?I sometimes get tired of all the Know-it-alls, many of whom may know less than i have managed to forget..
?I used to hold a 2nd phone, which was later changed to a general phone. ?I try to offer some help where I can ?But not outside of what I actually know. ?I watched a youtube video about the infamous copper cactus J Pole, with the person referring to the radiating part as a dipole, where I was led to believe that it is actually a 1/2 wave Marconi. ?I decided, at tyhe time I was new to general, to build one out of aluminum, for 1 1/4 meters, and then a dual band, also aluminum, for 2 meters and 70 Cm. ?Both work well, but I will NOT claim that they are a gain antenna. ?Just a half wave vertical that is easier to have up than a vertical dipole. ?Anyways, I got interested in the BITX40 a couple of years ago. Not sure why eactly. ?Maybe the fact that I like to build, ssemble and idle with things. ?If all I wanted was HF and QRP, I could simply use my Icom 706 MK II G. ?I have 2 af Ashars BITX40's, ad 2 raduinos, plus a bare board BITX40 board that I will build as a BITX20. Being as I also bought a parts kit for BITX20. ?I am not happy with all of the arguing I see. ?I see no valid reason. People are entitled to their opinions, even if some are wrong. ?What I want to do is eventually build still another BITX, maybe for 12 and/or 10. ?Possibly one for 80 as well. ?I have no desire for getting the uBITX, as i like to be able to experment on one part at a time. Not to mention that I often get little done due to COPD and more taking its toll. ?But I do like reading about the problems and cures taking place. ?And some ideas that I can apply to the BITX20 when I get on with it. ?Wayne WA2YNE
On Tue, Sep 4, 2018 at 8:44 PM Richard Spohn < wb2gxm@...> wrote: Bob B., that is a very sad story.? I suffered kind of the same, when I
was a novice in 1970 I was chastised for accidentally using the word
"break" on the air.? I must have really offended some very sensitive
ears....and left the hobby alone for some decades.? Luckily I had the
foresight to keep renewing my (shortly after the incident) general
class license.? Today I am Amateur Extra, just passed that exam 3
years ago.? I do not argue much with people on the air, or on this
group, since I have learned that you never win.? And I truly love the
uBitx and love QRP also.? Probably will never own a linear OR a yagi
in my life (wire antennas are pretty nifty to explore).? Bob, it
doesn't matter what other people tell you or believe.? It's what you
believe and are interested in.? 73, Rich WB2GXM
On 9/4/18, Robert D. Bowers <n4fbz@...> wrote:
> This thread reminds me of something I've been told by hams at least
> three or four times in the last 38 years - and it brings up an issue
> that I've faced throughout those years.? Some of the posts have been OK
> (even encouraging), but others...
>
> When I got my tech ticket in 1980, I scrimped and saved until I put
> together $300.? I was looking for a used rig of my own, to get on the
> air on HF (I had an ancient crystal mobile for 2m).? One ham told me he
> had a radio I could buy - and when I got to his house offered me a KW
> linear with a fried transformer, for the full $300 (tube condition
> unknown).? I told him it was useless without a radio and I wasn't
> interested in power like that anyway.? He was furious for me 'wasting
> his time' - and told me "If you cannot afford to buy new, you don't
> belong in amateur radio".? He said if I could dig up a couple hundred
> more dollars, he had a nice used tube only rig (that needed repair) he'd
> sell me.? I walked out on him and never spoke to him again.? He and his
> buddies were, shall we say, not welcoming at the local club - where they
> dominated.
>
> That almost killed all interest.? Finally, a few years later I got
> interested again, and was very much into homebrew, especially antennas.
> The problem was, I still didn't have a decent radio (my hf radio was an
> old tube rig - that didn't work too well and had a problem I couldn't
> figure out).? When I mentioned my frustration with the radio, I was told
> "What do you expect?? If you can't afford to buy new, you should
> consider getting out of amateur radio!"? My radio activity went downhill
> again - FAST.
>
> I have a BITX20 V2 (or version B) - that's my newest hf rig as far as
> the age of the radio.? My "good" radio is an Alinco DX-70, bought used
> years ago - and it was the only working radio within my price range (had
> a very small inheritance come through), although I had my heart set on a
> IC-706mk2G.? I also have a softrock ensemble kit, but haven't put it
> together, because I have minimal interest in the hobby anymore.
>
> The sort of thing I consider true fun - trying to make the longest
> contact possible with the minimum power (over 600 miles on less than
> 10mw on HF) for instance, or VHF sideband, or even 6m AM (cheap and
> fun), not to mention homebrew... well, that doesn't seem as important in
> the hobby as more and more and MORE POWER.? I've been stomped on enough
> times by the "get a gallon to get out" club, thank you (you have that
> happen time after time after time - you end up shutting off the radio in
> frustration).? Funny thing, because the problems mentioned with the BITX
> are made far worse by attempts at increasing the power.? Maybe people
> should think about LESS power???
>
> If I do anything amateur radio-wise, I may try to convert the BITX20 to
> 40m and fix the VFO so it doesn't drift.? I've always wanted a small,
> low to moderate power 40m monobander for mobile use.? That might raise
> some interest again.? (I bought the BITX kit unfinished and completed it
> - it was sold on the proviso that I actually finish the radio and use
> it.)? Something with a few watts on 40 would be nice - if the
> low-power/mobile section of the band hasn't been taken over by the
> kilowatt motormouths.
>
> _*The moral of the story:*_? The BITX series of radios may be the BEST
> radio a ham can afford - and being poor does NOT mean being stupid or
> incapable.? Having one's rig run down is disheartening AT BEST, and
> buying the latest and greatest?? Out of the question for people with
> little money, even if they have brains and ability.? Reading things like
> I have on this thread brings back some of the not-so-pleasant memories -
> and those memories are why I've only used a few pages in a single
> logbook over the last 38 years.
>
> My 2 cents worth...
>
> Bob
> N4FBZ
>
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