Mike Coslo wrote:
Dee Flint wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
John Smith wrote:
Dee:

[snip]

"Dee Flint" wrote in message
...

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
...



[snip]


So what you really needed was exposure - publicity - examples - demos.

Were you attracted to amateur radio because it was like the internet,
or because it was something very different?

Yes I needed to know what it was all about before developing an interest in
radio for it's own sake. The Novice/Tech class I took along with my husband at the time filled that role.

"Radio for its own sake" - that's the key to amateur radio. If
someone is turned on by that, they may want to be a ham. If not,
it's highly doubtful.

I have to note that in an earlier post where you disagreed
with me
about a person "knowing" they wanted to be a ham,
after reading this, I
have to agree that the things that I most enjoy now
are nothing like
what I thought I wanted to do when first becoming a ham.

Which of course is a powerful argument for
keeping the Morse code test.

Exactly.

When I first got started with a shortwave receiver (homemade),
I was attracted to ham radio by the folks on 75 meter AM. I
wanted to join them, so I set about getting a license.

In those days, that meant at least a General Class license,
so I set about learning the code and theory, and setting up
a station. Got the Novice at age 13 in 1967 and went on the
air with Morse Code.

Now originally the plan was to use Morse Code on the air until
I could get the General. But a funny thing happened on the way -
I discovered how much fun Morse Code was, and how much could be
done with very simple equipment using Morse Code. And it became my
favorite mode.

Once I had some basic knowledge about ham radio, I was
attracted by the fact
that it was NOT like the internet. What attracted me
was that I could talk
around the world with NO INFRASTRUCTURE. That
communications was totally
dependent on me and my skills and my knowledge of
propagation once I had the
basic radio and antenna. Here I, just an average citizen,
could put a radio
signal around the world and even beyond if I wanted to
pursue it.

That's the hook for me, too. Plus doing it with equipment I
designed and built myself.

If it had been like the internet, I'd probably have lost
interest.

Although I use the Internet a lot (probably waay too much) I
love Ham
radio precisely because it ISN'T the Internet.

Same here.

The big difference is that the 'net is a means to an end. Ham radio is
an end in itself.

73 de Jim, N2EY