View Full Version : Why I got into amateur radio
K4GUN
07-28-2007, 09:06 PM
My grandparents were hams. KK6S and KA6JJJ are still alive and kicking, but have not been active for many years. I remember as a kid seeing all their equipment, including the massive tower in the back yard. I never understood most of it, but thought it was cool.
As an adult, I often thought that ham radio would be interesting, but the code requirement kept me from even looking into it. I have two weaknesses that I knew would make it next to impossible to learn code. The first is that I'm mildly dyslexic. Its an annoyance in normal life, but an absolute killer when learning code or even just copying call signs on a phone QSO. The other problem (and probably related to the first) is that I just don't learn languages well. I took 2 years of Spanish in high school and 3 terms in college and still can barely ask where the bathroom is. My brain just doesn't learn by rote memorization. I'm great with concepts and problem solving, but just pure translation doesn't work.
This past winter, I really started examining my plans and gear for use in an emergency. Living in the suburbs of Washington DC makes you think about these things. I realized that my communication plans were sorely lacking. I finally decided I needed to get serious about ham and resigned myself to learning just enough code to get started. I didn't know the code was being dropped. I thought my only shot was a low level license and figured there was no way I would ever advance. I was extatic when I discovered the code was being dropped. I took my exam immediately after that. I took the General the following month and Extra three months later.
In just the last few months, I have learned a huge amount and I have no intent on stopping that learning. I am also active in two different clubs. I got my employer to sponsor one of the clubs by donating $4000 toward a new VHF communications trailer. I bought a bunch of phamplets for new hams and gave them out at the VE exam, compliments of my employer and also brought coffee and donuts to the VE exam for everybody to share. I'm trying to give as much as I'm getting.
I wsa very fortunate to have the club that I do. The Woodbridge Wireless guys have been nothing but helpful and welcoming to a new guy. I can't say enough good about them. They are a credit to the hobby. In the 5 months I have been a member, I haven't missed a meeting and participate in a lot of events and never has a member ever mentioned my lack of code or experience. When I need help, they don't scoff at my ignorance. Instead, they sit down and draw pictures to help me understand what they are doing. I don't always fully comprehend what is being explained, but enough of it gets through to get me on the way.
All of this because code was dropped. It makes it a lot easier to get my friends and co-workers interested in ham as well. I respect those who came before me and I realize how much more difficult they had it. I think that's great, but I sure am glad we have this system now.
3.... 2..... 1..... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
Well, strictly speaking, anything is easier to get into, if it's easier...
That is like a given.
VO1GXG
07-28-2007, 10:22 PM
Your in the same boat as me ! . I only learn from first had experience. I can barely handle English let alone Code . Right now i have 4 misspelled words i need to us spell check!
w8znx
07-29-2007, 05:09 AM
hello
do not hand me some dyslexic* bs
beeing mildly dyslexic has little or nothing
to do with
learning morse code
you decide to learn morse code and you do it
i am mildly dyslexic
when was in school
they did not have a word for it
teachers were amazed
that i could read
but could not write or spell anything
got put back from 6th grade to 5th grade
did not help
still had to go to summer school
that year and the year after
dropped out of high school
end of 12th grade
told was not going to graduate
to come back for another year
was now 19 years old
spend all my life # # # working around things
example using #"12th grade"
was a work around
for the word # i wanted to use
could not spell or find in the dictionary
this style of writing which some here
think is some kind of# affectation # # # " that one was easy to find
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #in the dictionary "
is a work around
was 14 years old
wanted to be a ham op
more than anything else in the world
to be a ham you had to learn morse code
so i learned morse code it is that simple
most of my posts take 3 or more re writes
then a fix up after its posted
now on 3rd try at puting lines togher
so i dont use up a whole page
with 3 and 4 word lines
took me about 50 min to compose
and proof read this message
*only reason i can spell dyslexic
#is because Steve used it in his posting
#i would not have been able to find it,#in the dictionary
#Steve
to compose a message
like what you posted
would take me at least 3 or 4 hours
to compose and fix up
out of phase words and letters
Mac
Mac, truer words have not been spoken.
N8CPA
07-29-2007, 12:23 PM
Thank you, Mac.
Based on your post, you never even tried to learn it. That's pretty lame, you never know what you are capable of until you try it. I remember when first learning code two years ago when listening to 20wpm I would think to myself "man, I'll never get there!". Well, I'm WAY past that speed now. I urge you to give it a try, even now.
Eric N3EF
N3ATS
07-29-2007, 01:05 PM
I got into it for the chicks! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Quote[/b] (N8CPA @ July 29 2007,05:23)]Thank you, Mac.
Double that.
KA4DPO
07-29-2007, 01:09 PM
Yeah, I took two years of French and can't read a menu, I don't learn languages either. Morse code is more like a rythm but that's beside the point. When I wanted to become a ham you had to learn Morse Code Period.
I studied hard every day because I wanted to get a license. Was it hard? You bet it was, one of the hardest things I ever did but I stuck with it. After I got my novice it got easier because I used it every day. I was a terrible CW op when I first started and many an OT would patiently work a short QSO with me and then sign. At least they all knew I was trying and in time I got better.
Like anything else, I don't care what it is, if you want it badly enough you'll endure the pain to get it. You must not have wanted to be a ham that badly or you would have tried.
K4GUN
07-29-2007, 01:30 PM
So y'all read that post and all you got was the part about code? Other than griping here at QRZ, what was the last thing you did to promote radio? Since February, have you been actively trying to promote the hobby to the new guys? Have you spent time or money to help your local club improve the image of hams? Have you spent time or money getting the new guys started?
Code is not what makes you a good operator nor an asset to the hobby.
Geez... you guys are worse than I thought.
W2BBQ
07-29-2007, 01:33 PM
Yepper, the chicks and the Bar B Que http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
Quote[/b] (k4gun @ July 29 2007,06:30)]So y'all read that post and all you got was the part about code? Other than griping here at QRZ, what was the last thing you did to promote radio? Since February, have you been actively trying to promote the hobby to the new guys? Have you spent time or money to help your local club improve the image of hams? Have you spent time or money getting the new guys started?
Code is not what makes you a good operator nor an asset to the hobby.
Geez... you guys are worse than I thought.
As a matter of fact, I have helped several. Anyway WHY would I want to brag about it? If you're in this to impress people, then you're not thinking straight.
KA4DPO
07-29-2007, 02:09 PM
Quote[/b] (k4gun @ July 29 2007,08:30)]So y'all read that post and all you got was the part about code? #Other than griping here at QRZ, what was the last thing you did to promote radio? #Since February, have you been actively trying to promote the hobby to the new guys? #Have you spent time or money to help your local club improve the image of hams? #Have you spent time or money getting the new guys started?
Code is not what makes you a good operator nor an asset to the hobby. #
Geez... you guys are worse than I thought.
That's a typical bs return. #No one said anything about helping, promoting, or holding hands and singing about amateur radio.
You can find any number of my responses right here on Q&A. #I do that because I want to help and I can. #I can because like a lot of OT's on here I put a lot of time and effort into the hobby and as a result I have something to offer necommers.
Rather than beating our chests about how good and helpful we are lets just stay on the subject of the original post.
I read it as someone who just couldn't learn the code (insert excuse here) and had to wait for soooo long for the bad old FCC to drop the requirement. #And now I'm supposed to feel sorry for him and also stand up and cheer at the same time for his heroic accomplishment of getting a no code ticket.
Give me a break.........
KE5FRF
07-29-2007, 02:15 PM
Quote[/b] (k4gun @ July 29 2007,08:30)]So y'all read that post and all you got was the part about code? #Other than griping here at QRZ, what was the last thing you did to promote radio? #Since February, have you been actively trying to promote the hobby to the new guys? #Have you spent time or money to help your local club improve the image of hams? #Have you spent time or money getting the new guys started?
Code is not what makes you a good operator nor an asset to the hobby. #
Geez... you guys are worse than I thought.
GUN, this is an opinion board, a message board. You really have to go some where in your mind and seperate this from the actual hobby. I applaud you for your energy and your activities! I think its GREAT that you are spending so much time enjoying the hobby and promoting it in your community.
The responses to your post are the same responses that have been handed a hundred times in the past few years to folks who write up a post like yours.
Here's the thing...I would LOVE for you to appy yourself to learning Morse Code.
Read this if you get time:
http://www.eham.net/articles/15524
It is an article that I wrote that explains it all.
You'll read a lot of bickering in the reply section after the article. You'll read a comparison of Morse Code to learning to eat Broccoli or Cabbage or something else that kids don't usually like. It is an aquired taste, but usually people really learn to love it once that taste has been acquired.
Do you understand that everyone who pushes the code does not push it to make THEM happy? Why do you think I or anyone else really cares what you do with your time? Think about it! I really don't! Well, I don't to an extent. It is when I feel that a large segment of our hobby is denying themselves a true pleasure and a great sense of accomplishment that I DO worry about it.
There have been all manner of excuses posted on this forum as to why learning code is stupid or why someone has a handi-cap that prevents them from doing it. Well, years ago people figured out how to take control of handi-caps and put forth the extra effort.
I am a mildly overweight guy and have been so since a few years after I got out of the service. This is not uncommon because some folks like me have a propensity for weight gain that is only controlled by extra effort. The Army took care of that for me because I HAD to keep the weight off. Once I got out, I fell back into a somewhat sedentary lifestyle and quit excercising. I gained about 60 pounds above my discharge weight at one point.
Anyway, recently I have lost 25 pounds and continue to lose. I have made changes in my diet and begun to excercise more. I have quit making excuses for myself and put forth the extra effort. Yes, I'm jealous of people for whom maintaining a healthy weight is natural, but I don't think it is proper to let that be an excuse for allowing myself not to maintain a healthy weight myself. I have a natural handi-cap but I can't hide behind it. I'm only hurting myself by doing that.
Society has put names on a lot of disabilities in the past several years and that is good. It helps us to figure out ways to alter how we approach handling those disabilities. Defining them is supposed to point toward a solution, it isn't supposed to be used as an excuse. There are techniques that help dyslexic people learn to read and write. Your post PROVES that you have overcome the mild dyslexia. You write and spell very well. Obviously, you didn't let dyslexia be an excuse that kept you illiterate.
It is up to you, not me or anyone else, if ou choose to let it be an excuse to keep you from enjoying another aspect of this hobby. The only reason I care at all is because I was one of those guys about two years ago who wrote posts just like yours to explain why I didn't want to learn code. Then, I made a decision to challenge myself instead of making excuses. I did what I needed to do and I learned the code. All along the way, I kept making excuses for why I won't get faster than this speed or that....and all along I learned to set aside the excuses and applied myself to pick up my speed. Here I am now and I can hang with some of the best. And this is because I CHOSE TO DO IT and no other reason.
So, it is up to you. You can make the decision that you'll never try. That's fine and you'll never know what you missed<-----that's the point. You never know what you miss when you make excuses. Its kind of like seeing a beautiful woman that you'd like to ask on a date but you are afraid she is too pretty and will reject you. You never ask her and you never get the experience. You are no worse off than you were before....but damn, what if she had said yes???
Quote[/b] (k4gun @ July 29 2007,08:30)]Other than griping here at QRZ, what was the last thing you did to promote radio?
Among other things, I'm a VE. Been a VE since 2001. My name is on quite a few peoples' CSCE's.
When I was in college, I helped restart their radio club.
In one of my clubs, I've pushed greatly for the public information aspect of field day. We had for the first time, a public info table, handouts and flyers.
Oh, don't forget my new series of programs at my club for the newbies, showing them how to get on HF, an also digimodes (PSK, RTTY, Hellschreiber, WSJT) and Software Defined Radio.
There's more but I don't have time to type them all.
Quote[/b] ] Since February, have you been actively trying to promote the hobby to the new guys? Have you spent time or money to help your local club improve the image of hams? Have you spent time or money getting the new guys started?
Been doing it way before February...
Quote[/b] ]Code is not what makes you a good operator nor an asset to the hobby.
Waiting 12, 14, 16 years for the code test goes away shows you have no motivation. If Mac who is painfully dyslexic can do code, why can't you?
Quote[/b] ]Geez... you guys are worse than I thought.
What can I say... The truth hurts.
RJ,
Do you stay in touch with the hams you bring into the hobby? My VEs have all become close friends.
N8CPA
07-29-2007, 02:52 PM
The irony that always strikes me is that so many complain about the
"Geritol" complaint nets and updates on HF, but use "Woe is me" stories to justify a lack of motivation for HF licensure.
Quote[/b] (KE5FRF @ July 29 2007,10:15)]It is an acquired taste, but usually people really learn to love it once that taste has been acquired.
If I haven't "acquired" a taste for CW in the 16 years since I passed 5 WPM, I don't think it's going to happen. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
People have told me the same things about beer and red wine. In over 20 years, I haven't "acquired" a taste for those, either. Yuck! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
K4GUN
07-29-2007, 03:54 PM
I apologize. I made a huge mistake in this thread. I sounded whiney (is that a word?) and arrogant. That was not the intent, but I see how it sounded that way. I really regret that it came off that way because I was trying to make a point. That point is that so many people here seem to focused on how bad things are and how much to blame the new rules are that they forget how they can make things better. I was attempting to use my experience as an example of how the new rules not only brought me into the hobby, but also how that lead to new and better things for my fellow hams.
Instead of making that point, I made an arse of myself and I wish I had taken a different approach. Mea Culpa. Now can we let this topic die and forget it ever happened? http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif
KD4IFB
07-30-2007, 01:23 AM
Quote[/b] (k4gun @ July 29 2007,06:30)]So y'all read that post and all you got was the part about code? #Other than griping here at QRZ, what was the last thing you did to promote radio? #Since February, have you been actively trying to promote the hobby to the new guys? #Have you spent time or money to help your local club improve the image of hams? #Have you spent time or money getting the new guys started?
Code is not what makes you a good operator nor an asset to the hobby. #
Geez... you guys are worse than I thought.
I agree, some need to read all before posting. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Theres nothing wrong with all the commitment and support youve contributed in all angles and level of Ham radio..Old or New!! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Quote[/b] (AG4YO @ July 29 2007,09:50)]RJ,
Do you stay in touch with the hams you bring into the hobby? My VEs have all become close friends.
Absolutely.
I'll give you an example - one guy took an exam when I was part of the Columbia U. VE team. We met up later when I started school again and he was instrumental in restarting the radio club in my college. We keep in touch. We even took a couple classes together. He lives in Brooklyn, so he's antenna restricted, but he gets a signal out using a windowsill antenna. He introduced me to other hams who were students as well and one or two of my professors were hams as well. One of them was a SWL, and I think I should go ask him again when he's getting his license.