Peter A Goodhall said the following on Sun, Oct 14, 2001 at 09:47:09AM -0400:
> 1. it costs a lot of money
Doesn't have to. It costs a lot of money if you insist on buying new
gear. It costs a lot of money if you cannot be ingenious about getting
your equipment. Building antennas, perhaps building a kit, finding
good bargains at ham fests. But yes, if you insist on commercial
antennas, rotators, and towers, and brand-new gear, it is
expensive. However, lots of folks have, and lots more will, get on the
air without much cash outlay at all.
> 2. young people can speak to people in vk on there mobile phone
You just try calling some random number in VK-land and chat with the person
who answers the phone. They'll probably think you're a nut, you
probably won't get much of a conversation out of them, and you'll
spend even more money on your mobile phone bill than you would have
done on your radio gear in the first place.
> 3. The internet
Hardly. The Internet is a completely different beastie from ham
radio. Sure, if you look at ham radio as simply a hobby wherein people
can chat with people they happen to find, you're likely to find that a
lot of those don't want the hassle (albeit a small one, these days) of
studying for a ham license. But someone pointed out that when the
no-code license came around here, folks got into it for communications
ease, then found cheap mobile phones and Internet access and lost
interest. What we have to realize and come to grips with, is that ham
radio is *not* *just* a communications hobby. It's much, much broader
than that. Radio is magic. Radio is an amazing thing. The ones that
will carry this hobby forward are those who love radio, want to learn
about radio, are interested in its history (technically and otherwise)
and are also interested in pushing its boundaries into the
future. So yeah, a lot of us like to communicate with our radios, but
we like to do so for the radio, and not so much for the communication
for its own sake, if you get what I mean. Not to say we don't like
communication for its own sake, but that isn't enough, really. Hams
are hams because, plain and simple, they love radio. And I'd hardly
say the Internet is the death of ham radio. Look at all the neat ways
hams use the Internet! EQsl's, DX spotting, the Internet Radio linking
Project (www.irlp.net), mailing lists. Need I say more?
> 4. it is hard passing the exam for a ticket
*ROFL* Since when?
> 5. there is no adversing of amateur radio
Eh? Perhaps you mean advetising. And on this I would agree. We
absolutely need more widespread and effective PR. What the hell is
this ham radio thing anyway? I couldn't agree with this point
more. Part of the problem is that, while we love ham radio, we don't
know how to most effectively promote it. I know I don't. What do you
say when someone asks you what ham radio is? I know I can't properly
answer the question in 25 words or less. It's a broad and
far-encompassing activity, and it's *not* what you're likely to bill
it to people as--solely communication--as the Internet and your mobile
phone, as you say, accomplish that gol fine for a lot of folks. So
that's the trick: How do we tell people about the magic of radio so
they understand and are excited by it?
I've noticed a decrease in activity on the HF bands myself, at least,
a little bit. I'm not sure if it's real decrease, radio conditions, or
nostalgia for my first years ass a ham in the last solar cycle kicking
in, but hard numbers would definitely be interesting to look at, I
think. It's at least interesting to note that QRP is very popular
these days, and cw doesn't seem to be going away, in spite of some
people's best efforts. I sure hate to see it go as a testing
requirement. (Sigh) If there is indeed a decline in activity and it
isn't just radio conditions or nostalgia, I'm inclined to agree with
Howard--the license is getting so easy to get, people aren't placing
as much value on it. It's at least interesting that the restructuring
hasn't been the hoped-for magic bullet to swell our numbers...but I'm
sure somebodies had already figured it wouldn't be.
73,
--
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV | From the pines down to the projects,
Email: [log in to unmask] | Life pushes up through the cracks.
Phone: (972) 276-6360 | And it's only going forward,
ICQ: 36621210 | And it's never going back.--Small Potatoes
|
