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Amateur Radio Station W1UJR
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Real Radio - A Letter I Sent To Electric RadioI read Bruce’s article with rapt awe, for he very
accurately diagnosed the disease that I had been suffering from. When I was
first licensed in July 1995 I jumped in feet first. It was like turning a child
loose in a candy store. I worked every mode known, from packet, to RTTY to
satellite. I pulled all nighters to get my WAS, to find that next contact, I was
hooked. Oddly however, during the last 6 months I have started to enjoy the
hobby less and less, even though I had more and more equipment. It seemed great
to have a radio with DSP this, and LED that, but something was lacking. And
there in lies the problem. I has lost the “magic of radio”, willingly
surrendered it, and even paid to sell it off, all for the wonder of technology.
My enjoyment of radio became inversely proportional the amount of radio gear I
owned. Now my QSOs took place with the relative ease of a cell phone call, and
the challenge and allure, along with the magic, was gone. Fortunately the cure
for this malady was easy, at least for me. It consisted of “culling the
herd”. I decided to sell off every bit of radio gear that I did
not use at least once a week. And with the current market for boatanchor gear,
that was not as painful as it sounds! I then committed to return to the real
roots of radio, and operate only CW and AM. I have had more enjoyment in the
last few months, just sitting in the basement listening to my 75A4 and using my
40-year Johnson transmitter, than I ever had in the past 4 years with all the
high tech gear. It was like I had returned home, to my roots, the to magic. The
“Magic of Radio” is not something that can be bought, it must be learned. I
recall my wonderment as a teenager hanging a piece of wire out the window, and
listening to all of these far away places on my DX-160, and it is now like those
heady times again. Today, the new amateur is sadly often “sold” radio as
two-way intercom with their buddies. CW, naw that's old fashioned, use FM
instead. We have dumbed the hobby down to the lowest common denominator.
Obtaining a license is now almost a right, not a privilege. And we wonder why
people drop out of the hobby? The answer is simple, we sold them defective
goods, instead of teaching them the magic, and we sold them a free cell phone.
The time-honored concepts of elmering, and home brewing are looked upon as
archaic, even backward. But now I know the real truth, and it is magic. From
here on in I committed to share the magic with every new amateur, and leave the
free calls to Ma Bell. 73, Bruce J. Howes KG2IC
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