The Ham Recruiting Project (HRP)

[AB0TJ]

Is ham radio dying? I don't know. But, here is a way to prevent it.

I have started a ... well, club or organization, or whatever you want to call it http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif called the Ham Recruiting Project, or HRP.

Here is the general info about the HRP:

I started the HRP in an attempt to get more people into the hobby.
The idea is based upon a point system, people who recuit others to
become ham operators receive points. The points go like this:

1 point for every person that gets a ham ticket under your influence
and elmering.
1 point for every time one of your recruits upgrades his or her
license.
1 point for upgrading your own license.
1 point or more for donating a prize (see below)
Double points for:
Recruits under 18
Upgrades to Extra

Everyone receives a special certificate for your first point, and the
recruits also get a certificate when they get their license.

Points can be redeemed for prizes. The prizes are donated by HRP
members. You receive a point for every prize you donate, or more if
it is worthy of more.

When donating prizes, you decide how many points it will be worth,
but keep in mind points do not come easily.

I will keep track of points and keep track of some sort of shopping
system for point holders. I will give some points to someone that
wants to set up a web site for the HRP.

Points must be verified with one or more of the following:
Copies of licences and/or CSCE certificates.
Letters from recruits.
Some sort of proof of age (for under-18 double points).

Questions, ideas or debates on these rules may be sent to:
pi_3_141@hotmail.com

If you have any interest in this idea, you can join the Yahoo! Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ham_recruiters/ or send me an email at the address above.

Thanks for reading this and 73,
Alex Swedenburg AB0TJ

[K2WH]

Frankly, I'm getting a little tired of these Chicken Little sky is falling intro lines, "Is Ham Radio Dying". (Where does this stuff come from?)

Do a little research first, get the statistics and you will find that new hams are joining this hobby in large numbers. #To answer your query, "No, ham radio is NOT dying, it is flourishing".

To quote CQ Magazine, January 2003 issue, "U.S. Ham Licensing at 5-Year High". #Renewal rates this year are at 55% (an improvement from 45%) with 20,000 new hams so far this year (as of the end of October).

With that said, your recruitment efforts are admirable and your program should be encouraged. # Congratulations and kudos for your efforts.

K2WH

[n4tia]

I think {to an extent} the hobby is dying, if you think about it more "old" hams are dying then young hams are joining. I am a young ham {14 years old} and I know that in Florida there is not a lot of hams that are "young" and I think that as time goes on and technology gets better and cheaper we will see a decrease in ham radio operators espicially young hams. I think the idea presented here has some potential but I think it would be next to impossible to keep track of all the "points" On the other hand if you think about it a lot of hams wont really want to be botherd with keeping track of "points" I honestly think this idea is one that wont last long if it lasts at all. If you feel the hobby is dying get out and do something about it, setup stations in schools, parks... get the public informed about ham radio because I can tell you a lot of people dont even know what the hobby is all about, they dont even know it exists, I have started a radio club in my high school both for fun and to get more of the youth to get licensed. That is my view on the subject. 73!
Alexander KG4OGN

[KD7TSO]

I like this idea. But I refuse to think Amature radio is dying. I am a young amature radio operator myself 17. I seen more people getting into this hobby then ever before. I like the idea but it will be hard to keep track of. But still a good idea. Any ways ham radio is not dying it's getting more popular. And it will continue I belive. Lets get more youngsters into this hobby.

73's

Christopher Rudolph
Upgrading to Genrale soon.
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[AI2Y]

Please.....not another club, organization, or whatever you choose to call it!! #Don't we already have enough paper-chasers swapping useless dollars & cents numbers on the bands? #It's gettin' where you can't ever start a good ragchew with someone before you're hit with a string of numbers that sounds like the guy is reading serial numbers off the sides of the cars in a passing freight train. #This chapter, that chapter, my chapter, your chapter......and what was your call?

73s Jon WW0JON

[kc8vcb]

i don't think ham radio dying. i mean before i got my licence i talked on another hams licence, on a local repeater to 4 people working on the same radio and they were just about to take there tests. and i have talked to them since, all 4 of them! i 'm sorry but i don't think people want to keep track all those points. by the way me and those other 4 hams were between 12 and 17, me being 14 (at the time now am 15).

73 de kc8vcb

[w6th]

No my ham friends, ham radio is definately not fading away. #Ham radio is on the rise and has not begun to slow down and is forever increasing.

# # It may be that the ARRL magazine sales are going down some, but believe me not the amount of hams listed today.

# # When I received my ticket back in 1938 there were the amount of 50,000 hams, if I remember correctly. #Now look up the amount that we have today and do some comparing.

# # I want to add at this time that the only frequencies we have lost in my 64 years of active service is the 40 meter band which was all cw and no phone. #Just prior to the Pearl Harbor incident the 40 meter segment of the cw band was given to the phone band. Prior to this the 20 meter band if I remember was cw on both sides of the phone band. In other words cw on the low end, then the phone band # #and then the cw band again on the upper end of 20 meters. #The upper end which was for cw, was taken away and given to the phone band. #You see we didn't lose any bands. #Just altered a bit.

Oh yes, almost forgot that the 160 meter band started at 1750 Kc/s, (Khz). You would hear police there and now broadcast stations.

# # What is this you say about a better mouse trap?
#
# # # # # # # # # # # #73, 30, #W6th

[K2WH]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (kg4ogn @ Dec. 29 2002,20:44)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I think {to an extent} the hobby is dying, if you think about it more "old" hams are dying then young hams are joining. I am a young ham {14 years old} and I know that in Florida there is not a lot of hams that are "young" and I think that as time goes on and technology gets better and cheaper we will see a decrease in ham radio operators espicially young hams. I think the idea presented here has some potential but I think it would be next to impossible to keep track of all the "points" On the other hand if you think about it a lot of hams wont really want to be botherd with keeping track of "points" I honestly think this idea is one that wont last long if it lasts at all. If you feel the hobby is dying get out and do something about it, setup stations in schools, parks... get the public informed about ham radio because I can tell you a lot of people dont even know what the hobby is all about, they dont even know it exists, I have started a radio club in my high school both for fun and to get more of the youth to get licensed. That is my view on the subject. 73!
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Alexander KG4OGN[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Not true. The amount of Silent Keys yearly is about 1,800 to 2,500. This amount is trivial when compared to the 20,000 new hams yearly.

K2WH

[jxs2151]

I posted this on usenet a while back in an attempt to clarify the discussion about whether or not ham radio is dying.

Please note that I don't really care one way or the other about whether ham radio actually is dying, I just wanted to dispel the simplistic notion that "the number of hams is increasing" when in fact, per capita, it has shown a recent decline.


"If instead of raw numbers, one takes the numbers and figures out the percentage of hams in proportion to the US population you get a clearer picture:


Year # #Hams # # # # # #US Population # Percentage
1917 # #6,000 # # # # # 103,268,000 # # 0.006%
1928 # #17,000 # # # # #120,509,000 # # 0.014%
1936 # #46,000 # # # # #128,053,180 # # 0.036%
1950 # #90,000 # # # # #152,271,417 # # 0.059%
1956 # #140,000 # # # # 168,903,031 # # 0.083%
1958 # #160,000 # # # # 174,881,904 # # 0.091%
1963 # #250,000 # # # # 189,241,798 # # 0.132%
1977 # #327,000 # # # # 220,239,425 # # 0.148%
1989 # #500,000 # # # # 246,819,230 # # 0.203%
1997 # #678,473 # # # # 267,783,607 # # 0.253%
2001 # #682,240 # # # # 277,228,212 # # 0.246%


So, even if one takes into account the artificial surge in Ham Population attributable to the "Codeless-Tech Barrier Lowering" of the early 90's, the ham population is beginning to show a decline for the first time ever."

[K6UEY]

I believe the sight of the forest is being obscured by the size of the trees.

Is Ham Radio dying - Most definately and at an increasing rate.
Are more tickets being issued -Most definately and at an increasing rate.

As long as the criteria is to increase the numbers for the sake of Quantity over Quality, it will provide a market place for the hucksters and feather merchants to suck the blood of Ham Radio dry. Look at what is going on in the computer market, they have now reached saturation, sales are down , how many dot-com's went under last year ? #When the carcuss is no longer easy pickings and all the profits are made whats left will be cast aside, probably the last action will be for the FCC to prop up their budget by selling the frequencies to the waiting #commercial ventures, then the word will be official that the now mere " Hobby" is dead .

ENJOY!! Life is too short for QRP.

Have a Happy New Year, who knows this could be the #last for the " Hobby ". # # # # # # # 73, # ORV
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[AB0TJ]

Please, do not turn this into a "is it dying or not?" thread. As I stated in the post. I do not know. I also do not wnat to speculate about that. The idea here is to promote elmering whether or not the hobby is dying. This is not some sort of last ditch effort to save ham radio. I do not think the debate about whether or not it is dying will end until it actually does happen, which may be next year, 10 years from now, or never, who knows?

And, as for 'people don't want to keep track of all those points'... we have that covered. Take a look at the website http://ve3swf.planetf.com/ there is a way to keep track of points there.

73,
Alex AB0TJ

[KC0MBM]

"Is Ham Radio dying"?

This week marks one year for me. General Class in March of 2002. Was convinced until recently that amateur radio was in a freefall. One night last week could not find an open frequency to chat on 80 with a friend.
Ham Radio vendors had very good sales last year.
We may be aging, but we ain't dead yet.
Chip
KCØMBM

In 1962 there were 239,000 hams in the US, today there are 3 times that many. Does that answer the question?

[W5ATX]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (w6th @ Dec. 31 2002,00:58)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">No my ham friends, ham radio is definately not fading away. #Ham radio is on the rise and has not begun to slow down and is forever increasing.

# # It may be that the ARRL magazine sales are going down some, but believe me not the amount of hams listed today.

# # When I received my ticket back in 1938 there were the amount of 50,000 hams, if I remember correctly. #Now look up the amount that we have today and do some comparing.

. . .[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
The difference is in 1938, you had 50,000 hams. Now we have 680,000+ license holders. Mere license holders do not demonstrate that there has been an increase in the number of hams. While we could go into the debate about whether an appliance operator is a ham, I won't.

How many hams back in 1938, or 1962 for that matter, got on just to have a "cheap telephone to home" in the car? None. Maybe by 1962 there were a few, but not many. That's just the one example I have on the tip of my tongue right now. But you get the drift.

Go look at the database here on qrz.com for the calls about to be forfeited for lack of renewal. You'll see blocks of sequential callsigns. They look like entire classes of hams who got licenses together and never got on the air or who lost interest shortly after being licensed.

And we can skate around the discussion about those folks who hold dozens of "club" calls.

Yes, there are more than 50,000 active hams now. But there aren't the 680,000+ who hold licenses. They're not ALL hams.

73,

Chris

28 years of amateur and commercial CW experience.

[w1ctt]

The best way for experienced hams to promote the hobby is with a MICROPHONE, not a pen or computer. #I would grade my impressions of the hobby while a tech as poor, primarily due to experienced folks who refuse to qso with new hams. #As a general, things are looking better, but my advice for the hobby: TALK to anybody with the RADIO no matter how green they sound on the air. Lead by example.