myARRLvoice formed to question ARRL Code of Conduct, Board Proposals

undoubtedly the best ham radio magazine published
??? Seriously? With the new reduced page count, size and content? Whatever you are smoking, I want some.

 

I have read the official response to the comments and the internets so called ham shows and it reminds me of K1m@n wanting attention. I standby the ARRL after their response. I would say to those hams that are looking for an audience, you got one and now you’ll be judged skeptically.

73

Ralph - N8GNP

 

Just remember catering to the newbies helps to keep the ARRL going and with it the salaries of all who work there. They are after all a business, albeit one that is supposed to have its membership and their interests at their core responsibility. I think, like all business as of late, they are more interested in revenue than really following their stated mission. I still strongly believe that we hams need an organization such as the ARRL to represent us in Washington and to continue to help us use our hobby to its max, but I also feel that we possibly need a "reboot" to get it (the organization) back on course. One area I am concerned about is ARES. There is a change coming requiring training to be a member of ARES, the change will probably cause hams volunteering their time to have to pay for such training. Just another revenue generating idea. Not right, volunteers should receive such trIning for free. Just my two cents. Doc - K2PHD (an ARRL member)

 

Don't confuse the actual cost of the license with any cost associated with a renewal service.

You could have renewed you license yourself for free.

 

There's a reason many non-ARRL/ARES groups have been forming. AUXCOMM training, NIMS/ICS training, and many other good courses are being provided by served agencies and other volunteer groups. If ARES disbanded tomorrow, the groups I work with would continue in their missions quite nicely. If it's in you heart, It's about getting the job done, not the logo on the ball cap or vest.

 

I'm not smoking anything. The Jan QST is the best in a long time. Haven't seen Feb yet.

 

This is probably a discussion for another thread, but since it's been presented here; amateur radio is every bit as much a hobby as it is a service. For those who involve themselves with EMCOMM, thank you. For the rest of us who choose to go for DX, contests, electronic experimentation or the many other facets of radio, thank you too. Much of our communications technology was developed by hams tinkering around to get that last dB of gain from their antenna or extra ten watts of power output from their rig.

Most of us don't want to involve ourselves in politics - hams just want to have fun. Unfortunately, if we don't pay attention and speak up when it becomes necessary, we won't be having fun at all. The group that is supposed to be looking out for us and representing us to the FCC is instead looking out for their own best interest. And by "their", I refer to a few at the top who change the rules to ensure their self-preservation.

The ARRL is a great organization with some incredible accomplishments and a solid history of looking our for amateur radio - until recently. I hope all of the discussion on the subject causes the board of directors to carefully consider their next step - now that they know we are watching.

Steve, W6SDM

 

I lost all confidence in ARRL leaders when they lied about the surveys of hams wanting to keep or drop CW as a test requirement. I was an eye witness to their scheme.

 

Wasn't that decades ago?

 

I am a "No Code" Amateur Extra.

December 2006, I had mentioned to a Friend that I had thought about getting into the Amateur Hobby, but the CW Morse Code testing was a barrier to me.

He said wait till the end of February 2007, and you can go ahead and get your license. Worked for me.

 

Sounds familiar... I too am a 'no code' Extra class operator and the requirement to learn code was an early impediment to my entry into the hobby. I saw no value whatsoever (to my personal interests) in learning to read and write in an antiquated and obsolete language that I would never use.

 

I am a "no code" Extra who happens to know code. Learned it in the Scouts at age 12, got a Novice ticket, dropped it because I couldn't afford an HF rig. 45 years later, after going into Electrical Engineering and doing a lot of non-amateur RF work, tested at a hamfest on a lark (I was there to buy RF parts for non-ham projects) and made it to General. Studied the "ham trivia" that you won't learn simply by being an engineer and picked up my Extra ticket a few months later. Wouldn't have minded a code requirement but the fact that code skills were optional made it simpler.

 

tried to start a sky-warn group with five clubs. No one wanted the responsibly. There response was their home and family were more important . than storm watching. What changes things with the name Aries.

 

First of all, I stared the SKYWARN program in Raleigh, NC in 1983 and ran it for the next 13 years. I'm also active in the SKYWARN program in the DC area. But neither program is a club project. Both draw from hams in the area, and both are quite successful. It's all in how you handle it. No, not everyone wants to be involved. But many do; they know storm watching IS protecting your home and family.
And BTW - it is ARES - the Amateur Radio Emergency Service - not Aries the sign of the Zodiac.

 

Oh, yeah... and what's that other group, the one that's racist? ;-)