daugen
Epic Contributor
Are young people still getting into amateur radio? One would guess they are all
texting and jabbering on Facebook. Did the internet replace the sense of community and congeniality
that one had/has with radio?
One application for amateur radio that I bet has helped the cause of freedom is in repressed areas like China, North Korea, Iran, etc.
But I wonder if this just makes job security for a legion of government listeners.
I have a vision of a white haired guy cranking his hand generator to make power for his radio set, post apocalypse.
Trying to find other survivors.
Being able to speak to someone is always better, even if the fidelity is crappy, hearing a voice has a certain magic, a connection we don't get with the printed word.
Growing up, I watched a lot of sci fi where everyone had a large video panel on the wall, where a face and voice came through, like Skype does today.
Of course, you can talk to someone in your underwear...add video and that complicates matters. The din from makeup mirrors clattering world wide would get old after a while.
But I do believe that is our future, and basically the future is already here.
Radio Shack should refocus on what it could do best that others don't handle because there is a learning curve needed for it. You expect someone behind the counter of an electronics store
to understand the difference among a triac, a thermistor, and a MOSFET, and today, you are lucky if one person in the store knows. But where else are you going to find a diode easily when your alternator dies, and
you actually know how to put a wrench and screwdriver on it? The internet takes days. You want it today. The nearest electrical supply house, the one that even has electronic hardware instead of just light bulbs, is 40 miles away. You have a RS in your local town. That's how they survive. Convenience. No longer technical knowledge; the folks coming in the store are often way more knowledgeable than staff.
But the staff is highly knowledgeable on how to fill out extended warranty cards and cellular enrollment input because that's what they were trained on. Not basic science, so they can actually understand what the kid with the science project needed, or the difference in battery technologies, fuse types, radio frequency bands, or rooftop antenna design. No, they understand keyboarding and processing your purchase. And asking for your phone number. Anything more and you have a find.
I'm surprised how little merchandise is in our local RS store. Maybe now during the holidays we'll all be tripping over r/c car boxes or piles of 20 dollar clock radios, but for most of us, there is still some curiosity when going in as to "what's new". I'd go see but the shopping center parking lot is so jammed all the time now that becomes a deterrent. And the rushing about ladies with their cell phones and late' using up all their attention span as they back out into the narrow parking lanes. Maybe I'll go after dinner when things quiet down. Tis the season.
texting and jabbering on Facebook. Did the internet replace the sense of community and congeniality
that one had/has with radio?
One application for amateur radio that I bet has helped the cause of freedom is in repressed areas like China, North Korea, Iran, etc.
But I wonder if this just makes job security for a legion of government listeners.
I have a vision of a white haired guy cranking his hand generator to make power for his radio set, post apocalypse.
Trying to find other survivors.
Being able to speak to someone is always better, even if the fidelity is crappy, hearing a voice has a certain magic, a connection we don't get with the printed word.
Growing up, I watched a lot of sci fi where everyone had a large video panel on the wall, where a face and voice came through, like Skype does today.
Of course, you can talk to someone in your underwear...add video and that complicates matters. The din from makeup mirrors clattering world wide would get old after a while.
But I do believe that is our future, and basically the future is already here.
Radio Shack should refocus on what it could do best that others don't handle because there is a learning curve needed for it. You expect someone behind the counter of an electronics store
to understand the difference among a triac, a thermistor, and a MOSFET, and today, you are lucky if one person in the store knows. But where else are you going to find a diode easily when your alternator dies, and
you actually know how to put a wrench and screwdriver on it? The internet takes days. You want it today. The nearest electrical supply house, the one that even has electronic hardware instead of just light bulbs, is 40 miles away. You have a RS in your local town. That's how they survive. Convenience. No longer technical knowledge; the folks coming in the store are often way more knowledgeable than staff.
But the staff is highly knowledgeable on how to fill out extended warranty cards and cellular enrollment input because that's what they were trained on. Not basic science, so they can actually understand what the kid with the science project needed, or the difference in battery technologies, fuse types, radio frequency bands, or rooftop antenna design. No, they understand keyboarding and processing your purchase. And asking for your phone number. Anything more and you have a find.
I'm surprised how little merchandise is in our local RS store. Maybe now during the holidays we'll all be tripping over r/c car boxes or piles of 20 dollar clock radios, but for most of us, there is still some curiosity when going in as to "what's new". I'd go see but the shopping center parking lot is so jammed all the time now that becomes a deterrent. And the rushing about ladies with their cell phones and late' using up all their attention span as they back out into the narrow parking lanes. Maybe I'll go after dinner when things quiet down. Tis the season.