Bob Heil Interview Series: #4: On the Future of Ham Radio

... the future [of ham radio] is so bright, I gotta wear shades.

 

Such great stories. It makes you really reminisce about the old days of Ham radio. (Even though I was not born yet for another 3 years) Nicely done.

 

A living legend, a fine radio amateur and a kind soul. God bless Mr. Heil.

 

I Have The Highest Respect For Bob Heil

BUT
Honestly I Feel Like A Dinosaur


In a Hobby Going Extinct

 

Mr. Heil seems like a really nice guy. The future of ham? One tangent may be KM4OVZ. (local to me) He's young and energetic. He's also quite irreverent and mischievous, a usual trait of youth. He had a table at the last local hamfest and had attracted people his age in an instant because they were goofing around on HTs in the venue. This, of course, irritated the folks in charge (you can find it on YouTube). He has set up his own repeater, and unlike the local established repeaters, has it available on broadcastify's website. You can decide for yourself how it strikes you based on his QRZ page alone.

 

@N3WVB why do you think it is a hobby that is going extinct? IMO, your claim is quite off-base.

 

I am happy to finally meet someone with a differing opinion.
Have A Great Day
Make Plenty of Contacts and Good DXING

 

@N3WVB More HF for me! I'll make the DX Q, and you can sit around like Bob Heil and "seem" like a curmudgeon with your stale opinion. Catch you on the low bands - oh wait, we won't!

 

WHO IS THE CURMUDGEON ?????

 

I'd assert neither you or I are a curmudgeon; however, I'd say publicly, we have differing views on the life of the hobby. I think the hobby is quite alive and robust, and above, you said it is not.

 

I respect your view and hope for the hobby it comes true. I have been playing radio since I was 9 years old. 55 years has gone fast and I feel privileged to enjoy this hobby for so long. To me it is magical 7 3

 

As I say around at K5LBJ, not with that attitude

 

Bob's audio sounded good.

 

Ham radio is still in the dark ages, in several regards. Too much detail and overanalyzing of topics, outdated and irrelevant technologies still being pursued and discussed ad nauseam in test questions, a lack of uniform plug-and-play standards in the ham equipment world, and of course the thing that runs the most new people away and keeps many would-be hams away....the "attitudes." There are people who think they "own" frequencies, organizations and online cliques who don't welcome or help new hams, groups of people trying to feel relevant by pretending to do things that are obsolete or which hams don't do in real life, and those who try to feel important by trying to correct others. Those folks are sometimes called "sad hams." All of that, and more, holds the hobby back by keeping it stagnant and making it unwelcome for potential new hams. The hobby needs draining and repair. About the only thing that's making exciting and bringing in new people--and causing a good number of old-timers to reactivate--is Parks on the Air (POTA). And of course, in true-to-hobby fashion, there is a sizable faction of the hobby that doesn't like it because it promotes positivity, widens the hobby by attracting new hams, and makes the hobby more useful in general. And then there is the elephant in the room that I haven't mentioned until now.... the FCC. They need to retake control and responsibility. I know there are plenty radio folklore tales of "Uncle Charlie" driving around in a white, antenna-covered van and prosecuting bad operators, but a quick look at the enforcement database shows otherwise. There has always been discussion of the self-policing concept, but you see where that got us, LOL. When the FCC leaves it to self-policing, they are effectively saying that it's not relevant enough for them to deal with. There is a lot to be gained and enjoyed by joining the hobby and making it great, but some very sweeping changes--from technologies to mindsets--need to happen first.

 

@KO4YQE can you please, by the grace of Abraham, add a couple two three carriage returns - thanks.

Lots of 'correct other' types here... not me. I am always wrong... just ask my bride!

...there's something in the hobby for everyone.