CQ solicitation letter

[Opcom]

CQ sent me a letter asking me to subscribe. The first 3 paragraphs are to pump up the reader so I skipped it. Then I looked on the back and it had a lot of CQ contests and awards. I don't mess around with those things so I looked on the front again.

Ok, there it says "That's Amateur radio. CW, SSB, RTTY, QRP, OSCAR, FM, APRS."

oops. But never fear, hams who use those modes have earned the right to call themselves Hams with a capital H.

Anyway, on the front it also said I could try CQ without risking a penny, but later on the next page (inside), right after it says how bright Hams are, it says CQ will 'refund the unused amount". That is much more than a penny at risk.

That reminded me of Mr. Haney on Green Acres telling Mr. Douglas that a smart feller like him can surely see the value in a product that did everything except what Mr. Douglas wanted.

I'm not convinced I'd like to risk it. Might be OK for bright Hams with the capital H, may they shine at night for all to read by.

A little humor is always good for the soul.

[WA3VJB]

OK, so I'm not a HAM as an acronym or even a capital H.

Our part of the hobby is not among 65 Great things in HAM radio.

I am especially not part of TEP, chordal hops, etc.

What does that make me ?

65 Great Things About Ham Radio

Five years ago, on CQ's 60th anniversary, we ran a feature throughout the year titled "60 Great Things About Ham Radio," in which we listed five "great things" each month. The series was quite popular and we have continued to receive requests to reprint it. So now, in honor of our 65th anniversary, we're repeating the list—with a few updates as well as five more "Great Things About Ham Radio."

1. It works when nothing else does
2. It makes you part of a worldwide community
3. The opportunity to help neighbors by providing public service and emergency communications
4. Some of the nicest people you'll ever meet
5. Some of the smartest people you'll ever meet
6. Some of the most interesting people you'll ever meet
7. Some of the most generous people you'll ever meet (along with some of the cheapest!)
8. Lifelong friendships
9. Friends around the world (including those you haven't met yet)
10. The opportunity to go interesting places you might not otherwise go to
11. The opportunity to do interesting things you might not otherwise get to do
12. The opportunity to expand your knowledge of geography
13. The opportunity to expand your knowledge of earth and space science
14. Practical uses for high school math
15. Practical uses for high school physics
16. A good way to practice a foreign language
17. A good way to keep in touch with faraway friends and relatives
18. A good way to get driving directions when visiting someplace
new (with or without GPS)
19. A good way to find the best places to eat when visiting someplace new (with or without GPS)
20. Finding "non-touristy" off-the-beaten-path places to stay, eat, visit, etc.
21. A good way to learn about virtually any topic
22. A good way to bridge the generation gap
23. A good way to keep tabs on elderly/infirm people
24. People named Joe (Walsh, Rudi, Taylor)
25. How many of your non-ham friends have actually talked
to someone in some remote place such as Cape Verde or the Seychelles?
26. How many of your non-ham friends might have talked to an astronaut aboard the space station?
27. How many of your non-ham neighbors might have a satellite uplink station in their basements—or in the palms of their hands?
28. How many of your non-ham neighbors might have a TV studio in their garage?
29. What other hobby group has designed, built, and had launched its own fleet of communication satellites?
30. Where else can you play with meteors?
31. Moonbounce
32. Informal way to improve technical skills
33. Informal way to improve communication skills
34. Introduces a variety of career paths
35. Offers unparalleled opportunities for career networking
36. Opportunities for competition in contesting and foxhunting
37. A good way to collect really cool postcards from around the world (despite the growth of electronic confirmations)
38. Nearly endless variety of different things to do, on and off the air
39. Hamfests
40. Dayton
41. Field Day
42. Working DX
43. Being DX
44. DXpeditions
45. Contesting
46. Award-chasing
47. Double-hop sporadic-E
48. Worldwide DX on 6 meters (once or twice every 11 years)
49. Tropospheric ducting
50. Gray-line propagation
51. TEP, chordal hops, etc.
52. Getting through on CW when nothing else will
53. Unexpected band openings
54. Building your own gear
55. Using gear you've built yourself
56. Operating QRP from some remote location
57. Experimenting with antennas
58. Working DX while mobile or while hiking
59. Experimenting with new modes and new technology
60. The opportunity to help build an internet that doesn't rely on the internet
61. DXing on your HT via IRLP and Echolink
62. Contributing to scientific knowledge about propagation
63. Keeping track of other people's GPS units via APRS
64. Ham radio balloon launches to the edge of space, and as always...
65. Reading CQ!
Permission is hereby granted to reprint this list in amateur radio club newsletters, provided credit is given to CQ magazine. Online editions must include a link to the CQ website, http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com.

[KA3EKH]

I did a lot of those things and now somehow feel worse for being part of their list. What ever happened to doing something just because you want to? Why do I keep getting the feeling that every time I turn around I’m getting this emergency and public service stuff pushed on me like I have to do this in order to justify having a license? Don’t get me wrong, if you want to do all that sort of vest wearing or emergency traffic net stuff that’s cool, go ahead and do it but no one ever asked me to do anything to justify holding a motorcycle license or registration for a boat. Imagine I am just an anti-social narrow minded whatever, and definitely not item number 4, 5 and 6.

[K7EDL]

I did a lot of those things and now somehow feel worse for being part of their list. What ever happened to doing something just because you want to? Why do I keep getting the feeling that every time I turn around I’m getting this emergency and public service stuff pushed on me like I have to do this in order to justify having a license? Don’t get me wrong, if you want to do all that sort of vest wearing or emergency traffic net stuff that’s cool, go ahead and do it but no one ever asked me to do anything to justify holding a motorcycle license or registration for a boat. Imagine I am just an anti-social narrow minded whatever, and definitely not item number 4, 5 and 6.

The Emergency and public service stuff is the only reason we have any spectrum, it is the point of Ham Radio and all other activities are practice for this.  I can understand that sometimes the focus is the guys in vests but I am sure that your prepared to use your gear to assist in times of emergency, If your neighbor needed an ambulance and all other communications were out you would be right there doing your best to see that the need was met. If you heard a mayday call you would be on the phone geting them help. So enjoy the hobby but realize that with out the emergency stuff our radios would be on the shelf and our frequencies would be used by cell phones, garage openers and taxi drivers.

73
Eric

[W7TFO]

The Emergency and public service stuff is the only reason we have any spectrum, it is the point of Ham Radio and all other activities are practice for this. 
73
Eric

Izzat so?

73DG

[WA3VJB]

Hi Eric,

Two points I would respectfully debate with you, where you say:


(1) "The Emergency and public service stuff is the only reason we have any spectrum, it is the point of Ham Radio and all other activities are practice for this."

(2) "... with out the emergency stuff our radios would be on the shelf and our frequencies would be used by cell phones, garage openers and taxi drivers.


I have never seen these mandates in the regulatory structure of the FCC.  That's really the only authority to whom we must answer.  If you wish to speculate that perhaps our allocations could someday be at risk if we fail to show some arbitrary level of emergency presence, well, okay, that carries a lower level of face value with me.

But I cannot find a basis to assert that if we don't include "emcomm," our hobby goes away.  That's a stark conclusion, and I'm open to seeing some proof.

Emergency communications is important to our hobby and can help create a technically proficient operator who knows how to handle unexpected environments.  That's good stuff, and I've helped stage a significant number of self-contained HF stations under some very challenging circumstances.

I choose to include such activity among my interests in the hobby.  I don't have to, and neither does anyone else.

-pc-


VJB Radio -- your TEP and Chordal Hops, etc., wanna-be station

[KA3EKH]

I would do what I can to help, will go out of my way to assist someone install a radio in a car or truck so they can do things like storm warnings and the like and I feel no ill will and in no way want to belittle what they are doing. It just when I see something like this CQ list of what they perceive to be the 65 best things about being a “Ham” just can’t resist taking a swipe at it. It’s a broad hobby and different aspects appeal to different people. I have been licensed for around forty years or so, starting as a Tech + because I never been able to squeak past five words per minute. If the FCC did not remove the requirement for CW above 5 WPM I would still be a Tech+ so imagine don’t do to well on #52, maybe I am just spouting off about what their list perceives to be the ideal Ham? Or in some way the essence of Ham radio or perhaps I just have too much free time and should be doing something constructive instead of ranting about this. Then again it is interesting to see others response and enjoy the diversity of opinions on this subject. My only hope is that we can remain respectful of all opinions and view point in discussing such matters.

[K7EDL]

I have been known to stir things up a bit when board.

97.1 Basis and purpose.-
The rules and regulations in this Part are designed to provide an amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the following principles:

(a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.

(b) Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art.

(c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules which provide for advancing skills in both the communications and technical phases of the art.

(d) Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts.

(e) Continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill.


Just my opinion but I don't think that our enhancing international goodwill is going to keep our frequencies.  I also don't believe that Ham operators are on the cutting edge of technology anymore.  So I stand my earlier statement about Emergency communications. I don't own the vest or live and die for emcom nets but I do believe that with out it we would not have the political pull to keep our frequencies.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Just my opinion but I don't think that our enhancing international goodwill is going to keep our frequencies. 

Sure it will. The USA only has one vote at ITU and IARU meetings. If we piss off all the international members we'll never get any changes or additions we might want.

I also don't believe that Ham operators are on the cutting edge of technology anymore. 

Were we ever? Seems like mostly we grab commercial or military type developments and just scale them down for amateur use so we're always somewhat behind.

So I stand my earlier statement about Emergency communications. I don't own the vest or live and die for emcom nets but I do believe that with out it we would not have the political pull to keep our frequencies.

I doubt there's any on going political pull to keep our HF frequencies. If the government really needed some slice of amateur frequencies, we would probably lose them no matter how we danced.



One could also hang two or three HT's from their belt the next time they go food or mall shopping to get that simulated emergency drill experience. People around you will feel warm and fuzzy that you're there to save the world.

[Opcom]

It does not prejudice me what activities another hobbyist or emergency activist pursues (or not) unless there's some kind of interference. I don't worry about lists: Its not a BOM bt it must reflect the interest of the readers.

That's a huge list of Great Things. There are many more things that are great about ham radio but I get the limiting theme of time.

I will always have irreverent fun with marketing contradictions no matter where they come from. QST will be made fun of as quickly if I see something silly.

Electric Radio, delivered here regularly, is more along the lines of what I prefer but it cost even more, and could have more pages or include a few more construction articles. The electric part of the radio hobby is smaller than many, and so's its rag.

The Greatest Things in ham radio for me, aside from play, have been those few that required uptime and serve the most critical needs. I found that fulfilled in the state guard during hurricanes where civilian and military nets have lasted as long as 3-4 weeks.

I haven't liked the emergency comms operations in civilian-only scenarios very much. Too many egos.

The whole purpose for ham radio in emergencies is not to put the focus on the ham radio presence, but to use the ham radio as a tool to transparently carry out the mission.

[Steve - K4HX]

That's one of five items - hardly the "only reason for our spectrum.   

I have been known to stir things up a bit when board.

97.1 Basis and purpose.-
The rules and regulations in this Part are designed to provide an amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the following principles:

(a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.

(b) Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art.

(c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules which provide for advancing skills in both the communications and technical phases of the art.

(d) Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts.

(e) Continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill.


Just my opinion but I don't think that our enhancing international goodwill is going to keep our frequencies.  I also don't believe that Ham operators are on the cutting edge of technology anymore.  So I stand my earlier statement about Emergency communications. I don't own the vest or live and die for emcom nets but I do believe that with out it we would not have the political pull to keep our frequencies.

[K3ZS]

In my generation (50+ years in ham radio), many of the people in the military and industry behind many of the technical developments got their interest from ham radio.

[K7EDL]

Of the five, I believe that 1 and 5 are still valid.  emergency communications and enhance international goodwill. 234 are in my opinion no longer valid or only valid at so low a level to be irrelevant.  We are not cutting edge, we can't work on modern technology anymore. (its designed to be thrown away) The need for commercial Radio operators etc is so low as to be almost non-existent.  When that part of 97 was written we were on top of the game but time and technology has passed us by.  Look at the cell phone, a 1/2 watt radio carried by most of our country that can reach anywhere in the world via repeaters. Any of you able to work on your cell phone? done any mods to it lately? were behind an not going to catch up, ever.

Look at what the Feds did to TV, in the name of making things better (IE making more money but cramming more stations into the same amount of spectrum) they went digital. In doing so they forced a large section of the country IE small town America into buying cable of satellite coverage if they want TV.  Ham radio is a wonderful hobby but if the worlds governments found it to be not profitable or of little worth they would start stripping our spectrum and using it towards making money for the government. About the only worth they see in us is when things go bad were there.

I am not saying that we all need to buy the orange vest, I am saying that we need to recognize where our bread is buttered. Enjoy the hobby, its so big there is something for everyone, but keep in mind that emergency communications is why were still around.


73
Eric

[WA3VJB]

Eric,

I'm reluctant to get into a loop with you here, but you again say "emergency communications is why we're still around."

Let me put it this way.

Have you ever seen a direct threat to the hobby that was thwarted ONLY because of our history of emergency communications? That's what I get from your conclusion, now twice asserted.

I question your conclusion because emergency communications is only one, localized, occasional part of the hobby.  It's important when it needs to be, but it's quite contained.

In my opinion, the Amateur Service draws enough active, concerned licensees because of a wide range of activities we enjoy. We happen to be around when there's a temporary disruption, because we get to do all these other things as a hobby, most of the time.

So, despite what sounds like your singular basis for our existence, I hope you may not actually think the category of "emcomm" can sustain the hobby on its own.

It cannot, nor is it expected to by regulators, politicians and national organizations that may represent us.

[KB2WIG]

Emergency communications ARE a large part HAM radio.
We all should be prepared. I know I AM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7STpi1J5olE&feature=player_embedded


http://www.maxarmory.com/index.php?p=product&id=641&parent=0

klc

[WA3VJB]

No one here has diminished its importance.
Okay, maybe the cracks about orange vests.
(and I like the lights and switches in that YouTube vid you posted!)

What I'm puzzled by is proportion.

Eric puts more emphasis on it than warranted, in my opinion, suggesting the fate of the hobby rests on it alone.

My question is show me how.

[K7EDL]

Just beceause we haven't started loosing frequencies yet doesn't mean it will not happen. (worked 11 meters lately?) 

From my observations, when we get positive press it is about emergency communications, when we ask for something it is based on emergency communications (60 meters anyone?) when the ARRL puts out recruiting posters/video/dvd it is largely about emergency communication.

We are of such an insignificant percentage of  the people in the US. (about .02%) We have approximately 700,000  Hams in the US. (for comparison the NRA has about 4,000,000 members with who knows how many other gun owners who aren't NRA members. ) 
In my opinion if we stopped Emergency communications we would loose what little political power we have and sooner or later would start loosing frequencies to other uses.

We need to continue to put emergency communications into the spotlight beceause that is the one part of our hobby that non-Hams see being beneficial to there lives and this is why qst, arrl etc place it in such high standing. With out it we're perceived as just a bunch of slightly strange people who play with ancient technology in our basements and that perception isn't going to keep our hobby going, especially if someone can make a buck by using our frequencies for something else. 

This conversation has been great


73
Eric

[KM1H]

Even when I was an active contester I didnt take CQ. Their tech articles are on a par with 73, at least the ones I skim thru at the local HRO.

ER means well but some of the "inside" guys who publish a lot should read more books. Its also rare that errors get corrected or comments published and the forum is almost dead.

[WA3VJB]

We need to continue to put emergency communications into the spotlight because that is the one part of our hobby that non-Hams see being beneficial to there lives and this is why qst, arrl etc place it in such high standing. With out it we're perceived as just a bunch of slightly strange people ...

This conversation has been great

73
Eric

I'm with you now, Eric. 

I totallly agree that "EmComm," as a category, is an easy-to-grasp concept for outsiders to consider.  So yes, it's a good marketing tool, public relations device, and a buffer against regulations that could cramp our style.

But I don't know how much image-polishing power it has, given the "whacker" mentality that really seems prominent.

And, as recently as 2004, TIME magazine was calling us faintly embarrassing.

 “Before this year, blogs were a curiosity, a cult phenomenon, a faintly embarrassing hobby on the order of ham radio and stamp collecting. But in 2004, blogs unexpectedly vaulted into the pantheon of major media, alongside TV, radio and, yes, magazines, and it was Power Line, more than any other blog, that got them there,” writes TIME’s Lev Grossman.

What's funny for myself is that I just thought of this quote the past few days when I saw former Bush aide John Sununu out and around the TV circuit making some point or other.  You may recall he caught all kinds of grief for taking a White House limo to a philatelic convention at taxpayer expense.

I said, faintly embarrassing, indeed.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Even when I was an active contester I didnt take CQ. Their tech articles are on a par with 73, at least the ones I skim thru at the local HRO.

ER means well but some of the "inside" guys who publish a lot should read more books. Its also rare that errors get corrected or comments published and the forum is almost dead.

I've been receiving CQ since the 80's. I enjoy reading through the mag. each month. Also like CQ-VHF.

ER forum is gone.

[Opcom]

We do invent new technology.

The reason people may not see hams as contributing to new electronics inventions is that microfabrication technology is become the standard for electronics development and many other widgets, and a table full of textbooks would only begin to explain it.

That makes people believe that it's impossible to invent things themselves. Same goes for software, and the math behind signal processing methods. It's all become very high any more and people think they can't do it.

Invention is not from inundation with stodgy details, but the ability to think of weird things that do something good, and then communicate the idea to a modern implementation. I have 9 or 10 inventions. Two were good enough for patents. Neither of them are earth-shaking and no one has heard about them or really cares. There is no place to put one's call sign on a patent document. The perception is that hams don't invent but that's wrong.

Was it a ham who invented or contributed to the invention of spread spectrum and SDR and that Winlink modem product? I think hams had something to do with those. I won't be blamed if most hams do not persevere, or are unimaginative or, apathetically watch the continual stream of inventions march to the shelves until some new gew-gaw piques their interest.


We do work on modern technology.
I hacked my previous cellphone so the mike and camera could be disabled in hardware by inserting a plug into the headset jack and also added a switch to disconnect the battery. It was ugly and not trivial but simple things like this can be done with care, a microscope, and some tools. Mostly a steady hand and lots of patience. I don't do software so there is little other 'cellphone hacking' to be done on my part.


"ER means well but some of the "inside" guys who publish a lot should read more books. "

That is the humor in all magazines. Remember the fun that was poked at the guy for parotting some incorrect data on the 3-500Z filament situation?

[k4kyv]

CQ sent me a letter asking me to subscribe... Ok, there it says "That's Amateur radio. CW, SSB, RTTY, QRP, OSCAR, FM, APRS."

oops. But never fear, hams who use those modes have earned the right to call themselves Hams with a capital H.

As is typical of all web forums, radio related or otherwise, this thread quickly veered away from the point of the original post.

The point of the original post was NOT the virtues of Emcomm, the basis and purpose of amateur radio or the great things about ham radio (or Ham radio or HAM  radio).  The point was the solicitation letter sent out by CQ Magazine:

"That's Amateur radio. CW, SSB, RTTY, QRP, OSCAR, FM, APRS."

You will notice that in the list of facets of amateur radio they totally ignored AM. This takes us back to the 70s and early 80s when ALL the mainstream amateur radio publications (QST, CQ, 73 and Ham Radio) actively denied the existence of AM, except for occasional snide remarks about its obsolescence and/or impending death, despite the fact that there was a viable and growing AM community and that AM could be heard continent-wide on the lower amateur frequency bands nightly.

I  have not received a solicitation letter, but if I do, I plan to send them a reply stating that their letter confirms that I will NOT consider re-subscribing to CQ for the very reason that they left out AM as one of the modes "That's amateur radio", but included modes that, according to a recent survey, enjoy less interest within the greater amateur community than does AM (specifically, RTTY).

I would suggest that all AMers who do not already subscribe to CQ but who received one of those solicitation letters immediately send similar message to CQ.  Remember Ten-Tec's derisive comment about AM in one of their newsletters back in the 1980s generated so much unflattering mail that they soon dropped their anti-AM policy and before long began to include the AM mode on their HF transceivers?  

[Pete, WA2CWA]

"That's Amateur radio. CW, SSB, RTTY, QRP, OSCAR, FM, APRS."

You will notice that in the list of facets of amateur radio they totally ignored AM. This takes us back to the 70s and early 80s when ALL the mainstream amateur radio publications (QST, CQ, 73 and Ham Radio) actively denied the existence of AM, except for occasional snide remarks about its obsolescence and/or impending death, despite the fact that there was a viable and growing AM community and that AM could be heard continent-wide on the lower amateur frequency bands nightly.

I  have not received a solicitation letter, but if I do, I plan to send them a reply stating that their letter confirms that I will NOT consider re-subscribing to CQ for the very reason that they left out AM as one of the modes "That's amateur radio", but included modes that, according to a recent survey, enjoy less interest within the greater amateur community than does AM (specifically, RTTY).

Gee, they also forgot to mention PSK31, WSJT, WSPR, JT-65, QRSS, and a host of others. If you listen around the bands you often wonder where all these "active" AM'ers are operating. That "AM resurgence" that some have touted years ago, I believe, has passed. Many that pressed that AM button on their multi-mode rigs for the first or second time have moved on to press other buttons.

I'm not sure what survey you're referring to, but the various RTTY contests each year draws thousands of participants from around the world. Considering the amount of activity I hear during these contests, there seems to be quite an interest even though it might be only short term durations throughout the year. Remember RTTY of today isn't only your old "clank clank" machines.

While AM can be cool and fun, there are lots of other modes and activities that are just as much fun and just as interesting. Not mentioning AM in some blurb isn't high on my list of worry pondering. Life's too short.

[WA3VJB]

It's more than a resurgence.

As you pointed out -- AM is a button on the front panel of most contemporary radios.
That testifies to its permanence & prominence.

It's not for the clock.

I haven't found buttons for TEP and Chordal Hop, yet they're on someone's list ?

[Opcom]

Those are DX mechanisms. Maybe the button is on the leenyar, but it looks more like a pair of knobs to me than a button.