Is Ham Radio Doomed?

[KK4JUG]

Sorry to hear that, but, I'm not going to live forever and I plan on having a little fun while I'm waiting. At 71 I honestly don't expect another 40 - 50 years to enjoy stuff. So, I'm taking advantage of all the opportunities I got. Would I recommend this attitude for every one? Nope! It only applies to me. Wanna copy me? Hey, it's your butt, do as you think right. It's your fault, not mine...

I can't argue with that. At 75, I do what I want also.

 

[bill4long]

I can't argue with that. At 75, I do what I want also.

Sounds like a couple of typical guys on 75 meters at night.

 

[W5lz]

... Why thank you! I have and have had a lot of friends on 75. We had some absolutely splendid times there. I've got almost all states working OOs, just a couple more to go but they are the hard ones, HI and AK. Had so many 'look up's the CAllBook people called and asked me to stop. I just told them to start from zero again, they did. Those were the days...

 

[kekinash]

I know the amateur radio is doomed, but as they say I will enjoy the ride as long as it last, even if I ended screaming alone on the bands, he he.
by the way W5lz I like your attitude, a good life is not always equal to a long life. Enjoy as much as you can, I'm trying to do the same, amateur radio is just another of my many hobbies. Next Tuesday is my Ham's examination and I'm ready for General. My radio equipment (IC-7300) is ready, installed and working properly (not on the air transmit test was done, so rest calm).

 

[KK4JUG]

FWIW, I just made a trip from Columbus, GA to Wichita, KS and back. Using RepeaterBook (Sorry, that's about the only thing available), I programmed 2m and .70m repeaters that were within about 20 miles of my route. I used a Yaesu FT-8900 set at 50W. I "checked in" on approximately 100 repeaters. Unscientifically, about half of the attempts opened the repeaters. I did not get a single response, however. In the bigger cities (B'ham, Little Rock, Tulsa & Wichita) I set the radio to scan with negative results for traffic.

I've done the same thing on a trip to Bay City, MI and back with similar results.

I refuse to say that amateur radio is doomed but it certainly doesn't sound promising.

I made another trip to Bay City, MI, with the same results as the trip to Wichita. There was not a single response. I was expecting maybe a "I don't recognize your call sign. Are you new here?" or "Get off my repeater!" or something like that, but, alas, nothing.

 

[bill4long]

I made another trip to Bay City, MI, with the same results as the trip to Wichita. There was not a single response. I was expecting maybe a "I don't recognize your call sign. Are you new here?" or "Get off my repeater!" or something like that, but, alas, nothing.

Get on Brandmeister DMR with a hotspot (which you can use mobile via your mobile phone WIFI) and you're never be alone again on the road.

Ya gotta roll with the times, brother.

 

[KK4JUG]

First, I don't mind being alone. I prefer to travel alone because I don't have to adjust what I do based on someone else's schedule. My observations were in reference to comments about amateur radio's lessening popularity.

Second, I still have the scanner and satellite radio.

 

[W5lz]

Don't know about other places but here, sometimes there's just no one free to answer calls on the local repeaters. That depends on time of day mainly, but can happen at any time. So, if you don't get an answer it isn't necessarily that no one wants to talk to you. A very rough guess is that there are maybe 50 hams in the county/area. Some are almost never active and some occasionally. No one is sitting by waiting for the next repeater user, sorry. The repeaters definitely are active in bad weather (it's Oklahoma, what'ya expect?). So if no answer, give it a minute or two and call again.

 

[KK4JUG]

Don't know about other places but here, sometimes there's just no one free to answer calls on the local repeaters. That depends on time of day mainly, but can happen at any time. So, if you don't get an answer it isn't necessarily that no one wants to talk to you. A very rough guess is that there are maybe 50 hams in the county/area. Some are almost never active and some occasionally. No one is sitting by waiting for the next repeater user, sorry. The repeaters definitely are active in bad weather (it's Oklahoma, what'ya expect?). So if no answer, give it a minute or two and call again.

I see your point but this is a constant thing. I've gotten the same results for years. I'm not sure what it says about me but I'll probably keep doing it during my road trips. What the heck? It doesn't cost anything.

 

[Lauri-CoyoteFrostbite]

"..........Get on Brandmeister DMR with a hotspot (which you can use mobile via your mobile phone WIFI) and you're never be alone again on the road.
Ya gotta roll with the times, brother........."
bill4long


I don't want to seem pugnacious and start a bar fight here, but that statement reduces the hobby to as much fun as 'cel phone calls, or watching a painted wall dry.
During the course of my regular business day I talk to, or video conference with interesting people flung to the far corners of the world on my iPhone.... and if its access to interesting content- this beats out 95% of the stuff heard (an never seen) on the average repeater.

Don't misunderstand...... Technically this is perfectly fine with me- but it reduces it all to something other than"ham radio."


Lauri

 

[Firekite]

It eliminates entirely the concept of radio in the first place. It’s just Zello.

Part of the concept of amateur radio is to keep up some level of knowledge of how radio concepts even work in the first place behind a relatively small handful of career pros and military personnel. HF, VHF, UHF, whatever, just using a chat app on your phone kind of defeats the purpose.

 

[ecps92]

Only if you want it to be

Okay. I posted the question. (Someone "had" to. )

 

[K7MFC]

If anything will doom ham radio it's the gatekeepers who declare what is and isn't "real ham radio."

 

[kekinash]

Just as a follow up about what I posted before, today I passed my General, now I’m waiting for it to appear at FCC database....

 

[robertwbob]

Just as a follow up about what I posted before, today I passed my General, now I’m waiting for it to appear at FCC database....

congratulations,i just got my call sign this week

 

[W5lz]

WRU - Good!

MFC - I'm not a 'gatekeeper' of any kind, but it's still not radio, is it...

 

[KK4JUG]

WRU - Good!

MFC - I'm not a 'gatekeeper' of any kind, but it's still not radio, is it...

NAC*

I don't know whether those would affect me or not because I have no idea what they mean.

*Not a clue

 

[W5lz]

... now I'm confused. If you mean those "WRU and MFC" they are the suffix of call signs. Lazy way of combining more than one post at a time... answered two posts in the same one. Although, I do agree with you about abbreviations. Half of those I see now are the result of using a phone (or whatever) that doesn't use a standard keyboard, and it's easier to abbreviate things than spell them out. Unless 'you' do the same thing you probably can't tell what the devil was said (at least, I can't). I'm guessing about what you "don't understand". If I guessed wrong then it's even worse...

 

[bill4long]

It eliminates entirely the concept of radio in the first place. It’s just Zello.

Part of the concept of amateur radio is to keep up some level of knowledge of how radio concepts even work in the first place behind a relatively small handful of career pros and military personnel. HF, VHF, UHF, whatever, just using a chat app on your phone kind of defeats the purpose.

What "chat app" ?

 

[Firekite]

What "chat app" ?

If you’re connecting a DMR hotspot, you’ve just made a very complex and costly alternative to Zello, with a radio being reduced to a simply microphone for WiFi voice chats.