When I have a hard time hearing a DX station I turn on my amplifier. But I can't figure out why the station is still weak.
10kW amp is not easy. One cannot just plug it into outlet, connect an antenna, and call 'CQ DX'. So obviously you should ask other party to QRO, not you (however you may if you wish). Sure. Let me guess too: QRM and/or QRN at other party's location. Push a little to break through the noise and make contact. Unless the power itself is not a part of the hobby (as I said 10kW far not easy to handle) an amp is not mandatory. There are lots of DXCC QRP award holders and much more that achieved award criteria but never applied. So one could say five to ten watts is pretty enough to work the world. I only wish to ask again: does QRP'er work the world or the world works QRP'er? Okay, okay, let's say 100W is QRP for ESSB, do you?
I'm not talking about QRP. I say that 100W and good antennas are enough. I have not tried ESSB, but I liked AM.
Many thanks for your input. I never thought that way so your explanation seem opened my eyes. In my country we've lost many bands that way including 23cm and 13cm.
We lost them precisely because we do not have the honor people in our ham radio national organisation. Over the past few years, no one has hurt radio amateurs in Ukraine as much as other radio amateurs who wanted personal fame ...
So you're saying the choice is you barely hear weak DX versus you barely hear weak DX and DX hears you. As for me I'd prefer to be heard by DX otherwise it seems somewhat senseless to call DX that doesn't hear you. Actually there are many stations calling DX when they don't hear DX; most of them trying on DX's TX frequency.
What it doesnt need is the crazy useless system that the UK has. Whereby it is done on increasing power as you progress through the licences . Should be done on increased power and more bands as you progress. No incentive to get past the foundation as a power rating is totally un policeable and most foundation licencees are running whatever the rig will deliver plus amps.
... provided that the most basic licence does permit meaningful operation! Let's not have the apartheid system that the US has where their entry-level licensees are effectively barred from almost all meaningful activity. Martin (G8FXC)
In Ukraine, there was also an entry initial level, but no one considered it as a "level", immediately getting a higher category. Probably things are not in the level as such, but in the desire to work on the air ...
Hey VK folks... What are the numbers doing there for the HF operators that are non amateur. The folks using Codan, etc. Is that restricted geographically to the regions with no phone service, etc? 73 GeorgeC W2DB Crowley, TX
Personally, I would say that amateur radio in Australia is on a decline. Why? I've noticed in the last 25 years of being on air that the knowledge behind the operations is just not the same. The benefit I had in having great teachers at our club made all the difference of your understanding of electronics and radio theory. How to build antennas that work the world barefoot and some QRP. Operating techniques that were professional were handed down and we embraced them as we listened, and I mean Listened...to the those older gentleman who had real experience we also then followed in their footsteps. I did not want to just operate a a box, show me how and why it works. I am glad to have so many that I have learned a great del from and now many are Silent Keys. You know there are new operators in this hobby that don't even know what Silent Key means, that it is 73 not 73s etc etc. Please understand nit picking is not my aim rather we need to scan who has access to the bands. I felt it a privilege to operate 14mhz for the first time under the steam of my own call. Pride and satisfaction are part of this hobby that's why it was termed to be ' a gentlemen's hobby' many years ago. Those days are over. So many great operators have left the bands and some radio altogether due to poor operators on the band. The stupidity of the 11 mtr band has bled through with sad results. So, yes maybe the CW exam did keep a lot out the door. If a chap complains and complains why he can't get a license or get on the air, well sir how hard are you trying? Step into Mr Elmers lab, listen listen and learn.
Yes, ham radio is so obviously and clearly declining and has been for some time. It's the elephant in the room. The vast majority of people don't even know it's a thing. The most common thing I get asked about it is: am I trying to contact aliens? They don't seriously believe there are enough people within range of any given radio to be able to make a contact because they wrongly believe that all radio is line of sight. So much so, that they literally believe I'm more likely to find a contact straight up into outer space. Even if you do contact someone on Earth, they think it's likely to be an unsolicited contact because you don't have a purpose for the contact. Why would you want to speak to a random shop security guard? Or worse, why would you want to eavesdrop? These are the common misconceptions of the majority of people when they see a hand held radio. Tell them there are other radio hams, most people find it difficult to believe there can be enough other hams to make it even remotely likely to find someone else on the other end. Tell them it works over thousands of kms they think you are pulling their leg (even electrical engineering students). It's difficult to convince even the most educated of young people that amateur radio is even a thing. It no longer has any perceived relevance to people's lives because the existence and utility of radio technology is taken for granted. You will also find that, when asked, the vast majority of people do not think mobile phones and radio is the exact same tech. I believe it has already passed the point of no return and it will continue to decline to the point where you are going to have to organise scheds to be able to work anyone on any band. This is already true on the FM portions of the amateur VHF/UHF bands. The terminal decline started twenty years ago and it's definitely due in part to stick in the mud gatekeepers refusing, for a prolonged period of time, to allow newer ideas and ways of engaging new people to come into play. I would estimate that if you were born after about 1990, you will not have had the opportunity to experience the fascination and magic of radio. After 1990 you will have grown up in a time where the utility of radio is so pedestrian that you might not even notice it's there unless someone tells you in a science class, just like dark matter or the laws of thermodynamics. If you were born before about 1990, you might have had a chance to discover shortwave listening or CB or something like that to catch the bug. So yes, ham radio is indisputably and categorically in irreversible decline. It is partly due to the march of technology but I would say mostly due to people failing to educate sufficient numbers of others about it. By that, I mean it should have been on the school curriculum. The physics is, but amateur radio was never and probably has never been used as a mainstream teaching resource.
