LHS Episode #050: Ham Radio is Dead

by Black Sparrow Media Episode #50 Duration: 01:34:28

As I was roaming around the Intertubes, I came across an article at AmateurRadio.com written by Jeff, KE9V. I had been an avid listener of Jeff's "Cornbread Road" podcast while he was publishing it as a podcast. The format was different enough to keep me interested. When it went away, I was highly disappointed. As it turns out, his recent article disappointed me quite a bit as well. I don't want to give much away, but suffice it to say the outlook Jeff paints is fairly bleak. At the same time, some of the points are valid and overall the essay was fairly thought provoking. Because of that, Richard, Bill (KA9WKA) and myself decided to discuss Jeff's recent article. We also have our usual assortment of announcements, banter, gripes and response to feedback. So settle in for an interesting episode. We all had a good time. We hope you do, too.

Announcements:

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  • Third Prize: LHS Baseball Cap - Dave S., AA8AA

  • Second Prize: LHS T-shirt - Klaatu of the GNU World Order podcast

  • First Prize: Hacked ZipIt Instant Messenger device with RootNexus userland (a derivative of Debian) and 2GB MiniSD - Rain C.

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Topic:

  • This week, Russ, Richard and guest Bill, KA9WKA, have a round-table discussion of an article Russ read on the internet. Jeff, KE9V, posted the article “Ham Radio’s Lost Future” and raises a number of valid points, but also some controversal ones. Our hosts discuss this at length.

  • What do you think? Is ham radio still relevant? Are amateur radio operators still innovating? Or is ham radio regressing into its past? Please send us your comments.

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