In the realm of amateur radio, contests hold a special place, fostering camaraderie, technical prowess, and the thrill of connecting with fellow enthusiasts across vast distances. Among these competitions, the ARRL November Sweepstakes stands out as a venerable tradition, having graced the radio waves since 1930. But why is this contest called Sweepstakes?
(with thanks to Worcester Magazine
Sometimes, when you enter the Library of Disposable Art, you can look at what’s there and get it right away. “Hey, that’s a T-Shirt.” Or “Look at those cute ceramic animals that came from the tea box.” You can understand what they are and figure out for yourself if it is cool or not. Then there are some alcoves in the library that have items that make a fella scratch their head in confusion. What the hell is this and why do people collect them?
Forbes magazine published an article about High Tech / High touch at https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2021/12/29/high-techhigh-touc... and they never mentioned ham radio one time. Yet they do quote an author saying “As people’s skills, experiences, and, in some cases, humanity evolve in tune with new technologies, the technologies and their design will need to further adapt.
For a growing number of folks, the challenge of "doing the most with the least" makes QRP (and QRPp) CW operating the greatest thrill available in amateur radio. The North American QRP CW Club Inc. exists to promote and pursue designing, information sharing, building, and operation of low power, Morse Code enabled Amateur Radio equipment with simple wire antennas (see more)
I just happened to see a post on Facebook by Joe, and his picture set up at the Northeast HamXposition. I remember talking with Joe 14 years ago and and I remember that it was one of my favorite ...
... just kidding. But I stumbled across this transcript of Onno's podcast in one of the most unlikely places, and I've added his feed to my page here. You can read the text of this particular podcast, and more, titled "What's the point of this hobby" at http://www.99hobbies.com/aggregator/sources/3
He begins:
One of the recurring questions in this hobby, technically outside this hobby, asked by people who've not yet, or have only just been bitten by the bug, is: "What's the point of this hobby?"
Ten years ago, almost a full solar cycle ago, I had the privilege of being with Joe Taylor, K1JT, at our Masscon event. Dr. Taylor gave an exciting talk about WSPR and, at that time, nobody had even thought about FT-8. You can hear his reasons and design decisions for turning a lab project into a real way of measuring and participating in this study of ham radio, propagation, and 'watching the sun'.
