Michael Coslo wrote:

I think it is pretty fair to say that the ARS will never be a
mainstream hobby or avocation. I really don't think that that is even a
good idea, after some thought.

It's much like other hobbies -- there are people who enjoy collecting
stamps or snapping pictures, but these aren't "mainstream" either.
There will always be competition for peoples' spare time, and ham radio
is one of the things that people can enjoy in their spare time.

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

I would certainly like to see some of those ideas.

I think my path into ham radio was fairly typical for the 60's -- I got
interested in radio and electronics, had a friend who had similar
interests, and ham radio was a good fit. Not only did it provide a way
to learn about electronics but it got me introduced to many people who I
would never have met otherwise.

I suspect that my analog in the current generation pursues a similar
interest via their computer. There's an interesting correlation between
meeting people at the club meeting and on the air, versus meeting them
via the Yahoo Group, the chat room, or via online game playing.

My path back into ham radio was via the public-service aspect. When I
retired and moved to a place where I could participate in the hobby, I
got back on the air and tried several aspects of the hobby -- NTS,
contests, DX, general ragchewing. None of them really caught my fancy,
for various reasons. Then I ended up in Mississippi in the Katrina
effort and that activity did capture my interest. Since then my
ham-radio activity has been primarily related to public service and
emergency communication.

I'm not suggesting that this is the only way to recruit people into the
hobby or that it's the only segment of the hobby that's worth anything.
It's MY primary interest, and if other folks enjoy DX or contests or
whatever, that's wonderful. Different people enjoy different things,
which is one of the great things about ham radio -- it's many different
hobbies, all rolled up into one. The difficulty is selling this to the
general public.

73, Steve KB9X