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 ·MSN
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3 edits | This FCC SUCKS!!! This FCC could give two squats about Interference. What proof? look at what their IBOC digital radio decision has done to the AM broadcast band. It's virtually unlistenable at night!
The only thing that matters to these crooks is DOLLAR$. They have figured out that they have less than 18 months to rape the country before being tossed out on their A$$e$, so they want to feather their nest as much as possible. First they bent over to the telcos, then the cable industry and now the electric companies....
So, when they get tossed, they'll get some niuce cushy job working as a consultant or lobbiest for the very companies they used to "regulate". |
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 KA3SGM- -... ...- -Premium
join:2006-01-17
West Chester, PA
 ·Verizon FiOS
 ·Cricket Broadband
| Tell these unlicensed BPL providers to sign up for the upcomming 700MHz auction, and bid out their ass if they want to provide licensed broadband services to the masses.
Let them bid for their own licensed spectrum before the try to trod on, and blatantly interfere with, the Ham Radio licensed spectrum.
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"Lithium is no longer available on credit" |
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zipjay
join:2003-03-11
South Williamson, KY | thank you |
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Reviews:
 ·magicjack.com
| reply to qworster
>the AM broadcast band
Another dinosaur that needs to move on. Seriously, what's the face of amateur radio these days? When I fooled around with it 10 years ago they were losing many more members than they were gaining. I went to a hamfest and was impressed by the number of chain-smoking overweight old guys, who's wives left them, who never brush their teeth, dragging oxygen bottles behind them. This was contrasted by an almost total absence of young people.
Seriously, the future looked bleak to me. It looked like they were 10 years away from a massive reduction in licensees. What's it like today? Has the league managed to bring in a younger generation?
Mark |
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| said by amigo_boy:Seriously, what's the face of amateur radio these days? When I fooled around with it 10 years ago they were losing many more members than they were gaining. I went to a hamfest and was impressed by the number of chain-smoking overweight old guys, who's wives left them, who never brush their teeth, dragging oxygen bottles behind them. This was contrasted by an almost total absence of young people. And look at some of the people on the internet; child molesters, gamers who have no idea what hygiene is, loners with almost no social skills....need I go on?
said by amigo_boy:Seriously, the future looked bleak to me. It looked like they were 10 years away from a massive reduction in licensees. What's it like today? Has the league managed to bring in a younger generation? Mark There are a few young kids being brought in. Not as many as before but they still come in. |
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Reviews:
·magicjack.com
| said by moonpuppy:And look at some of the people on the internet; child molesters, gamers who have no idea what hygiene is, loners with almost no social skills....need I go on? Sorry for the excessive drama depicting the contrast I noticed. But, still, the contrast was the norm not the exception. You're describing the exception on the Internet?
said by moonpuppy:There are a few young kids being brought in. Not as many as before but they still come in. That was what I imagined 10 years ago. It led me to think if radio has less users there would be less reason to reserve the amount of spectrum for their use. I understand even just a handful of licensees can make good use of the spectrum in an emergency. But, at what number does it make sense to rethink the sacredness of the status quo? Two licensees? Twelve? A thousand?
I'm sure there's some hypothetical loss of interest (represented in loss of licenses) that would result in a rational argument that it doesn't serve enough purpose any longer to continue treating it as sensitively as it was in the past. I'm curious how far we are from that. What the numbers are today compared to 40 years ago. Ten years ago it looked like most licensees were senior citizens (and sat at their radios not getting much exercise). It looked to me like the number of licensees was about to drop precipitously. If it hasn't happened yet, it still sounds like it will if there's fewer younger people replacing the older.
Well. Just thought I'd be the lone voice of dissent among all the operators who posted.  I don't feel passionate about it either way.
Mark |
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| said by amigo_boy:Sorry for the excessive drama depicting the contrast I noticed. But, still, the contrast was the norm not the exception. You're describing the exception on the Internet? If you think that is the norm then you have on some big old blinders. 
said by amigo_boy:That was what I imagined 10 years ago. It led me to think if radio has less users there would be less reason to reserve the amount of spectrum for their use. I understand even just a handful of licensees can make good use of the spectrum in an emergency. But, at what number does it make sense to rethink the sacredness of the status quo? Two licensees? Twelve? A thousand? Do you have any clue as to how much spectrum is used by HAM radio? Also, BPL does not only disrupt HAM radio but a bigger chunk of the band. Everything from commercial to military frequencies are affected.
said by amigo_boy:I'm sure there's some hypothetical loss of interest (represented in loss of licenses) that would result in a rational argument that it doesn't serve enough purpose any longer to continue treating it as sensitively as it was in the past. I'm curious how far we are from that. What the numbers are today compared to 40 years ago. Ten years ago it looked like most licensees were senior citizens (and sat at their radios not getting much exercise). It looked to me like the number of licensees was about to drop precipitously. If it hasn't happened yet, it still sounds like it will if there's fewer younger people replacing the older. Many kids sit in front of their game consoles and internet addicts get no exercise either. Should we regulate that too? Maybe we need to add a tax to those with internet access because they will become overweight blobs who will put a strain on the health care system.
said by amigo_boy:Well. Just thought I'd be the lone voice of dissent among all the operators who posted. I don't feel passionate about it either way. Mark Passionate enough to post. |
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Reviews:
·magicjack.com
| said by moonpuppy:If you think that is the norm then you have on some big old blinders. I simply related what I saw at a hamfest (and at the local radio store, etc.). I admit I didn't go visit every license holder. Just relating what I saw at places frequented by the more active operators. I assumed it was representative.
said by moonpuppy:Many kids sit in front of their game consoles and internet addicts get no exercise either. Should we regulate that too? Radio spectrum is public property. I think a better analogy would be if we set aside a park for public enjoyment and benefit, and usage significantly dropped off. I think it's a fair public argument that the set aside could serve the community in better ways than continuing to be set aside for a dwindling user base (as public service organizations have taken on more capability for the one role the dwindling user base claims to serve a public interest).
Just my thoughts. I'm pretty sure that will be the public debate if interest in amateur radio goes (or has gone?) the way it looked like it would 10 years ago. It seems like a losing proposition if it is used by an ever-decreasing number of operators.
I'm curious what the graph looks like from 50 years ago to today. How sharply it has fallen off. And, what the demographic is of current license holders (how quickly will it fall off). Maybe I'm wrong that it's shrinking. It looked to me like it would shrink 10 years ago (from my visual sampling of the demographic). And your comment that fewer young people are obtaining licenses.
Mark |
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| said by amigo_boy:I simply related what I saw at a hamfest (and at the local radio store, etc.). I admit I didn't go visit every license holder. Just relating what I saw at places frequented by the more active operators. I assumed it was representative. You assumed wrong. If I were to make the same assumptions of kids I saw buying video games, I could say they were all slackers who had no motivation to do anything. How do you know that hamfests are where the most active operators go? Another assumption?
said by amigo_boy:Radio spectrum is public property. I think a better analogy would be if we set aside a park for public enjoyment and benefit, and usage significantly dropped off. I think it's a fair public argument that the set aside could serve the community in better ways than continuing to be set aside for a dwindling user base (as public service organizations have taken on more capability for the one role the dwindling user base claims to serve a public interest). You brought up the lack of exercise comment. I merely put it in context for you.
As for your park analogy, you must not know how many communities are fighting for their parks and open spaces even if they see little use. Most communities are tired of their area becoming one paved parking lot with a Walmart built on top of it.
said by amigo_boy:I'm curious what the graph looks like from 50 years ago to today. How sharply it has fallen off. And, what the demographic is of current license holders (how quickly will it fall off). Maybe I'm wrong that it's shrinking. It looked to me like it would shrink 10 years ago (from my visual sampling of the demographic). And your comment that fewer young people are obtaining licenses. During the 80's and 90's saw a tremendous growth in operators. Unfortunately, this country doesn't peak any interest in science in schools and parents would rather leave their kids with the computer and television as babysitters. |
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Reviews:
·magicjack.com
| said by moonpuppy:As for your park analogy, you must not know how many communities are fighting for their parks and open spaces even if they see little use. Most communities are tired of their area becoming one paved parking lot with a Walmart built on top of it. So we're not debating the legitimacy of both competing interests, just which direction the balance will tilt. A shrinking set of legacy participants, growing competition for space, newer use candidates, and the possibility to translate underused resources into societal income to fund other community priorities.
That's why I said I think, realistically, this will be the debate amateur radio faces if it is perceived that not only licensees are dwindling in number, but are also dwindling in activity. And, newer potential uses are available. And, government agencies are maintaining more communication equipment which can be used in rare emergencies. And, we continue to go further into national debt (making the sale of public resources more appealing).
I thought someone else made a good point about ham radio beginning to take on more of a CB radio tone. You'll say it's not everyone misbehaving. But, the nature of radio, it only takes a few to ruin it for everyone. I see the dilemma being that standards will have to be lowered to get more people interested in it as a hobby. But, by lowering standards people have less investment and take the hobby less seriously (creating a CB-like environment).
said by moonpuppy:Unfortunately, this country doesn't peak any interest in science in schools and parents would rather leave their kids with the computer and television as babysitters. That and we've stopped encouraging civic participation. We expect the government to do everything for us. That part of the challenge for amateur radio. As you said, if less people are interested in science the league must reduce the science requirements in order to appeal to more people. And/or, the leaque could minimize the promotion of science as its purpose and focus instead of the noble, public-serving purpose of the hobby (in time of emergency). But, as you said about science, this country doesn't peak any interest any more. I think most people would say "doesn't the government do that? Call out the Natl. Guard. Don't they have radios? Why should I spend a grand on a rig?"
Maybe I'm wrong. But, the future of amateur radio doesn't look bright to me.
Mark |
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| said by amigo_boy:So we're not debating the legitimacy of both competing interests, just which direction the balance will tilt. A shrinking set of legacy participants, growing competition for space, newer use candidates, and the possibility to translate underused resources into societal income to fund other community priorities. You are forgetting that HAM radio is not the only service being interfered with. Amateur frequencies under 30MHz occupy a mere 4MHZ of bandwidth. The rest are commercial and military.
Also, BPL will NOT pay for these frequencies. They are an unintentional radiator meaning the signals are not usable (as a radio signal) but still cause interference.
said by amigo_boy:That's why I said I think, realistically, this will be the debate amateur radio faces if it is perceived that not only licensees are dwindling in number, but are also dwindling in activity. And, newer potential uses are available. And, government agencies are maintaining more communication equipment which can be used in rare emergencies. And, we continue to go further into national debt (making the sale of public resources more appealing). Read what I said above. BPL operators have no intention of paying for these frequencies.
said by amigo_boy:I thought someone else made a good point about ham radio beginning to take on more of a CB radio tone. You'll say it's not everyone misbehaving. But, the nature of radio, it only takes a few to ruin it for everyone. I see the dilemma being that standards will have to be lowered to get more people interested in it as a hobby. But, by lowering standards people have less investment and take the hobby less seriously (creating a CB-like environment). And the internet itself is 1000 times worse. Do we need to regulate that even more?
Also, HAMs are self-policing and do a very good job of it. Take a look: »www.arrl.org/news/enforcement_logs/
said by amigo_boy:That and we've stopped encouraging civic participation. We expect the government to do everything for us. That part of the challenge for amateur radio. As you said, if less people are interested in science the league must reduce the science requirements in order to appeal to more people. And/or, the leaque could minimize the promotion of science as its purpose and focus instead of the noble, public-serving purpose of the hobby (in time of emergency). But, as you said about science, this country doesn't peak any interest any more. I think most people would say "doesn't the government do that? Call out the Natl. Guard. Don't they have radios? Why should I spend a grand on a rig?" You never know what you have until it's gone.
And if you expect the National Guard to handle welfare traffic, guess again. They are there doing a different job and someone sending a note to their families that they are o.k. will be the last thing on their minds. And don't expect CNN to let a few hundred people use their sat phone either. |
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