Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/05/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I think that the word "magic" about sums it up. I have maintained my license since I was 15. I sometimes don't operate for a year or two, but I always come back to it. I learned the hard way not to sell my equipment during the lulls. The internet is wonderful, and far more efficient than ham radio. But radio is indeed magic. There is something Romantic about casting one's thoughts to the "winds" (i.e. the ionosphere) and seeing where they land. New digital modes like PSK31 and its cousins allow someone with simple antennas and low power to reliably communicate globally and conversationally-- something previously limited to "big gun" stations or ace Morse Code operators. And then there's satellites. The thrill of hearing my own voice come back from 30 to 40,000 kms in space, with a 1/4 second delay--ranks up there with seeing my first wet print come up in a tray. Hearing someone with a thick foreign accent call me by name from thousands of miles away. Or admiring my first wide-open available light shot from a 50 DR Summicron, and realizing that I could do like HCB and Eisie. . . Ah, youthful memories. And yes, here's to understanding wives. de KD7MW - --Peter Gene wrote: > I think that the Internet offers "magic" to today's generation as > well. There's magic in most everything that you find interesting. I'm > not sure which held the most magic for me: seeing that first print > come up in the developer or tuning Radio Japan on the 3 tube > regenerative receiver that I built myself. In fact, I got my first > adjustable camera, a Kodak Pony 135, the same year I built the > receiver. Electronics and photography have been life long hobbies. > Over the years I've added some others that also require expensive > toys. Sure thankful for SWMBO who understands boys and their toys. - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html