Chariot racing wasn’t about the chariots; it was about the racing. It was fundamentally no different than modern F1 racing.
73, WW2PT Sent from my iPad > On Dec 14, 2019, at 12:24 PM, Dauer, Edward <[email protected]> wrote: > > I wonder if the chariot racers of two or three milennia ago lamented the > death of their sport. > > I too tried to interest my grandson, now 13, in the ham radio hobby, but with > no success. He just couldn't see the point. So I reflected on when I was 13 > with a newly printed Novice ticket, some 62 years ago, and when I was > captivated for life by the wizardry of radio electronics, ionospheric > physics, the smell of solder and rosin (and of exploding caps), the > excitement of doing successfully what most people can't do at all, the > fascination of international communications . . . . . all of the things we > now-grandpas found and still find attractive. > > He found it a yawn. > > I reflected on it some. So what? The ham radio industry will care, and > those who still believe that ham radio is imperative for emergency > communications will care (though let's be honest -- cellular and satellite > communications have taken much of the wind out of that sail.) But if I enjoy > it and you enjoy it, and we both do it, why should we fret if other people > don't? If amateur radio evolves in ways that are attractive to the next > generation, all to the good. And a form of natural selection may shape the > evolution that way. But if ham radio as we know it today doesn't get past a > generational divide, if the mutations that survive an evolutionary end point > don't occur, does it really matter? > > Excuse the philosophy, but I have to ask the question: Is our culture really > impoverished by the demise of chariot racing? Or is that sport still with > us, only morphed over time into something the next generation found > attractive. > > OK. Break time over. Back to the ten-meter contest. Curse this solar > minimum! > > Ted, KN1CBR > > >> On 12/13/2019 9:36 PM, David Gilbert wrote: >> >> This of course is a discussion that isn't likely to die before we do, >> but I really don't think that any significant portion of today's youth >> will ever look at amateur radio like we do.? I wish that weren't the >> case, but reality bites. >> >> 1.? The major lure of amateur radio for most of us was the ability to >> freely talk to faraway places.? Young people today can do that with FM >> quality and yet often they don't ... they text or chat via message >> groups and forums. >> >> 2.? Communicating today is license free, and while even now with >> today's lesser requirements getting an amateur radio license is maybe >> not a roadblock it's a nuisance to have to study for something that >> you don't otherwise care about. >> >> 3.? Effectively communicating today is far cheaper hardware-wise than >> for amateur radio, especially for long distances. >> >> 4.? Communicating today is independent of time of day or position in >> the sunspot cycle. >> >> 5.? A basic competency in amateur radio was once considered a stepping >> stone to a technical career.? That is hardly the case today.? In fact, >> I remember one manager of a test department in another company telling >> me he tried to avoid hiring hams because they talked about it too much >> on the job. >> >> One thing I do believe has carryover appeal is the spirit of >> competition.? Humans in general always seem keen to compete at almost >> anything ... from eating hot dogs to running to vicariously watching >> football to quilting to barbeque.? Young people today have video games >> that provide a FAR richer competitive environment than any ham radio >> contest (I do both, by the way), and I've always thought that one way >> to drum up interest in ham radio is to develop a contest format that >> has similar elements.? Ham radio contests are essentially endurance >> events that involve independent action throughout the contest with the >> comparison occurring at the end, and often weeks or months later.? >> Video games require different but otherwise comparable proficiency >> (both mental and physical) but involve real time counter moves to any >> opponent. The closest we hams come to offsetting somebody we view as >> competition is to steal their frequency or QRM them.? I'm not at all >> suggesting that we do any such thing, but a contest where we could >> take some action that subtracted from somebody else's score is the >> kind of thing I'm talking about.? And no, I don't know how to do that >> either, but it illustrates what I'm talking about. >> >> It's not any surprise to me that contesting is one of the few >> surviving ham radio activities with high participation.? Even >> ragchewing has practically died out, and if anyone disputes that take >> a look at how much time you spend each week reading email reflectors >> versus being on the air (other than in a contest). >> >> I'm not really sure what Wayne was referring to here, and maybe he >> implied that same thing that I'm saying, but we aren't going to bring >> young folks into the hobby by trying to convince them that the same >> things that appealed to us 40 years ago are going to appeal to them.? >> This isn't a communication or publicity problem. In spite of the >> comments from hams I've seen over the years, most young people pretty >> much know the general framework of ham radio and they've simply >> rejected it in favor of other things.? There are always a few >> exceptions, of course, but I'd bet $100 that the bulk of those young >> people who pop up online or in QST as shining examples of young blood >> in the hobby are nowhere to be found two years later. >> >> If for any reason we want young folks to embrace the hobby, the hobby >> itself is going to have to adapt.? That most of us seem unable to >> understand that fact is probably another facet of the problem ... >> we're old and inflexible (in both appearance and in fact), which >> doesn't help the image of the hobby one wit.? The pictures from Dayton >> or any other hamfest have the same appeal as if they were taken at a >> Lawrence Welk concert. >> >> I guarantee that those of us who are still above ground five years >> from now will be having this same discussion, and it won't be because >> we weren't persuasive enough. >> >> 73, >> Dave?? AB7E >> > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to [email protected] ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
