[Milsurplus] Death of Hobby?

[Peter Gottlieb]

I am an engineer who was a kid in the sixties and who has had radio and 
electronics as a hobby since I was about 2 years old.  I was fortunate 
to have two uncles who were in electronics, one who owned a small 
government contractor and the other who was in charge of instrumentation 
at a big federal lab.  I worked summer jobs as a high level technician 
when my parents would let me.

In my opinion (I guess nowadays they say "IMHO") the kind of engineering 
and radio you are talking about had its heyday in the 60's and 70's and 
the field is now completely different.  Those days are gone.  Electrical 
Engineering as a field is now done mostly in front of a computer. 
Everything has software to aid it, from simulation, to function 
libraries, to ASIC design, to PC layout to mechanical design of the 
case.  Even the parts list is automated and as you make changes you can 
watch the final estimated product cost change.

Is radio dieing?  Well, I wouldn't go that far.  Sure, as those of us 
who grew up before the internet and love radio get older and die there 
will be a decrease in the ranks but like you say there will always be an 
influx of newcomers.  I find that kids are amazed that I can take a 
transceiver out of a laptop carrying case, throw a couple wires over 
some tree branches and talk to people halfway across the country.  No 
net, no computer, no power mains and if the rig gets rained on it's no 
big deal.

But there are a lot of competing interests these days.  Parents keep 
their kids busy, as any parent knows!  Soccer, tennis, after school 
programs, socializing, it's really different now than it was when I grew 
up.  Radio takes time, committment and money.  And how many ham classes 
are there?  How many events?  And isn't it obsolete anyway?

Enough rambling.  Radio won't die, but it will have fewer adherents. 
Perhaps you can see if the ARRL has a chart of stats for the hobby such 
as new licensees or membership by year.  I would guess you will see a 
peak then an asymptotic decline which we are somewhere in the middle of.

Peter




> 
> Hello Military Radio Enthusiasts,
> 
> I was at a hamfest yesterday, working on refining my collection.  A fellow
> glumly commented to me, "I guess radio is a dying hobby".  This morning I
> was thinking about the project I sent him home with, and his comment.
> Despite any demographic or statistical evidence in front of me, I refuse to
> accept that for several reasons.
> 
> First, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
> 
> Second, if you accept the premise that there will always be a military, and
> that a certain fraction of those members of the military  will develop a
> nostalgia or curiosity for the ways of their predecessors, then there is a
> pool of future enthusiasts.  When I operated from USS Massachusetts in the
> Museum Ships Radio Weekend, I had some very interested visitors who had
> been Navy Radiomen in more recent times.
> 
> Folks, if we hide in our shops tinkering and mutter glumly about the death
> of our hobby, it probably will come to pass.
> 
> BUT
> 
> There are guys like Breck and Maurice, who  take stuff to hamfests just to
> show it off.
> 
> There are groups like the Battleship New Jersey Amateur Radio Station, who
> not only operate a ham station from the ship, but who zealously devote
> themselves towards restoration and repair of original ships electronics.
> These guys and gals are great!!
> 
> There is Bob Doherty, whose video camera seems to always be at work
> documenting our hobby.
> 
> There is the New Jersey Antique Radio Club, who have several public
> displays a year, and host repair sessions for people to bring radios they
> want fixed.
> 
> There are "on-the-air" events like the Museum Ships Radio Weekend, the
> Classic Exchange, and the Old Military Radio Net, where radios and vessels
> of the past can be heard on the air.
> 
> There is the Military Radio Collector's Association, who opens the displays
> at their annual meet to the public.
> 
> I think these are fine examples of people and groups who share their
> enthusiasm and keep our hobby alive.
> 
> Rob Flory
> 
> 
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