HP Forum Archive 21

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HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #1 Posted by John W Kercheval on 8 May 2012, 1:50 p.m. Ok, confess... how many of you bought, owned, wore on your belt, whipped out at dinner parties, and flashed to hot chicks, high end HPs just to raise your status at your respective top colleges and then in society at large? Yes, the 71B is big attached in its holder to your belt loop, but boy does it raise eyebrows. Stories please?

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #2 Posted by bill platt on 8 May 2012, 1:58 p.m., in response to message #1 by John W Kercheval I'm not sure about the attract chicks part. In fact, as a ham radio guy, I am rather nonplussed by the "trendiness" and "hip" nature of all these stupid "handheld" devices. Back in the 80s and 90s when only hams had handheld computers running over wireless packet networks, it was considered a point of absoulutely undateable nurdiness...how the world turns! Edited: 8 May 2012, 2:00 p.m.

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #3 Posted by M. Joury on 8 May 2012, 2:10 p.m., in response to message #2 by bill platt Not really. My daughter finds calculators utterly boring. On the other hand she finds iPads, iPhones, and all manner of Android devices fascinating and fun. I think that there are two completely separate classes of devices here and two completely separate mindsets at work. After all, she takes one look at my single line, black and white display sy41CL and is utterly uninterested. But pull out an Android device with a nice high-res color screen and she will spend hours playing angry birds or some other such game. Cheers, -Marwan

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #4 Posted by John W Kercheval on 8 May 2012, 2:16 p.m., in response to message #3 by M. Joury You are into RC> Where can I get an RC Zeppelin (not blimp)?

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #5 Posted by M. Joury on 8 May 2012, 2:44 p.m., in response to message #4 by John W Kercheval Quote: You are into RC> Where can I get an RC Zeppelin (not blimp)? And you knew his how? I know I have mentioned it previously on this forum but that was quite sometime back. I'm impressed that you remembered. To answer your question, I have no idea. I have a friend that may know however so if you are really interested I could try asking him. Cheers, -Marwan

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #6 Posted by John W Kercheval on 8 May 2012, 2:48 p.m., in response to message #5 by M. Joury Marwan: No I did not see it here. Part of an RBC. Ok, let me know. JK

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #7 Posted by M. Joury on 8 May 2012, 4:22 p.m., in response to message #6 by John W Kercheval Sorry, I'm drawing a blank on "RBC". Could I get a translation? I'll probably be kicking myself when I get it. Cheers, -Marwan

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #8 Posted by james summers on 9 May 2012, 2:10 p.m., in response to message #5 by M. Joury Marwan, Also, if you click on the poster's name (highlighted in blue) in any post you will see the interests they entered when they set up their account. Cheers James

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #9 Posted by John W Kercheval on 8 May 2012, 2:12 p.m., in response to message #2 by bill platt A study at Stanford Medical School in 1991 indicated that, basically size matters. Period. Further it indicated that big calcs ATTRACTED women as they pointed to "general bigness." Hence my numerous conquests in college. But I digress.... Ham radios- that I cannot speak to. But I did run into trouble operating my 10 Meter CB with a 500W amp attached to it in my apt in Berkeley in 1987. Senior year in college. AM Modulation can be decoded by just a diode and standing waves were all over the place, like in the telephone lines in my apt building. Long story short- the "colorful" language I was using to talk to the rednecks was 100% hearable on the handsets of everybody's phone in the complex. The 500W amp was illegal as CBs are 5 watts max. Do the math! The result was... me climbing out a window.

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #10 Posted by bill platt on 8 May 2012, 7:38 p.m., in response to message #9 by John W Kercheval Hahaha! Actually CB is the 11 meter band. If you were on 10 meters then that was yet another infraction! I once caused my mother's television to talk--with it not only turned off, but unplugged! I was running about 15W RF (accounting for SWR and having the car turned off) into a vertical on the car out in the street, working a station somewhere far away. After I signed off, I came into the house and my mom told me the story of the talking television. And I said, "I think I know what caused that!" and I went back out and transmitted "CQ" and she said, "yep, I heard it, and it sounded like you were saying "seek you". Haha.

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #11 Posted by Palmer O. Hanson, Jr. on 8 May 2012, 9:57 p.m., in response to message #2 by bill platt Quote: I'm not sure about the attract chicks part. I am sure about that. Not in the nerd's world wildest dream ... In my day too many of us wore slide rules on our belt. That wasn't an attract chicks thing either. A very few of us could wear a K&E 4080-5, the twenty inch version, on our belts. If size mattered ...

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #12 Posted by Eddie W. Shore on 10 May 2012, 11:39 p.m., in response to message #2 by bill platt Quote: I'm not sure about the attract chicks part. In fact, as a ham radio guy, I am rather nonplussed by the "trendiness" and "hip" nature of all these stupid "handheld" devices. Back in the 80s and 90s when only hams had handheld computers running over wireless packet networks, it was considered a point of absoulutely undateable nurdiness...how the world turns! Hey - iPods are not stupid! LOL I still think that calculators, especially the high end ones, are still a symbol of nerdiness (and assumed intelligence). People are more impressed when you show them that you know how to use them. I tend to like it all - a fan of both calculators and the iPod/iPads.

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #13 Posted by bill platt on 11 May 2012, 10:52 a.m., in response to message #12 by Eddie W. Shore I feel strongly that any battery-powered device with no user-servicable battery is très stupide...even if the device has many other merits. http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/13/dead-ipad-battery-never-mind-replacing-it-apple-just-sends-ano/ Apple reminds me of AOL in the early internet period--only worse. What a PITA. And who the hell would ever want to trust iTunes to preserve data?!!! That FRE#$Wing program STEALS and CANCELS your data! Edited: 11 May 2012, 10:55 a.m.

Re: HIGH END HPs.. Status Symbols?? Message #14 Posted by Matt Agajanian on 9 May 2012, 12:55 a.m., in response to message #1 by John W Kercheval As I see it and since my eBay trophies are The Classics, I tell my relatives & friends about them. They're actually INTERESTED and want to see them. As I run with an older crowd, they're not only very impressed and fascinated, they can relate completely. These younger kids, what do they know? Edited: 9 May 2012, 12:57 a.m.

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