QTH.COM Swap Chat

I was reading this blog with all the new crap about Radio-mart, I have never read so much crap in my life. (i'm 79 and have been a ham for 61 years) but now the good news, I had the radio on in the background, It was on 14.325 and K5usa was having a special event day. He had 500 kids in a parking lot having them taking turns learning how to work ham radio, the teacher was great. What a blast going back to why I loved Ham Radio so much, we could have all learned something today. I'm down to a kenwood 5000 reciever and couldn't get back to them, but if I hear much more i'll go back full bore. We're letting a handfull of morons ruin our hobby, just read this blog. Just one more statement, these kids are studying very hard to get their ticket. What do you think they'ed say if they read this blog ? With out young people coming in to the hobby we'll have nothing in ten yrs. Just egnore all the jerks and get off the computer and back on the radio. 73's

Very well said.

I heard K5USA as well today on 14.325, and made contact with them. They sounded like eager young people and it reminded me of when I was in junior high and my science teacher brought his Hallicrafters to class, threw a wire out the window into a tree, called CQ and made a Germany contact. It was magical to me, and hopefully todays event was magical to some of those kids.

But although there are a handfull of scumbags ripping people off here, it by no means illustrates a cross-section of the ham community. I've been burned by a few folks here and on other swapnet sites, but for every time I've been burned, I had wonderful experiences with ten others.

In every facet of life, there is always a bad apple, but it doesn't make the rest of the apples bad.

73