I obtained my amateur radio license in 1960. (I was 12 at the time.) It's an old hobby, starting with the advent of radio. However, it is now a struggling hobby. The bright minds have been drawn away by the lure of building computers, programming, and hacking into cell phones. My first experience was putting together a Knight Kit. It was an AM 60-watt transmitter and a companion receiver. I soldered every joint. When it was completed, the receiver didn't seem to work well, so my dad and I took it to one of the hams in town who had a lot of electronic expertise. Once he studied the schematic and corrected a few of my errors, it worked fine. We lived on a cranberry farm so I had the luxury that few hams have; room for an awesome antenna. I strung up a 120 foot long wire pointed directly at Southern California. Needless to say, my signal reports from California and Nevada were outstanding. I had a Novice license and all communication was by Morse code. Single sideband replaced AM, so after college I unpacked the T-60 and sold it to a coastal fisherman who said he could use it on the commercial fishing band. Now I own a Kenwood. I keep it in the garage for those rainy Saturdays when I putter around and want to listen to the old codgers chew the rag. That is why it is a dying hobby; they are all older than I am. Of course, I'm partly to blame for the lack of interest from the younger generation. I taught my son basic Apple programming when he was seven, and he never looked back. He didn't see the glamor of building an antenna or radio kit. Of course you can't make a living today taking radios apart, and he does very well as a programmer, so perhaps in retrospect it turned out for the best. There is sadness when you see a hobby die. Some hams are very good an merging computers and amateur radio, but I think the glory days are gone. It's only a matter of time. Fortunately, it doesn't bother me except for occasional bouts of sucidal thoughts. Just kidding. Have you had a hobby that has died?
Showing posts with label Amateur Radio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amateur Radio. Show all posts
Thursday, October 18, 2007
THE DYING HOBBY
I obtained my amateur radio license in 1960. (I was 12 at the time.) It's an old hobby, starting with the advent of radio. However, it is now a struggling hobby. The bright minds have been drawn away by the lure of building computers, programming, and hacking into cell phones. My first experience was putting together a Knight Kit. It was an AM 60-watt transmitter and a companion receiver. I soldered every joint. When it was completed, the receiver didn't seem to work well, so my dad and I took it to one of the hams in town who had a lot of electronic expertise. Once he studied the schematic and corrected a few of my errors, it worked fine. We lived on a cranberry farm so I had the luxury that few hams have; room for an awesome antenna. I strung up a 120 foot long wire pointed directly at Southern California. Needless to say, my signal reports from California and Nevada were outstanding. I had a Novice license and all communication was by Morse code. Single sideband replaced AM, so after college I unpacked the T-60 and sold it to a coastal fisherman who said he could use it on the commercial fishing band. Now I own a Kenwood. I keep it in the garage for those rainy Saturdays when I putter around and want to listen to the old codgers chew the rag. That is why it is a dying hobby; they are all older than I am. Of course, I'm partly to blame for the lack of interest from the younger generation. I taught my son basic Apple programming when he was seven, and he never looked back. He didn't see the glamor of building an antenna or radio kit. Of course you can't make a living today taking radios apart, and he does very well as a programmer, so perhaps in retrospect it turned out for the best. There is sadness when you see a hobby die. Some hams are very good an merging computers and amateur radio, but I think the glory days are gone. It's only a matter of time. Fortunately, it doesn't bother me except for occasional bouts of sucidal thoughts. Just kidding. Have you had a hobby that has died?
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