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]
>