Dear Friend,
If you listened to the last 266 episodes of QSO Today, then you know that I am pretty "gung ho" on amateur radio. So I am careful not to criticize our hobby and its practitioners. I have my opinions and often write the drafts of messages that I never send. For me, as a technology hound, we are in the "golden age" of ham radio. Operating practices of other hams I often ignore or don't notice.
Burt Fisher, K1OIK, posted a YouTube video in 2008, critical of ham radio operators and operating practices, especially on HF QSOs and contests. He makes some observations about us hams as well, then in later videos clarifies his comments. As of this writing, Burt's video has over 338 thousand downloads on You-Tube.
I discovered Burt on QRZ. After seeing the video for the first time and following some of his QRZ discussions, I thought that Burt's ham radio story and his critical voice was a good way to reflect on both what we like in our hobby, and perhaps what we can do to make it better.
I like getting out of my comfort zone every once in a while by engaging with people whose views differ from my own. The conversation sharpens my critical thinking skills. Often, I find that even with our differences, we still have more in common that we both thought. This seemed to be true after hearing Burt's story in this QSO Today.
Thanks for listening.
73, Eric 4Z1UG |
