[Milsurplus] 20 Years into the Future

[William Donzelli]

> Can you imagine it 20 years from now... the MIL BA collector wants to
> show that his rig will operate in the CW mode, so he plugs in a key
> and does a "tap-tap" with his forefinger just touching the tip of the
> knob....(like you see on TV docu-dramas)  .... and asks, "Didja hear
> that?  Morse Code!"

Yes, I can imagine what things will be like for our bunch 20 years
from now. You will not like it.You will probably not like what I say.
Too bad.

I think I see things in different light than nearly all of you, being
that I am one of the youngest people on this list (probably also on
boatanchors, AWA, and a few others radio related). I still have a few
years to go before I am 40. Other than a very few others, our age
range is generally 50 to 80. In 20 years most of you guys will be
dead, or at the point where you have probably passed your radios on.
But who will you pass your radios on to?

In 20 years, I am going to be able to get any radio I want, even the
rare birds, for a relative song. Maybe even a song. I will have so
many estate sales to go to, and with no competition, simply because
the supply and demand curve will be so stacked in my favor.

Face it guys, ham radio (and tube radio) is dying in a big way. I
think many have figured that out by now. There needs to be new blood -
young blood - to revitalize the hobby. Also, no big secret. What I see
is while there is lots of talk about how we need to recruit young ones
- but behavior that works in the opposite direction. Honestly, you
guys need to stop and think about your ways.

This idea of Morse being a "Right of Passage" is just silly and
counterproductive. Dropping the Morse requirement really will do no
harm, and may improve things slightly. I have run into a few younger
people interested in ham radio that have been turned off by the Morse
requirement. NO kid WANTS to go thru any silly ham radio "Right of
Passage". The only right of passage any kid wants to go thru generally
involves college foolishness with beer and girls at the other end.

Tune in tonight and listen to yourselves. While no kid expects to hear
about Wii or Xbox or Snoop Doggs latest album, what they really DO NOT
want to hear are a bunch of weather and antenna reports, interrupted
every so often by descriptions of ones latest medical condition or
talking about another silent key.

They also do not really want to hear about politics. Most kids just do
not care about politics. And if they do care - big suprise coming -
they probably DO NOT want to hear praise of the Conservatives and the
Iraq War. Remember, they have buddies that are shipping out and
getting shot at. Leave to politics for another day.

Also, do not try to force an interest of radio history on the kids -
it will not work. In fact, it may never work. There are lots of kids
that are interested in the history of technology - but technology that
they have some sort of connections to, like computers. The kids have
NO significant connection to Morse, AM, tubes, and so forth. The best
way to nurture an interest in radio history is to let it grow from
another interest. Knocking the kid's interest in computers, or
comparing it unfavorably to ham radio, is NOT A GOOD THING.

Now, I do not expect (or really want) any of you guys to all of a
sudden change your ways to be some sort of gramps-cool character,
talking the talk and all that, but guys, if you want to attract and
keep more under-30s - STOP ACTING LIKE A BUNCH OF OLD HAMS. BE
INTERESTING TO THEM. And it is not just the milsurplus and ham crowd -
the AWA and old radio folks in general also seem to be digging their
own graves.

OK, that's that. If you want to flame me, go ahead - just remember
that I will probably be at your estate sale.

--
Will