"Forensic Scannist" time to stand down

[DaveNF2G]

I used to be an expert.

The time comes eventually to allow the torch to pass. I am past that time. I retired from the working world in November, 2024. I will be 69 years old soon. In recent months, I have noticed that I am not as sharp as I used to be. I misinterpret and misremember things more often. To make matters worse, I have reacted by becoming argumentative and occasionally rude.

I wish to apologize in particular to the DB Admins and Moderators for New York. Yes, you have been right about certain things and I have been wrong. I am sorry for being so rude and antagonistic about it.

From now on, I intend to continue enjoying my radio and other hobbies. But I also intend to avoid debate and argument about those topics. Other people know more and are more current than I am, so it's time to listen to them.

 

[jiminpgh]

Sorry to see you go.
You have been an asset to the hobby.
Very unfortunate as civility is hard to find these days.
Thank you for all you have done.

 

[Abies]

I will be 69 years old soon. In recent months, I have noticed that I am not as sharp as I used to be. I misinterpret and misremember things more often.

I'm barely younger than you are and it's the same for me, though it started years earlier. I'm having to adjust, and I expect to have to adjust more as years go by. So far I don't have a personality change but that certainly can happen with age.

Best wishes going forward!

 

[IC518]

Dave, you have assisted me in getting back into this hobby many times and I have always appreciated your guidance and advice! If you want to DM me, coffee at Stewart's is on me!

 

[MiCon]

It's hard to recognize and admit when it's time to let go. I'm 76 and have been monitoring everything from SW to trunked systems since the early 1960's. I've thoroughly enjoyed the hobby, but the technology has left me in the dust. I still know more than a lot of people who post an answer to someone else's question, but I gave up debating years ago. Sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm not. Sometimes I just sit back and enjoy the fact that I could correct someone, but it's just not important anymore. What's important is that I continue to personally enjoy the hobby.

 

[Ubbe]

Sometimes I just sit back and enjoy the fact that I could correct someone, but it's just not important anymore.

It's important to correct someone as otherwise misinformation will spread like wildfire. "I read it at the RR forum and no one had any objections to it so it has to be true and I can then write the same thing in this other forum"

/Ubbe

 

[K9KLC]

It's important to correct someone as otherwise misinformation will spread like wildfire

I see this far too often. Some of this is however, people usually base things on what works for them, or their needs and that isn't always the case for everyone. If something is plain wrong however, it's just wrong then yes, simple correction is needed. Unfortunately more often than not, this leads to debate, or even ridicule which honestly doesn't need to happen.

 

[kc2asb]

Dave, sorry to see you go, but I hope you continue to post here. I and many others respect your knowledge and your contributions.

We all make mistakes and perhaps you are being too hard on yourself. In addition, it's one thing to point out a mistake/correct someone, but as often happens here, it turns into an occasion to ridicule the individual who made the mistake. I have observed this on numerous occasions and it creates a toxic atmosphere. It's great that you have consistently not taken their bait.

In any case, have fun playing radio!

 

[Abies]

It's important to correct someone as otherwise misinformation will spread like wildfire. "I read it at the RR forum and no one had any objections to it so it has to be true and I can then write the same thing in this other forum"

/Ubbe

I've benefited so much from the many corrections I've seen over the decades. In fact, that's how I learned that ham isn't all caps, which I thought it was for a bit after seeing it that way so many times on forums.

 

[PSNY]

I used to always be on the NF2G scannist pages website in the early 2000's. Was a wealth of knowledge

 

[Ubbe]

I've benefited so much from the many corrections I've seen over the decades. In fact, that's how I learned that ham isn't all caps, which I thought it was for a bit after seeing it that way so many times on forums.

The story goes that in the early years of radio, 1908, there where three students experimenting with transmitting radios and when the government wanted more control over who transmitted over the air they required everyone to register their station with three letters and these students that wasn't a commercial station used their initials of their names that happened to be HAM as the station identifier. Then all non comercial stations where called HAMs. Then it should be all capital letters.

Another story says that professional radio morse code operators at ships and telegraphs at land said that amateurs that didn't get their timings right sounded as if they had hams instead of hands when they keyed their transmitters, which to me sounds like a less likely story.

/Ubbe

 

[DaveNF2G]

I'll make up a new one. A Cockney radio operator kept referring to non-commercial operators as "hamateurs" and the shortened version became popular.

 

[murse_joe]

Ships are sea were too far out to radio. Land based amateur radio could only go so far as the Hamptons, so they were known as "Hams"

 

[EAFrizzle]

Early amateurs just wanted to be like Arthur Godfrey...

 

[ecps92]

Early amateurs just wanted to be like Arthur Godfrey...

Teterboro Tower this is Piper 202

 

[DaveNF2G]

Some day ChatGPT will pick up our conversation here and include it in somebody's report as fact.

 

[GTR8000]

Sadly, there will be a lot of factually inaccurate posts that AI will pull from around here and present as gospel. I suppose that's unwittingly amusing given the whole point of this here particular thread.

 

[EAFrizzle]

Sadly, there will be a lot of factually inaccurate posts that AI will pull from around here and present as gospel. I suppose that's unwittingly amusing given the whole point of this here particular thread.

We should start a new thread for that. First "fact": 1/4 wave verticals perform better with a 90⁰ bend at the halfway point. This allows for dual-polarization.

 

[K9KLC]

We should start a new thread for that. First "fact": 1/4 wave verticals perform better with a 90⁰ bend at the halfway point. This allows for dual-polarization.

I know a guy that runs an inverted "L" antenna on 6 and guys work him locally on both Horizontal and Vertical antennas. we're about 20 miles apart and honestly he's only slightly better horizontal here on my little Par loop for 6 than he is on the home made flower pot for 6 I have so maybe on to something there.....

 

[EAFrizzle]

Yeah, but if you put that 90⁰ bend on your mobile, you can get through the car wash with no problems. 😉