DO WE REALLY NEED SMALL (er)...?

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It seems like as each year goes by, both radio's and HT's get smaller and smaller and I wonder how small do we really need to go? and are we too small already?

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It's pretty much a given that almost all Ham radios are bulging with Surface Mount Technology and (at least for me), that cuts out one of the funs aspects of Ham Radio - being able to repair it yourself.

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"Rat Shack" just announced the closure of 400-700 company run stores, but who will miss the capacitors, resistors, etc. when you don't really need them afterall? But I digress...Call me crazy but why do we really need a tiny HT that we have problems:

• Pressing only ONE key at a time
• Reading the display
• Doing modifications without a microscope

Yes, there are benefits, like their lighter weight - you almost forget it's on your belt (which makes it easier to leave it on a desk, in a car, etc. because you don't notice the weight loss). Having said that, I must admit to owning several different models of tiny HT's, but I still fall back on my favorite, the Yaesu FT-530 which was inbetween "Large" and "Tiny". But I've covered much of this with my previous "Manly Man HT" post, so let's move on to HF rigs.

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HF rigs are now almost impossible to make modifications on your own. Sure, if you're going to do a general coverage transmit mod, it's not hard to clip, or pull off a tiny component. But, if modifications arise that make your rig better (yet aren't official manufacturer mods), it gets quite a bit tougher - even with a big-ass magnifying lens with a light on it. Believe it or not, a lot of the noise you try to get rid of via NB, DSP, etc. is created INSIDE the radio, and as I've said before - they can't even make a noise blanker as good as the ones you find in a $50 CB.

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Granted, most of today's automobiles are smaller, with less radio room and so tiny rigs can become necessary; but so far I've lucked out and still live by the creed: "Buy the car that meets the space of the radio (s) - not the radio that meets the space of the car". Moving on......

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"ADOPT A HIGHWAY PROGRAM"

No, I'm not talking about the one where you adopt a section of road and keep it clean of litter. What I'm thinking about is a program where you adopt a section of airspace to inform road travelers that channels 35-40 are what we use for SIDEBAND and that they have 34 other frequencies to choose for their AM traffic. This reminds me of another thought I had one day while passing by the local "Chicken Coop" - A lot of bleedover could be curtailed if the FCC made surprise inspections when the coop's were open and confiscated illegal radios (or legal radios with the mod limiter cut) and amplifiers (especially amplifiers). But back to my original thought - If I had the $$$ I'd have a billboard at each end of Austin County, on I-10 that said: Welcome to SIDEBAND country, Channels 35-40, SSB ONLY.

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Maybe I should have called this posting "Random Thoughts" because my thoughts are changing as quick at the DX I'm listening to right now.... Didn't there used to be something in the CB rules and reg's about speaking english? For some reason I thought there was, but I'm not sure now. Yes, I tried reading through them several times and fell asleep each time.

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WHY I'M GETTING DX

(and you might not be)

Yes, nothing like a frontal system to stir things up. This one is all rain (so far) so I can keep the rig on...uh-oh....I hear the approaching signals of some NAFTA truckers screwing with my sideband again....

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DIGITAL SONAR

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I was hoping for a better picture to show, but nonetheless you should really check out this guys auction on EBAY. I would say, this classify's as a one-of-a-kind Sonar Rig!

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Woody

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