After a lifetime of interest in radio and being a licensed amateur since 1984 AND building a lot of my own equipment I find I am almost losing the will to live, due to the reasons put forward in this thread.
The more we have to fiddle with multiple tones, digits and do-dahs, the more likely we are to 'give it a miss'. The more we get deafened by a squawk of digital nonsense, the less likely we are to tune around. Why are we meant to rush to digital? Whenever I've heard it, it sounds odd and robotic and often quite unpleasant. What on Earth was wrong with analogue? It worked, it was easy to understand (and build if you had the interest) and it didn't suddenly burst into farmyard noises.
The 2m and 70 cm bands are now virtually dead around here, and my transceivers get switched on only once every Preston Guild.
