thinking about hang up ham radio for good..

[com501]

Metal roof? Dood, can you get into the attic? Load the roof......

 

[k8krh]

Don't give up the license, it took to long and hard study to get it.
Your doing good with your antenna and you own a computer..join satellite ham radio club in California...you can find it on the internet....they have a remote xcvr and I have used it many times works great.......also since you have a computer try HAMSPHERE I use it also a lot of fun, lot of hams on it also and tons of DX stations.........
OK guy keep smiling don't worry about the other guys, you have probably done more than they have let them go into their own web....
Try what I have suggested and keep on trucking......
OH by the way I am disabled also but keep on trucking ..
DOCTOR
SATELLITE HAM CLUB....http://satellitearc.com/

 

[wbswetnam]

Too many of these ham guys become clikky because they feel their position in the radiocomm ranks, was achieved by hard work and long-gained knowledge, and a rookie's got to earn his way UP in like fashion.

Hmmm just to wrankle some noses at the next hamfest I go to, maybe I should wear a Che Guevara T-shirt and a baseball cap with the word "SOCIALIST" printed across the top. hehehehe

 

[Scatcatpdx]

You're only discovering what many of us have already known.

The majority of those involved in amateur radio are old men who aren't interested in meeting new people or getting to know new hams. They aren't interested in new technology, new innovations or new ideas. They ignore voices or callsigns they don't recognize, and they're not interested in you or your problems.

The hobby attracts lots of new hams with new ideas and a fresh perspective on the hobby that are being alienated by these xenophobic old farts. I know lots of new hams who have given up in frustration.. they've gotten nowhere in the hobby when faced with these people. And until Father Time does his thing and they finally die, Amateur Radio will continue to circle the drain of history.

Innovation is squashed under the cry of "that's not my hobby!" or "that's against the rules!" or "back in my day you needed to know code to even use a flush toilet at the ham shack"

So, other than to have conversations with local friends who are hams, I'm like many younger radio amateurs who just wrote off the hobby. It's just a matter of time before the bandwidth is reabsorbed by IC/FCC and auctioned off to industry anyway.

I got my ticket in April and found the same problem. I am 53. I am part of the furry, anime and Science fiction fandoms, so elitism and snobbery is noting new. I agree fully with the statement. I am bothered that many older hams chose to live in the past. I get tired being told I am not a real ham because I did not take a CW test or use WINS reflector via my HT rather than HF and opposed any attempt to bring ham radio to the 21st century. Why cant we have the same functionality in a HT as a cell phone. Why must we be limited to 300 baud on HF when new technology can use the same bandwidth efficiently. (I refer to ARRL petition to do away with the symbol rate)

I could just stick to my technicians class radio for all I need is to for APRS for HAB flights. Bu I decide to stick around and go up to extra class (i am still studying). The way i deal with it is remember in the US the FCC is the final authority not some old fart on a forum. I passed the test the old farts an stuff it. If my local repeater in Portland is dead I check out the Mary's Peak which covers most of Oregon and if that does not work then there always wins. One thing about repeater I wold say is be part of the solution, when it looks like somebody wants QSO be the one to answer the call or monitoring known echo link nodes for incoming users. I keep my HT on one of the repeaters for that purpose.

 

[Darth_vader]

Oooh, sounds like you must have had a run-in with the W7AIA crowd! (Read: cult.)

Been there done that. Walking in on their allegedly "open" and "publicly accessible" repeater with new (read: unfamiliar to them) call letters or a young-sounding voice is a lot like walking near a yellowjacket nest. What you describe sounds a lot like the sort of crap I received from them any time I'd key up on- or off-repeater. Yeah, there was even a small group of several individuals, mostly older, who would apparently leave their receivers on "scan" and attempt to interfere with or flat-out jam any communications anybody new tried to carry on, simplex or on other repeaters, whenever they'd hear them key up. I mean, I can understand "hazing" as that's part of the initiation process in some cliques/gangs like repeater groups, but what they were doing was harassment (and by my knowledge, was outright illegal.) Well, just water under the proverbial bridge at this point, but it doesn't make me in any hurry to get back into it. That was more than a decade ago.

Fast-forward to the present: I had been briefly contemplating getting a new tech ticket a couple months ago in preparation for a business trip to LA (have to leave my mark on the NUT, you know). This was scrapped when I found out the trip was cancelled and AIA apparently have the monopoly stranglehold on VEing and other HAM activities on this side of the river.

Thanks for the warning; apparently some things never change in certain circles. Maybe I'll just wait a couple more decades for things to finally settle down and for people to grow up.

 

[AgentCOPP1]

If ham radio is dying, then why is it that the number of licenses out there reached its all-time high back in 2012? If that's considered dying, then I don't know what isn't.

 

[Darth_vader]

Yeah, I see people regurgitating statistics like that all the time; mostly based on propaganda from the ARRL they've read or heard through the proverbial grapevine. It's that "feel-good" "news" people think they want to hear, which also makes for good PR. Fine, but just because some press release says, for example, "10 000 new tickets were issued this year" doesn't mean 10 000 new HAM operators out of that group will actually take to the airwaves, if ever. How many are people who actually will use it, versus the "well, I got this tech ticket because somebody told me I should for some reason, but I really have no idea what HAM radio is or what I would even do with it...isn't that those radios the truckers use" crowd?

Then again, I'm generally pretty leery of ARRL press releases in the first place, especially those which cite statistics. I mean, I do enjoy their technical publications, but I find their "news" department to be extremely biassed. They're a lobbyist group, not a reliable news source. In a way, they're almost like the Fox Noise Channel of HAM radio.

(Just my $2 worth.)

 

[AgentCOPP1]

Yeah, I see the ARRL's propaganda machine regurgitating statistics like that all the time, like any lobbyist group would do. But how many of them are people who actually will use it, versus the "I got this tech ticket because somebody told me I should for some reason, but I really have no idea what HAM radio is or what I would even do with it...isn't that those radios the truckers use" crowd? Just because they say, for example, "well, 10 000 new tickets were issued this year" doesn't mean 10 000 new HAM operators out of that group will actually take to the airwaves, if ever.

Then again, I'm generally pretty leery of ARRL press releases in the first place, especially those which cite statistics. I mean, I do enjoy their technical publications, but I find their "news" department to be extremely biassed; almost like the Fox Noise Channel of HAM radio.

(Just my $2 worth.)

You obviously have some unresolved problems with the ARRL.

I hardly believe that the ARRL deals in conspiracies. Those numbers are verifiable via the FCC so they're not lying. There's not really any good way of determining how much the license is being used besides maybe looking at the hit count on someone's QRZ page, but I find it very strange that you say the ARRL "regurgitates" those statistics like they're some kind of false conspiracy meant to trick us into believing something that isn't true. It is true and it's very encouraging to see it, but the people like you (not trying to point you specifically out... just people in general) seem to love dealing with the doom and gloom of everything that is going on when in reality the doom and gloom you see is nothing more than a figment of your imagination. You might have some truth in what you say, but your attitude serves two distinct purposes. The first is to satisfy some sadistic desire to complain, and the second is to contribute to the problem that you so earnestly wish to eliminate.

Judging from your previous posts, you seem to have a deep set hatred for ham radio. Quite honestly I would very much prefer you to take your complaining elsewhere because it's not constructive at all. Of course I say this in my very humble opinion, and I'm not trying to offend you in any way, just simply telling it how it is (I hope you'd respect that). I can really see why you'd drop ham radio though. You obviously don't enjoy it at all and it's really unfortunate you see it in that light.

 

[Darth_vader]

Well, I'm just telling it the way it is. If you don't think I should do that, that's your personal issue. If you don't like what I'm saying about the present-state of HAM radio, you can either just ignore it, or you can help it change so it doesn't have to be the way it is.

Here's the thing: I rarely (if ever) comment about the ARRL on here, simply because I don't have much to say about them. I will say their press department does exhibits a very strong (and blatant) bias toward their cause. Pure and easy. Not too radically different from any other commercial "news" organisation, really. I don't know how you may perceive that as me thinking they're somehow involved in conspiracy, but, eye of the beholder.

Alright? Good.

Next caller please; hello, you're on the air......

 

[AgentCOPP1]

Well, I'm just telling it the way it is. If you don't like what I'm saying about the present-state of HAM radio, you either don't have to read it, or you can help it change so it doesn't have to be the way it is.

If you don't think I should do that, that's your personal issue.

Again, I'm not trying to incite any sort of flame war so please please don't take this the wrong way, but I find it extremely odd that you think you have such a good idea of the "present-state of ham radio" when you don't even have your license anymore. Your bad experience, as much as I wish it didn't happen to you, is isolated and does not represent the whole of the hobby. The thing me and you have in common is that we've both encountered bad apples on the air. The difference between me and you is that you refuse to look past one bad experience, while I take it with a grain of salt and continue on with what I love to do. I'm not claiming to know exactly what happened to you, but my broad imagination is having a hard time finding an incident so terrible and so disgusting that it would justifiably make you envelope the entire hobby of ham radio in this blanket of false assumptions. From your posts, it seems like you encountered some hams that didn't welcome you on their repeater and that caused you to drop the hobby. In my opinion, it's extremely childish to throw a hissy fit and completely disregard the entire vast scope of ham radio simply because you met some unfriendly people. You need to have the insight to realize that those hams do not represent every ham in the world. I don't know why you have a hard time understanding this because I really wish you would turn your opinions around.

 

[SpectreOZ]

If ham radio is dying, then why is it that the number of licenses out there reached its all-time high back in 2012? If that's considered dying, then I don't know what isn't.

Perhaps license statistics are up because without the code more people are trying out the hobby, however without a "mentoring community" new arrivals may not hang around long enough to fully engage, is it just the pace of life? are those who've amassed a wealth of technical knowledge jealously hoarding it? either way K1OIK's YT commentary doesn't appear to have a dampening effect on ARRL statistics...

 

[Darth_vader]

Just as you and many others need to understand that peace, goodness and a welcoming open-arms attitude also does not represent every HAM operator in the world. Just because I don't presently have a ticket doesn't mean I don's still tune up and down the bands periodically and still hear them engaging in the same sort of crap. Usually it's this: crabby old WASPy 60-something male doesn't like the sound of new 15-something tech kid's voice or the fact that he's new; crabby old WASPy 60-something male chides and harasses new 15-something tech kid to no end until he either switches off or goes to new frequency, other crabby old WASPy 60-something males see the one doing it and decide to follow suit, new 15-something tech kid gets chased all around the bands by crabby old WASPy 60-something male until new 15-something tech kid gives up in frustration and crabby old WASPy 60-something male considers his goal acheived.

That's but one extreme example; most I've heard tend to be more subtle, immature things like flat-out ignoring the new 15-something tech kid whenever he keys up or calling him names. Sorry, suddenly going silent or labelling somebody a LID (especially on the air) just because they're new or a few decades younger than you are is not going to tempt people to form positive opinions of the hobby or their fellow practitioners, and is the height of rudeness and arrogance. Stuff like this goes on all the time. The first impression is the most important, especially if you're a nervous tech keying up for the first time and trying to get everything "right" so as not to anger the natives or upset the status quo. If you want real-world examples immediately, go onto Youtube or monitor some of the streaming simulcasts this site and others provide.

But, like I said above, if what I'm saying chaps your hide, you can either just ignore it, or people like you can help HAM radio change its ways for the better. Preferrably the latter, as it would go a long way in turning my opinions around. I mean, I want nothing better than to be able to get back into HAM radio and actually get something out of it, but the current climate just isn't conducive to that.

Now do you understand my position? (Probably not, but I tried.)

 

[Darth_vader]

@SpectreOZ--

Probably. Like I said earlier, how many of them will actually use HAM radio and try to get something out of it, and how many of them will just key up a couple times, lose interest and go back to playing their video games or looking at pictures of cats on their cell phones as their tickets lapse?

Although I've never come across a real-world breakdown as such (if it's even possible/practical to do that), I speculate the former sample would be significantly smaller than the latter.

 

[tunnelmot]

Its cool to feel that way. Remember there are cliques in every aspect of life. There are many different types of modes to discover and experiment with, as others have said. And take it from me, don't sell your equipment. I say who cares what modes you use. If irlp or echolink connects you to others who share your views and enjoy your conversation, then so be it. That being said, be mindful of how you come across on the air. You sound like you are having a tough time right now, but remember most all people are. I know that after work, I have bills on my mind, health care concerns, two kids that I have no clue on earth how they will afford college, so evening conversation should be light, focusing on the knowledge you've gained thus far. Be willing to concede to the knowledge of someone more experienced than you. The person on the other end may have it worse than you and personally I really don't get exited about joining a pity party. I don't know if that's whats going on, just saying to be mindful of that. But, yes, many in this hobby and others (I was HEAVY in the model railroad scene for a long time) are part of cliques. Nothing new in life. I personally elevated my skills to the point I couldn't be ignored and conquered that issue, earning respect from some who ignored me at first and ended up giving clinics if you can believe that. Hang in there, and explore. I have advanced a fair bit in my hobbies, but I NEVER turn away a newcomer or novice. Never. That, in itself is part of the enjoyment I get. At those times I can understand where teachers get their motivation from. Seeing someone make mental breakthroughs understanding concepts or ideas is extremely satisfying. Judging by some of the local hams around you, they may not share in my sentiments... I say move on to other modes.

 

[AgentCOPP1]

either way K1OIK's YT commentary doesn't appear to have a dampening effect on ARRL statistics...

Oh god don't mention that call. I've had many debates with that man. He is angry, haughty, and persistently childish. I won't even begin to go into the kinds of idiotic things he's said and done towards me.

Perhaps license statistics are up because without the code more people are trying out the hobby, however without a "mentoring community" new arrivals may not hang around long enough to fully engage, is it just the pace of life? are those who've amassed a wealth of technical knowledge jealously hoarding it?

That's entirely possible and I don't refute it. I love going to my ham club but unfortunately I almost always have conflicts on the days they have meetings. I plan on becoming immersed in the group and hopefully help mentor a few hams myself, but I'm fully aware that not everyone wants to do that. However, that is not an intrinsic fault of the ham community. You cannot force people nor fault people for not doing what they don't want to do. The people I do fault are the ones who complain about it yet sit idle (especially the more experienced hams). Of course someone's local ham club may not be so welcoming to newcomers so right off the bat, some people may get a bad impression. However, you don't always have to go to your local ham club to meet new hams. You can go on the internet, on the airwaves, get on Echolink and talk to more amiable folk who actually want to help you... there's a lot of different places you can go. Hell, I email different hams all the time asking for advice on something (usually about electrical theory) and I'm proud to say that not one of them has been unfriendly with me. If I can just talk to random hams on the internet, that really goes to show that not all of us are bad.

 

[AgentCOPP1]

Just as you and many others need to understand that peace, goodness and a welcoming open-arms attitude also does not represent every HAM operator in the world. Just because I don't presently have a ticket doesn't mean I don's still tune up and down the bands periodically and still hear them engaging in the same sort of crap. Usually it's this: crabby old WASPy 60-something male doesn't like the sound of new 15-something tech kid's voice or the fact that he's new; crabby old WASPy 60-something male chides and harasses new 15-something tech kid to no end until he either switches off or goes to new frequency, other crabby old WASPy 60-something males see the one doing it and decide to follow suit, new 15-something tech kid gets chased all around the bands by crabby old WASPy 60-something male until new 15-something tech kid gives up in frustration and crabby old WASPy 60-something male considers his goal acheived.

That's but one extreme example; most I've heard tend to be more subtle, immature things like flat-out ignoring the new 15-something tech kid whenever he keys up or calling him names. Sorry, suddenly going silent or labelling somebody a LID (especially on the air) just because they're new or a few decades younger than you are is not going to tempt people to form positive opinions of the hobby or their fellow practitioners, and is the height of rudeness and arrogance. Stuff like this goes on all the time. The first impression is the most important, especially if you're a nervous tech keying up for the first time and trying to get everything "right" so as not to anger the natives or upset the status quo. If you want real-world examples immediately, go onto Youtube or monitor some of the streaming simulcasts this site and others provide.

But, like I said above, if what I'm saying chaps your hide, you can either just ignore it, or people like you can help HAM radio change its ways for the better. Preferrably the latter, as it would go a long way in turning my opinions around. I mean, I want nothing better than to be able to get back into HAM radio and actually get something out of it, but the current climate just isn't conducive to that.

Now do you understand my position? (Probably not, but I tried.)

What you've described is very shocking to me. That 60 something year old man seems very... how do I put it... unusual. I can see why you'd be frustrated with that, but again, I believe that this infection of ham radio is only isolated to wherever this ham and his buddies go.

You say that "stuff like this goes on all the time" but I'm not sure whether you're referring to the group of repeaters you listen to or pretty much every repeater you may listen to. In my experience, that stuff does not happen all the time and in fact I have to search very hard for a group of hams to treat someone like that. Every time I travel somewhere, I key up the local repeater and my experience has almost always been pleasurable. I completely believe that the majority of hams out there are good honest people, but in every walk of life (as the cliche goes) there are bad apples.

It's not that what you're saying bothers me, it's just that I'm questioning the validity your opinion because your experience is very limited and constricted. It seems like you haven't ventured off to many other repeaters because it's extremely hard for me to believe that you could have such a streak of bad luck. I completely understand what you're saying but I still believe that you're entirely incorrect in how you put blanket assumptions on the ham community simply because you have not truly experienced ham radio in its entirety (or at least to a good degree).

I mean, from what I understand you haven't even experienced HF yet, so that makes your opinion even less valid. A new mechanic cannot go into a car shop and claim to know everything there is about cars just after he got done changing his first set of tires. Likewise, you cannot realistically get into ham radio, meet a few idiots and say you know everything about the ham community. The fact of the matter is that you don't, because you basically said it yourself (even if you didn't mean to). All of ham radio you've experienced is VHF/UHF, and that accounts for like maybe 20% of it. Even then, you've probably only gone on a few repeaters here and there, so your scope is extremely limited and your tunnel vision is blinding you from what's all around.

 

[zz0468]

I said it before, and I'll say it again. The hobby is whatever you want it to be... it's up to you (whoever YOU are).

I see the usual suspect(s) bashing the ARRL, and declaring a desire to get licensed in order to wade into the .435 mess here. I'm not picking on you, Darth_vader, I'm really not. In fact, you're comments are perfect to make my point for me.

See, if you don't like the ARRL, you don't have to join them, support them, listen to them, read their statistics, or read their magazines. And if you prefer to hang out in the seedier parts of the band, there are repeaters like W6NUT and it's offspring where that sort of behavior is welcome.

Don't like cranky old men? Then don't talk to them. There's plenty of others out there. Don't like your local club? Don't join... find some other group of hams to socialize with. No other clubs in your area? Form a new one. I suspect that most of the people that find the old men to be too prickly are probably pretty prickly themselves. When I was young, I got along fine with the old prickly guys. They had a LOT of knowledge to pass on, and so they did. Go in with a know-it-all-attitude and they won't waste their time with you. You have to meet these guys half way, and then they open up and turn out to be pretty neat people, crusty and cranky as they may be.

Personally, I find the variety of people that get attracted to ham radio to be part of it's appeal. I don't like every ham I meet. But I'm not going into it with the expectation that I will. And on the rare occasions that I find I dislike everyone in a particular group, I generally look at myself as the root of the problem, excuse myself, and go somewhere else where I fit in better. I don't whine because they won't change to fix MY expectations of THEM.

For all the problems that people come up with to avoid the hobby, I can come up with ten solutions. If you're not interested in the art and science of radio enough to overcome the inevitable problems you will run into, then you probably picked the wrong hobby.

Quit the whining. All of you. Ham radio is about the most technically and socially diverse avocation that I can think of. If you can't carve out a piece of it that makes your soul sing, then you are completely devoid of imagination, skill, and social graces.

Or you're just not into playing with radios as much as you think you are.

 

[Darth_vader]

deleted

 

[Darth_vader]

deleted

 

[AK9R]

The FCC license numbers for amateur radio are well over 700,000. Are all of those people on the air? Most certainly not. Are all of those people on the air where you are listening? Most certainly not. Still, you are going to find a wide spectrum (get it? radio pun) of people in amateur radio. Are all of those amateur radio operators going to be compatible with your personality, your beliefs, and your interests? Uh, no, not a chance.

The OP started off asking for some inspiration to help him decide about his ham radio future. Some of you tried to help him. Lately, it seems that some others of you only want to talk about what you don't like about amateur radio. Frankly, if all you want to do is complain, please take it elsewhere.