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ARRL: It's not just the bylaws that need changin'

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by KL7SB, Jan 13, 2018.

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  1. K0IDT

    K0IDT Ham Member QRZ Page

    If FT8 was put into use before LOTW the procedure would have been the same, cards, envelopes,stamps, P.O. and wait. Since the advent of LOTW it can be done on any mode and it is for those that want every mode every band
    for whatever award.
     
  2. N2SUB

    N2SUB Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    I used FT8 as an example since it is the quickest way to get contacts these days. It's true of any mode. The original post was about LOTW and awards. I guess FT8 in a post is a shiny object these days, but it really has nothing to do with the issue.
     
    ND6M likes this.
  3. ND6M

    ND6M Ham Member QRZ Page

    nothing in the above paragraph has anything to do with FT 8, or CW, or fone, or...
     
  4. W1VT

    W1VT Ham Member QRZ Page

    http://www.arrl.org/files/file/DXCC/Card Checkers Jan 25 2018.pdf
    Here is a 5 page list of DXCC card checkers. Some people actually enjoy this process--they get to talk to a fellow DXer and don't have to trust the postal service to deliver the cards--which is still an option for getting your cards checked--many cards are still processed at ARRL HQ by paid staff. One of the costs of running the League is funding legacy services. It would obviously be cheaper to require LoTW for all awards and eliminate the need for paid staff to check cards.

    As I see it, it is up to leadership to decide if and when legacy services provided by paid staff be discontinued to cut costs. Volunteers aren't free. Someone needs to manage them. If not, they can cost much more than you think you are saving.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2018
  5. W8LV

    W8LV Ham Member QRZ Page

    My Open Letter to the ARRL Great Lakes Division:



    Dear Dale,

    As an ARRL Member, I want to express my thoughts on myarrlvoice.org....

    I think that this whole thing got way out of hand, and it's absurd (to me) to expect ANY Board of Directors in ANY Organization to hold Boardroom discussions that are NOT confidential.

    They drone on at myarrlvoice.org about Transparency and essentially their concept of freedom of speech vs. gag, etc., etc...
    But when Board Members can't speak frankly in boardroom proceedings, that imposes ANOTHER kind of "from the top down" Gag on the Board Members themselves, and important issues won't even be initiated let alone debated from the very start!

    We don't live in a Direct Democracy, instead we live in a Representative Republic. I don't know how certain members of myarrlvoice.org missed that in Civics Class. Maybe they were sick that day.

    Our Associations and Institutions that we CHOOSE to belong to reflect this very tradition of the Representative Republic that we live in.

    While it's all fine and good to have myarrlvoice.org petition the League, I don't want them hijacking the League, under the absurd "premise" that The Board is somehow "hijacking" the League! The FACT is that as far as I am concerned, I elected YOU to represent me, and NOT myarrlvoice.org, and if I have concerns of any kind, it's YOU and the others of course in our Section whom I would be contacting as appropriate.

    I'm detecting an underlying tone in certain individuals, not all, but some, who seem to have a vendetta with the League.... Maybe they didn't like Incentive Licensing, Code vs. No Code, etc., etc. And I don't like their tone one single bit!

    It's a fact that anytime an institution decides to take a particular direction, some people leave that organization. But it's ALSO a fact that a new direction also attracts NEW members. The Young People, the Makers and others will come to join us. Some will eventually become our leaders!

    It's also a fact that the ARRL is the Fountainhead of all other Amateur Radio organizations worldwide that now exist, almost as a rule. It wouldn't be here if it didn't stand the Test of Time!

    I want the ARRL to be here for my Great Grandchildren: It's good for us, it's good for the Country as a cornerstone of ramping up STEM to forge our Future Engineers and Scientists, it's an integral part of our infrastructure backup plan, and it's good for the World, providing as it does International Goodwill.

    Finally, as far as THIS ARRL member is concerned, You and Everyone in the Great Lakes Section, and the ARRL as a Whole are doing a FINE JOB, and my hat is off to you all.

    Sincerely and All the Best!

    DE W8LV Bill Pietschman

    Best Regards from Amateur
    Radio Station W8LV
    Station Info:
    www.hamqth.com/W8LV
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2018
  6. W1VT

    W1VT Ham Member QRZ Page

    I love chasing DX on CW. I like to figure out pileups--just like some people like to solve New York Times Crossword Puzzles. I could do it all day if I didn't have to work. I'll even work slow speed CW Ops in places like Wake Island and Papua New Guinea. Folks will see the spot and not realize that the slow operator is actually the DX station and not some local station trying to have a ragchew.

    I find the digital mode FT8 is significantly more effective in working DX if I manually complete the QSOs. I currently have 564 unique grids and expect that to increase at the end of the month when DX stations upload their logs to LoTW. It appears that being able to switch between multiple directions quickly actually overcomes the normal gain advantage of the traditional beam and tower used for DXing.

    Zak W1VT
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2018
  7. KD0NPT

    KD0NPT Ham Member QRZ Page

    It has already been automated and one of they guys collecting rewards while he sleeps and brags about has posted a Youtube on how to do it. He claims he is doing it for us to expose the weaknesses in the program and and the awards system. Yeah right...look up on eQSL for instance and see his booty.

    Here is his SV5DKL FT8 Robot tutorial, some of the commenters are certainly not happy with it:

     
    N2SUB likes this.
  8. KD0NPT

    KD0NPT Ham Member QRZ Page

    I use FT8 as well but I also use JT9/JT65 which I find albeit slower but far more effective for signals -21-24db and sometimes below. Only caveat with the JT modes they are not currently in vogue so the traffic is less but you can still find some gems there.
     
  9. KD7UA

    KD7UA XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    [QUOTE="If N6AA wanted everyone to know why he was censured, he would publish it.[/QUOTE]
    Well, actually, he cannot publish it or he could be censured again -- see ARRL code of conduct for board members!
     
  10. KF4MKP

    KF4MKP Ham Member QRZ Page

    Whatever is going on at ARRL is typical of big organizations and bureaucracies that they create. I also don't believe in everything I read or hear. Actions speak louder than words.

    My two-cents' worth opinion doesn't really matter much, but the issues at ARRL have piqued my interest because I am a dues paying member and am happy that I have access to the league's resources and their "protection" of our portion of the frequency spectrum against threats of all sorts. (seems as if I have heard that before)...

    Sure, gratitude is in order, but to the membership of the ARRL not necessarily to the management of the league. We (us members) are the ARRL. I would urge hams not to leave the league even when you disagree with their actions or policy decisions. Make an effort to voice your concerns. We have a right to voice our concerns, and as with any large bureaucratic organization, it takes a lot of effort to 'steer the ship'. Change may never go the way some people wish it, and if I exhaust my efforts and the ARRL and I can't see eye to eye, then I will not renew my membership, but that day is not here yet and I foresee remaining a member in an organization affiliated with a hobby I love.
     
    KI7HSB likes this.
  11. KI7HSB

    KI7HSB Ham Member QRZ Page


    Up until recently, I never had any reason to believe that the ARRL was anything less than a great organization dedicated to promoting amateur radio, gathering and sharing information of vital or passing interest to the hobbyists and working tirelessly and cooperatively with the federal government to defending our rights and privileges to use the public airwaves in a manner that benefits not just our own ranks, but the safety of the general public as well. An organization devoted solely to the effective and beneficial use of a hard science, free from the socio-political machinations of the ideologues of the political parties or the greed of the corporate pirates... (Cue the patriotic and inspirational music)

    Sounds real Pollyanna-ish, don't it?

    My view was that of decades of being an outsider and in the scant few weeks that I have been reading the forums and blogs, one would easily think that recently, the board of the ARRL had been taken over by body snatchers and replaced with plant based automatons hell bent on doing the evil work of some mysterious shadow government (Cue the scary sci-fi sound effects...). I have to admit that even I have been gravely concerned about some of the things that I have read recently about the supposed intentions of the ARRL BoD and the paranoid accusations of evil secret intentions as yet unrevealed (or in many cases, fully imagined). And for the record, I do not disagree that some of the recent well known and established facts ARE troublesome.

    Well, I've been involved in politics and media for a very long time and a good dose of skepticism can go along way in either direction. However, since I am new to actually being involved in ham radio (but a lifetime wannabe), I thought a little perspective was needed. Real truth is rarely spoken and must be sought in between the lines. I made a call to a dear friend of mine that has been active in the hobby since we were teenagers back in the 1970's. I asked him what HE though about all this crap and his answer surprised me.

    He told me that he knew nothing of the current flap as he didn't pay any attention to the ARRL. He had initially joined the ARRL in his youth, but in 1986, he dumped his membership because he felt that they were a self serving organization that didn't seem to give a crap about the amateurs and only cared about their own interests. 1986. That was in 1986.

    So, lets think about this... If my friend had good reason to feel that the ARRL didn't truly represent him and his interests 32 years ago... WTF is going on today that has everyone convinced that this is some new BS?

    I'm starting to smell breakfast.... as in 'sausage'...

    The internet is a horrible thing really... Rumors and news both spread like wild fire and independent fact-checking is all but unheard of. I'm starting to believe now that what we are actually seeing isn't the breakdown of the ARRL, but just a the latest wave of internet amplified outrage over the fact that someone recently saw HOW THE SAUSAGE IS MADE. We all love that smokey meaty goodness, but no one likes to see it actually being manufactured. I grew up on a farm and I've served in political capacity. Trust me. Its gross.

    So, I'm inclined to stop worrying or speculating anymore on WTF is going on in Newington Connecticut, stop worrying about the bloody greasy knuckles of the butcher and just enjoy my breakfast. The ARRL has several great books on the subject of antenna technology and proper grounding science. That's a lot more fun to read.

    I was taught as a child to believe that actions speak much louder than words... And as long as neither Wall Street, Chuck Schumer or Paul Ryan have come close to taking my microphone from my cold dead hands, and I have access to a great library of knowledge, I'm going to let reality sway my opinion, not rhetoric.

    I might even join the ARRL....

    73's
     
    W0FS, W8BFX and KA0HCP like this.
  12. NL7W

    NL7W Ham Member QRZ Page

    How long have you been a ham? Personally, I've only been tracking the League for 35 years, since I was a teen. In that time, the League has had its faults and missteps over the years. More often than not, the organization appears myopic with its lack of outreach. It's a real issue.

    I fear for it, but hope for the best.
     
  13. KK0O

    KK0O Ham Member QRZ Page

    I think it was in a way fortunate that I hadn't joined the ARRL. Having only started to get active this past year, I am usually pretty skeptical about any organization that mails me a lot of stuff trying to get me to buy a membership and a magazine subscription. I have a few friends and hams that say it's worth it, but I like to make sure I'm not wasting my time/money/et cetera. I'm glad the ARRL is being shaken right now, it was easy to not get involved and easy to stay away from the drama.

    Sure, quite a few folks argue that they're the only ones safeguarding our bands - but if this is only a lobby group primarily, again it's not something I really want to get on board with. In other words, I'm glad that it seems the ARRL is a drama-driven lobby group that thinks that by default, a ham has to join, because it's so much easier to figure out if I want to get into a relationship when the other party I'm courting turns out to be nucking futs after the first date.
     
    W0FS likes this.
  14. KI7HSB

    KI7HSB Ham Member QRZ Page

    I've been a 'wannabe' since 1973, but for reasons that only seemed valid at the time, I never actually got my ticket till about 18 months ago.
     
  15. NL7W

    NL7W Ham Member QRZ Page

    Well... welcome aboard. It is a most engaging, intriguing and wide-ranging hobby. For me, the hobby and abiding interest led to a career in comm-electronics and telecommunications. It has most certainly paid my family's bills for 30+ years.
    Do what interests you. Find those with similar interests, learn and do. Have fun along the way.

    73.
     
    KI7HSB likes this.

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