RadioBanter - View Single Post - Before and After Cessation of Code Testing

Steve Bonine · April 18th 07, 06:16 AM posted to rec.radio.amateur.moderated

wrote:

I don't think that we are ever going to see Amateur Radio appeal to
the public at large.

It never did. Never will.

Fifty years ago it was difficult to phone outside of your state,

Even ten years ago, the cost of long distance telephone calls made them
"exotic" or "rare". Today, they're not. OK, fine . . . ham radio has
never been limited to just the ability to "talk" to people far away.

today I regularly call relatives in India, Iran
and Australia for free on Skype. Kids today who regularly chat with
other kids from around the globe on myspace will not be impressed with
a hard to hear ham contact with North Dakota.

Yep. So what can we find that *will* impress them? The technical
challenge of hooking up a computer to a radio? The challenge of being
able to use a digital mode using only a wetware modem? [I'm pitching CW
here, for those who might miss it.] Satellites? Helping develop new
modes of radio communication? The thrill of tossing a CQ out and not
knowing who will respond?

I honestly do not know. We need to somehow communicate the fact that
"ham radio" is not synonymous with "talking to someone far away" because
this generation knows that the way to "talk to someone far away" is to
simply open their cell phone.

The appeal of ham radio is almost historical, like being a classic car
buff, but it appeals only to certain segments of the population.

I think that the analogy with collecting is flawed, but I can support
the "classic" concept. A better analogy for me is sailing. Obviously
the best way to get from point A to point B is *not* by using a
sailboat, but I think that interest in recreational sailing is doing
pretty well.

Ham radio will never appeal to a broad segment of the population. It
never has. But the more facets of the hobby we can get in front of the
general population, the better chance we have of attracting a few of
them into the hobby.

I doubt that the july 2003 record of hams will ever be broken, what
eliminating the code requirement does is hold the line on decline and
make it easier for those who want to try the hobby to try it.

Oddly enough, leisure-time pursuits are cyclical. It's not beyond the
realm of possibility that ham radio might "catch on" at some point, at
least for a while, especially now that the code requirement is gone.

If it doesn't . . . well, then it doesn't. I'd love to see an influx of
younger people into the hobby, but if that doesn't happen, I'll be long
dead before it dies completely.

Kind of like Usenet grin