I had an email exchange with one of the small numbers of blog readers yesterday. That exchange was like eating a dish of spicy Mid-Eastern food (peppered roasted goat) ... It sits in your gut and there is subsequently a tug of war with the stomach about it staying there.
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Peppered Roasted Goat
I was awakened by my brain at 3:00 AM with a message to me that I WAS WRONG!
For that I am truly sorry. Yes, I am admitting that my recent views about 45 Minute Extra's and the lack of interest in this blog, my you tube videos and no interest in what I describe as CRAP... Cool Radios And Projects was all misdirected.
Our hobby is rich with historical perspective, and the current state is merely another point on that continuum. Think of the changes from Spark Gap to CW generated by real RF, the shift from CW to Phone, the change from AM to SSB, the switch from tubes to solid state and now from Hardware Defined Radios to Software Defined Radios. In that mix we must add the change in licensing requirements and the impact of AI to direct our future efforts.
This all happened over a span of some 130 years, a relatively short period in time and for me personally I have been continuously licensed for more than half that period of time. My experience was a front row ringside seat in the "agita" at the few die hard AM'ers as they tried AM operation on 14.205 MHz which was at one time a SSB DX hangout.
I have chided the 99% of the hams who know nothing about scratch building a complete SSB transceiver using only 7 transistors or that few hams know anything about personally CNC milling circuit boards. Or what happens inside a 2N3904 transistor when used as an oscillator.
You know what... Today that is not important as under our very eyes the hobby has taken another dramatic shift in direction. I have a bit of personal consternation with the 45 Minute Extra and have focused some unkind comments about those individuals. That angst should not be directed at them personally as all they are doing is using the current system to get a license. The anger should be is how the system was changed and we let it happen. Today is not the day to be vocal about what if but instead focus on those who made it happen.
There may also be a lot in the pure fact that the latest technology like AI has left many of us way behind the leading edge. Sure, we can boast about knowing how to design a 2N3904 analog variable frequency oscillator, but can we program a FPGA to decode or generate digital signals.
We now have a new dimension to our hobby (and more angst). We don't have to know how to design a 2N3904 Analog VFO or program a FPGA. Our new skill set must now focus on AI and how to describe what we want. A ham friend and blog reader is beyond being just a boat anchor aficionado and his day job is software development.
This friend purchased a B&W Model 6100 HF SSB/CW transmitter that had in the 1960's a built-in frequency synthesizer using vacuum tubes. Only 200 of these were ever made. He bought one and was having an issue with low output on 10M.
His first step was to get a manual and next using Apple software created a one-page schematic. He uploads this info on to an AI platform and describes the problem. The AI spits out a whole action plan step by step to isolate the 10M issue. It was like having the original designer sitting in your shack. The real skill for today's ham operators is the critical ability to describe a problem and what is required or wanted.
My low blog readership and low you tube view count has but one person to blame and that is me. I am hawking stuff that does not appeal to today's ham demographic. What is posted must not reflect on the "techie wow" stuff. I had an experience yesterday when I was reading the mail on the 40M noon time net. You have the usual check-in crap and then the question of the day. Yesterday, the question was when you are buying a new radio which is most important: Brand, Features, Price.
My answer was features but overwhelmingly the answer was Brand. Light bulb time. My brand is irrelevant, out of step and behind the times. Today's hams because they lack the techie chops can only follow a brand and screw the costs. The features aspect requires a technical evaluation. How can you go wrong buying a Yaesu?
Now I must also address the political situation in the US. Democracy as such is dead and who we have running the show and who supports him were elected by the majority. Twice now he has been elected and don't be surprised if he is back a third time. It is what it is and for most of us things will not get better as the current situation is in fact that the system is the problem and we are beyond the point of any return to the past.
Try to put a spark gap transmitter on the air today... impossible! There will be no magic event with the mid-terms (wrong again, Pete). For the ultra-wealthy ruling class things will only continue to get better for them and they control the levers of power. So, we're screwed. I can remember when integrity and honesty existed, but the wind has shifted to a few who truly control the levers of power and they are not about to let go.
Wake up! The times have changed.
73's
Pete N6QW
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