Category: Uncategorized

My Other Hobby in the spotlight on NPR

I thought some of you might be interested in this:

Stanley Hardman, an amateur radio operator, and his family look at transmitting equipment in 1939.

Only a few years ago, blogs listed ham radio alongside 35 mm film and VHS tape as technologies slated to disappear.

They were wrong.

Nearly 700,000 Americans have ham radio licenses — up 60 percent from 1981, a generation ago. And the number is growing.

Ham radio will never have the sex appeal of the iPhone, but it does have a certain nerd appeal, says Allen Weiner, an analyst at the technology research firm Gartner.

“If it creates its own experience, that’s really what’s key here,” he says. “If it just emulates an experience that you can get online, it’s not going to grow.”

via Ham Radio Growing In The Age Of Twitter : NPR.

A very interesting article about a very interesting hobby. Check it out! 😀

Off to get some sleep

Once again my body clock is all “catty whompus”, which means screwed to hell.

I zonked out last night at like 10:45 P.M. and woke back up around 2:00 a.m. I’ve been up ever since and right about now; I am quite pooped. 😛

So, I shall return when I arise from my slumber.

Meanwhile, check out some of the blogs in my sidebars. 😀

Good Night…

Wake Up

Meh

Nothing to blog about. Nice day out. Might blog some tomorrow.

Until then, read some of the blogs in my sidebars.

That is all.

Short Film: Radio Hams

This film, which was shot by the MGM studios in 1939; is a specialty film promoting Amateur Radio. As some of you know, my other hobby is, in fact, Amateur Radio.

This is a short subject film from 1939. It was directed and Produced by the iconic Pete Smith.

Here is “Radio Hams”: (H/T to DH1TW)

Neat old movie eh? The story is quite true, the Camera man was really a camera man. Now as for the plane pilot, I have not been able to dig up his information. Maybe some of you can do that.

As for Amateur Radio; we’re not winding coils any longer and Morse Code is not really required to get a license, But as this recent CNN article shows, we are still there, when all else fails. However, we still do build our own antennas, and some people who are much smarter and craftier than I will ever be, build their own amps, tuners, and all sorts of other things.

The flagship organization of Amateur Radio in the United States is the American Radio Relay League, otherwise known as The National Association of Amateur Radio. The A.R.R.L., as it is called was founded way back in 1914; you know, when the world was still in black and white and wheels were square? — Oh I kid! 😀  But the League does do some very good things for we weirdos who like to string wires and try to send RF signals into the sky. Here is a look at the A.R.R.L.’s Station and Antenna farm. In case you are wondering, no, I do not have an antenna farm like that and two; No, I am not a member of the ARRL at the moment. But you can change that! IYKWIMAITYD. Lifetime Membership is $975 plus $50.00 for a plaque. Hey, it beats $39 bucks a year! 🙄

Also, my radio is down too. So, I really have not been that active, except on the local VHF repeater here. But you can change that too! IYKWIMAITYD!

Great nice, clean, fun, family hobby. Check it out!