"As we evolve into the future of Amateur Radio what do you think we
will
invent? Will the ARRL have new interplanetary DX entities? How do you
envision the typical Radio Amateur in 2050?"

Hams were at one time known for their ability to tinker and put
together a radio literally from a box of parts. New equipment has
become so sophisticated and controlled by IC's that there are few
opportunities for the basement tinkerers to really build something from
scratch these days. By 2050 I suspect the opportunity will have
completely gone. There will be plenty of opportunities foe EE's and
others with similar training to design and build communications
equipment in the lab however.

I'm not sure there will be a need for a licensed radio amateur in the
year 2050. The hobby is all about communicating with others over
distances from 100 to 5000 miles away. Although the telephone
certainly improved access, amateur radio gave many access to people
around the globe. The world of communications has changed since the
1950's and there are numerous ways to communicate over great distances
that do not require a license. The internet, email, VOIP, cell phones,
satellite radio are but a few of the newer technologies that do
essentially the same thing that amateur radio does. Provide access to
people and information about the world.

Safety around lethal voltages was at one time a very good reason for
licensing radio operators, and it still is. Unfortunately for the
hobby I think that by the year 2050 most people will have figured out
that they don't need potentially lethal equipment and the requisite
license to communicate with people and otherwise get information about
the world. There will be too many other competing options that require
no license.

And the ARRL? Well, it continues to function very well as the
gatekeeper for this hobby. It seems to be most interested in requiring
outdated tests for radio licenses and otherwise holding on to a static
image of the radio hobbyist. It's unfortunate that the ARRL sees it's
mission as one of keeping the unkempt hordes on the far side of the
gate. It should instead be looking at new ways to entice younger
members into a hobby that needs to be opened up.



Mike Terry wrote:
February 16, 2005

Hams have historically been tinkers. We have developed many of the
communication technologies seen in use today.
While many think of amateur radio as a hobby that involves people who
tinker
with tubes, oscillator coils and transformers; I am left wondering
what will
happen in the next 40 - 50 years for Amateur Radio.

Will it be "radio" as we know it today or will we evolve into a new
communications evolution?

So what may be in the future for ham radio?

For example, will tomorrow's hams communicate long distances by
bouncing
modulated light waves from the sun using large dish reflectors into
the deep
fringes of space?

Will we find a way to learn to harness the light and gigawatt power
of the
sun to achieve this powerful communication network in the future if
it
should even exist?

Perhaps we may use a form of earth vibration modulation technology
using
Mother Nature as a new communication medium.

Or, we might find a way to communicate using atoms as the vehicle for
communications in the future.

Will we be able to use atoms to send signals by compressing packets
somehow
into these atoms and then sending them over long distances along a
narrow
beam of light?

Who knows?

As we evolve into the future of Amateur Radio what do you think we
will
invent? Will the ARRL have new interplanetary DX entities? How do you
envision the typical Radio Amateur in 2050?

73
Charles -- KC8VWM

http://www.eham.net/articles/10250