WB2WIK
11-12-2001, 11:13 PM
I cannot imagine how to reverse the trend, or why we should bother. To me, the only shame about the current situation is that with lack of activity comes lack of repeater maintenance, and thus lack of emergency preparedness. No one will know if their equipment, or their local repeater, will even work in an emergency, since it's not tested often enough.
For new hams and aspiring hams, I never recommend VHF-FM as even a slightly interesting aspect of amateur radio; I've seen too many new hams get stuck there, and then give up, and abandon ham radio altogether because of that route. If all the VHF-FM gear were removed from the market immediately, and everyone was forced to either homebrew their gear or convert used commercial equipment for amateur work, that _might_ bring back just a tiny sparkle of interest and curiosity, and possibly re-create the wonderfulness of yesteryear. But I won't hold my breath!
73 de Steve WB2WIK/6
Contact: stevek@jmr.com
For new hams and aspiring hams, I never recommend VHF-FM as even a slightly interesting aspect of amateur radio; I've seen too many new hams get stuck there, and then give up, and abandon ham radio altogether because of that route. If all the VHF-FM gear were removed from the market immediately, and everyone was forced to either homebrew their gear or convert used commercial equipment for amateur work, that _might_ bring back just a tiny sparkle of interest and curiosity, and possibly re-create the wonderfulness of yesteryear. But I won't hold my breath!
73 de Steve WB2WIK/6
Contact: stevek@jmr.com