CQ de KC9JMF.
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Hi, I'm KC9JMF. I long ago became bored with local repeaters that are usually silent, and HF that's nothing but exchanging signal reports. Amateur radio is a geeky pursuit, the realm of engineers and hackers who like to tinker, experiment, take stuff apart, and occasionally mess stuff up. That does not mean that we are off the hook when it comes to using the scientific method, documenting what we are doing, citing our sources, and (where appropriate) publishing our results-- but it does mean that we have the freedom to do stuff without someone looking over our shoulder, saying "that's a waste of time" or "that'll never work." I also believe that amateur radio is an activity that can be applied to other activities that are not normally associated with the hobby. I like to play outside. Field Day is, I'm sorry to say, not my idea of playing outside. I'm talking about going camping in dense woods in a National Forest that's 40 miles away from the nearest 2m or 70cm repeater. Taking an all day kayak trip down a river in the middle of nowhere, where all of your gear is likely to end up in the water at some point. Finally, I think that amateur radio needs to stop listening to the ARRL, stop trying to be the Department of Homeland Security's free phone company, and start doing stuff that enhances the geek factor of the hobby. Amateur radio needs to be making friends with engineering and computer science departments on university campuses. These are the places where technical innovation happens, and the students and faculty that work and study there are the people that have the means to improve on what we already have. Some of my current radio and related interests include:
I also study computer science and mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. |