[RVRC] Rebuttal

[marvin bronstein]

I have been licensed since 1956. In that time I have seen the variations of amateur radio interest from ebb to peak as we see this hobby now.  I refuse to accept that we are all a "bunch of old geezers" (although I admit I'm 70+ now) there is still a vibrant interest and a genuine need for ham radio activity.  True, the technology has brought us the likes of 4G digital communications and granted there's public telecommunications of great capabilities but time and time again it has been shown the value of 'ham radio'.  When the sophisticated technologies go awry and fail during peak demands such as extreme weather or other natural disasters ham radio has always been available and becomes an invaluable tool to assist in providing essential communications.  
We must keep in mind that there is a wide, wide world of technology available to hams beyond the simple 'repeater'.  There are also many activities for ham radio licensees to be involved in interesting and educational activities.  
Insofar as emergency communications, hams that have taken a bonafide interest in such activity have taken up some of the modern technologies available to ham radio operating and along with the more common modes have been positively essential to recovery from disasters.
It has been keenly identified that due to the very nature of ham radio being 'non-centralized', system failures the likes of which we have witnessed during hurricane Katrina, tornadoes in our plains and even 911 (to a lesser degree even the latest hurricane Sandy) has proven the value of ham radio.
But there's much more than 'emcomm' activity, we have HF (3 ~ 30MHz) and VHF (30 ~ 300 MHz), UHF (300 ~ 2 GHz) and microwave (above 2 GHz). that's a lot of spectrum and a lot of activities unique to each "band"!  We have contesting, DXing, EME, satellite, digital communications, experimenting, constructing, educating and socializing to be involved.  We even find 'inventing' and developing new technologies to fall among ham radio activity.  

The limits are only that within each of us.  When we limit ourselves to the premise that we're "old geezers" and "obsolete" we are automatically casting a negative shroud that easily dims the interest of new-comers and those yet to become licensed.  
But we DO need to identify the areas of interest and expand upon them.  Activities are the antidote and we need to develop activities that will generate the interest.  After all, all of us who worked to obtain licenses have shown that we HAVE the INTEREST; let's put that interest to work.

73
Marv,
k2vhw


Hi all,

I am for the most part a silent observer/listener to this conversation.
While I understand most of the points being made, I fail to see one major
issue addressed.

First, I am an inactive, associate member. I joined the club primarily so
I could pay dues so that I wouldn't feel like I was a free-loader when
talking to people on the club's repeaters. That said, there remains that
major issue - the 800 pound gorilla in the room. While amateur radio was
always a unique tool to allow people to communicate with one another over
networks of repeaters without incurring long distance telephone charges,
the maturation of cellular technology and the competitive pricing for
"minutes" has rendered our hobby somewhat obsolete --- at least in the
normal communications mode. Even as a volunteer adjunct to emergency
services, there really isn't that much need for us. I hate to say it, but
we are a bunch of old geezers who cling to the technology of our youth,
while cell phones, smartphones, tablets and laptops all communicate at 4G
and with WIFI and "air cards" at much greater Internet speeds, leaving us
in the dust. Our communication circles using these technologies are far
greater than we could ever hope to achieve within our very small radio
communities.

Having said all this, I truly believe that if we want to rejuvenate amateur
radio, we first have to identify the requirements. Why do we want to do
this? Again, if it is for these small circles of friends, we will never
expand our horizons to the larger populations in the internet
communications world.

Define a good reason/requirement for us, then build a solution, and people
will come. We can bang our heads against the wall hoping to entice new
members, but without answering this basic question, we are just going to
end up with a major headache.

Sorry! I don't mean to throw cold water on the discussion, but I am trying
to apply rational systems engineering discipline to the problem. That does
not mean I have the answer.

Michael Rothberg K2MLR