KA9S Web Log
Where opinions abound (mine)
Justification for Boat Anchor Rigs
I
have
been thinking about keeping my rigs running. My newest rig is my
FT-1000D that I bought in 1992. I really like this rig and would like to keep it
around for a long time. I found out at Dayton this year that Yaesu is
dropping support for this radio (I'm surprised they have kept
supporting it this long). This means that Yaesu will not stock any of
the proprietary parts for the radio. If one of those LSI chips in the
DDS or the CPU or Display craps out I'm SOL. On the other hand, my 30
yr. Drake C-Line seems to always be reparable. I have no doubt that in
the year 2020 my C-Line will be running just fine, long after the
FT-1000D has taken it's place in the local land fill.
Don't get me wrong. The modern radios are technological wonders compared to boat anchor gear. But you must resign yourselves to the reality that you now own a $10K disposable appliance. They are designed to fail about the same time the manufacturer ends support for them. The manufactures want revenue coming in. They want to sell you new radios, not fix the ones you already paid for. The count of active devices in a boat anchor rig runs around a couple dozen. The number of active devices in my FT-1000D must run in the hundreds-of-thousand range (including the CPU and other LSI chips). Every part has its mean-time-between-failure rating. It is just unreasonable to expect something as complicated as a modern radio (and my FT-1000D isn't even considered a modern radio anymore) to keep running for decades. When they do eventually break down, there will be no parts available to repair them, no factory technicians to test them, to test fixtures to diagnose them, no repair depot software to run diagnostics on them. They become useless junk. All for the want of a $1 part and the know-how to replace it.
But the Drake C-line will continue to be reparable and will outlive me. So what is the point of learning anything about radio technology when we have all be relegated to mere appliance operators?
I think some of the attraction of boat anchor rigs is maintaining a little bit of our self worth. Being able to fix and maintain the boat anchor rigs staves off the day when we come the self-realization that we are nothing more than cell phone users.
Don't get me wrong. The modern radios are technological wonders compared to boat anchor gear. But you must resign yourselves to the reality that you now own a $10K disposable appliance. They are designed to fail about the same time the manufacturer ends support for them. The manufactures want revenue coming in. They want to sell you new radios, not fix the ones you already paid for. The count of active devices in a boat anchor rig runs around a couple dozen. The number of active devices in my FT-1000D must run in the hundreds-of-thousand range (including the CPU and other LSI chips). Every part has its mean-time-between-failure rating. It is just unreasonable to expect something as complicated as a modern radio (and my FT-1000D isn't even considered a modern radio anymore) to keep running for decades. When they do eventually break down, there will be no parts available to repair them, no factory technicians to test them, to test fixtures to diagnose them, no repair depot software to run diagnostics on them. They become useless junk. All for the want of a $1 part and the know-how to replace it.
But the Drake C-line will continue to be reparable and will outlive me. So what is the point of learning anything about radio technology when we have all be relegated to mere appliance operators?
I think some of the attraction of boat anchor rigs is maintaining a little bit of our self worth. Being able to fix and maintain the boat anchor rigs staves off the day when we come the self-realization that we are nothing more than cell phone users.
Real Men - Real Radios
Real men
don't eat quiche. That's how the old phrase went. Real men have natural
needs and belong in
natural habitats. It has been scientifically proven that all (real)
men
are attracted to black shinny objects with red blinking lights. This is
not something to be embarrassed about but rather celebrated.
Let's
all get comfortable with our masculine side. Real men have certain
characteristics, like, broad shoulders, and big hands. Real men
perceive there world through vision in 3D.
99.9% of ham radio operators are men. Most are real men. It's not because of sex discrimination. It's because there is something about ham radio that appeals to men more than women. Could it be those black shinny boxes with the glowing parts? Lets face it, radios are mucho-macho! So why don't we own up to this and maximize the masculine appeal of our radios.
Size matters! Another truth that men are afraid to admit. Just because you secretly wish you had a big one isn't something you should have to hide (you do realize I am talking about radios don't you). Why on earth would you buy a speed boat that takes up half of your yard, then turn around and buy a radio that is the size of a pack of cigarettes? Your speed boat is most certainly high-tech but it isn't mini-micro. It has plenty of room with upholstered seats for the whole gang.
But there you sit - stuffed into a corner of the family room - hunched over a card table on which sits the petite little box chuck full of chicklett gum buttons, a squinty sized video display and one or two pencil eraser sized knobs.
For gods sakes man! You won't settle for anything less than a big screen TV and there you are with barbies first play radio!
Real men need Real Radios! Big manly radios with lots of large knobs for those big hands. Knobs spread out over a large front panel so your broad manly shoulders don't get all cramped together. They should look black (or gray) and have glowing parts. Every knob has it's function and every function has it's knob! A real man knows his radio by feel. He can instinctively reach out and grab the correct knob for the desired adjustment without even looking. He can that is if his rig even HAS KNOBS!
There you sit, back in the corner, unable to take decisive action because you have to read the menu first before you can hope to make a decision.
I hope you can operate those little child safe buttons with those limp wrists of yours. Just because something CAN be made small doesn't mean it HAS to be made small.
Why are you relegated to the corner of the family room where the woman of the house (the one wearing the pants) stores the kids plush toys and the laundry detergent? A real men needs his cave. We call our caves our radio shacks. You know you are in your natural habitat the moment you step in. You know it's right if only because it makes the XYL so uncomfortable coming in there. The whole place is charged with a manly aura.
Don't you ever wonder why so many hams surround them selfs with boat anchor rigs? Do they perform better than newer radios? (No) Do they have sentimental attachment to these radios because they're now all old farts (a little of that I suppose). No - they do it because they are MANLY radios from an era when men weren't afraid to be men!
So if you want to rejuvenate the new radio market and make a fortune in the process. Make a modern radio with all the latest technology that is a manly radio! A radio that demands a room dedicated just for itself and it's manly operator!
Long live big knobs!!
