[Milsurplus] Sparking interest in younger folks...

[hwhall at compuserve.com]

Mike Durff wrote:
"what is it about "radio" that sparks interest in the younger generation ?  It wasn't "new" when most of us got into it."

Would I be far wrong to guess we fell into one or both of two groups?  (1) Ones fascinated by the technology itself & (2) ones fascinated by personal long distance communication.  The following extracts from of a letter I recently sent to QST.  My letter won't get published, I'm pretty sure.

For Group 1:
The present non-ham population is hi-tech saturated.  To the part of the public that’s even aware hams/shortwaves still exist, it has a reputation of being antique, not the pinnacle of tech-hobbies. 
For Group 2:
Radio is much inferior in ease, quality and reliability to the Internet and smart phones.  Communicating via radio, by itself, is a stale carrot. We’ve held it out for generations but the payoff got smaller as time passed.

ARRL is sure (said so themselves) we can interest folks in chasing higher tickets and expanding operating skills.  But that’s traditional ham radio and requires prospective hams to think like us.  ARRL actually put time and effort into polling hams about improving radio's future but it’s not ham opinions that'll bring non-hams; it’s non-hams we must reach out to.  Have they never heard of the echo chamber effect?

I suggested that creating interest these days more likely lies in making radio useful to people as they are, without remolding them in our old ham/SWL images.  Instead of polling the already-fascinated, ARRL could try appearing at every vintage electronics, audiophile, science fair and Maker gathering they can.  Talk to those tech-interested folks about what they know or believe about ham radio.  Fill them in on the latest.  And ask if they can imagine ways it would make their present interests easier, more fun, more productive.   Then ARRL will have something on which to craft programs to entice the public.

Wayne
WB4OGM
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