Were you once a HAM, quit activity, let your license expire and never looked back?

[BMDaug]

I used to have a tech class. Never went beyond that. I was HAPPY to let it expire. Based on my experience listening to amateur radio it is not what it should be. I hear 7200 act up. No hams do a thing about it just sitting on their hands. Not just 7200. No sir. I was listening last night and heard some hams talking within 2 khz of each other on 75m. Wasn't long till one ham moved to the other frequency accusing them of splattering all over the place.

I was thinking as I listened, they were too close in frequency. If they are set to 3khz transmit then it is to be expected to hear each other. The effective thing to do is to move 1khz further away from each other. Problem solved. But nope, they resorted to name calling and finger pointing.

I tell you that one bad apple in a barrel can ruin it for all. I believe in that. Hams should be policing your bands the way you are supposed to and stop the defeatist attitude of "the fcc won't do anything" and get the misfits removed from the air then I MIGHT think about it.

The Amateur radio creed is being ignored more and more every day. What a shame. The negativity is spreading. Over time all the hand sitters will find themselves thinking they might as well be on the CB.

I am positive that these words will go in one ear then out the other and/or someone will get offended. I do not care. Truth hurts. If the shoe fits then wear it. It won't be worth anytime on rebuttals. Slacking and hoping things change does nothing while you do nothing. Affirmative action gets results as long as it's persistent and relentless.

I totally get what you are saying and I’m not angry or upset that this is your perception, just bummed, because my experience has been the opposite!

HF is a tricky beast. It’s not like FM on VHF and up where you’re LOS and strongest signal wins. Those hams might not have had any idea they were stepping on each other when starting their QSOs and SSB makes the problem seem worse as a passive listener because you hear both transmissions mixed together. I’ve had people from a distant geographic location fade into my QSO and had to move freqs because propagation changed and we could suddenly hear each other. It shouldn’t be a big deal and ham radio is no place for turf wars!

It sounds like the hams in the respective QSOs you heard may have lost their cool with each other, which sucks, and it’s even more of a bummer that this was so frequent an occurrence that it caused you to become disenchanted with the hobby.

I can tell you that continuing to monitor may create confirmation bias since you could be subconsciously letting that matter seem more prevalent than it really is, or maybe it’s bad in your area… one bad apple indeed! Moving from 2m/70cm to HF without adjusting your expectations in regards to interference, while also making a conscious effort to understand propagation and how it fluctuates set you up for a bad time on HF (not to say that’s you, but the hams that you heard bickering could probably use to hear that advice…)

Anyway, I’m sorry you lost interest because of your peers. What a bummer.

-B

 

[Falcon9h]

I find that ridiculous. How would you solve that problem here, on another forum, or social media?

Saying it to make a point. One of thereasons I don't join any clubs, I have no tolerance for bullies and control freaks.

 

[nokones]

More than likely, I will never be an amateur radio operator for the various reasons expressed by others. Also, I think passing a written test that requires people to remember the test answers from an on-line source is a real joke. Now a days, no one wants to offer an in-person class anymore for people to learn the hobby/subject.

GMRS is a better offering with a lot less of a hassle to get a license so you can enjoy the hobby. It would be nice if the FCC would allow/allocate some spectrum in the 2 Meter, 70 Centimeter, and 33 Centimeter bands for people to get their license and not have to take a ridiculous test so they can operate on a set of specific channels like GMRS licensees do.

 

[Falcon9h]

More than likely, I will never be an amateur radio operator for the various reasons expressed by others. Also, I think passing a written test that requires people to remember the test answers from an on-line source is a real joke. Now a days, no one wants to offer an in-person class anymore for people to learn the hobby/subject.

GMRS is a better offering with a lot less of a hassle to get a license so you can enjoy the hobby. It would be nice if the FCC would allow/allocate some spectrum in the 2 Meter, 70 Centimeter, and 33 Centimeter bands for people to get their license and not have to take a ridiculous test so they can operate on a set of specific channels like GMRS licensees do.

I hear you... I don't memorize or test well and, honestly, don't know if I'd use it. In my area you can scan 2m for hours and not hear a peep.

 

[nokones]

I hear you... I don't memorize or test well and, honestly, don't know if I'd use it. In my area you can scan 2m for hours and not hear a peep.

I hear that is the norm throughout a majority of the country even in the high populated Metropolitan areas. What a waste of a valuable spectrum resource. I wonder if they do away with the Tech License written test if more people would get involved with the hobby. I more than likely would give it a try regardless of the old poor/rude attitudes of some of the amateur radio users.

 

[Boombox]

I find that ridiculous. How would you solve that problem here, on another forum, or social media?

If someone has a legit concern about forum / online 'bullies', sometimes messaging the site owner about the issue can help. People don't like hanging out with bullies or jerks. A bully or jerk can drive new forum / talkgroup members away, and an active bully can thin out the regulars who tire of dealing with it. This can eventually cost the site visits and engagement. I'm not a fan of heavy handed moderation, but fair handed moderation I think works out best for everybody.

Sorry for the sidestep here. Back to ham radio......

 

[iowabassplayer]

Have been licensed since 1996. After being in and out of the hobby a few times, I think my decision to just get out of it once and for all came to me the day I was sitting in the shack, looking at my Kenwood TS850S. $900 rig sitting there connected to about $100 of coax, connected to a $300 antenna so I can "check in" to an HF net on Sunday mornings - seems like a waste of time. Nobody on the local repeaters so having anything for 2m or 440 is useless. Digital voice modes are cool for about 6 months and then it's just not appealing any longer.

SO - I sold everything - I still love Shortwave Listening and I have a couple of GMRS radios for family/friends but as for HAM, it's all gone. Not sure if I'm leaving ham radio or if ham radio left me...either way, I just do not get the joy out of the hobby that I did 20 plus years ago.

I may change my mind, and I know it costs nothing to keep my license renewed, but I really don't see the need to keep it up any longer.

 

[Omega-TI]

Have been licensed since 1996. After being in and out of the hobby a few times, I think my decision to just get out of it once and for all came to me the day I was sitting in the shack, looking at my Kenwood TS850S. $900 rig sitting there connected to about $100 of coax, connected to a $300 antenna so I can "check in" to an HF net on Sunday mornings - seems like a waste of time. Nobody on the local repeaters so having anything for 2m or 440 is useless. Digital voice modes are cool for about 6 months and then it's just not appealing any longer.

SO - I sold everything - I still love Shortwave Listening and I have a couple of GMRS radios for family/friends but as for HAM, it's all gone. Not sure if I'm leaving ham radio or if ham radio left me...either way, I just do not get the joy out of the hobby that I did 20 plus years ago.

I may change my mind, and I know it costs nothing to keep my license renewed, but I really don't see the need to keep it up any longer.

Thanks for sharing, I can relate with what you said, especially the part "...if ham radio left me...", in a way it did (for me), all the people I used to have QSO's with are all now SK's and AX.25 which was my favorite is a mere shadow of its former glory, so yeah, there was no point keeping the gear or the license when the fun was gone.

 

[N6JPA]

Did the hobby no longer seem "cutting edge enough" for you?
Did it get too "commercial"?
Did your favorite hang out or mode dry up and fade away?
Were there local politics that put a damper on your enthusiasm"?
Were too many of your buddies dying off?
Was it getting too expensive?
Was the XYL an issue?
Was it due to lack of time?
Did the Internet play a part in leaving Amateur Radio?

I still have my ham license, but I live in a condo with no antenna allowed restrictions. I used to go portable and mobile, but it became tiring to to do that. I just sold all my gear and retired from the hobby. I still listen using webSDR on online web sites. Ham radio is great if you have a house where you can put up antennas and talk around the world like I did forty years ago at my parents home, but it is no fun trying to get a portable station to talk with people.

 

[WX4AJM]

My first renewal is this year.
My grandfather was the sole reason I am into RF and radio as much as I am. He had a CB in the garage, couldn't hear anything, but boy did young me think that setup was cool!
I talked him into taking me to take my exam and got my tech license. Not long after, I talked him into HIM taking his exam, which led from tech to general to extra. He found a small community of a few local hams that welcomed us to breakfast frequently. Local nets. Man, I wish I would've gotten us into digital sooner! He would've had a blast.

For his memory, and for my hobby, I'll never let my ticket expire. I'd considered applying for his after it expires, but I'm not sure about that. It was his, and mine is mine.

These days, I've spent over a year building out my scanner project in the exact same spot in the garage where that old CB setup stood, where I stood with him doing projects, and where my passion for this whole hobby was born. The antennas stand around the same spot where the old CB antenna stood.

I'm 26, I work in broadcast, so coming home to talk on the radio is less than my cup of tea. I still love listening to DMR & YSF, and hope to catch a local repeater net whenever I can. I have a soft spot for analog broadcast, but I feel like a lot of voice broadcast's future will be digital.

I like that I can plug a hotspot in, and someone across the globe can key up a radio and talk to me, and I can key up a radio and talk to them. It removes BIG barriers for people that can't propagate signal for any specific reason. Are you a 20-something in an apartment? You've got a chance to talk. Are you wheelchair-bound and can't put up an antenna? You've got a chance to talk. You've got a bad HOA? You've got a chance to talk. Bands are closed and you can't talk to your buddy? If you're both equipped, you both have a chance to talk! The only inhibition is internet access and money to fund the stuff.

All in all, I appreciate and love having the opportunity to have my amateur license and it inspires me to keep learning more every day.

 

[Omega-TI]

I still have my ham license, but I live in a condo with no antenna allowed restrictions. I used to go portable and mobile, but it became tiring to to do that. I just sold all my gear and retired from the hobby. I still listen using webSDR on online web sites. Ham radio is great if you have a house where you can put up antennas and talk around the world like I did forty years ago at my parents home, but it is no fun trying to get a portable station to talk with people.

I understand that too. I downsized to move in my retirement condo that has antenna restrictions. I may not transmit anymore, but listening is still fun. This spring though I'm going to install a stealthy loop antenna on the patio... with plans recommend here on RR.