Yes, some older hams are bullies and some are nice and helpful. That makes older hams indistinguishable from every other demographic in existence. Still, I guess we need someone to scapegoat. Perhaps we can get the hobby back on track if we can gin up enough resentment and dislike of older people.
I don't believe it does make them 'indistinguishable'. IMO that is a shoddy defense of unacceptable behavior. The distinguishing feature is empowerment via the internet, and global, eternal archiving. Many older hams have used their communications and (self-perceived)technical wherewithal to bestow their spleen to the winds of eternity. That is not common in other communities which I follow. And it is a major turn-off for people under 40. Clearly, your opinion may differ,
There is a huge hole-and a major statement-- that we seem to be ignoring. In the US, over 50% of hams are TECHS. but only 6% of the respondents are TECHS. IMO this is symptomatic of a problem: the Techs are licensed but silent, and/or don't consider the 'old people' arguments worth engaging in. Or getting OTA for that matter. You cannot afford to lose the TECHS. They are the future of amateur radio in the US.
One of the more revealing post from W6RZ in 750,000 thread ""Despite the optimistic influx of 32,196 newcomers last year, the net growth of 5,349 — about 0.72% over December 2016 — reflects some 27,000 expired or canceled licenses in the FCC database over the past year."" Don't know if the research is available however it would be interesting to know how many of the 27,000 were technicians once again it's difficult to read into numbers without sufficient background data and to what extent does that reflect the only 6% response to the survey . See above paragraph how many of the 27,000 are Techs that we are losing ?
It seems likely that most of those expirations are from older hams who were/are not active (infirmed?) and not Techs. I can name a half dozen myself whose kids don't want to bother with anything to do with ham radio and keep pops out of the loop on any such ham radio stuff, while he wallows in a mind numbing assisted living home. What the ARRL is NOT reporting is the drop off of memberships, which has been dramatic the last few years, from the very same phenomenon: The kids are not renewing QST for pops. :-( And the ARRL has not successfully wooed the Techs. If you ask, you will find the Techs are a far lower proportion than 50% of the ARRL membership, whereas over 50% of the (US) hams are Techs. We NEED the Techs!
We only "need" them if they genuinely want to be here. Perhaps they do want to be here, or will want to be here with the right introduction to the hobby. In that case, I hope we can figure out what the right introduction is and give it to them. Will expanding their privileges do the trick? I don't know. Could we experiment and try it on a five year trial basis? In any case, I think we need to at least be mindful of the possibility that they simply aren't interested.
I don't recall this survey. I guess I missed it. In my early years as a Tech (1972 to 1999) I was growing my family and my job. I could not and did not care to have that dream kilo buck station with the antenna farm. I kept my license current and did show up at Field Day to see how it was done. If there is no involvement the interest will not be maintained and they will lapse. A query of a local zip code showed the name of a person in the office where I work. I mentioned it to him one day and he acted like it must have been a moment of weakness on his part. He has shown no interest since I brought it up. Is there a shock treatment for inactive hams? I am approaching the renewal of my license in a few months and I wondered what life would be like if I let it lapse. I don't think I will but I just gave it a momentary ponder. I have some sort of Ham Radio activity 6 or 7 days a week. Ham Radio has been a major part of my life but for the new Techs they haven't got there yet. It is easier for them to give it up. It would be a major life event for me. See you on the air, 73 Larry WB8LBZ El Paso, TX
The rest of the community wants the Techs to be engaged and muster the force that their numbers define. The problem is, IMO, the rest of the community may not be doing enough to showcase and articulate the full spectrum of activities that Part 97 makes possible--for Techs as Techs, and then as upgraded licensees. There is a mentality that you should buy a book to find out. IMO that is dumb. People want to do things, have someone show them what's possible. Bodies, not books. That is why Gordo is so successful. That's why Field Day is a great day.... Field Day needs to be not just a EM prep event but a Tech ENGAGEMENT event... MO. Why advance if you don't know what's accessible to you?
Thank you for taking the time to conduct this survey and compile the data and offer your personal reflections. Below I offer some thoughts. "With a diminishing hobby base comes many challenges - radio manufacturers may fold or get out of the amateur business, governance organizations may continue to reallocate bandwidth, and the younger generation may simply not have anyone out there to talk with." In order to make this assertion, you need to ask respondents when they began in the hobby. I began my adventure at the ripe old age of 56. I suspect the reason you see an uptick in respondents at the 35 year range is due to more expendable income, and more time to spend on a hobby rather than starting/building a career. But, I agree there should be more encouragement to entice younger folks into the hobby. But, that carrot has to be something more than 'talking on the radio.' Similarly, how do we encourage 'Techs' to get their General, or Extra ticket. A good question would be to ask folks why they got their Tech license, and another asking why they moved on to General and/or Extra. The ARRL is considering opening up small portions of the HF bands for Techs, but all I hear from HAMS who are longer in the tooth than I is bitching and crying that it will crowd up the bands with bad operators. IMHO, older hams can talk until their eyes bleed about working DX, or the fun of contests, or additional band privileges to Techs, but giving them a chance to operate in limited portions of some bands gives them a taste of what's in store if they upgrade. The responses to logging contacts on using QRZ, and Direct/Postal QSL cards have to be anomalies (that's a kind way of saying...folks are not being honest.) My personal QSL rate on QRZ is 21%. LoTW is almost twice as better at 44% (for both my US and VN calls). These averages seem to be consistent with other operators in my club, and the others I've talked with about QSL'ing. Maybe it is a regional thing. WRT to QSL cards, I very much enjoy and appreciate every QSL card I receive, esp. DX cards. But, something wrt QSL cards via mail is amiss. Again, my experience and those I talk with seem to be happy with about a 35% return rate. This was probably very different years ago when postage was cheaper. But, honestly I must say that I am sorely disappointed by the low return rate. My experience seems to be consistent with your experience noted later in your results, and also as expressed by the data indicating a higher desire for electronic QSL'ing. WRT CW requirements it is not surprising. THe same people who vehemently desire a return to the Morse Code requirement are also the ones who bitch the loudest about the 'dying hobby' and not enough interest from young poeple. I got my General ticket without the requirement, but within 6 months I was on my way to learning CW. I still have a long way to go, but I can rag chew at 15-17 wpm and operate CW 99% of the time now. I am sure that people who had to walk to school up hill in the snow both ways also think kids should do that today. To you folks who are pissed the newbies don't need to pass a code exam I say, get over it. Instead of complaining about it take time to teach and share the enjoyment of CW with new-comers.
I've never had a hobby. This is my 51st year as an Amateur Radio Operator. I have enjoyed some amateur endeavors of various sorts over the years. Perhaps some day I will consider taking up the hobby such as collecting mechanical pencils, since I have so many pencils laying around already... I could catalog them and put them in a showcase. My prized pencil is a Mr. Peanut mechanical pencil from the 1950s, it was handed down from my grandmother. Grandma loved mechanical pencils. Perhaps it's in my DNA.
Ya know, there's only so much hand-holding one can do. If someone has been introduced to amateur radio, enough so that they acquired a license, and then they just stopped persuing it, well... You can lead a horse, blahblahblah
I think you need to reach out to a larger ham audience via posting the survey in multiple locations/sites. Maybe it's me, but this is the first time I heard of this survey.
IMHO, there is a vast difference in Tech vs. General. Tech now only shows the horse the water, but the horse doesn't get to drink the water.
Good luck on you mechanical pencil collection. I am sure if you put forth the effort you would also become quite an expert in that hobby as well.
Hopefully the new operators came away feeling energized about the hobby, and not the other way around. I think many of us forget what it feels like to be fresh and having to work up the courage to key the mic or response to a CQ. This. Highly understated and just as important.
