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2018 State of Ham Radio Survey

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by G4TUT/SK2022, Mar 3, 2018.

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  1. G4TUT/SK2022

    G4TUT/SK2022 Ham Member QRZ Page

    2018 State of Ham Radio Survey

    Dustin Thomas N8RMA is conducting his second State of Amateur Radio survey

    Once again I'm hosting a "State of the Hobby" survey for 2018.
    This started out in 2017 as simple curiosity. While browsing Reddit I began to notice several users posting surveys for highly specific topics. I made sure to participate yet often wondered what the results were.
    I then decided to host my own survey, to collect the opinions from the community on topics that I cared about. I wanted to ensure I made the results widely available for anyone to consume for whatever reason, which you can find below.

    2018 Survey: https://goo.gl/forms/WUVZOVbtoNQrpOGz2

    This is the second year I've hosted this survey. Last year I had 688 unique respondents. While this is a good amount of responses, given the amount of amateur radio operators out there, I'm striving to increase this amount each year of the survey. I'm a year older and a year wiser, as such I've listened to user feedback on my survey from last year and attempted to incorporate that constructive feedback moving forward.

    Please, help me by completing the survey and passing it on to others who may find it interesting. Thank you!

    *** Privacy Notice *** I am not affiliated with a company or organization, I am merely an individual conducting a survey for myself and others to learn more about the state of the hobby. Just a guy in Michigan. Any demographic questions are optional and are fairly standard for surveys. No data will be sold or given to anyone - it's to be used by me personally for the survey results only.

    2017 Survey Results: https://sway.com/dBedey0zHZEjk0Xt


    http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2018/march/2018-state-of-ham-radio-survey.htm

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    AC2BX, W6SAE, K8ERS and 7 others like this.
  2. WB8LBZ/SK2023

    WB8LBZ/SK2023 Ham Member QRZ Page

    Well that was easy.

    73, Larry WB8LBZ
    El Paso, TX
     
    AE8W and KK5R like this.
  3. KX9M

    KX9M Ham Member QRZ Page

    Not a social media guy here. Would love to be emailed the results but, I understand the difficulties involved.. No worries.
     
  4. VE3BXG

    VE3BXG XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    thanks for doing this!!
     
  5. KB6QXM

    KB6QXM Ham Member QRZ Page

    Glad to see that someone is doing this. I do not know if the results will do anything more than shine a brighter spot light on the "issues" of the hobby. I would have chosen some different questions, but overall a great effort. If the results could be shared with the ARRL and an amateur friendly member of the FCC, then maybe there might be some "improvements" to the hobby could happen or at least get the conversation started.

    73
     
    W7XLR, N9NY and VE3EEI like this.
  6. AD6FR

    AD6FR Ham Member QRZ Page

    The biggest problem I've noticed lately is with the local club (RCARA), they are more interested in bylaws than in upgrading and/or participating in real ham radio (IE HF).
     
    KB2QQM, K9AKK, KF1P and 6 others like this.
  7. NC7U

    NC7U XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Not surprised by the answers in 2017 except "older hams being the problem"?
     
    W7XLR and K9AKK like this.
  8. WN2C

    WN2C Ham Member QRZ Page

    Easy peazy!
     
    KK5R likes this.
  9. KB9RDS

    KB9RDS XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Was a nice survey last year and seams to have gotten better in layout this year. Last years results are interesting. Will be interesting what this years results are. Love to see this survey system take off and see what it would show in a 5 and 10 year cycle. Please keep it up.
     
    W7XLR and VE3EEI like this.
  10. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    You did a nice job assembling reasonably posed questions, and there is most certainly important info to be had.

    Just a reminder that such surveys are not truly objective because they have selection bias-- targeted to those who respond, rather than a random fraction of the population of Part 97 hams. If one understands that caveat, it still is a sobering look at ourselves.

    I, too, have found the older hams--and I am one-- to be a 'problem', inhibiting Part 97's mission point of 'contributing to the radio art'. Obviously there are exceptions, but the overall 'corporate culture' of our older faction is not helpful to those who want to explore, learn, make mistakes, and innovate. Sure, we have 'elmering' but many elmers have a narrow purview, if one had to generalize. This is both frustrating and unfortunate, as our older hams have experience that bridges generations of the radio and wireless art. Many of the technologies that they seek to disparage, diss, or avoid were actually started by those who are now older hams. Irony.

    Older hams, if one had to generalize, view ham radio as a hobby activity centered around limited transmittive communication and activity with a small number of like older hams. Basically the once-a- month Denny's lunch bunch also on the air. Nothing wrong with that--many need this human contact and support and I am all for it. But the sense of exclusion these cliques of older hams often project is like what one encounters in 'seniors only' housing complexes.

    "It takes a village to raise a child". Don't keep everyone under 65 out please.

    Recognizing the issues is an important step to addressing and fixing them.

    73
    Chip W1YW
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2018
    W7XLR, W7FZ, W9RAC and 10 others like this.
  11. K0PIR

    K0PIR Ham Member QRZ Page

    Always happy to participate.
     
    AE7BT likes this.
  12. K3XR

    K3XR Ham Member QRZ Page


    Don't know what it has to do with the hobby but it does not take a village to raise a child it takes dedicated parents the village needs to butt out.
     
    VK6APZ/SK2022, KD8DWO, W2CPD and 10 others like this.
  13. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page

    OK, Let me connect the dots for you OM on this analogy.

    Part 97 licensees need to be nurturing and non-judgemental to live up to the three components of the Part 97 mission statement. That means the aggregate of Part 97 licensees has to act as above, and not inhibit others from executing one or more of those three components. Why? Because each of us entered the Part 97 amateur radio service under that premise in order to secure our privileges. Impeding others is contrary to the basis under which we were awarded said privileges.

    Hope that helps.

    73
    Chip W1YW
     
    KE0JJG likes this.
  14. KD9ARD

    KD9ARD Ham Member QRZ Page

    Survey completed. Not surprised by the 2017 results. Thanks for doing the survey.
     
  15. K3XR

    K3XR Ham Member QRZ Page

    Buy all means express your opinion I do it all the time.
     
    KK5R and W1YW like this.

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