I would say in my situation, after 45 years holding a licence, my days of using full legal on HF (albeit the only way I am able do this is on CW) and 180w PEP or thereabouts on SSB are over. I live in an urban area and have a small garden that will accommodate a reasonable piece of wire that is not too obtrusive but neighbours either side.
On 2m SSB, on which I was once very active, other than 10w PEP in my very early days I never ran more than 3w. However, part of the fun, and my interest, was building aerials, the largest of which was a 20 element, to get the ERP up and make the most of a little. I worked some remarkable Dx under tropo. (I also did the same on 70cm but was less active on there.) I would probably need a very high mast to do that now and I don’t think I’d want that much metal way up in the air. Just above roof line and turning it into the wind when there was a gale on allowed me to sleep easy in my bed.
Now it depends on my enthusiasm which, rekindled a little with time available under lockdown, has now taken a dent. I was active as an SWL and then licenced through what are for me glory days of ham radio in the 60s/70s/80s when the HF bands were alive with stations – even 10m with the sunspot cycle in the late 70s/early 80s. 2m was busy, there was activity on 70cm and lots of interesting stuff to find on short wave. These days, the bands are a shadow of their selves and the noise level is often S9. Trying a receiver recently I had to use the signal from a GDO to check if the thing was working on 20 and 15m.
With this latest edict is it worth the effort? Amateur radio is dying. It has been in slow and steady decline for years. Talking to someone the other side of the world is no longer the exotic experience it once was - you can do that on Zoom. The frequent navel gazing regarding membership and the future that the RSGB indulges in, the steady disappearance of the once many radio/electronics hobby magazines and the local clubs that are either moribund or closed tells you plenty.
Perhaps its only going through the same process as other pastimes, familiar in youth to those of us of a certain age, that have also their day. Perhaps I should concentrate on and enjoy my classic car before that is legislated off the road. Perhaps it’s another case of thanks for the memory.
On 2m SSB, on which I was once very active, other than 10w PEP in my very early days I never ran more than 3w. However, part of the fun, and my interest, was building aerials, the largest of which was a 20 element, to get the ERP up and make the most of a little. I worked some remarkable Dx under tropo. (I also did the same on 70cm but was less active on there.) I would probably need a very high mast to do that now and I don’t think I’d want that much metal way up in the air. Just above roof line and turning it into the wind when there was a gale on allowed me to sleep easy in my bed.
Now it depends on my enthusiasm which, rekindled a little with time available under lockdown, has now taken a dent. I was active as an SWL and then licenced through what are for me glory days of ham radio in the 60s/70s/80s when the HF bands were alive with stations – even 10m with the sunspot cycle in the late 70s/early 80s. 2m was busy, there was activity on 70cm and lots of interesting stuff to find on short wave. These days, the bands are a shadow of their selves and the noise level is often S9. Trying a receiver recently I had to use the signal from a GDO to check if the thing was working on 20 and 15m.
With this latest edict is it worth the effort? Amateur radio is dying. It has been in slow and steady decline for years. Talking to someone the other side of the world is no longer the exotic experience it once was - you can do that on Zoom. The frequent navel gazing regarding membership and the future that the RSGB indulges in, the steady disappearance of the once many radio/electronics hobby magazines and the local clubs that are either moribund or closed tells you plenty.
Perhaps its only going through the same process as other pastimes, familiar in youth to those of us of a certain age, that have also their day. Perhaps I should concentrate on and enjoy my classic car before that is legislated off the road. Perhaps it’s another case of thanks for the memory.
Nick
