Declines in operators/licencees don't necessarily translate to declines in operations, which could actually be increasing.
The situation is the same in Ukraine ... But you need to understand that young people cannot have interest in radio, because they have the Internet. And radio for them is the same nonsense and rarity as a cart on public roads. Look at the radio through their eyes. Are you ready to ride a cart and groom a horse? And to remove the manure? And go somewhere for a week without air conditioning, sniffing a horse's butt? Even those who love horses certainly enjoy it. But they drive to work or market on car, don't they? I discussed radio with my son and he is as careless as everyone else. They think internet and satellites are invulnerable. This is true until the first really cool hacker attack or war. But then not only radio will have a completely different value. In any case, for now, we should be glad that the HF section of radio spectrum has also lost its importance and significance for states and business ...
The actual quality shown by those very few that become active is another crucially important parameter if we are to have any chances of keeping the spectrum. "Resting on old laurels" is worth exactly zero today. 73/ Karl-Arne SM0AOM
In Denmark its a Old man´s hobby. The present of young people is getting less and less, since the internet has taken over the interests of younger people. This gives a side-effect that radioclubs are getting fewer in numbers. Not as in the 1980´s there was a big boom of hams, (effect was primarily coarsed by the movie "Convoi"- with Kris K.) even after the cw was removed, it´s has not given a raise.. so in OZ (Denmark) it´s a hobby witch is fading out slowly with regret. vy73 de Lars oz1fjb - ou2v - ham since 1979.
So document your assessment with the conclusion that you need to limit power output to 10W. OFCOM do not have the manpower to carry out examinations to verify that you are working within the limits that the assessment has arrived at. Martin (G8FXC)
So, why should you, in the UK, or anywhere else, abide by such a stupid regulation? the heck with any mW or kW limit. Or, we do agree that all those lobbies supposed to take care of us, on the contrary wish us all dead. The case in Brazil where our beloved Anatel, not allowing any class upgrading, just awaits privileged RA to die, Class A to shrink to nothing, Labre consenting. Been two years now. Oliver
Yes amateur radio there is no questions on digital modes yet the Fis not only on the decline but has now been opened up to people with the barest qualifications namely this farce they call foundation license gone are the days of homebrewing even something like antennas we now go and buy a commercial ones even a lowly dipole has fallen victim to commercialism not much radio talk now u hear about pizza baking how to cook the perfect steak etc etc but nothing to do with the hobby we now have 27meg antics on the ham bands. Please just listen on the 80m&40m bands swearing no callsigns jamming on purpose vhf even worse and the question is our hobby on the decline u ask the foundation holders he more privileges than the novices ever had why??? what was wrong with the novice format okay scrap morse but we should have kept the rest i supported the novices 100% but not this farce allowing them even digital modes if i remember correctly F-CALLS dont have any digital mode theory in their joke of an exam i could say more but i think these are just some of the reasons our hobby is on the slide i will be called old fossil and other names for expressing my view .
It seems to me that it would be fair to admit that digi has nothing to do with amateur radio and licenses for it should be sold separately on other frequencies as for mobile operators ..
You just need to know that Great Britain has become and remains a great country because they play by the rules there ...
In many ways we are fortunate with what we have here. Playing by the rules is sadly not always the case in any country, but you are correct I would rather make sure my actions and operations are respectable and compliant. Forcing Digi modes to some other licence I doubt would would make the change we need. These days things have changed a lot, I suspect that there is a whole lot more that could be developed but it is finding the ideas and there being a meeting of minds to inspire new ideas and people, old and new, to do new things with radio. When everything seems to come ready to go out of the packet like a mobile phone, it takes a different mind to engage and find the thrill or excitement of making something or doing something different. Your QRZ page simply demonstrates the passion for making and doing, I like doing that too, I may not be as good as some on the technical side but that is part of what makes radio a learning experience, that and meeting others and sharing in those things.
From what I have learned about the inner workings of current deregulated Administrations, disregarding the power limits would provide them with a very valid reason to prohibit amateur radio entirely. I am quite convinced that there are internal discussions going on in more than a few Administrations about in which ways they easiest can get rid of radio amateurs. I have got some insight in what has been said about radio amateurs in fora such as the EMC regulators, and most there see us as just another nuisance. So "be careful of what you wish for, you might get it". 73/ Karl-Arne SM0AOM
Well, it means that radio amateurism will return to the state from which it began before being regulated by the state. It will become truly free and its spirit will appear. After all, now everyone who bought a baofeng to talk on repeater is called a radio amateur. As photographers say, buying a camera does not mean becoming a photographer ...
In many aspects we have gone "full circle". Amateur radio started out as "prohibited", then became "barely tolerated" in the pre-war years, The aftermath of WW2 and the Cold War made us "supported", but now the current status is back to "barely tolerated" or maybe worse again. The competition for spectrum is fierce in the VHF/UHF/microwave spectrum, but not so much below 30 MHz. But here we are facing EMC and RFI problems that may make the HF bands unuseable in the end. Most "new amateurs" and too many "old" lack both the technical and operating skills to function in such an environment, and many just give up. In the "old days" when radio amateurs still were the elite that we are expected to be, most had the knowledge to solve or work around interference issues and took pride in building their stations to high engineering standards. To call the Baofeng crowd "radio amateurs" is really a stretch. Real radio amateurs worth their name operate Morse and are able to build their own equipment. Hopefully the Authorities "see the light" and make the exams much harder and retest the existing amateurs in order to improve our standing. 73/ Karl-Arne SM0AOM
I would prefer to do without regulation at all. The maximum is power and spectrum limitation so as not to interfere with commercial / military and government users. Don't even issue permission. How to ride a bike - buy and ride. Just do not break the rules of the road that are common to everyone. As soon as you put an engine on a bicycle, it ceases to be a bicycle. The regulator can only keep a register of callsigns to avoid confusion. Everyone can choose one from the unused list and wrote that it was his.
