrude on other people's BW. The idea isn't to forge some new
technology. Too many people get caught up in that. It is an application
of available technology in a way that some folk might not see as useful,
but others might.

The Big Problem I see is that ham radio will never be competitive in
areas where there is a similar mainstream/commercial alternative. IOW,
why would any non-ham with a cell phone that can text want a ham-radio
text-message device?

Where ham radio has always been a success is in offering things that
are *not* available anywhere else. For example, in the days before
cell phones, repeaters and autopatch were a big deal because they
offered communications that the average person could not get any other
way.

This doesn't mean I'm against anyone building whatever kind of ham rig
strikes their fancy, as long as it meets Part 97 rules. All I'm saying
is "do what interests you, don't expect it to attract a certain
demographic".

73 de Jim, N2EY