On Fri, 31 Jan 2020 10:30:03 +0000, Gareth Evans
wrote:

On 31/01/2020 00:41, T i m wrote:
On Thu, 30 Jan 2020 15:10:51 +0000, Gareth Evans
wrote:

In the groups.io group, rsgb-workshop, those who might
be considered to be the bell-wethers of amateur radio
are bemoaning the decline in technical standards,
especially among USA Extra class licensees who know
not where to connect their SWR bridges :-(

Test for you then ... I'd like to build a simple FM broadcast receiver
that I can tune (and lock) to R4 for our daughter to listen to when
she's out walking the dog.

A kit would be nice but I don't want anything that scans, unless it
can be locked on a single freq (93.2 MHz?) at startup?

I think it would only need to drive a small speaker or single
headphone.

Anyone who has passed the RAE, perhaps you, is well
qualified to pursue such a project, and taken with
the self-training concomitant with the interest and
the licence that you have held for a number of years,
you should have no difficulty in either completing
such a project off-the-cuff or with a little researching,
completing it then.

No actual help on that then, you know, in the true spirit of RA (or
just some elitist posturing and hot air)?

Good luck with the project!

It will need more than luck to have it locked on 93.2 MHz.

(You are an example
to the candidature of the exams today)

Exactly. You seem very confused re what 'most people' are willing to
input into 'a hobby' these days.

As I said, I didn't take my RAE to start running long wires down my
garden, talking to people using a series of beeps or talking to anyone
for that matter, it was *purely* to be able to hook my PC up to a
digital network and move data / Emails.

The 2 FT23R's we have were to be used as walkie talkies, not to
advance the concept of amateur radio.

I attended the RA course at a local college and as a surprise, so did
my (pregnant at the time) Wife. She had to study hard (and we helping
her) whilst I had covered most of it previously so didn't really need
to learn much to get a pass (that was all I cared about). I think she
passed and I got a credit (or credits?).

She has only ever used hers to be able to transmit with the handy and
mine running the Packet station.

I did assemble a couple of BSX2 TNC's [1] but that was more in line
with my job at the time as a Data Communications support / service
Tech, a massive leap from that to *designing* RF stuff.

So, it is likely the case that *your* interpretation of the needs and
desires of anyone looking to get into RA today (who is under 40) is
more likely to look at it from an off-the-shelf, buy it and run it
POV, rather than someone winding coils round pencils or *designing*
anything.

Look at the market for kitcars, self assembly RC models or the demise
of electronics / components shops / or general hardware suppliers to
see that.

Even though I'm old, 'into electronics' and know a lot of technical /
PC type people, the only other RA I know in person is Brian. ;-(

I did attend a local radio group natter night but felt just as
uncomfortable as I did when I went to a Linux group one.

All weirdo's. ;-)

Cheers, T i m