On Jul 16, 2:27 pm, wrote:
On Jul 15, 4:30 pm, KC4UAI wrote:

On Jul 14, 5:55 pm, wrote:
On Jul 14, 3:10 pm, KC4UAI wrote:
On Jul 11, 8:44 pm, wrote:

My point was that it was not only possible to do FD with tube gear,
but
that it's possible to get decent results using it.

I don't disagree with you there. The old stuff works, but tube gear
is going the way of the spark gap stuff. (Unless some bright cookie
figures out that there are just some things a tube can do better and
cheaper than solid state stuff.)

Personally, I'm worried that with the increased average age for your
local ham translates into lack of interest for those of us who are
younger (say mid 40s). I see this as a problem for contests and not
just the hobby in general.

But is the "average age" really increasing, compared to the "average
age"
of the US population in general?

Or could it be that the younger hams are too busy working, studying,
and
raising families to go to many ham radio gatherings and be seen?

Well, I know that I'm busy with those things at 40. Before the FCC
removed the information from the public view, the average age of hams
was on the increase. ARRL membership is getting older I'm told. I
don't think the trend has changed and I don't think that it is just a
function of the increase in your average life expectancy and the
general trends. I think your average ham is older than average Joe on
the street and the distribution of age is skewed towards the high end
for hams by quite a bit.

So perhaps you see the effects of both in contest participation. I
know that I have difficulty getting the HF radios turned on for an
hour or so more than a few times a month and there is no way I can
spend a whole 24 hours doing some contest. I have my hands full with
work, mowing the grass, fixing the cars and being a husband and
father.

-= kc4uai =-