Re-Visit

It seems to me we might want to look into returning to where we were before SWR, (BFG) was melded into Ham Radio. They are two different critters.

Rod's comments on this post are now solicited.
_jon

jon roewer said:

It seems to me we might want to look into returning to where we were before SWR, (BFG) was melded into Ham Radio. They are two different critters.

Rod's comments on this post are now solicited.
_jon

My preference is to focus mainly on amateur radio. However, since there is not an OM or YL out there that don't (or ain't) owned a general coverage receiver, there's no reason GCs can't be discussed, neither.

Y'all keep up the chatter here...hell...might even encourage me to buy a modern rig and get on the air again with somethin' more than the dadgummed Echolink.

QRZ?

jon roewer said:

It seems to me we might want to look into returning to where we were before SWR, (BFG) was melded into Ham Radio. They are two different critters.

Rod's comments on this post are now solicited.
_jon

As a non-Ham, I see essentially zero posts to this forum, either by SW listeners and/or Hams. Splitting it into two groups would just mean two forums with essentially zero posts...

Jon

How about just plain ol' Radio? Then you folks can explain how to handle an old Bearcat Scanner in a new era of frequency hopping.

Jon,
Sorry for the late reply, but I've been traveling for the past two weeks and was unable to respond. As moderator of this forum, I requested that Herb rename it for several reasons:

1. As a ham radio only forum, it was seeing almost zero traffic. If it had stayed that way, the forum probably would have been dropped during the recent purge of inactive forums.

2. Keeping track of the ads on the non-related (but still Astromart) Ham and Shortwave Radio classifieds, there were many more ads for GC receivers than ham radios (e.g. transmitters or transceivers). This implied to me at least, that there were a lot of SWL's and other radio enthusiasts in the amateur astronomy community who had no forum of their own. It seemed logical to invite that segment of the community, and perhaps do a bit of elmering in the process. Perhaps if some of the hams would start talking about their amateur radio experiences, some of the SWL's would be prompted to take the next step.

3. Two different critters? Maybe, if you want to split hairs. But my thought was to have a single place where all radio hobbyists could meet and exchange ideas. There's enough commonality that I think we can coexist. A recent thread on antennas is a good example, as was Jon Isaac's post about reviving a SW receiver.

4. What I'd really like to see is more talk about how the two hobbies relate...for instance, a mobile or portable ham radio station is a great way to spend the daylight hours at a star party, and a way to introduce new folks to amateur radio. Is anyone doing this, and if so, some photos of your equipment set-up would be great. Or maybe starting a new Full Moon Ham Radio HF Net to share astronomy ideas when the viewing is not optimal.

Finally, this forum will go where the membership takes it. If we start seeing a lot of ham radio only traffic, or a lot of SWL/scanner traffic, then maybe it would make sense to separate into two separate forums. It's up to you guys.

Thanks for the soapbox and 73,
Jim WD5BKO
Moderator

Stopping by the forum to say hello, albeit three weeks after the last post.

It is interesting the particular overlap in hobbies we often see. I pretty much put astronomy aside (for the time being) after my move to the Atlanta area in 2003 and spent the last couple of years fulfilling another lifelong interest I could not afford to pursue until recently by earning a private pilot's license. (It's amazing how everything else seems cheap now, including astronomy!)

I still stop by the forums occasionally and browse the classifieds a bit, dream about what I might get that would be worth even bothering with from my LP-hell yard in suburbia, and what I might get if I someday move farther from town. (But I'm already 25 miles from my job, made a tolerable commute only by the fact I work nights 4x10.)

It is interesting how many hams and astronomers I've run into on pilot forums, too. In all its forms and in all ways, I've always loved the sky, and always had a scientific and technical curiosity about most everything. The latter isn't necessarily true of most pilots or most hams and maybe not even most astronomers, but the ones it is most true of tend to really get into their pursuits and, I think, are more likely to visit online forums.

I've met great people in all three. I've met really, um, unpleasant people that I'd rather have not met in...well, two of the three. I've not met any really objectionable astronomers, but then I've met far fewer of them in total, though I was a member of a club back in TN.

I guess that's a rambling way to say little, and certainly doesn't address the combination of forums of SWR and ham radio (makes sense, though, considering how sparse the activity is) but the discussion of the kinds of people interested in each paralleled a lot of what I've long thought.

73,
WD4IGX