On Friday, August 12, 2022, 06:44:38 PM EDT, Brian Wilkins <bwilkins@gmail.com> wrote:

> John,
>
> That quote reminds me of this blog reposted to Hackaday:
>
> Ham Radio Needs To Embrace The Hacker Community Now More Than Ever
>
> https://www.kj7nzl.net/blog/ham-radio-needs-to-embrace-the-hacker-community-now-more-than-ever/

I agree, Brian.

Lately more then ever, I have adopted an "NSH" philosophy regarding Amateur Radio: Never Say Hobby! I view hobbies as being strictly personal endeavors. Within hobbies, there are no expectations beyond personal goals, and hobbies are never intended to benefit the whole of society.

Amateur Radio is different. We are formally defined, both locally and internationally. We have a basis and we have a purpose. We collaborate and communicate. We contribute to the state of the radio art at our own pace and in our own unique way. In the U.S., Part 97.1 provides guidance as to the accomplishments the Commission expects of the Service, and the ITU definition of Amateur Radio follows this language closely.

While I consider emergency communications and international goodwill as important benefits the Amateur Radio Service brings to society, I see them as merely the natural tertiary effects of our technical experimentation and innovation. In other words, you can't have Part 97.1(a) and (e) without having (b), (c), and (d).

AMSAT "gets" this. Satellites don't get launched, valuable spectrum doesn't get allocated, and astronauts don't perform EVAs to support a "hobby". In fact, last year when NASA released its "Best Space Station Science Pictures of 2021", it recognized Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) as a science education and research program. (In case you missed it: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/best-space-station-science-pictures-2021).

Bravo!


73 de John, KD2BD