New "Youth Program" by RemoteHamRadio

The RemoteHamRadio.com Youth Program

We are very excited to announce a new program to give back to the amateur radio community. We understand the significance that youth have on this great hobby. We believe leveraging technology and providing access to quality stations will promote activity in young hams.

We are pleased to introduce to you our first recipient, August 2014 , Eugene Lee KD2FJB http://elee.me/. Eugene will be starting his freshman year at MIT this fall. He is an ARRL member with his General class license, and will be upgrading to Extra next week. Eugene is looking forward to chasing DX, contesting, and exploring all aspects of what amateur radio has to offer.

" My housing agreement does not allow for antenna structures to be installed, and I don't think a magloop will be a suitable alternative in our room. This is quite similar to those with HOA restrictions, and is probably why others use RHR as well."

Eugene will not only be able to hone his skills on some of the best stations in the world. He will also have an "Elmer" influence from a number of the biggest and best DXers/contesters who are on RHR and eager to help.

The RHR Youth Program is accepting applicants who meet the following criteria:

25 years or younger
Hold a general class or higher license
Members of the ARRL
Can demonstrate why RHR will be a "good fit" for them
Has interest in DXing/Contesting

RemoteHamRadio's Youth program is a one-year program to the revolutionary WebDX service http://www.remotehamradio.com/webdx/ which includes 300 minutes per month and is completely free to the recipient. RHR will announce a new recipient typically every month. If you are interested in supporting this program you can contact us at service@remotehamradio.com for details. Announcement in August 2014 Newsletter: http://myemail.constantcontact.com/...etter.html?soid=1113321057735&aid=B1xrddlJv1A

 

I get all the requirements except the need to be a member of ARRL. I see how it can benefit the League, but how does that benefit the Youth Program?

 

I can't speak for RHR's reasoning but I can speak from my experiences. Being a member of the ARRL opens up a wide array of services designed for youth education, participation, shared experience, content available on arrl.org that is accessible to members only, dedicated staff that work with young people, educational programs and products available only to young people and their teachers, and more. If you are not a member of the ARRL you miss out on QST every month, which is easily worth the $39 annual membership. And the range of articles always includes things of interest to younger readers as well as us old timers. I volunteer at our club station WS4FSC at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium and we have thousands of youngsters visit the station every year and many get the chance to get on the air and make a contact or two. We've gotten hundreds of youngsters started in the hobby and have youngsters in almost every licensing class that we do. Classes run continuously for 6-8 week periods with 2-3 Tech classes and then a General, and repeat. We do 1 Extra and 1 20 WPM Morse code class per year, and other classes. Most have young people in them and sometimes they outnumber the adults. Every one of the young people join the ARRL and seem to get a lot out of it and are very happy about it. For the younger ones (10-15), who can not drive themselves or get a ride, they have to bring a parent and many of them get into Ham Radio as well.

No I am not always happy with every thing the ARRL does, but I firmly believe their intentions are good and they are trying their best. I tend to be a harsh critic of them most of the time for not getting more done faster. But it is not really a large organization when you compare it with a big business. And there is really a very small number of people at HQ who really do all this work. The field staff (Directors, Vice-Directors, Section Managers, etc.) are all unpaid volunteers. For all of them, both the paid staff and the volunteer staff, this is a labor of love. No one has ever gotten rich working for the ARRL or being a volunteer. They do this for the hobby and we all benefit from their efforts. Maybe older, more experienced, better educated, Hams can get what they want out of the hobby without being in the ARRL, since less than 25% of US Hams are members. But for younger Hams starting out in the hobby it is just an invaluable resource.

73, Tom AJ4XM

 

Tom, I understand the benefits (and the lesser qualities) of the ARRL. I just don't get why a RHR application would make it a requirement.

I mean, if it were an ARRL sponsored event, I'd get that. To me, it's about the same as saying you can't win the QRZ.com grand prize unless you're an ARRL member. I support the RHR program in spirit, but paying ARRL dues is a silly requirement IMO. In itself, membership doesn't make anyone a better operator or any more a "good fit" for the program.

 

My son has his license and is 13 (KF5WNQ). He is working on his general license right now. I was very interested in this until I saw the requirement to be in ARRL. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a member and will always be but my son lives with me and I don’t see a need to pay twice under one roof?

 

Family membership is only an additional $8 per year for him. He will not, of course, receive a second QST via mail.

 

Well, okay I have to admit something. I didn’t know about the family membership but I just looked it up and will get that ball rolling. Thanks… KU5B