[sdiy] O/T Amateur Radio

[Thomas Strathmann]

On 10/1/10 14:39 , Paul Perry wrote:
> The only reason to get into ham radio today is if you are interested in
> antenna design.
> I'm not knocking it - I think antenna design is great fun! but, the
> classic days of
> amazing your neighbours by talking DX is long over. As is building the
> rig, I fear.

I thought about getting a license for some years, and last year invested 
some time into preparing myself for a license exam. It's mostly boring 
legal stuff and knowing numbers and character combinations by heart. 
That's not my cup of tea. There are some fun things to do though: 
building things or participating in contests or a DXpedition. Topics 
like radar or software defined radio and so on make it seem like ham 
radio is not dead yet. Having the license to build and operate custom RF 
equipment while being entitled to complain about your neighbour's flat 
screen TV because it produces interference is a bit like the geek's 
version of a license to kill, ain't it? Maybe I'll do it some day when I 
have the space necessary for big antennas, time and money for advanced 
projects.

	Thomas