As I see it, getting young people to get their license isn't so much the 
problem. It's keepingthem interested after passing the test, which they do 
without a problem. We have a fella in our club who got his license at age 
15. All he did was hang out in his room, play with his computer and talk on 
his repeater with his h t. Several guys gave him rigs, antennas, coax, the 
whole bit. Because he's so computer smart, the repeater trustee gave him the 
manual for our rc210 controler so he could do things with it the trustee 
couldn't figure out for the life of him. Well, a year later, he turned 16. 
He got his driver's license and he discovered "girls". After graduating from 
high school, he started attending junior college. Today, he's hardly ever on 
the air, even though he's got a mobile in his ride. I mean it. When he was 
hanging out in his bedroom, you couldn't shut him up! The car and the girls 
have caused him to shut up on his own. It's keeping them interested that's 
the real challenge. 73. Doug, N6NFF

-----Original Message----- 
From: Steve Forst
Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2013 5:39 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Listening to stations far away: was RE: Baseball on the Radio 
Part 3

Well, I hope the hobby is around as long as I am.  After that who cares?
   Things do change in this world, and sometimes drastically.  I'm sure
at one time the stagecoach drivers union bemoaned the fact that they
weren't getting any new blood and that there world was coming to an end.
  We see how that worked out.

Good luck with the projects to get some new people involved.

73, Steve KW3A

On 11/5/2013 8:05 AM, Tom Behler wrote:
>      This is a problem that we are currently dealing with in our local 
> club.
>
> As a solution, we are beginning to actively consider the possibility of
> starting a ham radio club in one of our local schools, as well as at the
> University where I teach.
>
> We also regularly offer ham-in-a-day classes.  However,, just offering the
> classes and getting new licensed hams is only half the battle.  We 
> struggle
> with keeping in touch with those who get their licenses and move onto 
> other
> things.
>
> I guess what I'm saying here is that this is a problem we all must face, 
> and
> creativity could get us the ultimate solutions we need to keep things 
> going.
>
> Time will tell, I guess.
>
> Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ron Miller" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, November 04, 2013 10:55 PM
> Subject: Re: Listening to stations far away: was RE: Baseball on the Radio
> Part 3
>
>
>> HI all,
>> I would like to hope that ham radio is around for a long time to come, 
>> but
>> I
>> wonder if it will. We, as a whole, seem to be pretty bad at bringing in
>> new
>> hams. The median age of hams keeps going up as we all age. I was a newbie
>> to
>> the hobby in 1985. Now, I'm a newly turned 50 year old and more than a
>> candidate for the Quarter Century Wireless Association. How are we
>> bringing
>> in young people in the necessary numbers to keep the hobby going for
>> another
>> 50 years?
>>
>> I'm feeling rather pessimistic about this, though I do very much like the
>> hobby and radio monitoring as well.
>>
>> 73
>>
>>
>> Ron Miller
>> N6MSA
>> Dunedin, FL USA
>> SKYPE Arjay1
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: For blind ham radio operators 
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>> On Behalf Of Tom Behler
>> Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 8:18 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: Listening to stations far away: was RE: Baseball on the 
>> Radio
>> Part 3
>>
>> Kevin:
>>
>> I think what you describe here is part of the reason a lot of us continue
>> to
>> be involved in amateur radio.
>>
>> Sure the internet and smart phones are amazing, and have their uses and
>> benefits.
>>
>> But, I think what sustains us is the ability to do what we do, using the
>> knowledge we have, with our own personally-designed station set-ups.
>> There
>> simply is a real sense of accomplishment in that.
>>
>> I think this, too, is why ham radio will always continue.  It works when
>> all
>> else fails, and allows us to have fun with a great hobby and serve 
>> society
>> as well.
>>
>> It always amazes me, for example, how so many people say that CW is a 
>> lost
>> art that is going by the way-side.  All you have to do to dampen that
>> argument is go on the bottom of the HF bands on many contest week-ends,
>> and
>> you'll hear more CW crammed into the CW portions of the bands than you
>> ever
>> thought possible.
>>
>> Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Kevin Minor" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 2:14 AM
>> Subject: Listening to stations far away: was RE: Baseball on the Radio
>> Part
>> 3
>>
>>
>>> Hi.
>>>
>>> I changed the subject to better fit what we're talking about.  I think
>>> what we as ham operators enjoy about far off AM stations is the same
>>> reason why we put up antennas for HF to get that rare DX contact.  For
>>> me, it was realizing that I was actually hearing a transmitted signal
>>> from that distant location direct, point to point.  It's true that we
>>> have things like EchoLink and our smart phones, but these rely on a
>>> network of relaying points to get to us with that crystal clear
>>> signal.  Presently I don't have HF, except what I could get on my
>>> TH-F6A.  I hope to be able to get back on HF soon, and experience the
>>> excitement of getting that rare DX.  I remember my Novice days, back
>>> when you could only use CW on four HF bands.  I was in high school,
>>> and I well remember getting up at five in the morning to work west
>>> coast stations on 40 meters.  I lived near Cincinnati, Ohio back then,
>>> and I had a blast!  Technology has sure changed in the 31 years since
>>> I've been licensed, and I wonder if the public understands that we
>>> hams pioneered a lot of it.
>>>
>>> Have a good night, and don't work too hard.
>>>
>>> Kevin Minor, Lexington, KY
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>>
>>
>
>
>