A bargain is something you can't use at a price you can't resist.
FRANKLIN JONES
This post is in response to this YouTube video:
Moving up. The Icom 7300. Will I finally get my Ham license back!?!
I have learned to no longer leave comments on videos, blog posts, or articles but choose to post what I think here at the C-Blog. I got the tip from Matt Drudge and his eschewing of social media by pointing out that it amounted to building a house on rented land. Why provide free content for their site when you can produce it for your own site? But I digress. . .
This video from Erik of Farpoint Farms earns my derision. I remember that he used to be an amateur radio operator but sold off his equipment a long time ago and let his ham ticket expire. He did keep his CB radio and was a big part of my reason to get into CB radio for prepping and avoiding ham radio as an expensive and needless hobby. Now, like a dog returning to his vomit, Erik returns to ham radio in some vain hope of alleviating his boredom. I don't think he wanted to talk on ham radio so much as buy a new toy that caught his eye, And that, Gentle Reader, is retail therapy for men. When men get bored, they start buying.
Where will all of this lead? I think you will see that spiffy new ham rig for sale on fleaBay in a couple of years as Erik realizes and remembers the reasons he quit ham radio in the first place. Ham is expensive, unnecessary and annoying while CB radio is cheap, utilitarian, and fun. How do I know this? Erik said so himself in this video:
SSB CB RADIO VS. HAM RADIO What To Consider
In some other video, Erik confessed to buying a boat which was another waste of money. Boredom can get really expensive. When I go to thrift stores or yard sales, I see the collection of other men's regrets. You've got rusty golf clubs, exercise equipment, sports equipment, kayaks, surfboards, bicycles, musical instruments, woodworking tools, camping equipment, and all sorts of detritus from hobbies pursued and abandoned. It is both sad and silly to witness.
One of the frugal tips I learned a long time ago is to not pursue hobbies. Hobbies are just excuses to buy stuff you don't need in vain attempts to cure your boredom. Eventually, this madness gets more insane when it gets into buying big boy toys like motorcycles, boats, sports cars, Jeeps, RVs, ATVs, and even airplanes and helicopters. A new ham rig seems relatively sane in comparison to all of that.
I believe more in doing than buying. Buying stuff is easy. Doing stuff is harder. Yet, doing is the true cure for boredom. We live in an age where men don't do things but buy things to display on their YouTube channels and social media accounts. We have guitar collector influencers who have more instruments hanging on the wall than Hendrix ever played in his life. Likewise, you have stuffed ham shacks with all of that equipment for these guys to end up secretly talking on the CB radio channels because CB is more fun than remembering your call sign and entering DX contests.
We all do dumb stuff. There's no shame in that. The shame is repeating dumb stuff. Erik is repeating dumb stuff here.
UPDATE: One of the interesting facts about ham radio is that hams mostly listen. They tend to be introverted and mic shy. I can relate because I am the same way. This was an interesting video on the topic:
I think the reason many people buy shortwave radios and ham radios is out of sheer curiosity. That is an expensive way to scratch that itch. Here is a cheaper option to listen in for FREE:
NA5B WebSDR
That internet based SDR allows you to listen to the various bands on your computer without buying a $1000 radio. The curious thing you will find is that the most active frequencies are on terrestrial AM radio and CB radio when the conditions are right. The shortwave stations are few and usually in foreign languages. As for the ham bands, you will hear guys talking mostly about their radios, antennas, some politics, and their hemorrhoids. If I ever think I am missing out on ham and shortwave, a little listening here settles that for me. You can also listen to the dead air on the 2 meter band. I am able to hear the same dead air on my C.Crane radio that can get 2 meters.
I am grateful to the ham radio community for doing what they do. I return the favor by staying out of their way on 11 meters. I know my place.
