robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

rmorrison1116, sr71 and larryepage

Each of you has points that are valid.

In the past Amateur aka Ham (I grew up saying Ham radio so will use it here) radio operators have been of great help during major disasters (and when I was in Nam some of them had a system for GIs to talk to family at home). Today more agencies, even small towns have better commo gear but the Hams are still there if needed. Some volunteer response groups are on the local gvt system, some use the commercial/business frequency gear, some still use CB and some use Ham. My wife is a retired nurse and while working a lot of the nurses and doctors at her hospital trained with CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) she told me they were offering Ham training for free. I used radios at the railway museum in the operations department and wanted to get a better radio but our local store would not sell the high end programmable radios unless you had a Ham license. So I took the course and got my license - they have my name on their list to contact if needed (here in So Cal it would be "The Big One"). I got the freqs and listened in on the local Hams a few times but decided it was just CB with better gear. I still use the radio at the museum and I have the gear to plug into my car's power and a magnetic antenna. I have an two old mast antennas in the garage that are CB/Ham compatible and a rotatory motor for the directional beam antenna. I keep saying I should set them up just in case.
I also still have two CB base stations (one was my Dad's and it is CB + voice ham freqs) and several handhelds stored in the garage plus 3 scanners. In another town years ago I was a member of a volunteer response team for the local PD and we used CB. I have also considered getting a couple of extra car batteries with converters to power radios and a solar charger for them and of course smaller batteries such as used by the handheld radios and others like my cameras.

My oldest son (Army Reserve) is a member of Team Rubicon and they have their own gear but also keep contacts with Hams. Our daughter and my wife are also members of Team Rubicon and our son and daughter have both done deployments with TR (they both went to Houston after Harvey). My gear and myself are available to them if ever needed.

So, though they are not as vital today as in the past the Ham and even CB people are available if things really get bad. I pray the need will never come but it is just like the Boy Scout (I never lived where there was a troop as a kid.) motto "Be Prepared".

And if we continue this side discussion it needs to go to a thread of its own in Chit Chat.

frank west Loc: los angeles, ca, usa

I am very new here. Just signed up yesterday. So, what is normal here I don't want to disturb. And, please ignore me if this is wrong. But, maybe we all should take a little 'time out' here. Are we way off topic? We are supposed to be helping the OP figure out what his next upgrade move is. Instead, seems we've turned this thread into a screaming match over cellphones. This thread needs a bit of moderation.

As I've said I am very new here. I am searching through the net trying to find a replacement for Flickr which under SmugMug has turned into a very unstable site with loads of glitches and where every group has gone silent. I'd wished that UglyHedgehog was a lively place with lots of chatter about a wide range of photographic issues. It seems to be just that, so far. But, how well moderated is it? I am an older guy enjoying his hobby of photography. I am long past proving my side or winning any argument. I'd just like to go along and get along. Is the UglyHedgehog for that purpose or should I be moving on in my search? Thanks.

Bill_de Loc: US

If you can keep to the first three pages of any thread you should be OK. By then most of the useful stuff that actually pertains to the original post has been said. After that you have a good chance of finding yourself in the middle of a free for all. There is no serious moderation at THE HOG. Learning to navigate a bumpy road isn't hard, and can be fun if you don't take things to heart.

Welcome.

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frank west Loc: los angeles, ca, usa

Thank you for the reply and advice. I will do as you suggested. Presently, I am having a good time navigating the site. Thank you, once again.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Welcome
Yes the first few pages usually answer the question and the rest are just "me too" or "you're crazy, I know better".
Now on Chit Chat some things are of the endless two, three or four sides each with their own opinion - they usually end up in "The Attic"

Most really long threads are either for a really great thing that everyone wants to congratulate the OP
Other though are ones than wonder off onto a different subject (sometimes multiple subjects).
I contributed to the diversion here, after I tried to help with the OP.

enjoy the UHH and learn to ignore the parts you don't like or agree with

frank west Loc: los angeles, ca, usa

Thank you for your help. Good shooting.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

I will tell you what I tell everyone who feels every conversation should be short and to the point. If you don't like a particular conversation, don't participate. It really is that simple.
Social media, which UHH is, is all about socializing with other members. It's all about the conversations. There are many members who for whatever reason feel things should be done as they see fit. This is definitely not the case.
I didn't join UHH to learn photography. I'm already fairly good at it and I have a very good library of books to learn from. I joined UHH because the membership have a common theme, photography.
Many conversations go off topic because that is human nature. Some people apparently enjoy arguing and putting others down or forcing their opinions on others as fact. Some people always have to be right even though they aren't even close. The bottom line is, I don't know any of there grumpy old men and never will. I take none of this seriously as way too many do. As I said, it's all about the conversations and absolutely none of it is worth losing sleep over.

frank west Loc: los angeles, ca, usa

Thank you.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

You are very welcome...

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

you are welcome

pila

Perfect description of why we love UHH

awis01

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

Amen!! 😂

donald4u Loc: California

How is your Budget? Full frame is great but some of the DX lens will not work well on a FX camera. Go into a camera store near you and try them out. I bought a used Nikon 7100. It is so close to the 7200 for low light and FPS for me it was not worth it. I like putting good glass on my camera. BTW No matter what you get. You make the picture. It is a great tool.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Are you certain that a new DX camera will "help you be a better photographer"? It sounds like your camera should and lenses should suffice for what you currently do. Do you know your camera well? I mean everything about it? Can you shoot shutter, aperture, and manually? Do you know what all the menu items mean? Maybe it's not the camera you need to concentrate on but, instead, your skills? Too many people think the equipment will make them "better photographers" when the issue is skill level. This is not to say that better equipment does not help, it does in some cases. If you do decide to shoot a lot of fast-moving subjects then a Nikon D500 is a great camera for that.