If you have the money and obsessive qualities to turn your hobby into a way of life, that's all fine.
For the rest of us, there's a recession bordering on depression going on, and life is hard.
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| JT65 (or JT9): the way to easy DX with simple equipment. |
Of late, I've really taken to the digimodes. It's never as satisfying as actually talking to someone, but if offers a nice way to keep on operating when the kids are asleep, and shouting down the mic is out of the question.
So digimodes really ought to be the way in which we attract new entrants into the hobby. And, boy, do we need them! The attraction of computers and radios linked together is clear.
But the real point of my ramblings tonight are this: with digimodes able to happily work with signals down to -28 or lower, anyone with the ability to attach a matched wire to a transceiver can now operate global DX on low power.
For example, I've a folded 'pyramid', originally a WSPT test unit, that is no more than 4m high, and takes up the space of a very, very small garden. It is fed by twin line to a homebrew 4:1 current balun. It has a fairly high SWR of about 3, but that is of little importance with twin, as matching losses are miniscule.
Whilst is is not the best antenna in the world in terms of absolute signal, it can get a pretty decent signal out. Attached to JT65 running on a laptop, it's easily capable of getting a signal across the world with plenty of perseverance and informed operating (grey line, long path, etc.)
So, let's not forget in our discussions about which $3000, 7-element beam might be best put on top of a $10,000, 100 foot tower that none of that is, today, necessary to enjoy global DX.
If we got that message out to youngsters, maybe we wouldn't be seeing the logarithmic decline in the number of people participating in the great hobby of amateur radio.
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