Ham radio dying a slow miserable death

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bearcat7039

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Ham radio is antiquated and dying. The same 3 or 4 people on local repeaters. The nets are a joke again the same 3 or 4 people. I couldn't care less how much rain was in your rain gauge. Used to be lots of people on...no more just new people that think they did something miraculous by passing the tech test. ten-year-olds have passed it. Pass the extra test then lets talk. The same people on the same repeaters talking about the same boring stuff. One local female here where I live talks to only one person a relative she doesn't even know basic ham radio procedures. The same people on HF running illegal power to "impress" each other...boring. I heard a net on HF the other day to pass along news of a death in a persons family...you don't think they already knew..lol what a waste of time. It took Yaesu ten years to come up with a rig to replace the FT847. With today's technology, cell phones ,apps like skype etc, who needs teetering antennas and rusty poles to talk to someone else. You can talk around the world for free....once, long ago ham radio had it's place but now it's dead..rest in peace. And it's a single number 73 not 73's....
Ham radio is now licensed CB and nothing more.....
 
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N8IAA

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Another in a long list of threads about the demise of ham radio.
But, then I noticed that your license expired six months ago.
Larry
 
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bearcat7039

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Exactly who wants it..I passed the extra test missing zero in one try...but it was a waste of time. Spend your hard earned money on anything other than ham radio gear. When Katrina hit I was a volunteer I am a medical professional. We had cell service within 3 hours who need ham radios we didn't......
 
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bearcat7039

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and yes I let my license expire I wouldn't waste 20 cents on renewing it...for what reason would I do so...so you can tell me it rained at your house LOL what a joke....
 
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bearcat7039

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LOL go spend 5 grand on a radio and teetering antennas so you can tell someone down the street it's raining....or someone died 10 days ago that's been already buried. Geez what a joke.
 

slapshot0017

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What are you even talking about? You don't need to do alot of things in life, like this conversation for instance. I don't have to reply to your babble, but I do because its entertaining.

Are you on something? You know you should never internet under the influence. The outcome will never be in your favor...
 
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bearcat7039

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No just making a point. I here "new" hams on every now and then Likes it's difficult to pass the tech test. One fellow I know has two boys in college instead of helping them out he spends thousands on ham gear. The last time I was at his house I noticed an inch of dust on his shack...waste of time and money and confused priorities.
 

slapshot0017

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That's seems like an unfair judgement on the ham community. Sounds more like a personal issue. I know some very successful level headed hams. It's a hobby for a reason. No one tells you how to live your life do they?
 
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bearcat7039

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And NO I'm not "on" anything I just get comedic relief from ham radio nuts....
 
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bearcat7039

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Perhaps

That's seems like an unfair judgement on the ham community. Sounds more like a personal issue. I know some very successful level headed hams. It's a hobby for a reason. No one tells you how to live your life do they?


Perhaps you should proof read before you post bobby......
 

wkm

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What a mope you are. Yesterday we had a wind storm that has knocked ou power. Nearly the whole city of Lynnwood was with out power cell service was also out in one area that I know of. While this wind storm wasn't devastating. Like katrina. I did learn one thing the repeater that are pretty much dead came alive. Which I thought was pretty lame.
 
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bearcat7039

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You are obviously one of the guys I see walking around WalMart with an HT on his belt like that makes you someone special...lol...spend your money on something constructive. Buy a hungry family something to eat instead....
 

ElroyJetson

I AM NOT YOUR TECH SUPPPORT.
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DO NOT ASK ME FOR HELP PROGRAMMING YOUR RADIO. NO.
I'm extra class and have had my ticket for about 25 years now.

I see what you're saying but I think you're only seeing part of the picture.

Amateur radio sales are quite healthy. Why do you figure that is? Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu, Ten-Tec, Alinco, Flexradio, Elecraft, they're all busy selling existing products and designing new ones.

I will say that the amateur radio landscape has changed. I'm seeing more mobile HF rigs now than I've ever seen in past decades.

Repeaters are pretty much dead most of the time. That is true. At least outside of major metropolitan areas.

I've said before that amateur radio is the most "clique-ish" hobby I've ever seen. Many strokes for many different folks.

You've got your hardcore contester, whose communications are strictly limited to what's required to get you in his contest log.

You've got the "worked all" operator, whose goal is to earn every "worked all ______" certificates the ARRL offers. Worked all countries, on all bands, on all modes, worked all ITU zones in one sitting, worked all map grids in one day, worked all active amateurs, worked all silent keys via amateur radio seance, etc..

You've got your repeaters only crowd, who eventually get to the point where you could just record what they say and play it back again tomorrow. His sciatica is still bothering him, his dentures still need adjusting, he found a hummingbird drowned i his rain gauge this morning. Same as every day.

You've got your DX operator who isn't interested in talking to you if you're not at least 5000 miles away.

You've got your EME (moonbounce) crew that would love to talk to someobody across town, as long as the signal is bounced off the moon first. They look down their noses at the mere "short range" DX'er who only talks around the world.

And we have the QRP crew, who love to see how low they can go in power output and still make a contact. And they're usually about two seconds away from throwing their rig out the window because they keep getting stepped on by some idiot running high power on their frequency. High power meaning anything over a watt, of course.



We have VARIETY!
 

wkm

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You hang out at walmart? Lol Maybe I should buy your family some food
 
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bearcat7039

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Contests have always been a stupid idea who cares how many "contacts" you can get in a certain amount of time. What does that do for you exactly? Nothing. I have qsl cards from around the world...when I think of the time I wasted I can't believe it. I thought the extra class test was quite elementary myself.
 
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