In the field of global amateur radio, there are many amateur radio amateurs with strong DIY ability, who use their skilled technology to create a lot of amateur radio products with forward-looking technology and personality of play, bringing more fun to enthusiasts. Recently, I came into contact with a well-known god in the amateur radio field - BH1VSA (hereinafter referred to as "VSA"), and enthusiasts who know VSA know that VSA is a well-known callsign stamp designer and maker. Today, I specially visited the VSA studio, interviewed VSA himself, and excavated some stories behind the call sign seal to share with you.
Based on the communication and understanding with VSA in the early stage, the impression of VSA should be full of science and engineering temperament, but when we met VSA during the interview, it was full of literary and artistic atmosphere. It's hard to see how hobbies like the outdoors, mountaineering, off-roading, and motorcycling are closely related to VSA. Through interviews, we learned that VSA itself has been engaged in cultural media work for more than ten years, and is indeed a rare literary and artistic worker among amateur radio enthusiasts. Especially back then, the picture of the long-haired VSA operating the radio station with oil paintings was still different from that of most enthusiasts. But VSA himself believes that out of his love for life, his hobbies are still very wide, and he is more of a "slash uncle".
According to VSA, 20 years ago, as an art student, he first came into contact with walkie-talkies in outdoor activities, and since then, his hobby of radio has been with him to this day. At that time, it was still the level 4 operation certificate of the Amateur Radio Sports Association, and later obtained the A-level and B-level operation certificates one after another, from outdoor, to off-road self-driving, to short-wave, this hobby has never stopped.
The fun of amateur radio doesn't have to be limited to the station itself. "From the outdoors, off-road through no man's land, to shortwave connectivity around the world, what I have experienced is the joy of information exchange brought by radio communication." Of course, every time I make and set up an antenna and complete efficient communication, the sense of accomplishment of personal technological breakthroughs is also a kind of fun. In addition, it is also fun to participate in some CQ and ITU competitions and obtain various certificates. ”
Why Hamstamp(Call Sign Seal).
VSA has been designing and producing call sign seals for more than 10 years, and has accumulated a good reputation at home and abroad through continuous innovation and upgrading for more than 10 years.
On the topic of HAM Stamp, VSA said that the QSL card (Communication Confirmation Card) itself is also a kind of radio culture, like postcard collection, stamp collection, etc. QSL card has a long history of development in the field of amateur radio, and it is also one of the indispensable items for many enthusiasts, and the call sign stamp used for QSL card also existed with the birth of QSL card, but at first we did not pay much attention to him, and it has gradually emerged in recent years.
It is reported that in the early years of VSA's overseas work and communication with local enthusiasts, the call sign stamp on the QSL card caught his attention, and he learned that HAM Stamp was also a kind of amateur radio hobby.
At this time, after graduating from university, VSA did not pursue a career related to design. Later, after returning to China, VSA had the idea of opening a local "HAM STAMP". I found a few students who taught at the Academy of Fine Arts and started the road of "HAM Stamp" creation in China. At the same time, HAM seniors were invited to participate, and after months of draft research and content setting, several exquisite seal patterns were finally born. In this process, the team referred to a large number of call sign seal styles at home and abroad, based on China's local HAM culture, and finally determined it through unique creation and professional art optimization design.
It can be said that the strokes of each character, the edges and distances of each element are adjusted and adjusted by micron-level calculations, and an error of a few tenths of a millimeter greatly reduces the beauty of the pattern," says VSA. "We used industrial design software tools to strictly measure the proportions of the patterns to ensure that they were visually comfortable to the greatest extent possible. ”
It may not be obvious to the average person that there is much difference between it and some randomly made seals, in fact, it is very rigorous. Many users also said that it was difficult to tell the difference, but they felt that the VSA pattern had a strong visual comfort, which is actually the result of the team's scientific and meticulous polishing," VSA added.
We also learned that in the past 10 years, there have been many businesses that plagiarize and imitate VSA patterns, but user feedback that imitations are also difficult to achieve the visual experience of VSA, which is the reason for the lack of professional measurement and tuning.
The impact of pirates on enthusiasts?
Behind the prosperity and development, it is inevitable to breed and hide dirt. VSA said that in fact, it does not care about plagiarism and piracy from the economic level, and its own job is not to make call sign seals, and it does not survive on the income of this business (shallow profits). However, as a cultural worker, copyright is the bottom line of life, and piracy and plagiarism is disrespect for others.
The most important thing is that pirated plagiarists, after being informed of their illegal acts, continue to infringe through other means, such as random splicing and design of patterns, which deeply destroy the original aesthetic foundation, and are made with low-end equipment and inferior materials, in fact, the victims are still the majority of HAM.
In recent years, many enthusiasts who have bought pirated and inferior stamps have re-found the studio to place orders for customization. VSA said.
VSA also pointed out that in the past 10 years of designing and producing call sign seals, many people have participated in imitation, and most of them are almost not original. After being informed of the copyright issue, many plagiarists expressed their ignorance and removed the infringing products, while apologizing to VSA Studios. "After all, because of the amateur radio spirit, the group of amateur radio enthusiasts themselves has a strong literacy and self-discipline. ”
However, there are also a very small number of plagiarists and pirates, who match, transform, alter, and splice VSA patterns at will, and will not stop illegal infringement after repeated dissuasion, and continue to sell through informal channels after the platform is removed. In this regard, VSA regretted: "In fact, because my company is involved in intellectual property business, I have a team of legal lawyers who can intervene at any time, but after all, the circle of amateur radio enthusiasts is big and big, and it is not big or big, this is a hobby and not the main business, so there is no need to take it too seriously." Illegal behavior completely depends on self-discipline, after all, the personal radio call sign is unique in the world, and some bad behaviors will definitely be criticized by everyone. ”
hamThe future of stamp?A cultural sphere is being formed
Speaking of the future, VSA said that we are forming a unique "HAM STAMP" culture in Chinese culture, and there have been many times when the card with the VSA call sign stamp has been received by overseas friends, and the style of the seal has become the focus of their praise.
Among them, in recent years, many overseas enthusiasts outside the mainland have found VSA to customize the seal, not only in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, but also in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the United States and Canada and other countriesMoreover, the number of overseas customization enthusiasts is growing in quadrants every year.
However, VSA does not consider itself to be the creator of HAM Stamp culture, just a promoter, the formation of a culture needs to be promoted by everyone, and the majority of enthusiasts are the real creators of this culture. "Many amateur radio enthusiasts have reported that the call sign stamps in the cards that are often exchanged appear more and more frequently. It can also be seen that the cultural atmosphere of Ham Stamp has been formed.
Talking about the message to the HAM STAMP culture, VSA said that he hopes that the HAM STAMP can become a distinctive mark in the amateur radio culture, and like the QSL card, it will become a carrier for the in-depth expression of interest in this hobby. It not only represents every enthusiast's understanding of amateur radio culture, but also becomes an indispensable memory of the times in the historical development of amateur radio.
Conclusion:
During the more than 3 hours of interviews at VSA Studio, it is not difficult to see that VSA has a deep understanding of the hobby of amateur radio, and can also appreciate the essence of its integration of aesthetics, culture and amateur radio. This may be the reason why VSA is recognized among enthusiasts: a spiritual pursuit beyond the product itself.
During this period, the practical Xi students in the studio have been working intensively to design, make, and pack ......Although you can't see the tense working atmosphere, what you can see is the meticulous craftsmanship of every link.
ENDS).