The results are in! | http://www.radiosoth.org/2018/04/2018-state-of-hobby-results.html I had almost 3,000 responses - which was fantastic! I wanted to extend a huge thank you for everyone here on QRZ who took the time to participate. It was by far the best source of traffic into the survey. If you missed the chance to participate, check back next year. See you next year!
Great work and interesting. I know its different than the monthly QST surveys but this ought to be covered and supplemented. Not scientific I am sure but interesting. Thanks for continuing this survey.
Congratulations and well done! Very insightful and I'm very interested to see this continue for years to come to see changes in the hobby.
Getting the spouse involved seems a good priority. Could be beneficial in more than one way! "Old Operators" isn't a surprise. The older people get, physically or mentally, the more set in their ways they seem. Thus the comments like "Connecting a computer isn't REAL ham radio!" IMO, adapt often and quickly, or watch the hobby die. "Why did you get involved in radio?" Answer: "Chicks" LOL, man, those who answered that way, boy did you pick the wrong hobby to pick up the ladies. The low gear "Build only" responses are no surprise. You really can't build a radio as good as the one you buy off-the-shelf. Unless you have big $$$ in electronic tools. And the education. Sure, you can buy a kit, but you're not really building as much as you are assembling. "Reported skill with Soldering Gun" is almost a laugh when so many people say "Very Skilled". I've seen a lot of home-brew, and it's usually a mess, even if it works. Nothing beats a machine doing the job. RE: VOIP modes and the response of "While a larger portion of those who have not used this technology before feel it's horrible and a hindrance to the hobby..." That seems to be common, bitching about something you really know nothing about. One only has to look at the FT8 nay-sayers to realize how much fun they're missing out on. (See "Old Operators") "PSK31 and RTTY rule the day as the most popular modes." Maybe a few years ago... FT8 is king now. Prior to that, JT65/9 ruled. "Prefered Operating System": (you misspelled preferred there OM): Win10 is the best version of Windows MS ever created. About time. Now the arguments of Linux vs Windows is where it should be... in the 90s. I'd lose most the software I use if I switched to Linux. "Reported Logging Methods" I was surprised to see so many still use pen/paper. My computer, my backups and the whole Internet would have to go down before I lost my logs. VS just a spilled cup of coffee to cremate paper logs. And the fact that you can't look anything up without taking more time than the QSO with hardcopies. "A huge thank you to those who took the time to complete the survey." A pleasure, and thank you for the time and effort to conduct it! Perhaps work more on common non-N. America sites next time to get a better global feedback. 73, Frank in Oregon, W4RAV
"PSK31 and RTTY rule the day as the most popular modes." Snip I saved from yesteryear.... PSKR's "Modes over the last 2 hours" from 2015... PSK31 and RTTY (outside of contests) has been knocking on death's door for some time now.
I wouldn't criticise this 'non-scientific' survey at all, but would support the call for more non-US responses. If there is a genuine interest in a more global response, then the questions must reflect this. Except for a few die-hard people from the EU who still have access to a lucrative pension pot, Dayton means nothing to most of us outside the US, for example. You are quite right to highlight the potential for manufacturers to fall out of the game if this age problem is not addressed. They often seem to be simply going for broke, producing very expensive gear that really must only be viable for a few more years, when youngsters simply won't have the money. Worth noting that the Commonwealth has 60% of its population below the age of 30. This is in very marked contrast to most of the western world. There really must be opportunties for cheap yet decent rigs that seek to give the gift of radio to a wider world.
Exactly Bonnie. Most of us have HUGE disconnect between what our license means --and how we view it ourselves. That disconnect is the heart of our problem. Ham radio is not a hobby. That doesn't mean we don't use 'hobby' aspects. It means we take on certain responsibilities to achieve certain privileges. Not everyone has to be engaged in all those responsibilities, and most aren't engaged in any. But ALL of us should be committed to manifesting ONE of MORE of those responsibilities, IMO, during our tenure as radio amateurs. Thanks for reminding us Bonnie. CU at Dayton? 73 Chip W1YW
RE: Survey results--- Yes, older hams are a real problem--we make it ourselves as a problem to ourselves; I reported this back a couple of years ago as 'Senior Slip'. You have experienced, friendly, helpful, kind ,older hams at the same time you have exclusionary,bullying, even destructive oldsters--who are very verbal. That's not a healthy mix, and although not unique to ham radio, it is a big part of what non-hams or potential hams see. And its not just OTOH: it happens on the internet with remarkably public and eternal archiving. The fact that we recognize --the problem-- this is a good thing. But it doesn't solve the problem. I am an older ham, BTW.
RE: QSLs and lo gging Yep. I use paper QSLs. Yep. I do paper logs. It is my understanding that the ARRL Logbook is still their best selling publication. I know: I buy 6-8 a year! Why do I use paper logs? (Warning: your opinion may differ): 1) I spend too much time on computers outside of the shack; I prefer to keep computers out of the shack. Same with my music recording studio. Its an escape from the omnipresent tool; 2) It commits me to an operating practice. I engage. I like it. I like filling a piece of paper with blue, flowing ink. 3) It is a journal of my operations. I have 52 years of it now. It is a tangible assertion of my growth, my consistency, my ideas. Some of the first fractal antennas started as doodles in my log. There is a reason the logbook pages are blank on one side--so you can fill it in with your thoughts, your needs, your notes to yourself. It's the original blog.
Thank you for doing this! As a new ham, it is interesting to see our makeup and how we view ourselves across a large segment of society population. BTW, I think your poll is more representative then anything the "media" puts out as opinions. I always love the "5" responses represent the nation, +- 10% error.... Three thousand is a pretty good sample for sure!
"Definition of hobby plural hobbies : a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation" You can search and find similar defintions. "§97.1 Basis and purpose. The rules and regulations in this part are designed to provide an amateur radio service having a fundamental purpose as expressed in the following principles: (a) Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications. (b) Continuation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art. (c) Encouragement and improvement of the amateur service through rules which provide for advancing skills in both the communication and technical phases of the art. (d) Expansion of the existing reservoir within the amateur radio service of trained operators, technicians, and electronics experts. (e) Continuation and extension of the amateur's unique ability to enhance international goodwill." §97.3 Definitions. (4) Amateur service. A radiocommunication service for the purpose of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by amateurs, that is, duly authorized persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest." Nothing in the above prohibits a person from considering amateur radio their hobby even if they participate for the service aspect.
Chip, With all due respect, I think we need to remember... this is a HOBBY which provides a service from time to time. Too many have become overly zealous in attempting to build ham radio into something its not. Yes, there is a nitch we fill: however, it will always a hobby of experimenters, and appliance operators.
"Definition of ageism : prejudice or discrimination against a particular age-group and especially the elderly"
True that. I'd wager for most of us using amateur radio, it's as a hobby. Sure, we'd all like to save a life, but I doubt that happens but rarely. Even then, it's more likely to be passing traffic vs actually saving a life. E-comms do after-all have radios too. And hams are becoming less and less important as technology advances. Some day, there won't be a spot on this planet you can't get a wireless signal with modern tech. I got into this hobby because of CERT, yet, in spite of my ability to run my station on solar/batteries for days, I'll likely never use it in an emergency. But like any insurance, it's there for the rare in-case-you-need-it. I've been driving for nearly 40 years and never had a claim, yet I still pay my premiums. It's not prejudice or discrimination when it's a truism. "Old Farts" are a regularly a serious bane of our hobby. Just because it ain't the way you did it back in-the-day, it doesn't make "it" any less an important contribution to our hobby. Yet they still get senior discounts, which is age-discrimination.
