APPLES AND ORANGES

Apples and oranges are both fruit, but we all know they are not the same. Email, telephone, and amateur radio are all methods of communication, but they are not the same thing.

Over my time as a Radio Op, I have observed something that - IMHO - needs to be considered. I have never quite understood the frequent comparison of amateur radio communication, particularly Radiograms, to telephone and e-mail. To do so, in my mind, is an apple / oranges comparison. This can be demonstrated on several levels.

First of all, amateur radio is regulated. I will never get a Radiogram with an offer to purchase a product that promises to make me into a 25 year old stud! I will never receive a Radiogram that needs my credit card information in order to update my account. The content of email is basically unregulated; Radiogram content has boundaries.

Secondly, there is no test given for those wishing to participate in email or telephone communications. There is no study required. Not so with amateur radio. Furthermore, those that pass the Ham test are given a “call sign” which identifies them to one and all. There is no anonymity in amateur radio. Wouldn’t it be nice if email communicators would have to “identify” themselves? Imagine how email communications and telephone solicitations would change if every user’s home address was published.

Thirdly, and on this account it may necessary for us to disagree agreeably, while there may be some strange Hams out there… there are no strangers. We are all part of a huge club… a fraternity, if you will, that includes active operators, inactive, even SK’s. If you have a “call sign” you are no stranger to me; you are simply a friend I have yet to meet. It is impossible for me to receive a Radiogram from a stranger, third party originations notwithstanding; they are to me a fellow Ham. Likewise, it is impossible for me to send a Radiogram to a stranger…

If I send a Radiogram, to which I am hoping to receive a response from an Operator whom I do not know… How is that any different than me calling, “CQ, CQ. Any station, anywhere… Michigan QSO party, KD8LZB.” It seems as though we acknowledge one form of request for a response as permissible, yet consider the other illegitimate. I, for one, think that the time for “Radiogram Contesting” has come.

Lastly, there is a discipline and a courtesy that generally guides amateur radio communications. Only rarely do things get ugly. And serious offenders may very well have their privileges revoked. Certainly, that cannot be said for other forms of communication.

We all do a disservice to our hobby if we allow these comparisons to continue. It is a disrespect to the hard work and study that is required to be a Ham. It should offend us all to be put in the box of unregulated, undisciplined, fraudulent, and unscrupulous slime that is called e-mail / spam and telephone solicitations.

TRAFFIC "HANDLING" IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Handling Radiogram traffic is fun. However, let this be a warning: Sending, relaying, and receiving Radiograms can be addictive.

For many amateur radio operators, receiving and passing Radiograms on the National Traffic System is an enjoyable part of being a licensed radio operator. As I have noted before, and I am sure you are already aware, there are many ways for a licensee to enjoy our hobby. And, certainly each Op has the freedom to explore the many facets of this jewel in order to find that which most suits his or her individual tastes. But, for me, Radiograms have become my radio consort.

I must confess that I am now addicted… Not just to traffic handling... Oh no... I have become a QRNancy junkie. I am addicted to trying to receive radiograms at times of 20 over 9 static. I love it. I can’t get enough of it. Let others pass traffic when conditions are clear, but please let me do so when conditions get bad… really bad. I find myself enjoying the hobby most when I am setting at my radio desk with headphones on, eyes closed, my pen resting on a fresh legal pad ready to scribble the barely discernible fragments of a distant voice… concentrating… lost in the world of invisible movements of sound through the atmosphere. It is for me, radio heaven. There is for me a sweet sense of victory when I am able to recognize a distant voice… to be able to distinguish the broken phonetic letters… to decipher the message. I feel as though I have beaten the radio demons when I can respond with, “QSL. I roger message number… !” Yes, indeed; passing and (even more so for me, receiving) radiogram traffic is both fun and personally rewarding.

But… Why is there always a butt!? I have to own up to the fact that, if I am always a taker and never a giver, then I am a selfish lover… I am a participant in a one-way relationship. If my only contribution to the NTS is as a receiving/relay station, then I have failed in my fair part of the relationship. The NTS cannot survive unless stations are willing to be givers/senders. I must be willing to accept my equal responsibility to put something into the system, if I desire for the same to survive.

It would be an interesting statistic to determine what percentage of the daily traffic volume is sent by… let’s say… the top 20 sending stations nationwide. What percentage of traffic is sent by the top 50 sending stations nationwide? My guess is that those figures would be shocking.

I am making it my personal goal to not be just a promoter of simply traffic handling; but rather, a promoter of traffic sending. It has been my observation that there are more than enough handlers in the NTS… senders, on the other hand, are a scarce commodity. We must promote sending… None of us can expect the NTS to remain healthy, if we are takers only and never givers.

Imagine how much traffic could be generated if every Ham Grandparent were to send original birthday greetings to their grandchildren. Imagine how many graduates would enjoy receiving a Congratulations Radiogram from a friend. There are endless opportunities for every Ham to send Radiograms throughout the year. Why not send a Radiogram today?