Subj : Re: The Weekly ARRL Lett
To   : SEAN DENNIS
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Sun Sep 15 2019 13:01:00

Sean,

SD>I moderate 14 echoes here in Fidonet and I can't get people to post in half
SD>of them even though I try to seed the echoes for coversation.

  I co-moderate the WEATHER echo with Mike Powell...I'm still waiting
for word of the updated ECHOLIST UPDATER site, since the passing of Ben
Ritchey...but, I haven't seen anything else on that. I can either send
the MOD UPD via email or netmail.

  On Facebook, I moderate several groups, but that's the ONLY thing I do
on there anymore. I got so BURNED OUT, and fed up with all the messages
on the Timeline and in Messenger, "demanding" that I "Share this", "Look
At This", etc. (and some of that was malware). Right around the time of
my Mom's death on August 9, I decided that I'd had enough, so I
UNFRIENDED EVERYONE, family, relatives, everyone.

  One ham radio operator was so infuriated that I had the absolute gall
to unfriend him, that he said "I don't want to be your friend anymore",
and that "I should send back to him, the ThumbDV that he had sent me
earlier in the year". It was meant as a birthday present, but with his
demand for its return, that makes him "An Indian Giver" in my eyes. So,
I sent it back overnight on Friday, and he got it on Monday (his wife
signed for it).

  I do NOT spend every waking moment with Facebook, the BBS, ham radio,
square dancing, etc. On the BBS, if some days, I don't feel like logging
on to check QWK Mail, I don't -- although I update the weather and ham
radio related bulletins (unless I'm offline for thunderstorms or
internet outages). As for Facebook, I'm still a member of about 10
groups, but have unjoined all the others, as well as the pages.

  Back to ham radio, my involvement is on selected Saturdays with
license exam sessions (I'm one of the few VE Team Liaisons in the
central Arkansas area), and during the evenings with nets.

  As for being on the air, I purchased a replacement ThumbDV from
Northwest Digital Radio for around $125 (with shipping), and it got here
Friday (it wasn't supposed to arrive until Monday...but it was back
ordered, and delayed a week). Yet, that's $75 cheaper than the DV Dongle
from Robin, AA4RC. Plus, his DV Tool program ONLY allows access to the
US Trust Servers (REF)...but NOT access to the X-Reflectors (XRF, XLX,
DCS, etc.). Yet, the BlueDV program from David, PA7LIM, *DOES* -- and it
also allows access to DMR...plus it soon will allow access to Fusion.

  The only REF systems I'm on are for the Arklatex D-Star Net on
Tuesday, the CERT D-Star Net on the 1st Thursday, and the New Mexico
D-Star Net on the second Thursday. I am on the QuadNet Array for the
QCWA Net on Sunday, the Trains Net on Friday, and the Food Net on the
first Saturday (schedule conflicts forced me to reduce the frequency of
that net). I also do Packet Via Telnet to/from the NS2B BBS in Penfield,
New York (being scribe for their weekly net on Monday), and check into a
"laid back" net on Echolink on Wednesday. It's a roundtable format, with
no "mad rush" to check in. I've been a part of that net since March,
2006, when I first started using Echolink. Otherwise, I'm not on the air
at all.

  To me a hobby...whether a BBS, ham radio, or something else, should
NEVER take priority over things like church, family, health, job, or
especially honey-do's -- in the latter case, that nice rig you have your
eye on for Christmas or your birthday, may be going "bye-bye" (hi hi).

Daryl, WX4QZ


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