Sometimes you run across things that surprise you.

Every day, I have one guilty pleasure.  I get on the Web and I go to two different sites where I can read the comics. There, I said it. 62 years old and I love to read the funny pages. Some new ones are my favorites, like Zits, Pluggers, Sally Forth, Bliss, and Andertoons join my old favorites like Beetle Bailey, Blondie, BC, the Phantom, Gasoline Alley, Mutt and Jeff, Funky Winkerbean and Crankshaft - and of course Peanuts and Family Circus.

Anyway, while reading the comics, advertisements always pop up.  Most of the time they seem to be for things that barely interest me, or mostly have nothing to do with me. Yesterday, however, was a different story.  One came up with the words "Ham Radio" in it. And it wasn't for any of the usual suspects such as Gigaparts, or Jameco or DX Engineering. This ad was for a company that I never heard of; and it immediately caught my eye.

https://worldgonesilent.com/

My concern here, is that while they DO mention that you need to be a licensed Ham to use these products legally, the average buyer might just say "Pfffffffft" to that requirement and will start using this stuff illegally. Many might say it's just an ill-founded worry, but IMHO, I think it's a legitimate concern. As it is, with the proliferation of inexpensive HTs, I hear plenty of interlopers that are obviously not licensed on the local repeaters - another reason that I am mostly an HF kind of guy.

The other thing that surprises the heck out of me is the "Ham Radio Go Kits" page on Facebook.  Have you ever visited that site? I look at some of these Go Kits that these guys put together and I think, "Geez, you'd need a crane to move that thing!". I thought the purpose of a personal Go Kit was to be relatively light and portable, so that you can go anywhere and provide emergency communications wherever it might be needed. What's the purpose of building a Go Kit that you need a hand truck or dolly to tote around?  That might be OK for a local shelter in town, but what if it's a situation like they had in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria? If you're being tasked to some remote location, I would think you'd want to simply pack as much as you could into a backpack that you would then carry into the affected area. Elaborate and pretty is nice I guess, and may generate lots of "Oooohs and aaaahs"; but unless your setup is tactically ready and efficient, it may not end up being of much use. When I think of "Go Kit" - personally I think of portability - not necessarily a shack away from home with all the bells and whistles. And if something more elaborate is needed, at least put it in something that already has wheels built into it that can be easily pulled or pushed around.  50+ pounds in a hard Steelcase with one or two handles that needs two guys to carry it just doesn't seem to cut it, in my mind.

Field Day is coming up this weekend and the CW station, for which I am responsible, will be coming to the site contained entirely in one backpack and one plastic ammo box.  Not that I would want to; but if I had to, I could comfortably walk it to the Field Day site without exhausting myself in the process of getting it there.

Sorry for the rant - maybe it's just Monday morning crankiness.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!