Crabby hams

[K2KOH]

One thing I agree with someone says look it up, especially on this site. Hit the search and you will find page upon page of stuff. When I became a ham in 1991 we were taught that no matter how "trivial" the question, we should help them new ham out.
As far as manuals...Manuals? We don't need no stinking manuals! LOL

 

[N0IU]

Just had to log in and add my perspective to this discussion.

No, you chose to respond. I am pretty sure no one held a gun to your head and made you log in to Radio Reference.

My reasons for inactivity was the insistence of ops using cutesy phonetics that were best left behind on 11 meters...

N3KEX, you were probably hanging out on the wrong repeaters in the greater Pittsburgh area. There is a lot more to amateur radio than VHF/UHF.

...and politics of the clubs.

And you were definitely hanging out at the wrong clubs!

...I find y'all really stupid.

I am just going to let this one go!

 

[k6cpo]

I'v had my license for about 10 months now, so far, the only place I ran into "a$$hats" is on the internet, maybe I'v just been lucky.
One thing I have noticed, if you show up to a local Ham meeting or two, your fellow hams will have a face to put to your callsign, as well as a name, and they'll be a lot more willing to answer when they hear you throw out a CQ.. I guess that's just human nature, I know I'm more comfortable talking on the radio now that I can put a face to the "old-timers" that I'v been hearing on the air.

Otis
KD8VBV

Attending ham club meetings as a way to get started cuts both ways. When I got my Technician license three years ago, I knew I didn't know anything about ham radio. I went to a couple of club meetings to see if I could find a place where I could learn more. One club had a bunch of friendly people who made me feel welcome and another club virtually ignored me the entire time. You can guess which club I joined and in my second year I became Vice-President. I'm just starting my 4th year in the club and am in the second half of my term as President.

The other club has had a constant turn-over in officers and members, mostly due to internal politics. They even had a couple of board members resign and subsequently join my club.

 

[ridgescan]

Anyone out west here ever hear those guys on 3840kHz Lsb? These guys have big stations in probably really nice homes up in the hills-and they cuss each other out like a bunch of brats. It's like a Housewives episode almost every night. A few of 'em oughta be shut down because of some of the flat awful hateful stuff they scream.

 

[elk2370bruce]

Anyone out west here ever hear those guys on 3840kHz Lsb? These guys have big stations in probably really nice homes up in the hills-and they cuss each other out like a bunch of brats. It's like a Housewives episode almost every night. A few of 'em oughta be shut down because of some of the flat awful hateful stuff they scream.

Just twist the big knob on your radio and ignore these lids like the rest of us do. There are lots of spectrum filled with nice people but these forums never mention that.

 

[Darth_vader]

"these lids"

Refraining from the cheap name-calling, both on- and off-air, regardless of the recipient's skill level or behaviour, will go miles in helping one avoid falling into the "crabby old HAM" stereotype.

 

[mattl3320]

well I can tell u that u will fine this in a lot of hobbies, as someone that is a model railroader, ham, swl scanner, cb radio operator and pc gamer. these people are in all groups of people what I do is try to get along with them as much as possible and if I cant on the radio I move to another channel or repeater. or server. So it not just hams because I can tell u that their are pc gamers that spend thousands of dollars on the rig and if u don't they don't have the time of day for u or if u ask about a problem with a program they act like u should know ect. Same with some old time railroads modelers that have huge layouts if u don't model the way they do. So just do what u do for u and don't let them messup your hobby. but on the other hand I have had some really good friends over the years .

 

[AgentCOPP1]

I agree with the OP but when it comes to conversing with other hams, I try to take a very humble attitude because I'm fairly new to the hobby as well and I'm very well aware that I don't know everything. Most other hams I meet have been in the hobby for decades so I'm not going to pretend that I know more then them (unless it's blatantly obvious that they don't know what they're talking about). As for opinions, that's another story but when it comes to technical knowledge, me and you are better off taking OUR OWN knowledge with a grain of salt because we are more likely to be wrong.

 

[AC2OY]

Happy New Year everybody!!..LOL acid reflux comment nearly me wet myself...LOL least there's absence of humor left!!!!

 

[pgnsucks]

Like any other group at work or on a personal basis there are going to be cliques. I am interested in being a Ham myself and most of the people I listen to in my area are quite nice.

However various cliques are going to have pecking orders and can be snobs. Just bypass the cliques as best you can and try to have a good time or just give up. I say try to do the best with what you have on hand.

 

[zz0468]

Just bypass the cliques as best you can and try to have a good time or just give up. I say try to do the best with what you have on hand.

And as you bypass the cliques, you'll form your own group of friends whom you prefer to chat with on the air. And as you do that, you become a clique unto yourself.

A clique is a group of people that you're not a member of. Inside the clique, you're just a group of people. Funny how that works out.

 

[pgnsucks]

And as you bypass the cliques, you'll form your own group of friends whom you prefer to chat with on the air. And as you do that, you become a clique unto yourself.

A clique is a group of people that you're not a member of. Inside the clique, you're just a group of people. Funny how that works out.

Please allow me to clarify;
I dealt with corporate workers who had the same pay, benefits and pensions. One company had a very ingrained system of cliques. Luckily for me I worked for a company that allowed everyone a fair shake until they proved otherwise. Both were national fortune 250 companies and I prefer individuals that give everyone an opportunity. Unless someone shows they are in a broad stroke a jerk, well then everyone else deserves to be treated equally.

 

[zz0468]

Please allow me to clarify...

...well then everyone else deserves to be treated equally.

In a corporate employment environment, companies are required by law to give everyone a fair shake. But that's not what we're talking about here.

We're talking about crabby hams and, among other things, the complaints against these crabby hams and their "cliquish" behaviors.

The point I'm trying to make is, these so called "cliques" can merely be groups of friends with a common interest. It may seem cruel to an outsider that they're not automatically let in, but no one has an obligation to become friends with someone just because that someone believes it unfair to do otherwise. Go make your own set of friends, and watch it be viewed as a clique by someone else.

 

[pgnsucks]

In a corporate employment environment, companies are required by law to give everyone a fair shake. But that's not what we're talking about here.

We're talking about crabby hams and, among other things, the complaints against these crabby hams and their "cliquish" behaviors.

The point I'm trying to make is, these so called "cliques" can merely be groups of friends with a common interest. It may seem cruel to an outsider that they're not automatically let in, but no one has an obligation to become friends with someone just because that someone believes it unfair to do otherwise. Go make your own set of friends, and watch it be viewed as a clique by someone else.

Companies may be required by law however very few follow the law unless one lives in a Utopian world. How can anyone decide if another has any common interests unless they give them a fair shot. Both corporate and personal relationships are analogous they are not mutually exclusive.

I give everyone a fair shot but that's just me.

 

[k6cpo]

Additional thoughts: at my tech test, I got laughed at by a bunch of college engineering students because I wasn't as technical as they were. There was also another older gentleman in that same group that was telling me that "D-STAR isn't real ham radio" even though I was really interested in. Instead of posting a pity-party thread on the internet about my experience, I took the test and forged through. I knew there was much more of the hobby outside that room and I didn't have to put up with these guys any longer after I walked out the door with my CSCE. And I got over all of that and improved the hobby in my area for prospective hams and new hams. So, what are you going to do about it?

Were these people also taking their tests or members of the VE team? If they were members of the VE team, I would have reported them to their VEC immediately, because we don't need that kind of attitude towards prospective amateurs.

 

[jmp883]

I'm not a newbie nor an oldie. I've found all types of people in this hobby. You take the good, you take the bad, and you just deal with it. Treat everyone the way you want to be treated and, in the end, things will work out just fine. If I'm having a not-so-good day I will still probably have my radios on but the chances of my going on the air will be pretty slim. I've been snubbed by old (and new) crabby hams and didn't like it. Why would I do that to someone else?

Asking questions vs. being told to research it yourself....well both are good ways to learn.

As has been previously posted this type of person/activity is all facets of life. In addition to ham radio/scanning I'm also a motorcyclist and a model railroader. Believe me....what the OP is complaining about is far worse in those 2 hobbies than I've ever seen it the radio hobby!

 

[SCPD]

...I've found all types of people in this hobby. You take the good, you take the bad, and you just deal with it....

Good practical advice.

I'd like to share a short story of a "crabby ham" that I encountered on 75 meter phone after having my ticket about a month. I had set up a Butternut vertical for 80-10m, and was running a Kenwood at 100w. One night, I ventured for the first time onto 75m phone. Rather than call CQ, I listened a bit and then threw in my call to join one of the conversations. No reply, they kept on talking. A couple more rounds of chatter and I tried again. No reply. More conversation. After about five more minutes I gave my call twice. Finally, one of the fellows shot back with, "you know, when these guys gonna learn you need more than 50 watts into a Gotham vertical"? If you've been around for a few decades, you'd know that what he said was a "put down" aimed at someone that didn't have the money to run 1500 watts into an expensive antenna system. He didn't acknowledge my callsign, and just went back to his conversation after that remark. I sat there stunned, and just turned the Kenwood off.

It took a few days before I felt like turning my equipment back on. I never did go back on 75m phone.

Yep, you take the good and the bad, and you deal with it. One crab apple doesn't represent the whole "bunch". Lesson learned.

 

[N5TWB]

Any person engaging in the communication arts as either a profession or a hobby ought to seriously consider the "Golden Ratio" - we have two ears and one mouth - in order to gauge how to achieve satisfaction and acceptance in communication endeavors. I was listening to a repeater that is regionally linked where a new ham was attempting to sort out the vagaries of simplex operation. The other party was explaining 146.52, no offset, no tone, and the new ham was expounding on how he had to change frequencies by using his "VFR." Whew....

 

[pb_lonny]

In all parts of life you experience people like this, sadly I think it is becoming more and more common.
I did have my ticket for a few years but found I was only talking to a small group of people who I knew in real life anyway. Now I stick to DXing the medium wave band and I find this much more enjoyable.