I have in hand several years' worth of Hard Data that supports the concept of three. Say What?
The number three is the number of continuous postings on the same subject before there is a huge dip in blog readership. Yesterday's blog was more evidence to support that concept. So, no more about the 40M Channelized Radio (#3 and a big dip was observed).
Too bad as I did order a keypad from Jameco Electronics and will next implement channel selection with the pad as well as up down RIT tuning using two of the pads. But that will not be posted since that would be a fourth in that series and beside myself not too many readers would be interested in that posting.
The second part of today's posting is boring so you can stop here, and hope tomorrow's posting will be whiz bang, chock full of tribal knowledge and will untie the Gordian Knot.
I was asked a question recently by a person who a ham is not, knows little about ham radio, and whose technical knowledge extends to the level of how to operate the TV remote control. The question was why did you become a ham?
I had to think for a moment and now several days later after noodling over that question have a more extensive answer that perhaps goes way beyond me personally and applies to most hams.
The noodling process arrived at a date in time where prior to that date is one set of answers and after that date a second set. What also was evident is that date also signaled a change in the age demographic.
So, while we have the magic number 3, somewhat arbitrarily we have the date of 1965. By 1965 we had radio communication for 70 years, single sideband was the communications medium, the market was flooded with appliance boxes and those born during the World War II years were out of college or conscripted to serve in Vietnam. So indeed, a pivotal year.
The Golden Era of Radio was from about 1930 to 1965, a mere 35 years and half the life span of radio itself. It was during that period that huge advancements were made in the technology and change in modes like almost exclusively from CW to AM and then SSB. The components shifted from Tubes to Transistors from high voltage to 12VDC and the all-important single signal reception. Need I also mention TV for the mass markets.
During our Golden Era who was attracted to radio? Lest we forget in 1930 there was a depression here in the US and hand building a simple crystal set was really cheap and offered a diversion from the misery.
But the huge magnet for the youth was that a ham station could be a one tube transmitter and one tube receiver, built mostly from scrap parts. In effect ham radio for this youthful crowd was the social media of the day. Building these simple stations did not require a PhD in electrical engineering nor a laboratory full of equipment. Simple hand tools, a pine board, some wire-- and lots of guts is all it took. As a ride along -- youths could demonstrate not everyone could do this and, in many cases, show up their seniors.
A simple Ham Station
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1 Tube Transmitter
Somewhat unabashedly I now offer a one tube CW transmitter from N6QW, and the project is described here.
We must turn to the psychologists to answer the question as to why we became hams and, in some cases, serious therapy is needed.
Many of us are introverts and fear direct social contact. You know too short, too tall, serious cases of acne, overweight, bald or just plain ugly. But behind a CW key or a microphone suddenly those "warts" are not seen.
The social interaction is judged by your signal strength, its clarity and since the brief exchange is limited to 5X9, 100 watts, dipole, Pete, Newbury Park and the weather you are there. Much practice with those few words is all that is needed for a perfect QSO. The LOTW affirms you made a contact and proof that you are someone.
That social affirmation extends today to how many $6K rigs you have in the shack, if you have two Mercury Amps and if your antenna system cost the price of a 2025 Toyota Camry LE ($33K). Social affirmations now come from flash the cash.
There was a huge gain in the ham population during the 1950's many of whom were veterans who were exposed to radio while in the service. For me personally I was about 10 years old in the early 1950's when I got my 1st CK722 transistor. BTW I didn't have acne, nor balding but was short.
So, what happened after 1965? Well, a lot including my first all expenses US Government paid trip to Vietnam. Of importance was the Japanese invasion into the ham market with those wonderful Rice Boxes that were not too expensive but had so many features.
We must also look at retirements. Those who went to work in the aircraft and war related industries in 1935 as we headed to war were now in the retirement zone. By 1970 they had 30 years on the job. What would fill that void when they no longer had to punch in -- ham radio. Many of these same workers were knowledge workers with some level of technical skills. A perfect storm as they had money beyond what was earned on a paper route.
The year 1970 and beyond signaled an explosion in the electronics field with real RF transistors, early integrated circuits, digital displays, smaller and vastly more expensive radios. A fork in the road -- the radios with all of the latest and most desirable features were commercial and not homebrew and did I mention expensive. The market had shifted to those who could flash the cash. The target market was not the youth but those who could buy more and more. This started the decline of homebrew.
Suddenly microprocessors appeared on the scene and now another magnet for the youth. It was not the building or using a computer but the software. I bought my #1 son a Radio Shack Color Computer in 1980 and he taught himself assembly language. Today he is a software architect and soon to retire. It was the best investment I ever made -- he was always at home designing video games at age 14. Thus, the paradigm shifts from radio to computers. To this day the ARRL is struggling with how to fill the well with the youth.
The need by the youth for social interaction has been filled with Tik Tok, X, You Tube and other social media platforms. You can just as easily contact someone in France using the computer or better yet smart phone as you once did through the use of 20M.
Thus, we have a hobby dominated by an older segment of the population that have cash and have a desire to say Mine is Bigger than Yours. This has been aided and abetted by the ARRL who made it where you have to know nothing to become a ham -- just money.
In about three weeks I will celebrate my 66th year of continuously being a licensed ham operator and hold an extra class license approaching 50 years. We had to know stuff!
Hope you had a good snooze.
BTW in 2021 I was a presenter at the GQRP Club Virtual Convention, and my subject was Valve CW Rigs. A page from the presentation and of importance is this chart and observe the time continuum of how our rig topologies changed.
This supports my date in time theory.
73's
Pete N6QW