[Fists] ARRL: Hams say "Hello"

[W1EOF]

You make some good points Jeff. I know when I have shown some teenagers ham
radio they were NOT thrilled with digital modes, DX, or talking. What did
they really like? CW! When I started sending code on my keyer they all
thought that was really neat. It was not enough to cause them to pursue it
however.

My point is that it's not the boogey man, it's not to be feared. It is only
ONE website afterall. It will not appeal to everybody. There are some people
who will come into radio because of the AWA website. Or the FISTS website.
Or some digital mode website.

There are all different reasons people get into ham radio. You are correct
that for most people these days there is no thrill in communicating with
people from "far away lands" as it was in my early day. Actually in my case
the technical aspect of radio was a big draw. I enjoyed learning, building
my own gear, and then using that gear to talk to people.

Fact is it's not THAT hard to get a ham license. Young children have been
passing the exams since the early 70s if not before. There has always been a
portion of ham radio that were "appliance operators". My Dad used to tell me
of guys in the early 1930s who were! That was 75 year ago, long before
incentive licensing or anything else attributed with the demise of radio.
There were "lids" back then too. There were guys who would play music on the
phone bands.

I've spoken with many, many hams who came in under the no-code license.
After being exposed to the full spectrum of ham radio they turned into great
hams and very very good CW operators. So to me, the additional exposure is
another opportunity to bring some new CW ops along. Or... or we can put them
down and demean them as a lesser-class of hams. This happens all too often
unfortunately. I say we welcome them, and do what we can to help them
along... kind of like the elmers who treated me with respect and helped me
along. It worked for me. It can work for them too.

73,

Mark W1EOF

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeff Davis [mailto:ke9v at yahoo.com]
> Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2006 4:57 PM
> To: fists at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: RE: [Fists] ARRL: Hams say "Hello"
>
>
> Sending CC's may delay your post. If you feel that your post
> needs to go to more than one destination please send them separately.
>
>
>
> You're right, there is nothing particularly "anti-CW"
> about this campaign. It's more "anti-sophisticated".
> It purposely paints a picture that amateur radio
> communication is simple and doesn't require much
> technical acumen. Just take a quick, easy test about
> some rules and regs then buy an off the shelf handheld
> and SHAZAM! Now you're talking!
>
> I have four children, the youngest is 13 and of that
> crew, only one had enough interest in the hobby to
> actually get a license. This despite the fact that
> they lived with me and were exposed to RF their entire
> life.
>
> Let's face facts and not stick our heads in the sand -
> ham radio is NOT for everyone. Some people see the
> challenge it offers and seize it. Most do not.
>
> Every attempt that's been made to "grow" the amateur
> service through trivializing it has failed miserably.
> The no-code technician license made lots of people
> happy--for awhile. Then they all moved on to greener
> pastures.  Ham radio was not as "easy" or as much fun
> as they had been led to believe.
>
> I asked my 13 year-old daughter to take a look at the
> "Hello" Web site and tell me if it would convince her
> or her friends to get involved in the hobby. Her
> response?
>
> "It's weird that they are using a WEB page to try and
> tell people how easy it is to TALK to others. I am
> chatting with three friends (using an instant
> messenger client) while looking at that Web site ... I
> can call any of my friends on my cell phone and talk
> to them or exchange text messages all I want. Why
> would I want to take a test, get a license, buy a
> radio and put up an antenna when I can already TALK to
> all my friends right now?"
>
> I'd say my daughter makes an excellent point, even if
> none of us like to hear it. Nobody needs ham radio to
> TALK to anyone. Free nights and weekends on the cell
> phone, instant messaging, text messaging, and voice
> over IP has COMPLETELY eliminated the need for ham
> radio--if all you are interested in doing is TALKING
> to someone else. There HAS to be something more to
> amateur radio than just TALKING to other hams because
> otherwise, you are looking at the final generation of
> the hobby.
>
> If we want to "save" amateur radio then we need to
> figure out what ELSE it's good for, because simply
> TALKING to others won't attract enough of a crowd
> these days to help pitch a Field Day tent...there has
> got to be a challenge.
>
>
> 73 de Jeff, KE9V
> FISTS #6641
>
>
> --- W1EOF <w1eof at hamnutz.com> wrote:
>
> > Well said John. It's important not to read too much
> > into this. It's just one
> > avenue of "reaching out" the public at large which
> > is a great thing. Nothing
> > anti-CW about it.
>
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