I was first licensed in 2000 at the age of 11. I got HF privelages when I was 13, this year. While tuning down the bands one day, it occured to me that I hadn't heard a single youth net. Is there any better way to get and keep youth interested in the hobby? A net would promote good operating practices, and encourage kids to advance in the hobby! Around here, we have a youth group called a Venture Crew, a run-off of Boy Scouts. In fact, it is Boy Scouts, only these units can be career, adventure or hobby based. We are hobby based, and most of us are licensed hams. We make up a group of youth called Venture Crew 510, which is DX in Roman Numerals. Currently, we hold the callsign NE1C, (New England's #1 Crew), and you can find us operating in most contests as well as doing emergency communications. I also have seen several other groups based on it. So, we have enough youth to start a world-wide High Frequency net! Why shouldn't we? We could work out a check-in schedule, a format, and a preamble. This group could just be of discussion, going around two, three, or four times (depending on the amount of check ins). These nets are very popular and have started to appear on the popular IRLP system, as well as many normal repeaters. I don't know if there is already an HF youth net, but if not, isn't it time there was? Radio is, more or less, slowly being starved. If you allow me to use an example -- the popular boiling frog created by Steve Ford, WB8IMY. If you take a frog and put it in a pot of boiling water, and slowly increase the temperature, degree by degree, over a long period, the frog will be boiled and won't even know it. This is because it only senses heat change. Well, isn't that like amateur radio? We can only sense change, in a way. We need to get out, fill our bands, promote the hobby. The only way to do this is to encourage the younger generations to get on and operate. Is it the government that increases the temperature, slowly, until we're all gone? No, I don't think so. It is really us who can adjust the temperature. I think that it is time we try to shut off the oven. Anyone who is interested in starting a youth net, you can find me at kb1fwn@arrl.net . Thanks, and 73'!
There is a youth HF net! A youth HF net led by KF4ZGD (Steve), meets on 20 & 40 meters every Friday. The net begins on Saturday 0030 UTC. Here in the US that's 7:30 PM Eastern time & 4:30 PM Pacific time. The net starts on 14.330 ( give or take a few Kilohertzs depending on QRM) at the time listed above. Then the net moves to the upper end of the 40 m. ,7280-7300khz, band half an hour later. Try to get your club involved! I would check in but I have to wait till the end of this month to take my general class exam. I hope to talk to you on the air on day. 73, KB1IPK ... 14 years old P.S. You can read more about the net in the topic, "CQ Young Radio Amateurs". It is right here on QRZ. Just look in the older news section.
Actually the Youth net meets at 00.00 UTC NOT 00:30 UTC. The 20meter net is more established, but a Forty Meter Net is organized by another fellow(Jeff, KG4QWR) in Virginia on Saturday evenings on the East Coast. Please checkin to our Youth Net, thanks, Website\More Info: http://www.hamquick.com/youth/ Sam AD6XS ============= Don't have a license? Its about time...! http://www.hamquick.com
Thanks for the correction Sam. I was looking through all the pages in the topic about the net and I guess I just got mixed up a bit!! Thanks again and I hope to be able to check into the net soon. KB1IPK
Our net wouldn't just be about ragchewing...we would also have DX checkins. If another kid needed the DX, why not make it a youth sked? Then, we would be pormoting good amateur practice, and accomplishing award programs as well! There is a yahoo group I have created to debate the issues so we can create a welll-thought-out net. You can find it at HFYOUTHNET and everyone is invited to join so we can create a real asset to amateur radio!
An idea would be to have a net on the Novice/Tech Plus portion of the 10m band. You never know what stations will pop in. Just a thought. Ryan KG4PUW
Some interesting comments. I'll try to check into that one net on 20 and 40. I'm sitting smack dabb in the boring state of KS. That might be a good place for relay. Another thing is maybe a CW net on 80. Checked the web site out. 73s KD5OHW age 15
Some observations about youth in radio; Most youth are on vhf and higher. This complicates youth HF nets. Youth who get involved in emergency communications get frustrated when they collide with "DSW certification" which often requires them to be 18 up. I encourage our young "co-hort" to go ahead and get kids on the air, be it hf of be it vhf. "Just DO IT!" The #1 best thing to do to stay prepared for emergency communications is to join in on a traffic handling net once a month. Some youth nets get "stale" after a while with just "rag chewing". You can use email for that. There needs to be something in it thats new. Might I suggest that youth get involved in handling traffic ? Fact is, we really need more trained traffic handlers to both keep the system running, and to provide better emergency communications. In an emergency, you MUST be able to handle traffic.
