[Elecraft] Reaching Across the Chronological Divide

[David Gilbert]

That's true from my perspective as well.

But you and I don't count.  Wayne started this thread in the context of 
drawing new members into the hobby (understandably so since his business 
depends upon it for the long term).  If those of us already invested in 
this hobby aren't interested in ragchewing anymore, at least not to any 
significant degree as any non-contest day clearly shows, why on earth 
would we expect ragchewing to be the draw that brings in new members, 
especially considering the relative barriers (cost, space, license, 
HOAs, etc)?  I'll even bet that the majority of folks subscribed to this 
reflector spend more time each week reading it than they do ragchewing 
on the air.

It's not like the old days, even for us.

So I'll say it one more time and then I'll mercifully refrain from 
further posts on the topic.  Unless ham radio figures out how to evolve 
into something that actually has appeal for today's youngsters, we're 
still going to primarily be an aging (and diminishing) club of old 
people.  More of the same, no matter how strongly we try to convince 
anyone, isn't going to change anything.

73,
Dave   AB7E



On 12/22/2019 9:37 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:
> I think we need to be focusing on the personal aspect of one on one 
> communications with someone who we have never met - without the need 
> for the internet, Facebook or any other internet app.
> It is a thrill to me to be able to have a conversation with someone 
> new via ham radio.
>
> Of course, even that element is fading out in ham radio with the 
> emphasis on quick DX contacts or contest points.  Ragchewing with 
> someone new to get to know something about them personally or their 
> location is what gives me the thrill of ham radio.  So sad to see that 
> element being diminished.
>
> Bring ragchewing back, and I am not talking about the nets on 80 and 
> 40 meters, it is reaching out to someone new and telling a bit about 
> ourselves and getting the same in return.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 12/22/2019 11:17 PM, David Gilbert wrote:
>>
>> I think we already discussed that aspect, and the point is that young 
>> people with a technological inclination are far more likely to be 
>> interested in software, or robotics, or biomedical ... stuff that has 
>> more relevance to advancing the world and actually leading to a job.  
>> It might be a challenge to bounce a signal of the ionosphere but 
>> people were doing that 100 years ago.
>>
>> 73,
>> Dave   AB7E
>>
>>
>> On 12/22/2019 6:52 PM, Robert G Strickland via Elecraft wrote:
>>> There is a constant refrain about "communicating with far away 
>>> places." No doubt that has been one attraction of our hobby. For 
>>> myself, I was never particularly interested in "communicating." For 
>>> me it was mastery of a technical environment. Communicating was just 
>>> the proof that the environment had been mastered. Another way of 
>>> saying this -maybe- is technology versus sociology. There are many 
>>> traditional activities that have been replaced by more modern 
>>> versions [eg, horses versus cars, walking versus bicycling, 
>>> bow/arrow versus guns]. Yet, there is still interest in the "old 
>>> way," because the earlier challenges remain in spite of more modern 
>>> solutions. Getting a signal from my radio, out into the ether, 
>>> bouncing it off the ionosphere, and back down on the other side is 
>>> still a challenge. Satellite links and the internet don't negate the 
>>> ionospheric challenge. Perhaps engaging prospective hams in the 
>>> technical challenges of the hobby will brings in those who like such 
>>> challenges. Communicating may be the benny on the other side of 
>>> mastery.
>>>
>