In article , "Carl R. Stevenson"
writes:

"N2EY" wrote in message
. com...
"Carl R. Stevenson" wrote in message
...
"N2EY" wrote in message
...
[triming down stuff that's been repeated in the thread]

To a certain extent. But the change had its downside, too. Ham radio
used
to
get a lot of free publicity and recruitment in the form of SWLs
hearing
hams on
AM. That pretty much ended with the switch to SSB. The number of new
hams
slowed down (in part) because of that change.

So we need a new publicity mechanism ... I'd agree with that ...

Point is that there were downsides to the shift to SSB. From the end
of WW2 to 1963 (17 years) the number of US hams quadrupled. Then it
stopped dead and the numbers hung at about a quarter million for more
than 5 years in the '60s.

Oddly enough, growth started back up again when the incentive
licensing changes were enacted. Huh?

Now you're trying to tell us that incentive licensing PROMOTED
growth in ham radio??? I don't think so ...

More likely the boom after WWII (and Korea) was due to military
radio folks becoming hams when they got out ...

Now, now. Rev. Jimmie LIVED THOSE TIMES. He KNOWS.

:-)

I'm sorry that W9ERU hadn't retired, moved out west and become
K7DI, then, eventually, did the SK. Gene Hubbell and his partner
in H&H Electronics did great business selling boxes after boxes
of surplus ARC-5 units and BC-348s back in 1947. Back then,
"surplus" was a Big Thing and many hams restarted or got started
on converted surplus radios. World War 2 was over in 1945 and
the Korean War hadn't started yet (1950).

The boom in the 60's was probably due to the emergence of economical
JA radios, a general increase in the interest in electronics, and later, the
emergence of VHF/UHF FM and repeaters ...

It's difficult for even old-timers to understand a postwar boom period and
the Cold War getting hotter when they've just reached First Grade. :-)

You ARE right, but some of these holier-than-thou old-timers lived in
a different reality.


"Purpose made RF modems"?? Why not call them data radios?

Whatever ... I tend to think that RF modems is a good term ...
after all, modem is the concatenation of MODulator and DEModulator.

The rest of the radio-electronics industry calls them "RF Modems" but
you have to remember you are talking to a holier-than-thou old-timer
who may think that amateur radio operates by different physics than
all other radio. shrug


And I agree - a dig built specifically for data modes is the better
solution. Deal with the decoding right at the IF level, rather than
converting to audio and all that jazz.

Actually, most modern digital radios convert directly to I/Q baseband
and do the signal processing there ...

Carl, I don't think that QST or QEX have described "I/Q baseband"
radio systems. Such doesn't exist in AMATEUR radio so it doesn't
help to argue the points. Never mind that one in two Americans now
have cell phones and they are all little radios using that system. :-)

But somebody's got to design and build the data radios. Who is going
to tie the bell on that cat?

I was telling you of some plans I have for after I get my antenna work
done this summer ... winter projects, so to speak. However, you will
realize that I do work for a living and have other obligations as well,
so don't hold me to some firm, preconceived schedule. Don't get me
wrong, it's something I *really* want to do, and I intend to do it with
as much diligence as I can in terms of getting something accomplished.

The holier-than-thou old-timers insist on the "no-coders" to do all
the technical advancements in amateur radio. Never mind that they
weren't able to do much in a half century. :-)



I personally think that incentive licensing, as implemented, was a mistake.
It made little sense to require higher Morse speeds for privs that were
primarily non-Morse ... I have NO problem with a *reasonable* number
(I think 3 is adequate, 2 might be alright) of license classes in order to
encourage folks to learn more about radio technology ... I know that
many will say it's impractical from an enforcement standpoint, but I would
restrict power for the lower classes (though you've probably seen me
comment that brute force power is over-rated ... I doubt that I will ever
get a legal limit amp ... 100W seems to work just fine on HF), rather than
segregate newcomers from everyone else as widely as our current rules
do. Newcomers need to be welcomed and "socialized" (not like Larry's
"don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out" shpiel ...) That's
how to make more good ... and better ... hams - welcome them and show them
the way (politely).

The holier-than-thou old-timers won't hear of "being nice" to newcomers.

They have achieved TITLE, STATUS, Rank and Privelege and can sign
their callsign behind their names (just like nobility). They are Very
Important exhalted People who are "superior!"

Nobility suffers the peasantry, poor things.


Since NCVEC is not a representative organization, and is only involved
in testing, why are they getting into things like subbands?

They are considered by the FCC as an authoritative source. Why they said
each and every word they said is something upon which I won't speculate.

Hmphhh...if NCVEC is "NOT" an authoritative source, why in the hell
are they given full power to make up ALL the written exam questions
and answers?!?



That's not what I'm talking about at all. My point is not about SMT,
it's about the fact that much of today's consumer electronics isn't
meant to be worked on. It's cheaper to just replace than to repair.
Lookit your PC - most of the "components" aren't resistors,
capacitors, transistors or ICs. The components in your PC are
subassemblies: drives and cards and premanufactured cables, power
supplies etc. A knowledgeable person can "build" a functioning PC from
a pile of "components" with just a screwdriver and good grounding
technique.

Building a radio will involve components ... some may be "store-bought"
ICs, others will be R/L/C, perhaps some discrete transistors, etc. ... BUT
there is no reason that reasonably technically-inclined, intelligent hams
cannot "build" their own custom ICs at home these days ... there are all sorts
of
programmable logic devices, ranging from a few thousand or less gates to
several millions of gates ... and the software to do design, simulation,
verification, and programming is either affordable, or in some cases free.

What is already being done NOW is using things like a PIC micro-
controller (a microprocessor plus some extra I/O interface) from
Microchip, Inc. They supply a full Assembler software program FREE
for download. Major distributors (Digi-Key, Allied, Mouser, etc.) stock
PIC microcontrollers. They've been used in all sorts of radio-related
projects which can be seen on the Web.

That sort of thing is anathema to the holier-than-thou old-timer who
insists on EVERYTHING being the SAME as when he was young.
They bitch and whine about "digital" as if it were a dirty word and they
don't and won't LEARN new things. Why should they? They already
have Title, Rank, Status in amateurism and "real radios glow in the
dark" like back in the 1950s.


Folks just need to think in new paradigms ... unfortunately, that does not
seem to be the strong suit of many present hams.

Think "The Emperor's New Clothes." Yes, it doesn't "suit" them at all.

When their morsemanship skills are worn out and they take off that
outer clothing, they aren't wearing anything of knowledge underneath.

I think some in the Archaic Radiotelegraphy Service are still making
coils on round Quaker Oats cartons and finding the "sweet spot" on
their galena crystals so they can hear DX from the next county...

LHA