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G8PZT > WLAN 13.09.03 23:34l 52 Lines 2508 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 000855255PZT
Read: DB3LU DB0FHN OE5RCO DL1NT DK5RAS DB2BA DO6NP GUEST
Subj: It's not ham radio
Path: DB0FHN<DB0RGB<OK0PPL<OK0PHL<SR6BOX<SR7BBS<SP7MGD<WB0TAX<VK3AVE<ZL2BAU<
VK3TE<GB7MAX<GB7PZT
Sent: 030913/2034Z @:GB7PZT.#24.GBR.EU [Kidderminster] #:85500 XSERV407j
Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2003 20:34:38 +0000
From: g8pzt@gb7pzt.#24.gbr.eu (Paula)
To: wlan@ww
Subject: It's not ham radio
As they say, it's a slack news day.....
I have no objection to anyone going to a PC shop, buying a piece of
consumer electronics (WIFI card), hanging an aerial on it and playing
with things wirelessly.
But this is appliance operating, it's not "amateur Packet Radio". You're
hardly doing anything ground breaking - even my mother could set up a
wirelan lan network with bits from PC-world. There's not even much "self
training in wireless telegraphy" in it - yes, plenty of self training in
the art of spending money and getting GatesWare to talk to the hardware,
but no "real" radio. You don't even use a callsign. Aside from setting
the thing to channel 2, which any member of the public can legally do anyway,
what's the difference between you and any unlicensed person?
We don't all live on mountain tops. Most of the users of my node are working
me over obstructed paths, and none of them would be in range of a 2.4GHz
transmitter. For them, 2 metres is the only band they can reach me on.
So don't go on about WiFi being the future of packet radio - it isn't, and
will never be. It is just another minority facet of a huge and varied hobby,
and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's not the be all and end all.
Save this bulletin, and in ten years we'll see if WiFi has supplanted all
other forms radio networking. My guess is that it won't, and I'll tell you
why... Because there are fortunately still some Packet Radio enthusiasts
who refuse to become domestic appliance operators.
So you connected a (commercial no doubt) antenna to your WiFi? Big deal!
I connected a dipole to my HI-FI, but it doesn't make me a radio ham, even
though I made the dipole myself.
Now, if no-one takes issue with me over this, I'll know there's no point in
running a BBS any more, because there's been precious little traffic on
here lately.
73, Paula
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