[hpsdr] Interesting rant from a friend

[Gary Sitton]

Brian:

    Your friend is right on in his assessment of the knowledge and 
education of today's amateur.
I was fortunate enough to be raised on and educated in both analog and 
digital RF techniques.
I was there when the digital revolution, in both computing and signal 
processing, happened but
not everyone was that lucky.  I'm putting off my purchase of a 100D 
until: 1) I can justify the cost
or pick up a used one cheap, 2) Apache proves itself as a stable 
company, and 3) I'm prepared
to really dig in and understand and/or modify the DSP PC software.  I'm 
stuck in a very noisy area
and want to implement an adaptive noise cancellation system using the 2 
RX on the 100D so that
I may be active in the years to come with this waning sunspot cycle.

73, Gary (K5AMH)

On 10/11/2013 11:19, Brian Lloyd wrote:
> ***** High Performance Software Defined Radio Discussion List *****
>
>
>
> I have a good friend (who will remain nameless here) who sent me a 
> rant after reading ongoing complaining about the Apache radios. I 
> thought his comments were excellent and I am going to share them here 
> with his personal information expurgated. Take it for what you will. I 
> am sure it will offend some people. But, frankly, it needs to be said. 
> So feel free to flame ME because I thought it appropriate to post it.
>
> ----
> There is an interesting phenomenon going on and, if you think back, we 
> saw the same thing with Flex. A fair number of hams ran out and bought 
> 10s and 100s and 100Ds without reading the specs, checking out the 
> available software, and thinking about what they planned to do with 
> the radios once they got them.
> Now they have radios that don't do what they want or don't do it as 
> they want or they don't know _how_ to make do what they want and they 
> are getting pissy and blaming either Apache or the volunteer 
> developers or both.
> This isn't about what the radios will or won't do, should or shouldn't 
> do except to the extent that a prudent person explores those questions 
> before laying down the long green.
> Rednecks have a saying about black bass: "If it makes noise and 
> flashes, they gotta have it." Sic semper hamicus. They want bragging 
> rights about having the latest and greatest (Hey, lots cheaper than a 
> 9000) but they know little or nothing about SDR, even in concept, let 
> alone down in the mathematical weeds.  Worse yet, some think they do.
> Now they are stuck and need someone to blame. The fact that they made 
> ignorant, thoughtless purchase decisions seemingly never enters their 
> heads. I find myself wanting to scream:
> THIS ISN'T AN EFFING TOASTER!!!
> This underscores an argument that I have made before. The FCC exams 
> are obsolete. The OPs who lament that newbies don't know anything 
> about radio have had the tables turned. Now it evolves that they may 
> be able to tell you all about grounded grid triodes but they don't 
> know jack shit about decimation or the difference between DDS and DDC. 
> Rather than asking the examinee to calculate parallel inductance in a 
> circuit (that nowadays is packaged in a chip, anyway), they need to 
> begin asking if people understand, in at least a general way, what an 
> FFT is and why one would use it.
> ----
>
> Amen.
>
> -- 
> Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL
> 706 Flightline Drive
> Spring Branch, TX 78070
> brian at lloyd.com <mailto:brian at lloyd.com>
> +1.916.877.5067
>
>
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