Trials & Errors #68: The Value of YouTube vs. In-Person Elmers

I am the opposite of what most recommend. Since 1964 I have never had or thought needed an Elmer.
Why rely on one Elmer's view when you can get far greater depth and differing views to consider on web sources?

I research initially by ARRL publications in the 60s/70s and learning on the air.

Today, I find QRZ discussions, YouTube and reddit groups most helpful. Especially ham-related YouTube, as most are old, experienced in their field, as are those on QRZ.

Getting many different views with those using all sorts of options get a far wider view to evaluate than just an Elmer or two.

On some Reddit groups, you can tell who the young folks are by their simple one-word comments or silly stuff when trying to have a serious conversation.

I spent months researching how I would do POTA. Listened to hours of YouTube on different rigs before selecting FT-710 and so many great videos on how to adjust for best audio with detailed showing on menus etc.

Likewise, for the easiest to set up antennas. Forget the raised 1/4 wave getting an extra 2-4 dB, which is not even perceptible to most folks' hearing. Just a simple but quality 17' vertical on a low tripod (probably Gabil GRA-ULT01 MK3) with colored 4-8 radials (don't need tuned) and orange RG-8X coax so people can see. No need for a tree or pounding ground stakes, and can set up from the parking lot.

Since I will be flying to most locations (Toronto) Two 12 AH Bioenno batteries, so no problem with carry-on and decided on high quality of REZ system with Recon 40 II coil and RigExpert Match etc. Will also experiment with Faraday grounds with or without also radials. Will first experiment in my backyard with RBN before my first POTA.

At first, I was going to use the Chelehance MC-750 with its 55% tariff, but I decided that the extra quality of REZ made more sense to me after reading/seeing about a dozen reviews.

I have extensive wish lists at DX Engineering and Amazon, based on months of research and opinions from various sites.

Still undecided on the case for luggage, may need an Apache gun case due to the length of the whip (can not take on board the airplane since it could be a weapon), and probably a smaller bag taken from the rental car to the POTA sites, especially if need a gun case to check it in baggage due to whip length.

BTW, someone on QRZ first suggested a gun case when I posed the travel question here. The whip is slightly too long for smaller cases I have found. Whip is 24 5/8 inches, which is too long for an Apache 4800 or 5800, unless maybe diagonally?

I doubt if an Elmer would have as much knowledge and all the combinations of folks I researched on YouTube mostly but also reddit and here.

For the FT-710 also have 200 page guide by ZL3DW and the Nifty Mini-Manual. I am a nerd and study very extensively.

 

Way Back in 1975 when I became licensed in Detroit we didn't have any elmers and my first radio store experience showed this to be true.

Mom enrolled me in a local radio club and I was taught CW and some theory for the novice test for 3 weeks and that was that, once licensed we were let loose on the novice bands and hopefully we survived.

As an example of how lacking the elmers were in Detroit for novices in the 70's after my licensed arrived in the summer of 75 mom and I went to the local radio store and I told the clerk that I needed a radio and the clerk asked me what bands i was interested in and I said that I really wanted to put up a 160 meter beam.

The store went quiet and half of the other 15 or so patrons in the store ,who most were grey haired and much wiser hams than me, converged around the 2 of us laughing while another two or three were blowing cigar smoke in my face and then the clerk spoke up and asked me to do the 468/Fmc in my head and then tell mom and them if we had room at home for a 160 meter yagi?

My mom proceeded to buy me a Tempo 1 rig and told the clerk to get me one of those 160 meter thinga-ma-jigs if that's what I wanted while I was still struggling with that dang 468/Fmc math problem.

After looking around the store at the other hams then at mom then back at my math again on the paper that the clerk gave me for the 468/Fmc calculation and then thinking what dad and the neighbors on both sides would say if I put a 160 meter 3 element yagi on the roof of our suburban house I said to the clerk just give me a Hy-gain 80 to 10 meter vertical.

I used that Tempo for another 18 years but after my first week as a novice using that Hy-gain vertical I took one of our swimming Pool poles and some spare aluminum tubing that moms friend gave me and built a nice 2 element 15 meter yagi which evolved into a 3 element a week later.

That Tempo 1 got 18 years of use and abuse until in 1993 my wife bought me a Kenwood TS690S and a 2 element 20 to 6 meter lightning bolt quad.

The wife's dad was ex signal corps in the pacific war and a licensed ham since 1936 so he was really my only elmer per say and only in the sense of convincing me to work up to >45 WPM CW while we were living in Prescott Arizona and he did this only because he wanted me to qso with him and his brother in Minnesota on 20 cw every sunday morning without them having to slow down for me.

 

And yeah, something I forgot, since being licensed in the summer of 1975 I have never operated 160 meters, never.

I wonder if I'll ever be able to put up that elusive 160 meter yagi?

 

And that Reddit "discussion" repeats and promulgates the myth I have repeatedly shown to be completely false.

73 de Jim N2EY

 

I don't like videos (whether YouTube or elsewhere).

So often you are forced to watch several minutes of stuff you already know, hoping that you will eventually get the answer to whatever your question was. Not infrequently, the answer never comes. So that's five minutes (or more) of your life down the drain.

So much better to read a book, or an internet post ... something in writing. Usually a much faster way to get the information you are looking for.

Occasionally, a video is useful for demonstrating a difficult physical construction process. In those cases: yes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

73 de Martin, G3EDM

 

I usually speed up videos to 2x or 1.5x, depending on how fast the person is talking. I can understand fine, although I may slow down to normal if something really detailed needs to be absorbed more slowly.

Some things come across better on video to show, but otherwise, I can scan written material far faster, looking for important points.

 

Amen!

Youtube vidoes and other content creators are great for me because you can search for specific topics, get content, and listen/read and evaluate it on your own, and let it lead you to further research and eventual building and experimenting. This is on your own time, no one else’s, no meetings to schedule or clear with family. Yeah, maybe some content isn’t “correct” in some people’s eyes, but also maybe some in-person “elmers” aren’t “correct” either. (OMG did I just say that? I can’t even.) But I can survey a plethora of online content in one evening and not get the arguments and controversies one might find at a club meeting — that sounds like a win/win to me. And one of the best things about Youtube and other audio/video content is that you can play it anywhere, consume it mutliple times, and consult it as you build or do whatever it is. Not seeing a downside here…

Back in the day when there wasn’t today’s modern technology, one HAD to seek out in-person mentoring if you wanted something more than books and other publications offered. Nowadays, there are so many more options. And yet, some people poo-poo online mentoring, or even using computers, at all. “I’ll never have a computer in my shack!” or, “Look it up!” Gee, I wonder what turns people off of in-person elmering… If someone is demo’ing something that works for them, I’m more than happy to listen to and watch what they’re doing and give it a try if it’s something that I want to try.

 

I was very blessed to have a knowledgeable elmer as a novice. I miss him dearly.I enjoy some yt videos As much as anyone else but they can never replace the human interaction.Seems to me it would be very difficult to get spare coax, grounding braid ,air variable capacitors and all kinds of other goodies from a video.... 73s Don

 

Agreeded !! I just watched 2 videos on the Retevis A3 HT. The first guy, W6IWN Bobby Debevec trashed the radio. "You can't direct enter frequencies and it doesn't transmit on 6 meters. You would think he would take the time to read an operations manual before reviewing a radio. I find this true with many other Youtubers. I then watched the 741 channel hosted by N1NUG he had no issues with the radio and was able to accomplish all the tasks Debevec couldn't.

 

I think that you tube videos are a great adjunct to an Elmer. My Elmer was a big help setting up my first station and I got a lot of practical advise. A lot of the you tube videos won't or can't go into enough detail a lot of the time to be fully useful. I would agree with the comment on how to get an ICOM 7300 on line with a computer step by step video. This is where they're most helpful.

 

One simple sentence for this subject: "You can never replace experience." Watching is one thing, but experience that is shared by someone in the same room is a whole different aspect.

 

The quote, "The best thing about the internet is that anybody can post anything they want without having to get approval from anyone, and of course, the worst thing about the internet is that anybody can post anything they want without having to get approval from anyone (N2EY Jim)" is the best focus point of the article. You Tube amateur radio related content, for the most part, lacks the fundamental editorial and peer review qualities that are required to insure accurate information is provided. This is the major reason that relying on You Tube content to replace the traditional role of the Elmer has produced many innocent ill informed participants in the hobby. The absence of journalistic editorial control and peer review by experts has made most of social media a waste land. There are examples of academic and journalistic acceptable amateur radio content on You Tube but the consumer must search carefully and not succumb to the click bait culture mentality that has compromised the role of the Elmer. The role of the Elmer remains fundamentally important to the future of amateur radio.

Vern
W0VMP

 

However, in YouTube comments, I often see those suggesting alternatives and nicely correcting if they think something is wrong. The ones I study seem very informed, knowledgeable old time hams and with comments sometimes in the hundreds reacting vs various experiences. An Elmer only has his. On YouTube you get a huge variety.

Helped me study between YouTube and Reddit to compare all sorts of rigs for POTA and huge differences in antennas analyzed from many folks experiences, before deciding on FT-710 and REZ system. I also will try the new Faraday cloth of On Reddit, I got into a great discussion of cases, especially how to get stuff on an airplane, including a 17' whip, batteries, and many useful ideas from many folks vs just an Elmer who has only his experience and maybe a few others.

I bet not many Elmers know of the new Faraday cloth that lots of YouTubers have gotten to test and report on ahead of final production being ready for distribution. Especially the mixed reviews using on 40m. Pre orders till January but I have seen about 20 YouTube honest reviews of it with both good and bad. https://chameleonantenna.com/products/cha-fsr?bg_ref=ok7Ky4088r, I plan to experiment with it using just it and combining with various radial combinations.

And of course QRZ is helpful for discussing many ideas, again far more broadly than finding an Elmer at a club, which can be a problem. The Tacoma club has a nice approach, listing in its newsletters, club Elmers for different topics. So, nothing wrong with Elmer's, but I prefer my own far more extensive research and have never run into one since I'm not active in person, often with clubs unless a topic of interest arises, etc.

 

That might be true about Youtube content, but do we enforce the same standard with an in-person encounter? If I ask a ham at a club meeting, hamfest, etc., a question, am I required to ask for sources, credentials, etc.? Of course not, the fact that that ham is there in-person seems to be the only “qualifier” necessary. Their advice will be “peer reviewed” when I try it and see if it works, or if someone else says, “Yeah, I tried it and it worked.” You can see that in the comment section of Youtube videos. So what’s the problem then?

Someone above said: “Watching is one thing, but experience that is shared by someone in the same room is a whole different aspect.” The whole “being in the same room” apparently carries a lot of weight with some of us. But why? A person can be just as wrong (or just as right) in-person as they can be when online, right? And as far as “experience that is shared,” someone online — like many of the Elmers here on QRZ, and Youtube, and FB — is sharing their experiences with all of us. So again, the “being in the same room” does not hinder the sharing of information.

Perhaps the in-person aspect is preferred if you want to ask questions and discuss, which might be what people want when they deride or otherwise poo-poo the online Elmer. This is understandable, and is not always part and parcel of an online mentorship. One can watch a video numerous times, or read and reread an article, but there still may be a question. Some Youtube elmers do answer questions put to them in the comment section, some don’t. Many elmers here on QRZ answer questions. But the ARRL materials in their archive don’t talk back, and I’ve never heard anyone complain about THAT one-way “relationship” like I’ve seen some people complain about Youtubers. Yeah, like what was said previously, anyone can create online content. Well, we’re amateurs, and there can be more than one way to skin a cat in most cases. I’m glad to have the opportunity to have access to hundreds, if not thousands, of Elmers from all over the world. Why would I rob myself of all that knowledge and experience just because I’m not in the same room?

73 de Jeff, KF5KWO

 

Dave, Thank you for raising this topic. Internet information sources and Elmers are both extremely useful and provide unique services to the amateur radio community. Internet information sources can be very helpful for both new and experienced hams to investigate new topics of interest and do troubleshooting, especially when when multiple sources of information are explored and cross referenced. Internet videos have an added advantage, showing the physical steps and efforts involved with specific equipment setups, repairs, antenna construction, etc. Good Internet videos also show difficulties, tips, and final results. I advise watching multiple videos and commentaries before attempting a project or troubleshooting. However, Elmers will never be replaced by the Internet. In my experience Elmers will often share things like their test equipment, soldering stations, spare cables, adapters, tools, etc., in addition to information. Some Elmers are even willing to loan or donate their less used equipment like mics, keys and even secondary receivers and transmitters to help a new ham or a school club station get on the air. Elmers who are physically capable will visit other hams to help with station setups and erect antennas. In a nutshell, Elmers and Internet information offer complementary and unique assistance to amateur radio and can't replace each other.