Did the hobby no longer seem "cutting edge enough" for you?
With everyone I knew running off to HF and the commercial radio advancing at a much higher rate, I just left after a couple years but jumped back on here and there just to jump back off because of the politics.
Did it get too "commercial"?
Ham radio is commercial in its own way, and its not a good way
Did your favorite hang out or mode dry up and fade away?
For the most part, it did and I blame that on HF. I only got into Ham Radio for the 50MHz and higher bands. I was sick of listening to and fighting with CB radio when it came to band conditions and listening to constant static. I also wanted local and quiet, not distant and noisy.
Were there local politics that put a damper on your enthusiasm"?
There was and still is these politics that are a fixture in Ham Radio. Its called "Get your license and conform to "Ham Radio" and upgrade your license and buy the most expensive radio equipment and have the biggest setup or you're a nobody. Ya know, the ol' CB radio attitude. Its still like that. I listened to 7.2MHz one day where someone was getting destroyed over the air over the setup they had and much more. Lots of swearing, degradation, music playing and other animalistic noises.
Were too many of your buddies dying off?
If you call getting sucked down into HF, then yes!
Was it getting too expensive?
Expensive? HA! Most Ham Radio equipment is not even in my price range with the exception of VHF and UHF equipment and even some of that is overpriced because of a Ham Radio brand name. I should not and neither should anyone else be forced to spend over $1,000 for HF equipment so that they can be heard like all the other guys who sit on well over $10,000 worth of HF equipment. I can buy a CB radio with all the bells and whistles for a fraction of the price of an HF radio and I can do the same exact job with a CB. Why? That's like slapping the word "organic" on food and you see the price go through the roof. Same thing with Ham Radio. Slap Ham Radio on a radio and the price goes through the roof.
Was the XYL an issue?
Nope
Was it due to lack of time?
Partially
Did the internet play a part in leaving Amateur Radio?
Nope. In fact it saved me. I live in the worst possible place for radio. Unless I want to spend over $10,000 on a setup and go through the grueling part of learning all that garbage to upgrade to general that I will never use on HF, I'm better off using internet based radio. Internet allows me to use DMR. As it sits right now, I only have one DMR repeater near me and the thing is hardly ever online. Most hams around me have abandoned the VHF band and UHF is dead. So thank you internet and pistar.
I got licensed back in 1996. Hams were very active in the community, well known by most, and were very active on the VHF and UHF bands. Around the late 90's and early 2000's things went dead. There was this push to get hams off the VHF bands and down onto HF. Because I had no interest in HF I got out of it. I hopped on repeaters once and awhile but for the most part went to other radio services because I was and always have been a local guy when it came to radio. Due to some incident that happened with a newer ham who thought he was all that and a bag of chips, I cancelled my license. Years later things changed and I now live in another state. I decided to get back into it because of the newer digital voice modes. There is literally hardly anyone on them. I have been told to my face that if I want to talk to others on Ham Radio, I need to upgrade my license and get on HF because that is where the action is. From what I have witnessed when it comes to HF, It sounds like a CB radio down there. No one identifies with their call except for when they are getting off the air. Swearing and derogatory comments especially about women are mutually accepted. Music playing is allowed. I got into Ham Radio because of the "professionalism" that I heard on the repeaters. I didn't care for the loose conversation heard on CB radio. I also was turned off by this middle school mentality when it came to who had the biggest baddest radio setup. I'm not saying that all of HF or Ham Radio for that matter is like that, but enough of it is to the point where I currently don't want to get involved with that crowd. I leave Ham Radio as a tool in my bag of radio communication in case I ever need it. The one thing that bothers me is that no one in my community really even knows what ham radio is. Ive been asked numerous times what fire department I am with. When I tell them that I am a ham radio operator, I get this contorted look from the person. I then mention Amateur radio. Again, they have no clue. I then tell them "ya know, the guys who talk around the world on their radios". I am then met with "oh yeah, my grandfather talks on CB radio". 25 years ago, people knew what ham radio was. Now, no one knows. So, I just leave Ham radio as what it is - a tool in my bag of communications. I am a radio communications guy, NOT a Ham Radio operator. I just happen to hold a Ham Radio License.
- play to my heart's content with the sciences I loved for a living .
