B J wrote:
On 11/13/13, Joe<n...@mwt.net> wrote:
I agree on that also.
Now I'm not picking on them here. But I am a member of Four local
Amateur Radio Clubs. And have been an Amateur since 1975 and have seen
this "Hobby" change a lot through the years. And in all four clubs 90%
of the newly licensed get into this Hobby now, through the Public
service aspect of the hobby. IE: Skywarn, communications during
disasters, support like in parades etc. While there is nothing wrong
with this. But these newcomers do not seem to get the thrill of just
getting on the air, and throw out a CQ just to see who comes back. Just
for the thrill of the unknown. And that is sad.
I feel that Amateur Radio is more to them as the Service part of the
Amateur Radio Service. Not the experimenting and exploring part.
I often get a similar reaction when I talk about amateur radio,
particularly from younger people. They can't quite grasp why I'd want
to put together a station and, perhaps, talk with someone when there
are easier ways of doing that. Even if I don't have any contacts, I
like to find out just what the hardware can do and how far my signal
can go. It's fun to know that I can reach a satellite that's, say,
somewhere over the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia putting only 5 W into
my Arrow yagi.
Don't give up hope. Not all of the next generation is a lost cause.
I just got back from the 38th anniversary reunion of the original
Homebrew Computer Club, a group from the '70's and '80's with similar
objectives focused on learning, experimentation, and mentoring. The
group was formed in 1975, and by a show of hands, the vast majority of
those attending the sold out event weren't even born yet. But they were
there, engaged, excited, and wanting to pick up the torch being
symbolically passed to them. "Cool" to them has a lot in common with
what it is to us - accomplishing something with skills and random parts
in ways nobody thought possible.
To me (an early member of the club), there's still nothing more amazing
than being able to stand in the middle of nowhere with my TH-D7, and
bounce a packet off the International Space Station as it zips by at
18,000 miles per hour, resulting in a PC elsewhere on the planet "ding"
with a new bit of email. Then talking to a (younger) co-worker, as I
did last week, explaining how I did that, and getting a genuine "wow" in
reply.
Hang in there. Initiatives such as what the FunCube team is doing will
help get the word out, and the awareness up. And a new generation of
"Wows" will be inspired.
Greg KO6TH
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