Welcome to the new FlexRadio Community! Please review the new Community Rules and other important new Community information on the Message Board.
If you are having a problem, please refer to the product documentation or check the Help Center for known solutions.
Need technical support from FlexRadio? It's as simple as Creating a HelpDesk ticket.

The Great "Myth" of Ham Radio.

2»

Comments

  • Jay Nation
    Jay Nation Member ✭✭
    edited August 2016
    My 5wpm Extra was painful enough. So I ask myself. Do I now need a No-Code Extra to remain relevant? No matter what I do I'm unskilled and ignorant. Same as it ever was.
  • SteveM
    SteveM Member
    edited December 2015

    Burt,

    You completely missed the point of the comments above. RadioShack would be bankrupt if it had to rely on the sale of discrete components. That is not where the area of interest lies anymore - breadboarding timer circuits with blinking lights. Heck Gerald has stated that hardware is easy and software is difficult. My guess is he gets by with 1 or 2 hardware engineers; most of his outlay goes to the software-side.

    The point is it is ridiculous for hams to be tested on simple hardware components in this day and age. Most technology is the soft form.

  • SteveM
    SteveM Member
    edited December 2015

    Burt,

    "So you are saying resistors, capacitors, coils, transformers are not a needed knowledge by a RADIO amateur?"

    In a word, yes. An amateur does not need that knowledge anymore than he needs to know how operate a computer. However, knowledge of both may come in handy for him one day.

    Look, I have a MSEE from Purdue University. I learned all about bridge rectifiers, capacitors, inductors, and transformers at school and still remember quite a bit about them. I haven't utilized that knowledge in decades. I would rather program DSP code for a telecommunications company - way more interesting to me. So, although I was forced to learn the basics about circuits, it really was a lot of effort and resources wasted.

    In my opinion it's the same in the ham world. The field is so wide, one cannot possibly know everything. If your idea of fun is not rolling your own 12V power supply, keep looking, you'll find something you like.

  • Peter K1PGV
    Peter K1PGV Member ✭✭✭
    edited December 2016

    @SteveM: You beat me to that reply by one minute, according to the forum!  I couldn't agree more.

    @Burt: Do hams need to know about resistors, capacitors, coils, and transformers?  I don't think so...  But, personally, I think all hams should all know C. And at least some Verilog.  But I think that because that's what I know and value.

    Understand what I'm saying?

  • Jim Puryear
    Jim Puryear Member
    edited February 2015
    Awe heck guys, there have always been naysayers. Just replace a few words in all the negative prose, like “hams” with “horse riders” and “radios” with “horseshoes” – some things never change.

    But for a lot of us, we love to feel the edges of technology, rough and smooth, and the exciting ride it brings. No worries, Gerald. To borrow a quote from Benjamin Franklin… “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain – and most fools do.”

    de N5TSP

  • Patrick
    Patrick Member ✭✭✭
    edited June 2020
    I second that emotion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • MH_Flexer
    MH_Flexer Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    Interesting thread. Getting closer to the Sept.... window myself. I take no offense to Mike's comments, just a short reply. Getting started with Amatuer Radio, I cracked the books literally. Now, with the Internet and online technology I can learn from online interactive discussions, and the total wealth of online knowledge. I don't expect to keep up 100% with new developments. I do fully embrace and am amazed that almost anything I want to do has a YouTube video which guarantees success. With over 30 years in product development (electrical / electronics) there is no way development promises (usually forced dates) will all be met. My team always did their best to meet deadlines but the quality of the product was our holy grail. I will gladly take the heat from operations folks rather than push a product out the door.
  • Dave - W6OVP
    Dave - W6OVP Member ✭✭
    edited June 2017
    Ho Hum. What is this silly blog doing at this site? It has absolutely nothing to do with my FLEX radios. And when it comes to opinions you know what they say ... everybody has one.

    I stand in awe of many of ham club members here, both for their technical prowess and their success in life. And I note that the last 2 Nobel Prize winners in Physics were active hams, and holders of the PhD in Physics.

    The writer who began this post needs to take a handful of Tums and turn on his radio and play. There is a world of fascinating technically competent people to talk to. The glass is half full.
  • Bob-N9MBR
    Bob-N9MBR Member
    edited May 2015
    Chase some DX and get over it...Live is too short.
  • Jay -- N0FB
    Jay -- N0FB Member ✭✭
    edited March 2015
    PETRUCHIO
    Good Lord, how bright and goodly shines the moon!

    KATHARINA 
    The moon! the sun: it is not moonlight now.

    PETRUCHIO 
    I say it is the moon that shines so bright.

    KATHARINA 
    I know it is the sun that shines so bright.

    :-)

  • Bob-N9MBR
    Bob-N9MBR Member
    edited May 2015
    No it is a reason to go play radio now.Because you never know when your hour glass will run out. And you send out your last QSL Card.

    Have a Great Day and Go Play Radio.
  • Patrick
    Patrick Member ✭✭✭
    edited June 2016
    NO, but one is lucky if they have an understanding wife....
  • Bob-N9MBR
    Bob-N9MBR Member
    edited May 2015
    Nope. Hence the words Play Radio. It is a hobby not a life style.
  • Jim Gilliam
    Jim Gilliam Member ✭✭
    edited May 2015
    As a 75 year old, where **** doesn't work, my kids have moved out, my wife is gone, I beg to differ. It is a way of life because it's all I've got.
  • W5XZ - dan
    W5XZ - dan Member ✭✭
    edited June 2019
    Mike, are you 'The Dawg' from yesteryear??  "WA4 DYNAMITE" ( w reverb ) ??

    just curious, W5XZ, dan

  • George Salinas
    edited December 2015
    Oh yea I remember WA4D. Cq Cq 40 meters. No lids no space cadets please. Cq Cq 40 meters. Thanks for the memories Dan. KD4FJ George

Leave a Comment

Rich Text Editor. To edit a paragraph's style, hit tab to get to the paragraph menu. From there you will be able to pick one style. Nothing defaults to paragraph. An inline formatting menu will show up when you select text. Hit tab to get into that menu. Some elements, such as rich link embeds, images, loading indicators, and error messages may get inserted into the editor. You may navigate to these using the arrow keys inside of the editor and delete them with the delete or backspace key.