We have this common draw, this shared fascination, a compulsion for some, that is amateur radio.

In this world of instantly accessible and freely shared information, it’s so natural to burrow into a path of complete focus, hyper-focus.  Ever notice how YouTube keeps feeding you related videos?  I’ve spent hours, collectively days and weeks, following a single topic.  And I’ve noticed this shades my perspective and when I come up for air, it’s different out there – like sharing a POTA activation with someone who’s burrowing in a different direction.

For example, this weekend I really enjoyed a joint activation with two excellent operators, Dave and Ricky.  They’re both experienced activators and very well researched on radio topics.  They’re not Hams in what I believe is the original intent of the moniker.  Don’t be fooled by their drawl and easy demeanor – they’re Amateur Radio Operators, both.

We chatted a bit while I ran some CW, then they set up and started working, with Ricky right across the table from me.  He started rolling the VFO looking for some clean air and I heard voices.  Voices with accents, timbres and intonation – odd voices.  I gotta tell you, it gave me pause.  It took me a few eye-blinks to register what was going on.  His radio was set for SSB and he planned to converse with those people – those odd-sounding strangers – with his radio, no less!  And he did – a bunch of them.

I’d completely forgotten about phone.  I mean, of course I didn’t forget about it, but it’s nowhere near the path I’m currently burrowing.  I haven’t plugged in a mic in well over two years, much less activated with one.  Early on, I buried myself in learning digital modes and racked up thousands of POTA QSOs.  I burrowed deep into power management, antenna designs, and predicting propagation. Bored with that, I taught myself Morse code and QRP operations and have been in the bottom of that hole, digging my heart out, for better than a year.

My point is, there’s way more to amateur radio than what you’re doing right now.  There’s things you can’t see because you’re blinded by your own burrowing.

I have a friend who sits in a comfy chair in his shack and tries to contact people as far away as he can.  People he doesn’t know in places he’ll never go, reaching as far as his rig, antenna, and ionosphere will give him in that moment. He’s figuratively, stretching out with all his might to brush them ever so lightly with a fingertip.  He loves it, and you can bet he knows how to do it.

I have another friend who just loves the technology and I tell you, he knows what it’s about.  He likes all the fancy stuff – APRS, C4FM, D-STAR, digipeaters, nodes and Winlink.  He can send and receive text messages with his dang handy talkie.  He does radio direction finding and talks through satellite repeaters.  He keeps expert level knowledge on all these things and when he talks about it, I’m like a dog watching TV.

I have to admit, I’ve let myself become a bit of a radio bigot.  I’ve worked hard to make sense of what I don’t understand, and I don’t understand much so it’s been hard-earned knowledge.  Then I test what I’ve learned, I time things, measure things, chart things, and record what I learn so I can draw conclusions without bias.  I know which radio to bring and why.  I know which antenna to bring and why.  I know which band to use and when.  I’ve earned this knowledge, I’m proud of myself, and seeing Ricky and Dave on SSB taught me I’ve become smug about it.  God’s truth, one of my first thoughts when they keyed up to speak was, “What’s the point of that?”

Embrace diversity! 

Never thought I’d say that.  Now, I don’t suggest we chase every rabbit in the pasture – we’ll never catch anything.  But I do suggest we accept there is a world outside of our own burrowing and those outside people are fierce and disciplined learners and hands-down experts.  It’s refreshing to meet the tactile proof that though I may be the smartest guy answering my own questions, I’m not the only guy with answers.  More often than not, they can answer questions I haven’t thought to ask.

TNX ES 73,
KA5TXN
DitWit