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Letter to the ARRL... by W6LG - Jim Heath Youtube Elmer

Discussion in 'Videos and Podcasts' started by KI5MIT, Mar 30, 2021.

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  1. N0TLD

    N0TLD Ham Member QRZ Page

    "Oh get over it, he's on the $5!"

    I forgot about ol' Jebidiah. Well placed bit of humor, thanks Jim.
     
    N2EY likes this.
  2. WQ4G

    WQ4G Ham Member QRZ Page

    All I can say is Wow! This was an excellent opportunity for Dave Minster to turn something negative into something positive, but he failed miserably.

    I HAVE been a member in the past, but I am not currently a member of the ARRL. IMO the ARRL should be looking for a new CEO. Someone in his position should rise above the fray and project the ARRL in 'good' light, instead he responded with a resounding F. U.

    I just wonder how many other Amateurs have received the middle finger from Dave? Perhaps all of us...

    WQ4G
     
    KE0GXN and KK1N like this.
  3. WG7X

    WG7X Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    ARRL...

    Love them or hate them, they're still our only representative to our government. They have been doing a good job for many decades in that task.

    Have they always done everything right? No. But is anyone of us perfect? Again, no.

    Lots of folks here want to throw rocks at the ARRL, which is their right, but their opinions might have more weight if they were ARRL members.

    Let me be selfish here: I've been an ARRL member since I got my first license in 1987. Tradition was the reason I joined back then. Over the years, issues come and go, but the ARRL is still in there fighting the good fight. Here's where I get selfish: ham radio to me has always been on HF. Working someone a state away or a continent away is what got me into ham radio. That is still true and will be for my foreseeable future. So I really don't pay much attention to what goes on in the ARRL. I continue to support them as a club member and will keep that up for as long as I am around.

    So, I don't support them for myself, I do it for the newbies for the simple reason that ARRL, warts and all, is still in there doing what they can to ensure the future of ham radio. Hopefully they will continue to be successful in that work.
     
    W2FV and KE8QEP like this.
  4. WQ4G

    WQ4G Ham Member QRZ Page

    Okay, you're right. But, isn't the ARRL supposed to be representing ALL Amateurs? Regardless of (insert reason here)?

    Hmmm. Are they really doing what they can to ensure the future of Amateur Radio? Or are they doing what they can to ensure the future of THEMSELVES?

    Here is a novel idea to increase membership and to show the Amateur Radio community that the ARRL is serious about it... How about the ARRL give a full membership, for one year, to every new Ham? If you pass the test for your very first ticket, you receive (gratis) one year's membership in the ARRL. This would give the newbie a good introduction to the ARRL and give the ARRL a whole year to convince the newbie(s) of the value of the ARRL (and maybe Amateur Radio too).

    But, of course I am not a member, so my opinion does not carry much weight....

    WQ4G
     
    KB9MWR likes this.
  5. KC3PBI

    KC3PBI Ham Member QRZ Page

    I don't know that 'membership' would really mean that much to first-year hams other than getting them used to being members without paying.

    Hand them a copy of the antenna book when they earn a ticket. That might result in safer and more satisfying results for individual hams, more success and more contacts. In turn that ought to create more membership potential.
     
  6. WG7X

    WG7X Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    Correct...
     
  7. N2EY

    N2EY Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    What does it mean to "represent ALL amateurs"?

    Consider two BIG problems ARRL faces:

    1) Amateur Radio today involves an incredibly wide range of activities, and most amateurs only do a few of them. How does ARRL - or anyone - decide how to allocate their resources?

    For example, should there be more or less focus on satellites? digital modes? vintage radio? SDRs? rules enforcement? contests? homebrew? product reviews of manufactured gear? RFI?

    2) Amateurs today are often divided on various issues. How can ARRL - or anyone - keep them all happy?

    For example, antenna restrictions are a serious problem for some radio amateurs, particularly those in homes subject to HOA rules and/or CC&Rs.

    Some amateurs think ARRL should work to remove or reduce such restrictions, in the way that satellite dish companies, right-to-dry organizations and right-to-fly-the-flag folks have done and are doing.

    Some amateurs think ARRL should keep its big nose out of "private contracts". They think that if amateurs choose to live in such places they should abide by the rules they agreed to when they moved in. They say "use a stealth antenna, operate portable, mobile and/or remote, work with the HOA/CC&R folks to reach some kind of agreement - or just MOVE."

    How should ARRL - or anyone - reconcile such differences of opinion as to what should be done?

    See the problem?

    Pick a subject - ANY subject involving Amateur Radio - and no matter what ARRL does, some folks will be unhappy. And they'll be very vocal about how unhappy they are. And if ARRL does nothing, some folks will be unhappy too.

    See above. What would you have them do to ensure the future of Amateur Radio?

    How many free memberships would that be in a year's time? How would ARRL pay for them?

    In the past 12 months, the number of US hams has increased by about 20,000. When you consider that a considerable number of existing hams have dropped out, that means the number of new amateurs is probably at least 25,000. In a "normal" year, the number is probably greater.

    Perhaps you should suggest the idea anyway.

    73 de Jim, N2EY
     
  8. WQ4G

    WQ4G Ham Member QRZ Page

    The free membership for the first year would of course include 12 issues of QST. In QST are all kinds of articles and information about the entirety of Amateur Radio, including for example, satellites, digital modes, vintage radio, SDRs, rules enforcement, contests, home brew, product reviews of manufactured gear, RFI, etc... In other words, a great introduction to all aspects of Amateur Radio. Hopefully, the newbie will find VALUE in the membership and continue on with a 'paid membership.'

    WQ4G
     
  9. WQ4G

    WQ4G Ham Member QRZ Page

    Jim: I understand the problem in getting everyone on the same page. Put 10 Hams in the same room and ask the group which antenna is the 'best' and why... You'll get 10 different answers.

    Personally, I don't think the ARRL should be trying reconcile differences in opinion. Not in a strict sense. Report the FACTS, gather consensus, and try to move forward with personal choice and rights in mind. For example, which resolution to the HOA question gives Hams (people) the most personal choice and retains the most personal rights? Is the ARRL a referee or a leader of Amateur Radio Operators?

    What would I do to ensure the future of Amateur Radio?

    Advertise... How else are people going to know who/what Amateur Radio is, what we do, and why we do it?

    Dan WQ4G
     
  10. W4PG

    W4PG QRZ Lifetime Member #279 Platinum Subscriber Life Member QRZ Page

    Read this thread this morning and just watched the video from W6LG.

    Were I the ARRL, I wouldn't touch this guy with a 10-foot pole. His comments represent nothing more than an attempt to inflame and no amount of reason will overcome that. An old ham who has found fun with Youtube . . .
     
    K6ARW likes this.
  11. AC0GT

    AC0GT Ham Member QRZ Page

    A free year membership for everyone that get's a new license? That sounds expensive. It may also leave people with the impression that the magazine is of little value if it's just mailed out for nothing.

    People don't always value what has been gifted to them. If the ARRL mails out magazines to people that are new entries to the FCC database then people might see that magazine as junk mail. If the ARRL sends magazines to VE teams to give out as rewards for passing the exam then the person can see the magazine as something they earned. The immediacy of the getting the magazine for passing the exam connects the "competition" with the "trophy". I'm no expert on magazines but I understand that it's quite common for a magazine printing to have many surplus printed for a number of reasons. This is a sunk cost and mailing them out to VE teams with testing materials would likely cost them little more. A fairly recent issue of an ARRL magazine as a reward for passing one's exam would, in my mind, be more likely to be read than if it showed up weeks (months?) later in one's mailbox.

    I suspect most people, especially children, take their tests in the summer at festivals and such while schoolchildren are on summer break and parents are taking a vacation. The ARRL could have an annual special edition for this "reward" which can still be their usual mailing to members but the content is hyper-focused on the newest newbie. As this is a recruiting tool the ARRL can make this a larger than usual edition with reprints of noted articles from the previous year. Long time members would be encouraged to offer this issue to others to read, people that may not yet be licensed.

    To find this membership as having value the member should see something lost to what was gained. If there was no work or money put into it then it can lose its value. Separation in time from when they had the loss to when they see the gain can mean what was gained has lost value.

    Again I'm speculating on the matter of surplus magazines but if this is the case then the ARRL can use this surplus to get people to try it out. There's a marginal cost for each additional magazine and I expect that given the expense on creating the content is a sunk cost the marginal cost in each additional magazine is small. The postage for mailing them may be more than what the magazine costs. Offering surplus magazines at festivals for free is a tactic I've seen before, and maybe the ARRL does this already. Offering them to people that pass their licensing exam can be a good tactic, with spring/summer special "newbie" edition or not. Maybe offer a random, or not so random, surplus issue to people that request it by phone, e-mail, or on the web. If it's mailed for free there's still "work" on the person receiving it so it's less likely to be just tossed out with the junk mail if it shows up sometime after they get their FCC call sign.

    I like the general idea, and I hope someone from the ARRL is reading this. I agree with others here that a free year membership is going to be both quite expensive and devalues the products and services. A bit of a compromise is to offer a single issue, and to make them "work" for it make it something they get immediately after passing an exam or from making an explicit request.
     
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  12. N2EY

    N2EY Premium Subscriber QRZ Page

    @WQ4G , @AC0GT - here's an idea.....

    Suppose ARRL were to send every new ham a "welcome package" consisting of 1 paper issue of QST (doesn't have to be the current issue, as long as it's a recent one) and a 6 or 12 month nonvoting digital membership (no paper QST, just access to the members-only parts of the website, including QST in digital form).

    The welcome package and digital membership would be a one-time cost.

    I seem to remember that, way back in 1967, when I was first licensed, ARRL sent me a free copy of QST as a welcome-to-amateur-radio thing. Just one copy, and it wasn't the current one. But it did the trick.

    73 de Jim, N2EY
     
    K1APJ, KF5KWO, WQ4G and 1 other person like this.
  13. WQ4G

    WQ4G Ham Member QRZ Page

    Jim:

    I think that is an excellent idea... As Kurt pointed out (above), sending an issue of QST every month could take a pretty good bite out of the ARRL's budget. But, the cost of one free copy of QST and a digital membership would help keep cost down AND go along way towards attracting new 'paying' members.

    A few days ago I went on Youtube poking around for fun stuff to watch. First thing that popped up was an advertisement (commercial) for a 'Ham Radio prep class.' The ad highlighted some of the value that Amateur Radio holds for personal, emergency, and off grid communications. I was pretty impressed with the ad (despite the fact that I hate commercials). There are a lot of people out there that don't even know what Amateur Radio is. I think a few well placed and well planned TV, Radio, and/or Internet commercials would go a long way toward attracting new people to Amateur Radio AND the ARRL...

    WQ4G
     
    KF5KWO likes this.
  14. KI4ZUQ

    KI4ZUQ Ham Member QRZ Page

    NIH = Not Invented Here
    Meaning: "The idea has no merit if we/I did not think it up in the first place." Most organizations employ the NIH phenomenon. Applies to individuals as well.
     
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  15. KY5U

    KY5U Ham Member QRZ Page

    Hams are history romantics where someone stands up on a soapbox, delivers a speech, and people rally immediately to a cause. The important part was having listeners to the speech who were capable of marching forward with the idea du jour. Rabble rousing hams may make the best speech ever made on qrz.com BUT there are almost no young minions to march forth.

    Thus these ham radio "calls to action" are like the Macbeth line about life "...it is a tale told by an idiot (HAM), full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
     

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