Ok so we argree that the chances are roughly ( give or take a few
percentages)
that a ham on a scene is about as good as finding an 'emergency' (
police/fire)
person.

And I never said there wasn't a 'place' for ham radio, as a hobby its great,
if thats what you enjoy, ( same as me restoring 20 year old cars and
listening to my shortwave ( talk about a dying hobby ), or my scanners,
( also evolving, to digital and a pain in the butt )
I even own a couple Yeasu FT767 GX+ rigs, 1 with filtered
speaker, and the other with the phone patch speaker
Both have the 6m, 2m, 70cm modules ( both came that way),
They make FANTASTIC shortwave radios.

Don't get me wrong, I love radio, radios, and radio equipment
( I've spent thousands of dollars on radios ) The one I cherrish
the most, is probably my 1938 Zenith 9 tube Walton tombstone
tube radio.

Justifying HAM radio by its NEED in a emergercy, just isn't
as true as it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago. As a hobby, I say
go for it, but don't expect people to believe that ham radio is NEEDED.

What annoys me, is the jackass's that clung to CW like it was the
very heart of ham radio. Its outdated ( a relic from before the civil
war ) Had these people changed the rules 30 years ago and got
more and younger people interested, ham radio might not be where
it is today.

Another thing that annoys me about HAM radio ( or should I say its
users ) is, well read this and you figure it out :


"Thumper2u" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm new in here. Looks like this might be a good group for me to ask
some questions. I used to enjoy scanners back in the day when they
were all analog, and before police, fire and EMS went to trunked,
digital radios. I don't know much about scanning in todays world.

I am interested in learning about pc radio scanning software. I have
heard of software/hardware you can use in conjunction with your desk
top pc that allows you to use the computer to scan radio freq's. I
live in an apartment condo so having a 60 foot antennae is out of the
question. Does anyone know about this software for pc that can advise
me where to look for it, how good is it, etc?

I am interested in monitoring police, fire, EMS, military, little
green men from Alpha Centauri :-) just about anything that would be
interesting. I could really use some guidance from people who are
experienced in radio scanning so I can figure out what I need, how to
use it, and what to expect.

My wife says I need a hobby :-)

Reply :

"DJ" wrote in message
. ..
Get your Amateur Radio License from the FCC, then you'll have access to
the
majority of radio traffic. Go to www.qrz.com for more info!!


MY REPLY:

He has 'access' to the ham bands WITHOUT becoming an Amateur Radio operator,
just like everyone else. Since he mentioned 'scanning' ( listening), anyone
can do that.
I have many radios, some shortwave, some scanners, some wide band receivers
that do both.
I enjoy listening, but have NO desire to become a ham radio operator.