A few days ago a local ham and I were discussing QsoNet (qsonet.com)
and its effect on the future of ham radio. My posting on QsoNet in this
newsgroup generated some interesting feedback.

There is no doubt that VoIP is having a big impact on ham radio. Early
programs like IRLP were beneficial in linking repeaters and provided a
cost-effective alternative to satellite, land-line or UHF connections.
Next generation programs like Echolink and eQSO have RF connection
capability but also allow PC based users to interconnect PC-PC, (a free
telephone alternative). To me these programs appear to be the same as
IRC, Messenger and all the other PC based VoIP software.

Then along comes Skype. People are signing up in droves and it is now
owned by eBay. Recently I heard some hams on the local repeater talk
about their Skype calls to other hams. The comment was that it was
better than HF without all the noise, fading and interference. On one
occasion they left the repeater for Skype in order to finish their QSO
because it was more private.

I do not run Skype on my machine but my friend showed me the directory,
listing all the hams (using their callsign as ID) that had signed up.
I was a bit surprised to see how many fellow hams were now using this
program.

My question to those of you reading this newsgroup is as follows:
Talking around the world is now free, easy and noise free. Do you
think Skype and programs like it (QsoNet, PC Echolink) are contributing
to the demise of amateur radio? Is the mystery or mystique of radio
communications evaporating due to these programs and "out-of-the-box"
radios.

I think this is the future and I don't like it!!

Roger - a "relic" ham

sailtamarack wrote ...
My question to those of you reading this newsgroup is as follows:
Talking around the world is now free, easy and noise free. Do you
think Skype and programs like it (QsoNet, PC Echolink) are
contributing
to the demise of amateur radio? Is the mystery or mystique of radio
communications evaporating due to these programs and "out-of-the-box"
radios.

I think this is the future and I don't like it!!


"demise of amateur radio"? Perhaps it depends on how we
define "amateur radio". If it is simply a way to communicate
with others, I think you may be right. OTOH, people who have
been though disasters that destroyed "conventional" communication
channels know that anything dependent on the internet (whether
landline-based, or even satellite-based which are still depenent
on terrestial terminal facilities) is completely unreliable except
under ideal circumstances. I fear that as hams are attracted to
this shiny new, easy, "free" mode of communications, our
ability to use "old-fashioned" point-to-point RF (by whatever
mode) will atrophy.