AF6AY wrote:
Michael Coslo wrote on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 09:00:40 EST:

some snippage



What attracted you, and can we get some ideas from that to attract or
identify and attract new blood?

Do we HAVE to 'attract new blood?' Serious question.

We do need new people to replace those who leave for one reason or the
other. I want someone to talk to on the other end, and don't want the
Amateur radio community to become closed and eventually die out.


more snippage

As I see it, the old reasons-for-being of amateur radio
aren't applicable anymore. Technology in electronics has
long since leaped ahead of any state-of-the-art advances
done by amateurs long ago. What I see are two areas -

1. The just-plain-for-fun boosting, for whatever purpose in
communications, whether in a local urban area or a bit
farther out...and an emphasis on trying out things on a
personal-enjoyment level. We are NOT required to DO certain
things in the hobby just because some old-timers say we MUST
do those besides the regulations that all must obey.

I'm fortunate that I never had that experience. Of course, if someone
ever did tell me how I was supposed to use my time in the hobby, I think
I would politely decline, and go do what I wanted to do. 8^)


2. De-emphasizing the 'necessity-to-be-a-part-of-the-
community-as-a-service.' Now, I know that amateur radio CAN
help in emergencies and all that 'service-to-community' PR
can persuade some lawmakers to this 'amateur cause' but it
seems to me to have gotten too big a share of the open
political statements in periodicals.

Here we agree. While I am impressed with what Amateurs have done in
emergencies, the way that the public service genre of the hobby has
morphed is a little troublesome to me. I don't know if you were watching
the group a few weeks ago, but I related a story about an emergency comm
person speaking at a club meeting. When a member noted that the ARS
frequencies were there for use after the normal comms weren't working,
he replied " Every thing we do is a matter of life and death, so we can
use your frequencies any way we wish".

That was not only wrong, but scary that people that think in that manner
are coming into the hobby with such an attitude. He (and some like him)
come in to talk to the people who will be building and maintaining
repeaters and infrastructure, and lay one like that on them?


- 73 de Mike N3LI -