Silence of the Hams

OP, keep up the great work. As much as I love ham radio (being a child of the 60's), it is my opinion that ham radio as a hobby of primary interest is very much in a existential decline. Finding new, creative, challenging and inovative ways to employee ham radio is, in my opinion, the WAY that the hobby survives. I would like to see the ARRL take the cultural lead on this initiative but I suspect it would be like attempting to invite your strange relatives to Christmas or similar. 4X4 groups are an opportunity for a synergistic and mutual relationship. ~down off the soap box~
I thought this post was about ham radio when they listed call signs and said "cross-band repeater". Thanks!

 

What is an 'existential decline'?

 

Right on KF5THB. To us ham radio became a necessary safety precaution when traveling into remote places without cell coverage. It then became, to us, a fun way to conduct games using ham radio as a means to communicate in such remote places between teams. Although many of us were interested first in the simple benefits of 2 meter VHF for vehicle to vehicle it soon became and is still becoming much more , we have been drawn in by the hobby to learn HF, MESH, APRS, CW and of course all the emergency communication applications. Our members are not declining away from ham radio into our trucks, we are getting more interested deeper and deeper. So we started a little different than most hams, but we are drawn to the hobby as many of our critics were drawn. It does not bother me one ioda that we have critics, they actually help boost our posts. But as we say...no one ever remembers the critic's message. I am just a little surprised at how sad and negative some are, but that's kinda the norm on any kind of social media. Thank you for being positive. Like we've been saying, we're just having fun. We're not trying to change anyone's hobby.

 

A phrase to make you look more edjumacated than you actually are.

 

Still learning...

 

ex·is·ten·tial
ˌeɡzəˈsten(t)SH(ə)l/
adjective

1. relating to existence.
   • PHILOSOPHY
     concerned with existence, especially human existence as viewed in the theories of existentialism.
   • LOGIC
     (of a proposition) affirming or implying the existence of a thing.

Means a lot of SK's and fewer new comers. BTW Google is your friend. Also see Götterdämmerung

73
AF4RK

 

I am familiar with the meaning of both words; the two together, however, do not discern an unambiguous meaning.

They may be pretty together, but don't seem to mean a darn thing.

 

My word is "fun" and you don't have to look that one up.

 

Wow...interesting thread...just to jump in here, I wouldn’t hold my General License if it had not been for Land Ops. It really is a wonderful way to blend so many diverse elements of Ham radio into the fun of off-road activities. Those of you dinosaurs who can’t see behind the flashlights are missing the whole point. In a world of hi tech and IPhone X, too many people see that Ham radio is so often dominated with old technology, not realizing that the old technology is being adapted into new uses. Land Ops is just one of those groups trying to find a fun, creative way to enjoy the outdoors, while promoting amateur radio and its evolving technologies. And like all good explorers, we’re observing and learning new things along the way. Cheers!

 

Anyone see the remarks from the recent IARU conference on the subject of what aspects of the ham radio hobby, newcomers are interested in? http://www.arrl.org/news/iaru-presi...-ham-radio-may-not-be-attractive-to-newcomers. I also believe that a similar conclusion was drawn by the ARRL president. Point is, "making miracle contacts" (my moniker, not theirs) will probably not be the big initial draw for newbies. Who cares? Most have always said that there are more than enough facets to this hobby to accommodate the widely varied interests. So, this personal round of applause is for all of you who are actively working to introduce ham radio into the "field of vision" of some other hobby or activity. Personally, my effort is looking for bigfoot! So, if you have a better, more well exercised, sense of humor than the average ham, stop by, say hi and go boo!