#OLDER HAM RADIO DELUXE ACTIVATION KEY SOFTWARE#
#OLDER HAM RADIO DELUXE ACTIVATION KEY LICENSE#
#OLDER HAM RADIO DELUXE ACTIVATION KEY PROFESSIONAL#

I've made lifelong friends because of a shared interest in 'seeing what's possible.' My only regret is that I saw it was a weird quirky hobby that 'probably isn't still a thing.' Many on the radio and many of them in person. I've met countless incredible people all over the world. Thanks for the early introduction, Phil!įast forward to today and I'm packing radio gear for six weeks on a remote South Pacific island, because it's a desirable place to talk to (E51AMF, for the curious). I didn't understand what amateur radio was, but I'd run across the hacker/tinkerer culture in radio that eventually (only a few years ago!) brought me into the hobby.

#OLDER HAM RADIO DELUXE ACTIVATION KEY SOFTWARE#

It was made possible by software with that callsign in his email address emblazoned on the banners and docs. While we were still figuring out the mysteries of Minix and this newfangled Linux thing, we had email before it was cool. My roommate and I cobbled together a UUCP feed for a couple of BBSes in rural Idaho. Phil wrote some software used to enable UUCP over packet, way way back when. I second this so strongly that most probably won't understand how visceral this is. When I got into it in high school nearly 50 years ago, it confirmed for me that I wanted to become an electrical engineer, a decision I have never regretted.Įven many who decide that a STEM career isn't for them are hams simply because it's an enjoyable hobby. It helps STEM students learn about electronics, math, physics, or just about any other field of science and engineering even remotely associated with radio communications, such as computers and networking, satellites and remote sensing.

Ham radio still provides a creative outlet for hundreds of thousands of people. Even if you don't build (or write) your own stuff, even if you're primarily interested in using it to talk to others, it still gives you (or should give you) the opportunity to learn how it all works, to make technology just a little less mysterious and intimidating. To me, ham radio has always been a unique hands-on opportunity to learn what's 'behind the knobs' of a piece of communications hardware (or now, software). But to me, the one 'thing' it never has been is the purchasing of closed, proprietary software that can be turned off at whim by the developer.

Yes, ham radio is still very much a 'thing'. Other sources allege some amateur radio forums have in the past deleted posts critical of HRD. Meanwhile, Reddit threads and follow-up discussions to Giercyk's catalyst forum post reveal similar stories of keys being revoked after critical comments about Ham Radio Deluxe have appeared online. HRD told us some of those users could have written their assessments after requesting a refund and deactivating their software, thus their licenses will appear revoked.

#OLDER HAM RADIO DELUXE ACTIVATION KEY LICENSE#

A number of other readers pointed out a collection of bad reviews posted on hobbyist site eHam by customers who had their license keys blacklisted. It's extortion, not refusal of service.' Giercyk also said that since he went public about his blacklisting last week, he has received messages from other users who have stories of their software keys being revoked by HRD without their knowledge for speaking up about having a bad support experience. Giercyk, aka N2SUB, told us on Tuesday: 'The issue is not the refusal of service, the issue is that HRD disabled my software, and then offered to enable it in exchange for the removal of an online review of their product.

#OLDER HAM RADIO DELUXE ACTIVATION KEY PROFESSIONAL#

Giercyk, a professional musician in South Carolina, U.S., says that after his dealings with HRD Software (which has since reinstated his software key) and the statement made by the developer's co-owner Dr Michael Carper, he takes issue with claims made by the company. And just to be clear: by blackballing keys, installed copies of the software stop working.

Other radio hams have followed up with us regarding claims that this was not an isolated incident and others may have had their license keys blacklisted for being publicly critical of the company. Gandalf_the_Beardy quotes a report from The Register: The Register reports on the story of Jim Giercyk, an amateur radio enthusiast who had his copy of the popular Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) software revoked after posting a negative review.

Older ham radio deluxe activation key