Ham Talk Live! Episode 199 - State of the Hobby Survey

Thursday, February 13 at 9 pm EST, Dustin Thomas, N8RMA will be on Ham Talk Live! to take your questions about the 2020 State of the Hobby Survey that will be conducted soon! Dustin and I will take a look at the past surveys, talk about their relevance, and some of the statistics about amateur radio.

Tune into Ham Talk Live! Thursday night at 9 pm EST (Friday 0200Z) by going to hamtalklive.com. When the audio player indicates LIVE, just hit the play button!

If you miss the show live, you can listen on demand anytime also at hamtalklive.com; or a podcast version is on nearly all podcast sites a few minutes after the live show is over. Some sites include Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, SoundCloud, and iHeart Podcasts; and it's also available on YouTube. A replay is also broadcast on WTWW 5085 AM on Saturday nights at approximately 6:30 pm Eastern.

Be sure to CALL in with your questions and comments by calling 859-982-7373 live during the call-in segment of the show. You can also tweet your questions before or during the show to @HamTalkLive.

 

Actually...the survey sez...

"STATE OF AMATEUR RADIO".

NOT "STATE OF THE HOBBY"...

Ham radio (in the US as Part 97) is a service 'without personal gain and without pecuniary interest' --hence the AMATEUR moniker.

That phrase is not necessarily synonymous with 'hobby'. 'Hobbyists' generally are considered at a lower level than 'amateurs'--with no responsibilities nor being driven by goals. The Part 97 mission defines our 'goals'.

When I diddle around building my guitar amplifier, and then take six weeks before I put in the next tube socket- that's a hobby. Stamp collecting-- a hobby.

No doubt we evince HOBBY activity as we remain a 'pool of those skilled in the art' of radio.

But let's use greater care when we --just-- called it a hobby

The 'amateur' versus 'hobby' moniker debate comes up all the time in sports, photography, painting, etc. The fact that we are LABELLED amateur in Part 97 resolves 'what WE are'.

It's important to make the distinction--because society, in general, looks at hobbyists as limiting their scope to themselves, while amateurs may be as knowledgeable or driven as professionals: they just don't get compensation for it.

It's not called the HOBBY RADIO SERVICE

We are AMATEURS, not HOBBYISTS

73
Chip W1YW

 

A hobby is a regular activity done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time, not professionally and not for pay.

 

So is an AMATEUR. Go look up the difference. There are volumes on that. BOTH are 'not professionally and not for pay'.

You are confusing 'not getting compensation' with 'hobby'. Again, it's not a HOBBY RADIO SERVICE.

IN the US--society sees no value to allocating licensed radio spectrum to hobbyists. In fact it does not do so in the US at all. There is no 'hobby' license for radio.

Obviously there is presumed value in allocating licensed radio spectrum to AMATEURS.

NOT the 'HOBBY RADIO SERVICE'. And. kindly see my comment above on use of hobby activity in the 'amateur radio service': its a way we maintain our skills as a 'pool'. Because we do more than that, as a service, we are the next step up, which is 'AMATEURS'.

It's important to correct the emphasis on 'we are just a hobby', because it says , incorrectly,we do not see ourselves as 'amateurs'.

'Hobbyists' cannot justify licensed spectrum. 'Amateurs' can.

73
Chip W1YW

 

AMEN, Chip!! AA6DX

 

Phooey, go play a round of golf and bing someone while working on your handicap, or crash an RC plane into a crowd of people. Ever shoot a gun? Takes a lot more skill and responsibility than pushing PTT. One of those 3 hobbies requires both license and insurance. Not to mention can cost a lot more.

 

Webster... amateur... a person who engages in something without experience or skill .. sums it up !! LOL that is the difference between hobby and amateur, hobbyist know here limitations , funny stuff

 

Oh No, it is N8RMA's survey time of the year again!!!!
He does a survey every year on the state of ham radio! Search QRZ and you'll see all the data, None of this data was collected scientifically, so it's pretty Useless , who wants to sit down and fill out a survey? Especially this year with the US Census going on! The ARRL should actually take a look at this however and come up with a way to do it scientifically not just their members, but the general amateur community.

He's also made a big deal about this on his weblog He claims he's had 4 death threats after last year's survey. (See the quotations is his from his blog below.) is this survey really something that upset somebody that bad???

Everybody get on the Air and have some fun. That's what I do instead of watching all these podcast!

 

* ALL hobbyists are AMATEURS
* SOME amateurs

You guys think I am being pedantic. What a &(&*) that is....

On the contrary: those who want our spectrum see the moniker 'hobby' as the way to make the spectrum go away. They see 'amateur' as defined by Part 97 and can only attack that by showing the amateur radio service is NOT executing mission.

What's in a word? S-U-R-V-I-V-A-L. Being a 'hobbyist' will make spectrum disappear in the next 5 years.


They say if ham radio is a 'hobby', then 'hobby ' can be done just fine with unlicensed bands, like: CB; FRS; WiFi, instead..

So when you say 'it's just a hobby', it is an open invitation to severely curtail our spectrum allocation.

Remember: laws are written with specific words, and the meaning can't be easily corrected after the fact. Saying 'hobby' and 'amateur' are interchangeable in the context of Part 97 is NOT a defense.

Don't shoot the messenger.

OK?

 

You all whine and nitpick about the most trivial crap like a bunch of teenage girls. It's just a survey. Take it or leave it. Wow...I'm embarrassed to be a ham right now.

 

Amateur radio is considered a service by Federal law, that's what legally gives us the Authority to be Licensed Amateur radio operators. I know many of you think this is nitpicking but it is not.

Yes it is a hobby to many of us, however legally it is a Service under part 97. As more and more groups try to grab Spectrum ($$$$$) this is going to become very important and has already been very important in the past by allowing us to retain the spectrum that we have.
It allows the American Radio Relay League, the Radio Club of America and other groups to fight to keep what we have.
Fortunately we're not in a country like Mexico and they're not issuing any new a Ham radio permits, in the U S. where Federal law considers it a Service, we have the Right to obtain a license. In the US licensees seem to take this to lightly.

If you ever provide comments to the FCC on a Proposed rulemaking you better use the word Service

 

You should be embarrassed for the SERVICE-- for dissing the facts.

If you don't go with the explanation profferred, then kindly show the fallacy(ies).

If you enjoy ham radio, then call it as it is: an amateur radio service.

73
Chip W1YW

 

We all enjoy the 'hobby type' operations we employ to remain a "skilled pool of operators". That includes me.

But (as you note), the SERVICE is amateur, not HOBBY.

Thanks for clarifying

 

Chip

Chip W1YW

If it was good to see you at K3LR's Antenna forum at Hamcation, sorry I didn't get to spend some time formally talking to you.
73
K0UO/V31KW[

 

Same here!

You shud be in V31 operating on ARRL DX CW!