[HCRA] KB6NU's November 2011 Column

[Larry - WB1DBY]

Here's Dans column for November. It's relevant to many of us and useful.


73,

Larry, WB1DBY
wb1dby at comcast.net

Visit my local ham club at: www.hcra.org
We meet the first Friday of every month. I'll see you there!




> Hi, folks--
>
> Here's the November column.  I know that it's way early--and that I rarely 
> send these out early--but I was inspired to blog about this, and this post 
> came out so well, that I thought I'd make it into a column and send it out 
> right away.
>
> 73!
>
> Dan KB6NU
>
> ############# start column #############
>
>
> Carving Out Time for Ham Radio
>
> BY Dan Romanchik, KB6NU
>
> On a recent episode of This Week in Tech (www.twit.tv), Leo Laporte, 
> W6TWT, mentions ham radio, and a guest asks him how much time he is 
> spending on the air. Leo, who just recently got his Tech license says 
> “Zero!” and laughs.
>
> This is not uncommon. Lots of people seem to get a ham radio license and 
> then do very little with it. I think one reason for this is that they don’t 
> take into account how much time the hobby really can eat up.
>
> They get their ticket because it seems like a cool thing to do, but then 
> they have to carve out some time to actually be a ham radio operator. Even 
> if you don’t make any of your own gear, setting up a station takes time, 
> and then there is the operating time, of course. Carving time out of busy 
> schedules—and I would guess that Laporte has a pretty busy schedule being 
> the owner of TWiT—is a challenge.
>
> I see things like this all the time. At one ham radio club meeting that I 
> attended, the club vice president asked, “OK, here’s the question of the 
> month. How many of you actually got on the air in the past month.” Less 
> than half of those in attendance raised their hands. Geez, I thought to 
> myself, why do they even bother to come to meetings if they don’t get on 
> the air?
>
> Making time for ham radio
> So, if you’re a busy person, how do you make time for ham radio? Well, 
> being the Internet geek that I am, I Googled, “making time for things you 
> love.” I got a lot of links to sites that talked about work-life balance 
> and some new-age blogs, but none of them offered much in the way of 
> concrete advice.
>
> Then, I Googled “make time for hobbies” and right off the bat, I found two 
> good articles—7 Creative Ways to Make Time For Your Creative Hobby! 
> (http://www.exploringwomanhood.com/homelife/hobbies/maketime.htm) and 5 
> Ways to Make Time for Your Hobby 
> (http://o5.com/5-ways-to-make-time-for-your-hobby/). Both articles offered 
> very similar advice. Here are four points that both made:
>
> 1. Schedule it. Set aside a specific time during which you’re going to do 
> ham radio. Don’t let that time get pre-empted.
>
> 2. Designate a place in your home for ham radio. Having to set up your 
> radios or dig out your tools every time you want to operate or build 
> something is not much fun and wastes a lot of time. Having a “shack” and a 
> workspace designated for your projects will let you spend more time on the 
> fun stuff.
>
> 3. Partner up. Arranging to work with another ham will make it harder to 
> blow off ham radio for some other activity. Besides, it’s a lot of fun to 
> do things with other hams. If you’re a newly licensed ham, find an Elmer. 
> There really are plenty around who would be willing to help you.
>
> 4. Create a project plan. Setting up an amateur radio station is no small 
> feat. Breaking it down into smaller chunks will make it seem more doable, 
> and you’ll get a feeling of accomplishment when you meet your in-between 
> goals.
>
>
> There’s so much to learn and do in amateur radio that it can seem quite 
> overwhelming. I think that’s one reason why so many Techs never really get 
> into the hobby and why some experienced hams drift away. I think if you 
> follow the advice above, though, you’ll not only find the time to pursue 
> amateur radio, but get a lot more out of it.
>
> ================================
>
> When he's not down in his shack, working with a friend on yet another 
> amateur radio project, Dan writes amateur radio study guides.  You can 
> find them on his website at www.kb6nu.com/tech-manual. Make some time to 
> e-mail him at cwgeek at kb6nu.com.
>
> ############# end column #############