[PBARC] Keeping Ham Radio Healthy- An Alternate View
E. Glenn Wolf, Jr.
[email protected]
Tue, 20 Jan 2004 20:13:55 -0600
I found this to be an interesting perspective on things.....
glenn
Keeping Ham Radio Healthy- An Alternate View.
By: Charlie Young AG4YO
The general assumption has always been that the Amateur Radio hobby depends
on an infusion of youth to exist and prosper in the future. What if this
assumption is wrong?
My Theory
Ham Radio is and will continue to be a hobby for older people even in the
future.
Discussion
One of the biggest indicators that the theory is correct can be found in our
own ranks albeit not supported by scientific data. How many hams do you know
that got into the hobby as a kid, then were QRT for a number of years to
finish school, date, start a family, get established in life, and came back
to the hobby later?
We may be overlooking the fact that our hobby can be time consuming, to the
extent that it is somewhat incompatible with certain stages of life. In an
unscientific poll, I asked 50 couples ranging in age from 19-30 this
question, "If the male member of the couple took up a hobby that required
him to be away from his partner every evening for an hour and for 2-3 hours
on the weekend, would the female partner accept it?" The answer was a
resounding NO. Then I asked a group of 50 couples ranging in age from 40-55
the same question and the answer was just the opposite, a resounding YES.
This seems to support what we see in real life. In my last 50 QSOs with
people in the hobby over 10 years I asked the question, "Have you been a ham
continuously over the years?" In 49 cases, the answer was no, and indicated
a break for "life issues".
The next point is that we may be overlooking the painfully obvious, our
hobby is not "state of the art" any more. To make our hobby state of the
art, we would need to offer modes that younger people want. Examples are,
wired and wireless data transmission, video and voice-over IP communications
with software programs, music downloads, etc. So why don't we do these
things?
There is actually no reason why these modes can't be supported on higher
frequencies above 70cm today. It seems, however, that the hobby is in a
catch-22. We don't have the younger people to move the hobby in that
direction, so we don't have the modern modes that attract young people. Add
to this the incorrect notion that telegraphy testing as a bar to HF access
is keeping away the "younger generation". If the younger generation really
want the modes above, then HF is not the place for them. FCC rules that
restrict data bandwidth on HF prevent these modes.
We may have to face the fact that there are better and more easy ways to do
the modes mentioned above than the use of Amateur Radio (and young people
know it). The internet, wide-band data networks, cable access all far
outrun rf delivery modes. In fact, the optimal solution for use of our
frequencies to deliver the modes we're discussing may not be Ham Radio, but
BPL. Could it be that we're on the wrong track with the "younger
generation" discussions??
How do we survive?
So how do we grow the hobby without youth? Statistics show that if we
simply retained 50% of the people we lose from the "technician class" ranks
every year, we'd be growing at a very healthy rate. Keeping these people
interested in the hobby may relate more to how people have changed in
general over the years.
Many older hams are self motivated while younger people seem to need more
stimuli. Growing up with video games, cable TV, and the internet, younger
people are more used to planned events "happening" and being entertained.
The key to keeping more of the folks we lose may be as simple as more
planned events, elmering, and more one on one interaction. In my community
there are over 100 hams yet I know less than 5 active ones. So I called 50
of the ones I had not heard on the air and asked them why they were not
active. The top two reasons were "not enough time" (35%), and "I never
figured out what to do with my license" (50%). The remaining 15% "lost
interest". Of the 35% who said "not enough time", 95% were under 45.
Although these conclusions are by no means scientific, it begs the question
of why we don't have more data to examine when making "hobby altering"
decisions. And it indicates that there my be good cause to look at this
issue more closely. Even so, there is nothing that prevents us from taking
the perfectly logical step to attempt to retain more of the hams lost each
year.
Action
My suggestions to "save" ham radio are:
1. Go for the low hanging fruit. Keep up the efforts in schools and scouting
to get younger people. If nothing else, you plant the seed for later life.
2. Organizations like the ARRL and local clubs need to formalize activities
to keep no-code Technician Class operators interested.
a. Club Activities such as picnics, fox hunts, etc.
b. Formalize repeater use into regular daily activities such as
nets and ragchews.
c. Face to face activities such as tailgaiters, Saturday AM coffee,
etc.
3. Pick a "data" project for your area on frequencies these folks can use.
a. APRS
b. SSTV over 2M repeaters
c. HAM TV on 70 CM and higher
d. HF data modes on 6M.
e. Technologies for extending data networks to ham radio on 70CM,
etc.
4. Retention Plan - If you know of a ham that is becoming inactive, call to
see why. Many things we can't help, but if the reason is boredom, it can be
fixed!
Conclusion
Everything we are told to believe today says that youth is the key to
success in all endeavors. This is not a time proven axiom. Only in today's
society influenced by media and advertising do we feel compelled to
continuously throw out the old and purchase the new. The key to keeping Ham
Radio alive and well may be as simple as accepting our strong points and
capitalizing on them. We must accept that our hobby may not be a good fit
for the "younger generation" due to time constraints, and that the way to
more growth is to keep the growth we get.
We need to gather statistics (beyond my unscientific examples) that tell us
what the optimal age is for our hobby and focus our recruitment on this
group as well. Remember that the median age in the US is nearing 40 years
old (35.2 in 2000 expected to be nearly 45 in 2010). What is wrong with a
hobby that recruits from all ages, but is willing to accept popularity among
the top 50% of the population?
Finally, we need to DO something to retain tech class hams. Start today!
Organize a Friday night and Saturday night rag chew on an unused local
repeater from 8PM to 10PM. Organize a "coffee break" event at least once a
month at a local park or eatery. Have a couple mini field days for VHF
operation a year. And remember, it is not worth losing one active older
amateur to gain one new young ham. That is a very bad trade.
Edited by AG4YO on Jan. 19 2004,11:09
________________________________
Interesting theory Charlie. While I can't say much on your stats or analysis
I can say my story.
I first approached amateur radio in my early twenties. Even back then I
thought it would really fun but never did anything about it. And then some
things got in the way and I forgot about it. Things like career, homes,
spouse, nightlife ect ect.
Now it's 20 years later, I'm in my early forties and things have changed
considerably. The most noticeable is that now I have time and finances to
spend on amateur radio.
I think for the most part you have a valid point. The average person has too
many other things to think about during their 20's, 30's and 40's.
Monty
KG6QQL
________________________________
Charlie I generally agree with your assessments and conclusion. In my
opinion the current approach the ARRL is taking with respect to enticing
young people into Ham Radio is over-emphasized and will probably not yield a
significant return on the investment being expended (time, money, etc.).
>From what I've seen, the younger potential hams are the ones who show a
strong interest in the hobby by their own initiative. This may be the
result of a parent already a ham, a ham neighbor, or simply a strong
self-interest in technical things. The mass exposure currently being
offered to the young children in schools etc. will probably just be "swamped
out" over the remaining period of their childhoods by all of the other
influencing factors such as video games, sports, etc. Ham Radio will just
be another one of those "things" most kids will know about, but they won't
have any real strong desire to explore on their own. The ARRL's approach of
quantity over quality in this endeavor is a waste of resources in my
opinion.
One of the other fallacies I see is the continual rhetoric of trying to
deeply intertwine Ham Radio with the Internet in order to attract the
younger generation. While I happen to be a great fan of the Internet and
all of the resources it offers, I don't think trying to make Ham Radio an
integral part of it makes sense, especially with the assumption that if we
somehow do, it's going to make Ham Radio more attractive to kids. Don't get
me wrong, the Ham Radio resources offered on the Web, E-mail reflector
groups, etc, are generally really good in a supporting role. Trying to make
Ham Radio look like the internet or a video game is ridiculous.
Your suggestion of focusing on the generational "sweet spot" of currently
licensed hams is a sound idea and one that makes real sense. These are the
Hams which will have a greater potential of showing the young adults (those
that have an initial self-interest) of how exciting Ham Radio can be.
Personally I would rather have few deeply-interested and self-motivated
youngsters in the hobby, than just a bunch of kids who are getting licenses
because they been told "it's a good thing".
Bill
W5IQJ
________________________________
You have a good point. I only ran 2m in the car back and forth to work and
once in a while I would make a club meeting if someone encouraged me.
Now retired, I travel in a motorhome and regularly check into several nets
for RVing ham and those for local area 'breakfast clubs'. Traveling allows
me to use IRLP repeaters and APRS. Winlink for e-mail.
I guess what I am saying is that NOW I have the time to do the things that
makes ham radio fun.
Because I have never had the money for linears and towers, etc. I never got
into DXing. I think it is great for those who do. I listen from time to time
to the pileups. But running a hundred watt station on a mobile antenna is
fun also.
To sum up. My 13 year old grandson is too lazy to get a ticket. I have
offered him equipment and elmering but he just wants to use the play
station. Targeting this area is not wise. When someone is ready for ham
radio, it is our 'responsibility' to do what we can to help them find the
area of the hobby they can enjoy. That has always been the way of the
professional amateur.
73
Chuck, KC7CO
________________________________
I have to be in total agreement, given my history with Ham Radio.
I started out as a young teenager, probably about age 13 in 1961. Mom had a
friend at work, K7NNK, who could talk to the world! He agreed to be my
elmer. I was in awe of the ability to send code to folks around the
country, and talk to "older" hams on an "equal" basis. My one year,
non-renewable (I think) Novice (KN7YAX) expired as I struggled with trying
to get my code up to 13WPM. Eventually, I gave up and obtained a new
Technician license (because it was renewable) (WA7DWO). Boy was it
frustrating, not being able to do anything other than 2 meter AM. Then the
doggone FM'ers started taking over 2 meters!
After that, I got busy with getting a job, getting married, earning a
living. It wasn't so much money concerns, as it was just no time to even
think about Ham Radio...except occasionally getting that nagging fear that I
would accidentally let the license expire!
As I turned 30, I had time to think about my old hobby and I finally managed
to really learn the code. I think I finally got the General license
(WA7QOK) in 1979, soon to upgrade to Advanced. Boy, did I love what the
sunspots did on 10 meters in 1980! Then I got re-married and became serious
about career advancement, so by 1981 (age 33), I was off the air again...but
not before I bought an ICOM 730.
In 1990 (age 42), I took the IC-730 out of the box, strung up the old
faithful handmade (no trap) 80-10 meter dipoles, and played with it for the
weekend, during a contest. The last child had left home...I think that is
why I got back to it. But for some reason, that weekend was it....I was
still too busy in my career for Ham Radio. Back in the box went the rig.
In May 2002, I retired and we spent a year getting situated, relocating to
SD in the summer and AZ in the winter. Yesterday, January 17, 2004, at age
55, WA7QOK finally got back on the air with a little Hustler vertical and
the IC-730 that has patiently been sitting there, waiting for me to return
to my senses.
Now I have 20 years of catching up to do. But last night, I found the same
friendly folks on the airwaves that I left in 1981....and my now aged IC-730
still managed to carry my voice around the US!
________________________________
I pretty much feel that you are right on Charlie. I do think that it is and
will be increasingly difficult to attract and retain younger people into ham
radio.
One of the main attractions for me to enter the hobby in 1967 was the
excitement of contacting others in distant lands. I used dx contacts as a
learning experience to at least look up the other operator's QTH on a map
and learn a little geography. Unfortunately, today's kids see this as nerdy
and not cool. In addition, the Internet has all but taken away the thrill
of contacting others over long distances. I have even had co-workers
question why I pursue ham radio since it is easy to contact others worldwide
on the Internet. To the average kid today, it makes no difference if the
person on the other end is wired or wireless. It's akin to asking a kid
which vehicle would he/she rather drive: a Hummer or a Buick.
I would think it would be in the interest of local ham radio clubs to
actively pursue potential hams through some kind of outreach programs in the
local middle and high schools. I recently joined a local ham radio club for
the first time in my 36 years in the hobby. While everyone at the club
meetings are generally friendly towards me, most people are in their 50s or
older. The club meeting generally consists of an extended period of time
for coffee and bs. While this may be socially satisfying to the existing
members, I can see this as a turnoff to a kid who may be interested in this
type of hobby, but is turned off by a bunch of old people shooting the
breeze for a half hour or more. I personally saw one kid and his dad get up
and leave during the last meeting. There seems to be little of the newer
modes of ham radio discussed at club meetings I attend.
Just my 0.02 worth.
________________________________
Expose people, young and old, to ham radio. Some will get into it and many
won't. It has always been this way. You let them know about ham radio now
and down the road some of them will get involved.
We like to point to Japan and the amount of hams that they have. The only
problem is that most of the licensed hams in Japan are inactive. So do you
want to have lot of licensed inactive hams for the numbers, or would you
rather have a slower growth of active hams? We have the quantity we need to
keep the quality.
________________________________
Well here is my short story of a young boy who lost interest in ham radio.
My son passed his 5 wpm and the theory at the age of 14. My son said he did
it just for me and no other reason. He operated cw only for about six months
using my station. I offered my son a choice of a new radio station of his
own. Did not work that way and his choice was a computer. He let his license
lapse, come to an end and never left his computer idle, played the computer
games and now into animation.
I never once pushed him into ham radio and it was his own doing. His
interest is still in the computers as it does bring him spending money.
________________________________
There were more comments but these are the ones that came up with the
original post.
Thanks,
Glenn
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