[aprssig] Ham Radio, Use it or Lose it!

[N3UJJ (Scott Gillis)]

Joseph,

Your story echo's mine..

I was a "tech" operator, and had put my radios away. 
Then I stumbled across APRS, my interest was renewed. For several years it
was just APRS (trackers, then an igate, then a digi)
The next thing I knew I was taking my General test (and passed), then bought
an IC-7000.

In the past 2 years I have discovered HF (digital and voice), and have
started playing with the LEO's (bought a IC-910H)

Two weeks ago, I moved my IC-7000 to my vehicle, and 3 days ago ordered my
IC-746pro.

Thanks to Bob (for putting up with my dumb questions and mistakes in the
beginning) and APRS I am now an Active Ham again.


Scott Gillis N3UJJ 
My Current Location <http://location.n3ujj.com> 
My Amateur Weather Station <http://weather.n3ujj.com/> 


-----Original Message-----
From: aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org [mailto:aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org]
On Behalf Of Joseph M. Durnal
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 09:07
To: bruninga at usna.edu; TAPR APRS Mailing List
Subject: Re: [aprssig] Ham Radio, Use it or Lose it!

I must say, APRS is one of the technologies that helped facilitate my return
to amateur radio after putting the radios in the closet for about 5 years
99-04.  Oddly enough, I live just across town from Bob for most of my first
10 years as a ham 93-03, but I never knew what APRS was.  I think that the 5
years of dust that gathered on my radios may not have happened if I would
have known about APRS back then.
Like many from the no-code tech generation, I entered the hobby the wrong
way, passed a copule of written tests and got a 2 meter rig.
Now, 2 meter FM was cool to a 15 year old before mobile phones were popular,
but even that coolness wore off after a while.  APRS was always growing,
improving, and there was a lot more you could do to be part of the
community.

I send messages all the time with the D710 :) those preprgramed phrases are
nice though!

73 de Joseph Durnal NE3R

On Thu, May 22, 2008 at 9:42 AM, Robert Bruninga <bruninga at usna.edu> wrote:
> At the ARRL Technical Challenge Forum at Dayton, the ARRL technology 
> leaders were lamenting that HAM radio needs something for youth to get 
> excited about.  Something like: "Look at how kids have taken 
> text-messaging as the be-all-end-all excitement of communications!  We 
> need something like that in ham radio!
> Why aren't we developing things like this?"
>
> To which I jumped up from the audience and could not contain myself 
> and exclaimed!  "We have!  We have had local/global text messaging and 
> text email from a handheld since 1998 in APRS!  It is exactly what 
> kids are doing today, but we have been doing it for 10 years!  But you 
> know what?  All the old fuds in ham radio say 'How crude.  We need a 
> keyboard.  No one is ever going to communicate by punching buttons on 
> the front of an HT'!"  SO still, only 1% of ham radio is even aware of 
> this routine global connectivity from a handheld that we have had for 
> 10 years.
>
> As pogo said, "we have met the enemy and the enemy is us."
> Everyone keeps waiting for the "perfect dream" solution and then they 
> dream of all the things they could do.  But you know what?
> The perfect dream solution is always in the future.  The few instances 
> in ham radio that really excell in actual needed practical 
> communications are those that ALWAYS take what they have and just do 
> the MOST with it, NOW!
>
> My 4 cents (inflation)
>
> Bob, WB4APR
>
>
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