My current thoughts on Amateur Radio

Ham Radio. Love it or leave it?

That’s the dillema I am facing right now. I’ve been licensed since 1994 and recently just got active again a few years ago.

Boy how things have changed from what I remember.

A quick clarification. I never really wanted to go “inactive”, but life and work responsibilities prevented me from being “active” so I can honestly say that I have not felt the way I do now about my future as a ham radio operator/enthusiast.

A little background about me. I’m 33 years old, married to a wonderful wife whom is very supporting of all my hobbies, and have a great paying job as a switch technician for a well known wireless carrier that I’ve held for the last 10 years. Work does keep me pretty busy, but it is slow sometimes so I get to do things I enjoy in my spare time.

But one of the things I’m not doing here lately is Amateur Radio.

My wife and I bought our first house ever back in April of this year. I had grand visions of putting up a sizeable tower, complete with antennas to match to enjoy my beloved hobby to the fullest. My wife was even fully supportive of the idea.

After thinking about it, I’ve come to to some conclusions.

First off, why does ham radio have to be so expensive!!??? A 30ft tower properly installed will cost me $1k or more, a decent beam antenna anywhere from $500-$1k, a rotor from $500 and up, and then there’s the price of coax. Not to mention the insurance liability and the potential for making my neighbors mad at me (not that it matters, but we still need to peacefully co-exist), and then any station accessories and about another $3k for a decent radio.

Yes, I know there are cheaper alternatives, used equipment etc, but I’ve always been a stickler for buying something new if I can afford to, I’ve had bad experiences in the past with used equipment.

So the tower was out of the question, at least for right now. When I was at my previous residence, I had a 40m dipole that ran through a tuner and I was able to work stations pretty much all over the USA and parts of Europe on an Icom 706MKIIG using PSK-31 and about 40 watts.

While fun, the more and more I think about it, I say to myself why bother? On a daily basis I carry the following items in a backpack:

  • Macbook
  • USB EVDO Modem
  • Blackberry
  • iPod touch
  • Digital SLR camera

With these items, I can communicate to anyone at any time, anywhere in the world. I use my iPod to listen to music, browse the web, update my social networking sites, my blog, etc etc. My Blackberry keeps tabs on my email, and I’m able to get online anywhere I am using my EVDO modem. I carry my camera to take pictures of events I may be experiencing in my daily life, and besides, you never know when you need a camera.

My point in all this, has the time come for Amateur Radio to reach dinosaur status?

When I’m at home, my time is never spent spinning a VFO dial, or building a circuit. I’m usually playing a video game, listening to music, or browsing the web.

I’ve thought about leaving it before, but for whatever reason I still stick around…. Perhaps it’s in my blood?

I dunno….