Jim VK5TR
My attraction to the amazing field and art of electronics began at around 7 years of age, and has always had two parts to it. First there is the actual fascination of the technology and what you can do with it, which is almost anything these days, and second is the amazing people that one finds within the technology. You quickly realise that there is no way in the course of a lifetime even 1% of the total knowledge in the field can be mastered and so if you are to be effective, you must have a large circle of friends with whom you can freely swap know how. In general those in the industry know this, and the industry has grown at breathtaking rates not found elsewhere in society simply because information is so readily shared.
Amateur radio represents one of the best forums I know for freely meeting truly amazing and generous people with an colossal spread of knowledge in not just electronics but the whole gamut of technology. It is also a practical art practiced without the constraints found in universities and similar institutions. Anyone can contribute and you don't need formal qualifications to be taken seriously. And that is why I am a "ham". It is a truly democratic place to be.
It is also exciting, always challenging, there is always something new to learn, it can be done with a few basic tools from home, and best of all, you can help kids into a technical career, because you are up to date, and maybe just a bit ahead of them. Simply a great hobby and a great life. God protect me from boredom :-)
Amateur radio represents one of the best forums I know for freely meeting truly amazing and generous people with an colossal spread of knowledge in not just electronics but the whole gamut of technology. It is also a practical art practiced without the constraints found in universities and similar institutions. Anyone can contribute and you don't need formal qualifications to be taken seriously. And that is why I am a "ham". It is a truly democratic place to be.
It is also exciting, always challenging, there is always something new to learn, it can be done with a few basic tools from home, and best of all, you can help kids into a technical career, because you are up to date, and maybe just a bit ahead of them. Simply a great hobby and a great life. God protect me from boredom :-)
