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

In my personal observation the ARRL has done virtually nothing good for the hobby in the past last 25 years, so I voted with my feet and wallet and they will never get another dime of my money to use against me. A malfunctioning ARRL is not better than no ARRL. Just sayin'.

 

I choose to Support the ARRL. That certainly doesn't mean that I agree with them 100% of the time, but the good they do far far outweighs their mistakes.

Long Live the ARRL!

73 DE W8LV Bill

 

I thank you for the welcoming. I'm happy that I finally did it, but filled with regret for letting life convince me that I had more important things to do for so many moments. I could have learned so much since the days when I was first exposed to the hobby by an old resident in my home town that had been a ham since Marconi I believe...

Of course, I never turned a blind eye to the hobby or the science and have learned a lot as an interested bystander. My first engineering degree was in electronics and I spent several years in the field before moving over to aerospace and another engineering degree in mechanics. Plus always talking with my dear friend who was active all those years helped. I owe my ticket to him really... 2 years ago, he lit a fire under my ass and made me go do it. It only took a few months to go from general to extra thanks to my education in electronics.

Currently, all I have is a simple 2-meter rig, but I'm saving my pennies and spare parts to build my first operational DX station.

 

Let's gjve Gallagher some credit. He's (finally) done something nice. Let's have a competition for the most fitting and creative going away present.

Interesting observation: If I wish to be on the ballot for my radio club it's no problem (the requirements are minimal and sensible with no personality involvement. Same for my local school board, same for U.S, House and Senate, etc, etc, - but not for ARRL even though it used to be that way. K3TXZ

 

What are you talking about?
If board members FEEL that they are not free to discuss certain issues with out repercussions, then,.... that "pressure" is coming from WITHIN the organization itself!!!

Physician heal thy self

 

The sooner the ARRL folds up their tents & goes away the better.Ever wonder why they never discuss the number of members vs the number of licensed amateur operators in the USA? It's because it's in the 20% or so & getting lower numbers every day & it's because the members get a bunch of nothing for their membership dollars & have for years.It's now a lost cause & I have no intentions of ever giving them another red cent for any purpose.If they are the voice of Amateur Radio Operators in the United States then we are voiceless.It is broke far beyond repair with their silly agendas & all they do is make suggestions anyway since they have ZERO power or authority.When they are gone I see a lot more vendor tables at HAMCATION & other Hamfest where the ARRL once took up far more room than they ever earned or needed.I for one will NOT miss them or their High & Mighty Horses that they sit on.

Clayton
W4KVW

 

I've been making that argument and supporting it with the ARRLs own documentation for the better part of a year. For a good while it got me flamed by the ARRL apologists. Nobody really seems to respond anymore. It's an inconvenient truth that they don't speak for us all. Geez, I'm probably going to get in trouble for posting that.

 

Respectfully submitted, is not there a difference between being a volunteer and being elected. Just saying.

 

Hi,

I just do not understand why it takes TWO WEEKS to release the minutes of the January BoD meeting. I know that all the Directors "must" review the draft, but TWO WEEKS. So much for all this new "transparency".

 

In the past it has taken longer in some cases, like 6 weeks. It gives them time to "edit" things so the raw information doesn't get out to members.....they've slipped before and been busted on that .

 

Be assured I didn't need FT8 to gather my "booty".
With over 150k Qs in modes other than that, 325 cfm DXCC and 2300+ challenge points, FT8 had nothing more to offer me.
My opinion on FT8 has been posted long time ago on various sites, check the video comments.
I am not against moving forward in our technologically complex hobby, after all it's evolution we all lure to.
But, I support that all time-synced digital modes should be exempted from the DXCC Digital part of the program, or be acknowledged and awarded as a separate category.
You just can't mix efforts and sacrifices of the past with the ease and automation of present.
In any case, FT8 in particular was initially authored to operate in a fully automatic way, that's crystal clear. FCC regulations and legislation obliged the author to
insert a "Human" interlock (or touch, you name it!). That did not succeed much !!

73
Stathis, SV5DKL
(ex-SV1DKL)

 

I am not assured of anything. If awards are accepted while operating a station under robotic control. or other operators running stations in remote modes thereby faking out the other party in the QSO, then it is patently wrong against those who really worked in person.
There is a human interlock in the program, it's called unchecking "auto sequence" when the operator is absent and the other human interlock that used to be in the ham community is called ethical behavior.

 

We're saying the same thing.
If you saw my video, you witnessed how easy it is to overcome the "interlock". In other words, you will never know what your PC shook hands with.
Remind me to discuss ethical behavior in Ham Radio, when 3Y0Z pileups will be on ;-)

 

Just

Out of curiousity....did anyone else receive an email from the ARRLasking them to renew their membership:

<snip - emphasis added>
When you signed up for the Members Only Web site, you asked us
to remind you by e-mail when your membership was about to
expire. That time is coming. Our records indicate that your ARRL
membership will expire on May 31, 2018, and in about a week we
will prepare a renewal notice to send you in the mail.

Renewing early ensures that you'll receive uninterrupted
delivery of QST, your monthly membership journal. You'll also
continue a host of other benefits and services for another year
<snip>

So, does that mean my benefits will continue for another year from the date of renewal, or another year from May 31,2018?? Seems a little confusing. I checked the website and I cannot find the answer.

The letter was signed by the new CEO. Is this an attempt to shore up the membership numbers, or just a strange coincidence that I got a renewal notice 4 months early? I honestly don't know, but I find it odd that they can get a request for money out WAY ahead of schedule, but they can't seem to publish the minutes of the BoD meeting in a timely maner.

 

I get the same crap from the NRA. 3 months after I renew, I get new mail asking me to renew.

The cynic in me can't help but wonder if organizations like the NRA and the ARRL, who's membership's average age is rising, aren't trying to take advantage of senior citizens hoping that they will forget when or what month they renewed and just send in the checks...