Amateur Radio and the End of the Cold War

Having been licensed since 1977 (I'm 41), I believe one of the sea changes in amateur radio has been the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.  I believe this change alone accounts for some, even a significant degree, of the loss of our unique status and the interest/support of the public at large for our hobby/service.  I believe there are at least two key reasons for this.  

The first is that during the Cold War our service value was immediately recognized due to the specter of a nuclear exchange.  Probably the most accurate depiction of amateur radio that I have seen in a Hollywood movie was in the anti-nuke film, "Testament" from 1982 or 1983.  In it a northern Californian town is isolated after a nuclear war, and contact with other parts of the nation is maintained by a sixty-something amateur, and after his death, the young teenage boy whom he taught to operate his gear.  We no longer have such a mass-global or mass-continental threat, where clearly our unique communications assets would be required and held in high esteem.  I don’t think that there is widespread concern that a terrorist attack could cripple our communications infrastructure at this time, and thus our service value is diminished.

The second event is that we have lost some of the mystery of our fraternity due to the end of the Cold War.  Friends, teachers, co-workers and strangers were all amazed that I was regularly speaking with others in the USSR, East Germany, Yugoslavia and the like.  They would ask me what we discussed and were surprised that long-standing friendships developed, and that amateurs were allowed to operate behind the Iron Curtain.  I had something they didn’t have, a human bridge in a seemingly inhuman political landscape.  We no longer have national enemies (that is, nations as enemies) with whose citizens we can communicate and build friendships; there is now nothing noteworthy about using internet messaging to speak with someone in Kazakhstan.

I believe it is also true that the combination of military paranoia and forced civil service within the Iron Curtain nations promoted the adoption (perhaps the indoctrination) of amateur radio among those populations.  Look at the fantastic collective...I mean club...stations that have come out of the former Yugoslavia.  These were also the days when short-wave broadcasting may have had its greatest moment, as Voice of America and Radio Moscow vied for the hearts and minds of people across the globe.  

CW seemed to be the preferred medium of exchange with the Soviet Bloc amateurs due to difficulties with English and the moderate stations they often had, so this change might also be reflected in some decline in CW activity.  I remember the awe I had for so many of the Soviet hams who had built their own stations...some quite complex...and how embarrassed I would feel when a Polish ham apologized for his English on 15 or 20 SSB, when I could not speak a word of Polish.

Many of you might disagree with these thoughts, but they might resonate with some of you.  It seems that at least my amateur radio experience was far different when I could use it to build friendships where the general public least expected they could flourish, and that provided some of the “magic” of our hobby that is now lost.

73,
Art, KC2G

 

Read the papers and the opinion columns. The cold war is still here and will get colder now that China and Russia are having joint military exercises.

This is in preparation for when China moves on Taiwan which the US will be forced to defend. Stay tuned for a nuclear exchange at a city near you.

The Russian bear is only in hibernation right now.

K2WH

 

K2WH has it dead right, but doesn't go far enough.

However, there are many nails in ham radio's sinking coffin, and it is my belief the end of the Cold War (which has not yet occurred!) is a very minor factor. We do "talk" to Russian hams, and others in the former USSR, but "talk" is pretty much limited to 'YOU'RE FIVE NINE HERE, THANKS, QSL VIA THE BUREAU, 73." That is neither promoting international good will, nor establishing relations with a former Curtain country.

Right at the start, though, I have to say I do not see this Opinion as a "News Article." It would not surprise me to see this moved to the Talk And Opinons Forum. In the meantime, though, I reiterate what K2WH said.

The "end" of the Cold War brought us something called Missile Detargeting? Do you remember when our President said, "For the first time in thirty years, no Soviet missile is targeted at our children" or something to that effect? That was a political statement for votes, and in now way discussed what detargeting actually meant. Millions of Americans believed Russia had removed its missiles, as had we.

That was not true at all. What actually happened was the missiles remained in their silos, or on their trucks or launch sites, exactly as before. They remained nuclear armed. The targeting (guidance) software was off-loaded from the missile's computers. That's all it meant. The guidance computers were 'dumb.' But it was noted that any missile could be retargeted in under ten minutes. All it took was punching a button on the computer, and the guidance software was reloaded. The missile was then ready to fire. Even fuel loads were maintained.

Gradually the United States has physically removed many of its missiles, and closed the silos, selling some of them off as surplus property. Those missiles have been replaced with others, though, and our defense effort has been cut only perhaps thirty percent. It can be restored in a few weeks, though that may not would be soon enough.

In the USSR, though, many of those systems remain as they were in 1990. The missiles are mostly still in place, but are no longer, in the various former members of the USSR, still under the control of Moscow.

In Russia, free press is slowly disappearing. More and more we read of those leading free enterprise being removed from their positions, by the government. The leader of one of the larger newspapers has also been removed. Russian broadcast media is losing its freedom of expression. And the leader of the nation is a former KGB officer who has not forgotten his training.

In China, Communism still is THE major party. There are elections, but in most cases a Communist is the winner. There is no free print media in China, and the internet is heavily restricted. Radio and television broadcast what ehy are permitted to broadcast.

China has, according to intelligence estimates, approximately (as of two years ago) ten nuclear-armed ICBMs pointed currently at continental US targets, and capable of reaching them. Estimates are they could have 50 such missiles in a few years. They are NOT detargeted.

Though China and Russia (and the former USSR) have often had border skirmishes, even when both were fully Communist, they have cooperated for several decades in their resistance to the US. China would love to take back Taiwan, and the US is the primary reason they have not done so. For the moment, China does not want a military confrontation with us. As they advance in naval, military, computer, and science technology (often by the fruits of their spies in the USA) they become more confident. At some point, they will attempt to return Taiwan to mainland control. We have vowed to keep that from happening.

At this point, Russia does not have the economical capabilities of a confrontation with anyone. They were ruined by not only the economics of the Cold War, since we simply outspent them, but by the economics of their ten years in Afghanistan. However, aligned with China, that entire picture changes. At this point, right now, if China and Russia joined together in an ultimatum about Taiwan, or North Korea, or any other issue, the USA would have no choice at all but to back down. Our only option would be nuclear, and at least for now, no nation wants that.

Diplomatic relations with mainland China are critical. Yet despite our business and economic relations with them, we must not forget they are still Communist, a very closed nation in many ways.

Look back to one of Bill Clinton's last visits with Putin in Russia. Remember his remark upon his return to the USA. "They are not our friends, but we can cooperate." A very astute comment. Russia tolerates us, primarily because they lost the Cold War (accepting for the moment it did end. ) They are not our friends.

Intelligence reports are that Russia has more spies in the United States now than at any other time in history, including the worst days of the Cold War. China has dozens, perhaps hundreds, of spies operating in our nation, and we have very, very few there. Both of those nations are still largely closed, making it rather difficult for our spies to operate.

Just a few days ago, two American Senators were held near a secret Russian installation, while diplomatic efforts were conducted to allow them to leave. We have secret military bases; Russia has entire regions that are secret.

Russia aligned with China is a threat. A nuclear threat. So I ask, "*which* Cold War ended?"

Ed

 

Such optimisim.

 

Yeah, kinda makes ya wonder if these guys were involved in the "Heaven's Gate" movement doesn't it?

Hmm, wonder if they're wearing Nikes ...

Chuck, AA1MN

 

Your US dollars at work.

 

I'd beware of the Chinese. With a population of 1.3 billion people they could loose the entire population of the United States in casualties and still have over a billion people left.

Mike - K1MH

 

My family on my fathers side are Russian, 2 of them were "amateurs" during the cold war - they used it to study English language in Krasnodar at one of the military training camps and were officers in the army-
Amateur Radio for them was used as a language training tool, nothing else - their qso,s were all monitored & if you tried to get into a conversation with them they were instructed to end the qso a.s.a.p.
You must remember the sort of thing like -:

" My condition home made, antenna ground plane, meecrophone deenameek, 73, qsl via po box 88 Moscow"

and that was the contact ! quite funny looking back.

My hobby was collecting Oblasts on 10 & 15m so I knew most of them as an swl quite well.
Dont kid yourselves that the cold war ever ended, it merely shifted countries.
regards Michael

 

Too true. China and North Korea have been sabre rattling for awhile now. Together with the Russian Navy, they have the mobility that they've never had before. There are some that think a war with China is not a matter of if, but when.