What Happened to Everybody?

[Wescopc]

Starlink.

This is certainly a reason for the decline in rural areas without broadband. So much is available on the internet with a Roku or similar device. We pay nothing for programming - just the internet and a one time cost for a Roku. We would have the internet for the computers anyway - so no additional monthly cost for TV.

 

[ReggieA]

I'm not uninterested, just unable to participate. I'm still in a nursing home, recovering much slower than I'd hoped. My view is to the North, and not much of that. I've no real chance of any kind of satellite access, so I'm keeping quiet and biding my time.

 

[LEEHRAT]

I have been at it since 1978 when I started with a 4 foot dish stand alone the got one sat with 24 channels and all free. Still at it with 10 footer c and ku. I scan every sat once a month to see what changes. my arc is 135 w to 77 west. Still a hobby I love after 45 years of it.

 

[LocutusOfBorg]

Somewhat true of shortwave dx-ers, but there has been a been uptick in ham radio. Most of the older guys in ham radio kill off the hobby on their on accord. They say they want new blood, but they resist change. Everyone should be like them, sit on a frequency and gripe about stuff. They preach rules, rules, rules. But don't dare get on their "net" frequency before their net, they will key on you and tune up and run 5000 illegal watts, remember it is "their" frequency. So, rules do not apply to them. But it is changing finally, slowly, but it is changing and the old guys say it is dying. For awhile it was on a decline, but not anymore. I've seen more hams on the air now, then I have in a few years.

Still not a great deal of activity on our repeaters. We have a lot of them including DMR but good luck finding someone to talk to. About the only time you hear anyone is on nets. That said, the local high school runs a ham class in the last quarter of the school year. They had a class last year but my son was the only one that got his license, technician class. I bought him a handheld but there's no one in his age group to talk to. I'm an extra class but I don't get on much anymore myself.

 

[N5XZS]

Still DXing since Panama Canal Zone days in 69 to 73, when as a kid first started with shortwave radio at 8 years old and never looked back and will keep on DXing before I go to next timeline.

Yeah, lots of things changes good and bad over river of time, better video compression codecs thats good and the bad is planing by the FCC. Got to be awful when you get 5G garbage signal trashing fragile C band satellite signals, and what's wrong with the FCC what are they thinking?

I guess too much greedy lawyers instead of real FCC techs out there nowdays.

But I do hope there are better new stuffs out there coming our way, assuming our civilization don't blow ourself, if we manage to survive maybe within our lifetime or not it will be subspace radio that would change everything, meaning leaving old world and enter new world of thing how we live in.

That's is called final frontier stage tech level of our civilization.

And yes there more new toys to play with!!

 

[Ron_MNdish]

Still here, haven't done posting for a while. No 5G interference here yet, probably for a long time to come. Like to see more posts from the FTA hobbyists to keep the hobby alive snd kickin!

 

[wvman]

I started playing with FTA maybe 12 years ago. At that time, this FTA forum was heavy with many posts. I was always learning new things from others.

Has everybody died or are they just quiet and no longer posting? Or worse...lost interest in this activity? Where are the newcomers? Did we scare them all away?

I think a lot people who were into FTA lost interest in it because of the trash on TV today. I still have 8 dishes but we rarely turn it on for that reason. I saw this coming, so I started buying DVD's with the shows we like to watch.

We don't have to sit through endless pharmaceutical, Medicare supplemental and other commercials produced trying to turn a buck off robbing the public blind.

And besides that, I am not going to watch programs that cut parts of the programs out and mask certain words so they can run 10 commercials in between 10 minute segments of the show you're watching and to keep from offending someone.

Commercial television is killing itself with their program choices. If MeTV dropped Gunsmoke, Andy Griffith, Bonanza and several others. they would lose most of their viewers.

I'm on here from time to time, and drop in like now if I get a notification and I'll be glad to help if I can. Well, that's my take on the subject, but I'm sure others may not agree with me.

But streaming isn't helping the matter either. Who knows, in the near future I may have a lot of scrap aluminum to haul to the scrapyard. Cheers. Good luck.

 

[KE4EST]

I think a lot people who were into FTA lost interest in it because of the trash on TV today.

BINGO!!

 

[Bassplayer 1964]

Simple manpower could be the answer. We have fiber in our semi-rural area and I haven't heard of anyone right on a line who couldn't get. But this is all underground. Yours is on poles?

Still have my C/Ku, and have inquired here but not gotten much direction for Its all aerial here. THE ONLY ug

Simple manpower could be the answer. We have fiber in our semi-rural area and I haven't heard of anyone right on a line who couldn't get. But this is all underground. Yours is on poles?

Still have my C/Ku, and have inquired here but not gotten much direction for FTA

It's all aerial here. The UG part is from the pole to the residence and the only reason they wanted to do that is because my power and phone is UG Personally I dont care how it gets here as long as it does as their lowest tier is 4X faster than the mess I've got now for just a couple of dollars more. It;s costing $65 a month for BrightSpeed which actually is almost no speed LOL

 

[dfergie]

I started with a 10' fiberglass dish (mount broke after years of wind load, it's out back) still have an 8' mesh dish but no younger than 30 years old receivers to hook up to. (Had fire 8 years ago tomorrow)Sundays were nice to go out and find live feeds with the hand crank for NFL and all the free "premiums" till HBO went videocipher and things went downhill from there for us.

 

[navychop]

Sundays were nice to go out and find live feeds with the hand crank for NFL and all the free "premiums" till HBO went videocipher

WOW! You ARE old!

 

[telstar_1]

Yep, that's going back, the 80s Sunday Ticket. There were programmable positioners, but, $$$.

I still have my 8' solid aluminum and looking to get back into feed-finding hobby

 

[N5XZS]

Hand cranked moving your dish! Is now ancient history!!

 

[dfergie]

Hand cranked moving your dish! Is now ancient history!!

And had lead pencil marks for all the Sats (with proper names)

 

[dfergie]

WOW! You ARE old!

1 more week and I no longer have a job, (long term/retired)...

 

[cyberham]

People are alive! I declare this thread successful.

 

[dfergie]

People are alive! I declare this thread successful.

We're just distracted... YouTube takes the place for me of hunting for wild feeds, you never know what will pop up.(and I don't have to go out by the dish to turn the crank)

 

[navychop]

1 more week and I no longer have a job, (long term/retired)...

Three years in, and loving it!

 

[N5XZS]

Had to admit that You Tube, is kinda distracting when watching Itchy Boots!

 

[Lone Gunman]

Huh, I retired in January of 2006 @ 60 years old and never looked back!! Bought my 10 ft Winegard system with an Echostar 7000 receiver in 1988.

The lack of fair priced equipment is what's going to run me out of the hobby as lightning got me again this year and I now no longer have a spare Vbox dish mover.

Ennywho, it is what it is and @ 78 with failing health, I may not need more spares.

Just saying......................