Are you moving forward or stuck in the past? This all started with a blog posting by Dan KB6NU appropriately titled I’m Tired of Pessimism. Dan basically said he has grown weary of the folks that specialize in displaying a negative attitude in ham radio. Jeff KE9V responded with a post of his own, writing:
The final determination of whether amateur radio remains an avocation of any significance will be made by those who actually enjoy the hobby. My advice for them on that fast-paced journey is to trample the slow and hurdle the dead lest they become bogged down by the rotting corpses of the “old guard” who refused to change.
This reminded me of one of my postings from January, titled Paul Rinaldo’s Rule of Amateur Radio Progress, which related some words of wisdom (not mine):
Progress is made in Amateur Radio by letting energetic individuals move forward. Conversly, nothing in Amateur Radio is accomplished by complaining about other individual’s projects. Simple summary: If you don’t like their project, then go do or support your own choices. Get out of their way.
Note the common theme of lead, follow or get out of the way but don’t be the curmudgeon that spoils everyone’s fun. If you have spent much time with me, you would know that I can get as cynical as the next guy. I specialize in sarcasm and can derive great satisfaction from pointing out the errors in other people’s thinking and actions. The only problem with cynicism is that it doesn’t accomplish anything beyond generating that smug feeling of being right. It doesn’t move anything forward — it just complains loudly about the situation.
The older I get, the more I try to avoid the easy out of that soothing cynical attitude. For me the test is simple: does an attitude/statement/question/action move things forward or keep the situation stuck? Things that move forward have value; things that keep us stuck are worthless. See Paul Rinaldo’s comments.
Lately, I have been applying the Moving Forward / Stuck in the Past Test to ham radio activities. I flip through the ham magazines and I see quite a number of articles on vintage radios. Moving Forward? I don’t think so. How about AM operation? Stuck in the Past. Ham radio connected via the internet? Moving forward. Sound-card digital modes? Moving forward. What about CW operation? (Be careful here.) I actually think this one is Moving Forward. Why? Because CW still represents an extremely efficient operating mode in terms of bandwidth usage, simplicity of equipment and versatility. I can do a lot with just a simple QRP rig and my brain on CW. (I know some of you will argue that it is Stuck in the Past and you might be right.) Radio amateurs that are helpful Elmers? Moving Forward. Grumpy old men that look down on newcomers: Stuck in the Past.
Now there is nothing wrong with Stuck in the Past activities….as long as they don’t get in the way of Moving Forward. I know some guys that get great pleasure out of running their old AM rigs on HF. I am glad they are having fun with it. But we don’t use up all of the 20 Meter phone band running such an inefficient mode….we keep it to a few frequencies.
So where are you: Moving Forward or Stuck in the Past?
73, Bob K0NR
Very well said Bob!
73 de Jeff
I also agree with what you say, except that I wouldn’t lump together operators of vintage equipment with the curmudgeons who simply want to ruin it for everyone else. I think it’s unfair to label as “stuck in the past” an activity that’s legal, enjoyable, and, in a sense, preserving the “heritage” of amateur radio.
73, Dan KB6NU
I agree with most everything here but…. moving forward is more subjective and based on an individual’s past.
But, moving forward, being static, or moving backwards is somewhat subjective.
Is someone that has never cleaned up a vintage radio, barely understands electronics, moving themselves forward or backwards getting the rig on the air? To me, any learning activity is a “moving forward” activity for the person learning.
With AM, I think moving forward depends on what it is being used for and by whom. For example, we have a Thursday evening “net” ( “get together”) where we experiment with various modes on 10-meters. (We start with SSB so techs can join in for a little while.) It is amazing how much you learn about your radio and propagation just by switching modes! AM only…Nope, AM, DSB, FM,… whatever the fancy of the people joining in. Because we use any mode, including AM, are we moving forward, maintain status quo, falling back? I think the answer is subjective and not absolute. I personally think we are moving our understanding forward and therefore moving forward.
Another example would the the circuit board designers. Because they are experimenting with tube, vintage radios, are they advancing themselves or not. Why have some of the high-end audio gear moved partially to tubes. Is this moving “back” to tubes to moving “forward” to tubes?
CW is interesting too. Not only because of its efficiencies but because of the advancement in CW programs including (but not limited to) Sound Card communications. I participated in the CQ WW CW contest, but my 20wpm (sadly only about 90% copy anymore) was no where near the speed being operated. I generally assisted the program (like me, the program is not perfect). Is this moving forward or cheating…lol? Depends on who answers that. You certainly will not get a high score using only a program. But you can have joining in where you might not have before. I personally think this is moving forward, but I’m sure my perspective is not universal.
Thanks again for another great blog article!
73, Dan W0RO
Thanks for the comments. OK, I have to admit I get a little grumpy on the vintage radio stuff…how many articles about the glory of old vacuum tube radios does the world need? But I do understand that people get enjoyment out of it and it doesn’t drag anyone else down. I agree with the point about learning…and that it is unique to each person. In general, trying something new, experimenting and learning are Moving Forward.
73, Bob
I’m a new Ham and as such anything about the hobby involves learning and experimentation. I’m constantly moving forward while educating myself about all this hobby has to offer. But, not everything that I learn about, as new and wonderful it may appear to me, will feature in the future of Ham Radio. Some things will be developed further, which is what gave us SSB, and now I hear murmurs about E-SSB. Computers have added an entire new dimension to the hobby to the point where we now have SDR (Software Defined Radio) and other wonderful things.
I don’t see it as Moving Forward or Stuck In The Past. To me it seems like we must accept change while learning from the achievements and mistakes of the past. For example, I grew up with computers and solid-state technology. I know nothing about valves (although keen to learn). Finding an Elmer who has a working valve set is the best way for me to learn. Even if the Elmer will be defined as someone stuck in the past.
Be open to change. And decide later if it was moving forward or backward or just got stuck…..
-ZL1DGK
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