Field Day Boatanchors, Perhaps the Height of Irony

[W9GT]

I was out at Field Day with one of the local clubs until early this morning...working CW.  Got up late this morning....I was pleased and quite surprised when my wife handed me last night's paper.  A big full page spread about Field Day in one of the sections.  Right in the middle...a picture of my vintage AM station that I had taken to Field Day 4 years ago.   I'm not sure how that picture became part of this article....I didn't take the old rig this year.  

Actually, it is a fairly good article...but I'm pretty sure that the club officers weren't really trying to spotlight vintage radio.  They probably would have preferred to show some "high tech" Yaesu,Kenwood or Icom stuff.  I had a really great time at Field Day, as I do every year.  They usually recruit me for CW chores on 40M.  Kinda ironic, however, that the only picture of equipment turned out to be my 1946-47 vintage station with the old John Meck transmitter and my NC-2-40D receiver.  

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100626/NEWS01/6260304

73, Jack, W9GT

[WQ9E]

Jack,

Good journalists have a feel for what will catch the public's attention and your vintage gear stands out from modern gear (which often looks like a hybrid between a home theater receiver and a CB radio).  Congratulations on making the paper.

I hope mother nature cooperated with your activities and didn't send any lightning bolts your way.  I just got back from a few days in MI and drove through heavy rain on the way there and back (but had great weather for most of the stay).  I woke up to thunder again this morning back in IL.

[WA3VJB]

I'm sure some newspaper editor somewhere took a look at the article for this year when it was in the draft stage, went to the photo archives, and said THIS IS A MUCH BETTER PICTURE -- RUN IT !!

The headline about the 90th anniversary totally supports using an image of a vintage station used by members.

Contemporary radios are not distinctive within the category nor against the larger world of consumer electronics.  Among the website photos, the newspaper didn't even bother running a single shot.

Some years ago I saw a Field Day article at a location where some of the activity was centered on 2M handhelds. The photos that matched the text were used to illustrate how "radios as small as a baby monitor" could provide emergency communications over dozens of miles.

The newspaper writer's idea was a good one -- to use parental concerns about a baby in the crib, and draw an analogy to the "emergency" aspect that the event was about.

However, for the sake of making an impression, I cringed that the whooptie-do, "high technology" radios certain people would like to promote, were instead lumped into consumer electronics as written.

I think the same effect may have been at play here.  The diminutive, tabletop digital readout, menu-driven & battery powered radios may not have made much of an impression on the people at the newspaper.

As a hobby, many outsiders view our activity as quaint, nostalgic, and perhaps outdated for much more than the occasional, temporary communications bridge when regular infrastructure suffers an outage.

Yet, the clubs and organizations that promote the hobby do little to take advantage of the vintage aspect that we so enthusiastically pursue.  It's to the detriment of the hobby and those organizations to fail to leverage a strength that we advance every day.

[W9GT]

Yes Rodger & Paul, I think it may have been an old file photo left over from some previous coverage.  There are a few in the club who share my interests in old gear and AM, however, the SSB'ers and anti-AM crowd far outnumber us.

I was actually encouraged by the presence of some young hams and kids who are interested in becoming licensed.  Believe it or not, a 16-17 yr old was doing the logging chores much of the time while I was operating on CW.  He wasn't copying all the CW, of course...but he had quite a command of the computer logging program and would log contacts as I wrote them down on paper.  All-in-all, we had a great time.  The WX cooperated most of the time, although I think things got a little damp while they were tearing down.  Field Day is a fun experience.  It may have a little different purpose or the perception of the effort might have somewhat evolved from what it used to be, but it still provides a useful activity and gets people out to demonstrate that they can operate their equipment "off grid" and provide emergency communications if needed.

73,  Jack, W9GT

[Superhet66]

Nice, good to see. 

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Jack, are you implying reporters and editors present something other than what actually happened in their "news" outlets?   

[W9GT]

YES!  Not implying...stating, as fact!

73,  Jack, W9GT

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

For sure. It’s just another glaring example of the corruption and dishonesty that dominates so called news these days.

Cool on the vintage station, even if it was years ago.

[KF1Z]

Shtuff happens.

[Superhet66]

 "Field Day Boatanchors, Perhaps the Height  of irony"


                         IRON-y  

[wb4iuy]

Our local paper ran this bit on Sunday morning with a totally different slant. My take on the N&O piece was the portrayal of ham radio as an old, noisy hobby enjoyed by a dwindling bunch of us with grey hair and using 2-3 story antennas that aren't wanted as a result of suburbanization. :

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/06/27/553625/for-a-day-radio-reigns-again.html

[W9GT]

Not being a journalist, I am hard pressed to understand much of today's agenda-driven reporting.  Where do you reasonably draw the line between perception (that may be biased by one's background and experience) and desired outcome-based reporting?  Granted, much of it is money driven and the bottom line is that which is perceived to be what the audience wants to hear.

On one hand, I really appreciate the attention given to ham radio and the reporting of Field Day activities as a highlight of the year in our hobby.  On the other hand, I resent being collectively referred to as a bunch of old fogies who have outlived our usefulness.  Perhaps, however, some attention is better than none.  We have all winced a bit when we read articles that attempt to report about something that we are all quite familiar with, but when viewed through a less-knowlegeable eye..tend to get skewed a bit from the language with which we are comfortable.

My comments regarding our local coverage should not be construed as an attack on the reporter.  I just found it humorous, that the selection of the photo of my ancient equipment probably had more of a meaning to some of us than others.  

73,  Jack, W9GT

[The Slab Bacon]

Not being a journalist, I am hard pressed to understand much of today's agenda-driven reporting.  Where do you reasonably draw the line between perception (that may be biased by one's background and experience) and desired outcome-based reporting?  Granted, much of it is money driven and the bottom line is that which is perceived to be what the audience wants to hear.

that brings a story to mind from a few years back: Being a biker, I totally abhor being told that I have to wear a skid lid (helmet), or seat belts for that matter. Some years back a few local groups had gotten the current helmet law repealed for a short length of time, and the news media was having a free for all with it. (Yes one time it saved my life when my head hit the road so hard it broke the helmet) I would just like to have the freedom to make the choice myself.

One night we were watching the 6:00 news while eating supper and they had a long segment about a motorcycle wreck where a bike hit a semi head on and the rider was killed instantly and smooshed so badly that he was now part of the road's paving surface. They went on to report that noone could have survived that impact and steam rolling by the wheels of the semi. At the end the news anchor had to throw in for the last words "and he was not wearing a helmet" Like it would have really made ANY difference!! I immediatly erupted into a Teretts Syndrome cussing fit and threw my plate at the TV!!

                                                             the Slab Bacon

Biased, agenda driven reporting just does nothing but piss people off!! 

[KB2WIG]

Not being a journalist, I am hard pressed to understand much of today's agenda-driven reporting.

[ka3zlr]

Ask Burt he got the poop...

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Our local paper ran this bit on Sunday morning with a totally different slant. My take on the N&O piece was the portrayal of ham radio as an old, noisy hobby enjoyed by a dwindling bunch of us with grey hair and using 2-3 story antennas that aren't wanted as a result of suburbanization. :

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/06/27/553625/for-a-day-radio-reigns-again.html

Wife brought that article home with her yesterday, Dave. Guess they were set up down in Apex. Thought about going but between stuff to do here and the tone of that article, just as glad I didn't. The quote saying the gray heads "talk about their aging fan base and complain..." reminds me too much of the club I was a member of. HOAs, the internet, computers, cell phones, it's always someone or something else's fault that ham radio is where it is today. Gotta wonder how many of these gray haired guys are out there actively recruiting new blood through schools, scout troops, and so on.  

Jack, congrats on the photo making news - even if it took 4 years. Proves a point that I've argued for years, as Rodger points out above - nothing says 'radio' like the old gear. Too easy to confuse today's plug-n-play plastic boxes with a cable box or DVD player. No doubt explains why they chose a file photo instead of using something taken this weekend. Years ago when participating in something at a local mall called Community Awareness Day, it was the old gear without fail that drew the most attention.

So, regardless of when it was - good job!

[wb4iuy]

Jack, congrats on the photo making news <
snip>
So, regardless of when it was - good job!

Ditto!!