On Fri, 2 Feb 2007 08:21:20 -0500, "Dee Flint"
wrote:


"Bob Brock" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 1 Feb 2007 17:44:10 -0500, "Dee Flint"
wrote:


"Bob Brock" wrote in message
t...

"Dee Flint" wrote in message
. ..

"Bob Brock" wrote in message
news:_Eovh.2876$ch1.1567@bigfe9...

[snip]


It will be very tough to grow ham radio. We've "saturated the market"
so
to speak.

You could be right.


What we need to do is recruit OUTSIDE the newsgroups and let people know
that it exists and what they can do with it.

If you guys want to sit here and say that there is no reason for hams
to discuss methods to recruit new hams here because the only people on
the newsgroups are the ones who recruit new hams, go ahead.

You misunderstood. I did not say we should not talk about methods. I said
actually recruiting here is not going to help as those who don't know about
ham radio won't be here.

Agreed. It would be like recruiting in QST.

What word is it that you want to get out?

That ham radio is a very good option to evaluate when meeting a
specific groups needs. That it is relatively reliable, economical,

All these methods must be used as you never know what will pique some one's
interest.

What are the competitors to ham radio? GMRS, FRS, MURS, cell phones,
CB, etc.? What are the comparative advantages and disadvantages of
each of these? Why would ham radio be a better choice.


See above.

Then you could discuss market demographics. What kind of people might
be interested in ham radio? How about hunters and fishermen who may
want to be able to talk back people who are out with them? Perhaps
people who are interested in off grid living and homesteaders? Perhaps
farmers who want to be able to call back to the house when they are
out in the field? How about emergency communications like being able
to either call home or get someone else to call home for you when your
car is broke down? This list too could be a lot longer.


See above. However, interest can come from any person. The particular uses
you list here however will be better served by other alternatives.

There we have to agree to disagree. I think that ham radio would be
beneficial to all of the groups that I mentioned. However, no one is
presenting the information to them so they don't think about it.

Once you decide what the demographics are, you could look at what
kinds of media do these people read? I can tell you right now, it's
not ham specific magazines such as QST.

That was my point. You've got to go "outside".

If you go back to my initial post, I think you would see that it was
my point to. However, this would be a good place to evaluate what you
are going to take outside.

Ideas that come to mind,
based on the list that I've provided are the various newsgroups and
list servers that cater to their needs. Magazines that sell to
homesteaders such as Countryside Magazine or Mother Earth. All kinds
of hunting and fishing magazines out there. There are a lot of media
outlets tailored to older people and people on a tight budget/fixed
income. You could also look at organizations publications of specific
groups. This list too is abbreviated.


As far as magazines go, unless you want to pay for ad space, you've got to
find a way to tie it into an area of interest actually covered by the
magazine to try to get it published. I think this should be given a try
though.

Advertising would better be handled by an organization. I was
thinking about articles in the magazine. If the writer can't find a
"tie in" then it is apparent that you are looking at the wrong
demographic and need to find a media outlet that caters to another
demographic.

Two of the barriers to people getting a ham license that I run into
quite a bit are the Morse Code requirement and a lot of people don't
realize that there is a difference between ham and CB. The code
barrier is gone and that is a good lead in as to why someone may want
to consider ham radio even if they had dismissed it at an earlier
time.


I agree with the CB idea but no one that I ran into even knew about the code
requirement. So I doubt that the latter was significant.

Then you have been talking to a very demographic from me. The ones
that I've talked into getting a Tech license were turned off by code.
Granted some of them are higher class licenses now. The CB stigma
would be hard to overcome though.

Then someone could look back over the various open discussions and
write an article to be submitted to any of the various media
describing the advantages of ham radio over other methods. People who
otherwise hadn't considered ham radio as an option for their
particular needs may get a chance to see that it is indeed an option
that would meet a need. It's not only a good chance to promote ham
radio in a media read by someone other than hams, you might make a
little money from it. There are many here with excellent writing
skills who are capable of doing it.

The other option is to take a fatalistic viewpoint that the market is
saturated and growth is impossible.

That's not necessarily fatalistic but something one must be aware of in
order to tailor their recruiting approach.
To that, I say that marketing is
everything and right now the vast majority of marketing is keyed
towards those already in ham radio. It's a policy that I disagree
with and if no one else wants to do it, it's something that I will do
alone as soon as time permits. However, that may be after the current
widow of opportunity created by dropping the code requirement has
passed and that would be truly unfortunate.


Market saturation is a fact that all retail manufacturer's face. And they
deal with it. This applies to everything from toasters to cars to TV
programming to any hobby you can name. For example, there's no growth in
the US toaster market. Each manufacturer works on keeping their market
share or growing their share. Similarly, we will have to show why our
activity deserves more of a person's free time than other activities.

If the market is saturated at current levels, then we should face the
fact that ham radio is obsolete and as quaint as horse buggies. I'm
only using the manufacturing analogy because you did. Personally, I
see ham radio as a service and not a product. I see a lot of
households who don't have one and they don't have one because they
don't see a need for it that can't be met someway else.

I do agree that the "marketing" of our hobby does need to be much better
than it is. We need to seek out and find those that would be interested.
Those that perhaps lack interest only because they have not heard about it
or know very little about it.

Marketing the hobby is not the same as marketing the hardware or a specific
aspect of ham radio within the ham community. Current marketing is focusing
on the latter items. I hope you do get out and market our hobby. Many of
us do promote the hobby within our circle of family, friends, acquaintances,
co-workers, etc.

Then you are marketing to what is pretty much a closed set. Don't get
me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that and it's what I would guess
most hams are doing. They are relying on organizations such as the
AARL to market for new members and the AARL isn't doing it. Hence,
what are already low numbers continue to drop.

"Bob Brock" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 2 Feb 2007 08:21:20 -0500, "Dee Flint"
wrote:


[snip]

Market saturation is a fact that all retail manufacturer's face. And they
deal with it. This applies to everything from toasters to cars to TV
programming to any hobby you can name. For example, there's no growth in
the US toaster market. Each manufacturer works on keeping their market
share or growing their share. Similarly, we will have to show why our
activity deserves more of a person's free time than other activities.

If the market is saturated at current levels, then we should face the
fact that ham radio is obsolete and as quaint as horse buggies. I'm
only using the manufacturing analogy because you did. Personally, I
see ham radio as a service and not a product. I see a lot of
households who don't have one and they don't have one because they
don't see a need for it that can't be met someway else.


Saturation does not equate to being obsolete. The market (toasters, TVs,
etc) for almost all current consumer goods has been saturated for decades.
The consumer buys for one of three reasons: 1) A person setting up their
own household for the first time; 2) The old one broke; 3) They just want a
new one.

The toaster market (a saturated market) stays pretty steady year after year
for the three reason listed. It does not grow (at least here in the US).

What I am saying with the marketing analogy is that there is an inherent
limit on the percentage of people that will be interested in ham radio. We
are probably close to that limit. Yes we can and will find prospective hams
by active recruiting. However, given it's limited appeal, finding those
people will merely enable us to maintain stability.

Actually, looking at other countries with well off populations, I would
suspect that we may drop from our current approximately 2 hams per thousand
people down to more like 1 ham per thousand people before we finally
stabilize. And we'll have to recruit diligently to stabilize even there.

Dee, N8UZE

On 2 Feb 2007 04:02:21 -0800, wrote:

On Feb 2, 1:29?am, Bob Brock wrote:
On Thu, 1 Feb 2007 17:44:10 -0500, "Dee Flint"


Then let's discuss ways of improving that growth.

What word is it that you want to get out?

GOOD QUESTION!

That you can talk to people
in foreign lands? hat it is a good hobby for older people who are
shut in to be able to talk to new friends? hat you can use it for
reliable communications with family and friends? ow about the public
service aspects such as SKYWARN and ARIES? his is just a quick list
of things that I can think of because, as I already said, time is kind
of short for me right now and I think that brainstorming is a much
better method. hat's why I suggested it.

Here's my version:

1) Ham radio exists *today*

2) It's very different from other kinds of radio, such as cb, GMRS/
FRS, broadcasting, etc.

3) You can do a wide variety of things with ham radio, including some
that you can't do in other radio services. There are only a few things
you cannot do in ham radio (commercial operation, music.
broadcasting).

4) Ham radio operation requires FCC licensing. Getting a license
requires passing multiple choice tests and making an application to
FCC.

5) Ham radio is essentially "radio for its own sake" - an end in
itself more than a means to an end.

6) One word: FUN!

That's a good list.


What are the competitors to ham radio? MRS, FRS, MURS, cell phones,
CB, etc.? hat are the comparative advantages and disadvantages of
each of these? hy would ham radio be a better choice.

I'd be careful with that one.

I can see comparative advantages for ham radio over all of the ones
that I mentioned.

I think one of the main reasons for lack of growth over the past
several years has been that for a long time now ham radio has been
presented as a sort of "personal radio service", with emphasis on
radio as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. The problem
with that approach is that as soon as a technology appears that also
serves that end, we lose out.

I think that we lose out to inferior services and why we do that is
another thread altogether.

I think that amateur radio will continue to exist only if it
emphasizes how it is unique, rather than how it is similar to other
radio services.

That ham radio is unique is a selling point. It offers benefits that
none of the others have to offer to certain demographics.


Then you could discuss market demographics. hat kind of people might
be interested in ham radio? ow about hunters and fishermen who may
want to be able to talk back people who are out with them? erhaps
people who are interested in off grid living and homesteaders? Perhaps
farmers who want to be able to call back to the house when they are
out in the field? ow about emergency communications like being able
to either call home or get someone else to call home for you when your
car is broke down? his list too could be a lot longer.

The problem is that most of what you describe is about radio as a
means to an end rather than radio for its own sake. FRS, GMRS, and
cell phones can already do most or all of what is written above.

The thing to point out is what amateur radio can do that other radio
services cannot:

- Wide variety of modes and bands
- Homebrew, kit or manufactured equipment, old to new technologies.
- Local, regional, national, international and even space
communications *without* dependence on commercial infrastructure.
- Competition (radiosport)
- Public service communications
- Emergency communications


Thank you. It's a good list.

Once you decide what the demographics are, you could look at what
kinds of media do these people read? can tell you right now, it's
not ham specific magazines such as QST. deas that come to mind,
based on the list that I've provided are the various newsgroups and
list servers that cater to their needs.
agazines that sell to
homesteaders such as Countryside Magazine or Mother Earth.
ll kinds
of hunting and fishing magazines out there. here are a lot of media
outlets tailored to older people and people on a tight budget/fixed
income. ou could also look at organizations publications of specific
groups. his list too is abbreviated.

This is a very good point. Here are some more ideas:

- Ads/articles in boating, camping, RVing and flying magazines
- Highly visible amateur radio exhibits at air shows, town fairs,
parades, etc.
- Community-access cable TV and public radio/TV exposure
- Placement of amateur radio magazines, books and other material in
local schools, particularly middle schools.

Once again, a very good list and one that I agree with.


Two of the barriers to people getting a ham license that I run into
quite a bit are the Morse Code requirement and a lot of people don't
realize that there is a difference between ham and CB. he code
barrier is gone and that is a good lead in as to why someone may want
to consider ham radio even if they had dismissed it at an earlier
time.

I don't think the Morse Code test is the "barrier" that it is often
said to be, but that's
soon to be a moot point.

The code/no-code thing is past us now. I agree that it's time to move
on to potentially productive discussions and get past hurt feelings in
the past. Of course, that's easy for me to say since I elected not to
participate during the battle.

I do think confusion between cb and Amateur Radio has really hurt
growth in Amateur Radio for many years.

Agreed again. This doesn't happen often.



I also think that complete ignorance, or gross misunderstanding, of
the *existence* of Amateur Radio is a continuing problem.

Then someone could look back over the various open discussions and
write an article to be submitted to any of the various media
describing the advantages of ham radio over other methods. eople who
otherwise hadn't considered ham radio as an option for their
particular needs may get a chance to see that it is indeed an option
that would meet a need.

Perhaps - but that method emphasizes "means to an end".

I say the best selling point is that simply going on the air and
making contacts is a heck of a lot of fun. So is designing, building,
testing, fixing and repairing your own radio setup. That's what ham
radio is really all about, isn't it?

It's like trying to sell sailboats instead of motorboats by
emphasizing how a sailboat doesn't need lots of fuel the way a
motorboat does, and is only a bit slower than many motorboats. You may
sell a few sailboats that way, but it's not the best approach IMHO.

The way to sell sailboats is to sell the unique *experience* of
sailboating itself - how it makes you feel, how much fun it is, etc.
Sailing as an end in itself. Some people will "get it", most won't.

Of course most people's motivations to do something are a mix of the
practical and the emotional. So the ultimate goal is to appeal to both
of those, not just the practical.

Agreed and point taken.


It's not only a good chance to promote ham
radio in a media read by someone other than hams, you might make a
little money from it. here are many here with excellent writing
skills who are capable of doing it.

The other option is to take a fatalistic viewpoint that the market is
saturated and growth is impossible. o that, I say that marketing is
everything and right now the vast majority of marketing is keyed
towards those already in ham radio. t's a policy that I disagree
with and if no one else wants to do it, it's something that I will do
alone as soon as time permits. owever, that may be after the current
widow of opportunity created by dropping the code requirement has
passed and that would be truly unfortunate

How something is sold is very important, though. If we sell amateur
radio only by what it can do for your personal communications needs,
we will always be at the mercy of the next technological improvement.

Any technology is at the mercy of technological improvement. I think
that we are using one of ham radio's biggest competitors right now.
The only advantage of ham radio over the Internet is mobility and
price. Otherwise, anything you could imagine doing via radio can be
done here either via newsgroups or IRC.

However, that too is something better left to another thread.

"Bob Brock" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 2 Feb 2007 08:21:20 -0500, "Dee Flint"
wrote:


[snip]

Marketing the hobby is not the same as marketing the hardware or a
specific
aspect of ham radio within the ham community. Current marketing is
focusing
on the latter items. I hope you do get out and market our hobby. Many of
us do promote the hobby within our circle of family, friends,
acquaintances,
co-workers, etc.

Then you are marketing to what is pretty much a closed set. Don't get
me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that and it's what I would guess
most hams are doing. They are relying on organizations such as the
AARL to market for new members and the AARL isn't doing it. Hence,
what are already low numbers continue to drop.


Our numbers per population are the second highest in the world so the
"already low numbers" is a fallacy. Only Japan has a higher percentage and
it is difficult to determine the validity of their numbers since they
license many people for life in grade school, many of whom are never active.
Comparing it to parts of Europe, they have 1 ham per thousand where we have
2 hams per thousand.

The grass roots approach could possibly be the most effective. I know
hunters, truckers, fishermen, farmers, etc. All of them know additional
people that I don't If I recruit two ACTIVE people, and they in turn
recruit two more each and so on, we would have explosive growth in amateur
radio. Remember tsunamis are generally initiated by a single event in a
single location.

Actually I don't view the ARRL as being responsible for marketing ham radio
and recruiting new people. I view them as a service to their members type
of thing. However it might not be a bad idea to suggest to them that they
set up a donation fund for placing ads in non ham magazines.

Dee, N8UZE

On Fri, 2 Feb 2007 16:15:07 -0500, "Dee Flint"
wrote:


"Bob Brock" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 2 Feb 2007 08:21:20 -0500, "Dee Flint"
wrote:


[snip]

Market saturation is a fact that all retail manufacturer's face. And they
deal with it. This applies to everything from toasters to cars to TV
programming to any hobby you can name. For example, there's no growth in
the US toaster market. Each manufacturer works on keeping their market
share or growing their share. Similarly, we will have to show why our
activity deserves more of a person's free time than other activities.

If the market is saturated at current levels, then we should face the
fact that ham radio is obsolete and as quaint as horse buggies. I'm
only using the manufacturing analogy because you did. Personally, I
see ham radio as a service and not a product. I see a lot of
households who don't have one and they don't have one because they
don't see a need for it that can't be met someway else.


Saturation does not equate to being obsolete. The market (toasters, TVs,
etc) for almost all current consumer goods has been saturated for decades.
The consumer buys for one of three reasons: 1) A person setting up their
own household for the first time; 2) The old one broke; 3) They just want a
new one.

The toaster market (a saturated market) stays pretty steady year after year
for the three reason listed. It does not grow (at least here in the US).

What I am saying with the marketing analogy is that there is an inherent
limit on the percentage of people that will be interested in ham radio. We
are probably close to that limit. Yes we can and will find prospective hams
by active recruiting. However, given it's limited appeal, finding those
people will merely enable us to maintain stability.

Actually, looking at other countries with well off populations, I would
suspect that we may drop from our current approximately 2 hams per thousand
people down to more like 1 ham per thousand people before we finally
stabilize. And we'll have to recruit diligently to stabilize even there.

Dee, N8UZE

Since I think that the percentage is much higher, I guess we will have
to agree to disagree. However, be warned that even if you are right,
I'll probably still think that it was the result of a self fulfilling
prophecy by the ham community at large.

Take care Dee. If we don't suffer another setback, my wife will be
coming home from the hospital within a week or so. When she does,
taking care of her and letting her know that I love her is gong to be
my main priority until she once again achieves independence. It's
going to be a 24/7 job for awhile.

I'm saying that so that, when I disappear, people don't think that I
got mad and took my bag of marbles home. It's just a matter of
priorities.

"Dee Flint" wrote:

Although our approach will of necessity have to be different, we still
must face the equivalent of market saturation. Not everyone is going to
be interested in amateur radio no matter what we do and on top of that our
general population growth is very slow. These issues must be considered
when devising a strategy.

This is why I believe the way to "save" ham radio is "quality over
quantity".

You cannot "save" ham radio by throwing more bodies at it. You can only save
ham radio by making it such an essential service that the FCC dare not
eliminate it.


Look at how many people believed and still believe that Morse code kept
people out. They think there is a huge number of people just waiting in
the wings chomping at the bit to become hams without having to take a code
test. I'll certainly be happy and excited if that happens but let's say
it doesn't (and I think it won't).

You and I both. Did you post your prediction for the "pool" (as to where ARS
licensing numbers will be in another year? I said -1 to 0% change.

While I'm sure there are *some* people who will get licensed now there is no
code test, I do not think it will result in any meaningful numbers added to
the service. I suspect what you will see are a rash of upgrades as Techs
obtain HF privs. I wouldn't be surprised if, for the first time in many
years, we actually saw a *decrease* in the number of licensed Techs (which,
at the moment, is the only growing license class sans the Extra class)


What then will people propose?

Why... its those NASTY, pesky THEORY examinations that are holding people
away, naturally. After all, if all you want to do is talk to your buddy 2
streets over on the local repeater, why do you need to know stupid things
like radio wave propagation and antenna theory. All I do is call HRO, and my
antenna theory arrives pre-manufacturered in a box. Maybe rather than having
tests on RLC circuits we can have tests on the proper way to tighten hose
clamps.


We've probably got another several years until the "cell phone substitute"
hams are, for the most part, gone. That's several years still of decline.
With the relatively low cost of cell phones these days, we will get no
more recruits from this approach although we have kept a few that came in
this way.

I think you'll bottom out in the mid 300k's and stay there.... Or, the rate
of decline will fall off rapidly but still continue, slowly, as the ARS
peters out into non-existance by the mid 2020's.


The decline in CB enthusiasts is also reducing another potential source of
recruits.

"Radio" simply isn't 'sexy' these days, with the internet, etc. Radio-based
"hobbies" are, for the most part, D-E-A-D.

We need another "Smokey and the Bandit" movie to glamourize CB/Ham radio
again.


Perhaps they will realize that it is a recruitment and marketing issue
rather than requirements.

Perhaps the ARRL should work with Yaesu, Kenwood, Cushcraft, etc. to arrange
for interested college clubs around the country to get free gear to set up a
station. Who knows.

73
kh6hz

"KH6HZ" wrote in message
...
"Dee Flint" wrote:


[snip]


You and I both. Did you post your prediction for the "pool" (as to where
ARS licensing numbers will be in another year? I said -1 to 0% change.


Yes, since it is my pool!

While I'm sure there are *some* people who will get licensed now there is
no code test, I do not think it will result in any meaningful numbers
added to the service. I suspect what you will see are a rash of upgrades
as Techs obtain HF privs. I wouldn't be surprised if, for the first time
in many years, we actually saw a *decrease* in the number of licensed
Techs (which, at the moment, is the only growing license class sans the
Extra class)


What then will people propose?

Why... its those NASTY, pesky THEORY examinations that are holding people
away, naturally.


You do know that one definition of insanity is when you keep doing the same
thing (changing requirements) but expect different results!

Dee, N8UZE

On Feb 2, 4:26�pm, Bob Brock wrote:
On 2 Feb 2007 04:02:21 -0800, wrote:



On Feb 2, 1:29?am, Bob Brock wrote:
On Thu, 1 Feb 2007 17:44:10 -0500, "Dee Flint"
Then let's discuss ways of improving that growth.

What word is it that you want to get out?

GOOD QUESTION!

That you can talk to people
in foreign lands? *hat it is a good hobby for older people who are
shut in to be able to talk to new friends? *hat you can use it for
reliable communications with family and friends? *ow about the public
service aspects such as SKYWARN and ARIES? *his is just a quick list
of things that I can think of because, as I already said, time is kind
of short for me right now and I think that brainstorming is a much
better method. *hat's why I suggested it.

Here's my version:

1) Ham radio exists *today*

2) It's very different from other kinds of radio, such as cb, GMRS/
FRS, broadcasting, etc.

3) You can do a wide variety of things with ham radio, including some
that you can't do in other radio services. There are only a few things
you cannot do in ham radio (commercial operation, music.
broadcasting).

4) Ham radio operation requires FCC licensing. Getting a license
requires passing *multiple choice tests and making an application to
FCC.

5) Ham radio is essentially "radio for its own sake" - an end in
itself more than a means to an end.

6) One word: FUN!

That's a good list.

Thanks!

What are the competitors to ham radio? *MRS, FRS, MURS, cell phones,
CB, etc.? *hat are the comparative advantages and disadvantages of
each of these? *hy would ham radio be a better choice.

I'd be careful with that one.

I can see comparative advantages for ham radio over all of the ones
that I mentioned.

In some situations, yes. But in most situations, those other services
are preferred - *if* the only consideration is getting the
communications done.

For example, there was a time when auto-in-trouble (including
accident) calls to 911 were commonly done via amateur radio autopatch.
Today most of that is done by cell phones.

I think one of the main reasons for lack of growth over the past
several years has been that for a long time now ham radio has been
presented as a sort of "personal radio service", with emphasis on
radio as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. The problem
with that approach is that as soon as a technology appears that also
serves that end, we lose out.

I think that we lose out to inferior services and why we do that is
another thread altogether. *

"Inferior services"? I say they are different, not inferior.

I think it's important to understand what we are actually trying to
"sell". Selling amateur radio as a personal-communications solution
isn't a good idea, IMHO.

I think that amateur radio will continue to exist only if it
emphasizes how it is unique, rather than how it is similar to other
radio services.

That ham radio is unique is a selling point.

It's the main selling point, IMHO, and we need to always keep it in
mind.

*It offers benefits that
none of the others have to offer to certain demographics.

Such as?

Then you could discuss market demographics. *hat kind of people might
be interested in ham radio? *ow about hunters and fishermen who may
want to be able to talk back people who are out with them? *erhaps
people who are interested in off grid living and homesteaders? Perhaps
farmers who want to be able to call back to the house when they are
out in the field? *ow about emergency communications like being able
to either call home or get someone else to call home for you when your
car is broke down? *his list too could be a lot longer.

The problem is that most of what you describe is about radio as a
means to an end rather than radio for its own sake. FRS, GMRS, and
cell phones can already do most or all of what is written above.

The thing to point out is what amateur radio can do that other radio
services cannot:

- Wide variety of modes and bands
- Homebrew, kit or manufactured equipment, old to new technologies.
- Local, regional, national, international and even space
communications *without* dependence on commercial infrastructure.
- Competition (radiosport)
- Public service communications
- Emergency communications

Thank you. *It's a good list.

Thanks.

Once you decide what the demographics are, you could look at what
kinds of media do these people read? * *can tell you right now, it's
not ham specific magazines such as QST. * * * *deas that come to mind,
based on the list that I've provided are the various newsgroups and
list servers that cater to their needs.
agazines that sell to
homesteaders such as Countryside Magazine or Mother Earth.
ll kinds
of hunting and fishing magazines out there. *here are a lot of media
outlets tailored to older people and people on a tight budget/fixed
income. *ou could also look at organizations publications of specific
groups. *his list too is abbreviated.

This is a very good point. Here are some more ideas:

- Ads/articles in boating, camping, RVing and flying magazines
- Highly visible amateur radio exhibits at air shows, town fairs,
parades, etc.
- Community-access cable TV and public radio/TV exposure
- Placement of amateur radio magazines, books and other material in
local schools, particularly middle schools.

Once again, a very good list and one that I agree with.

Thanks yet again.

Two of the barriers to people getting a ham license that I run into
quite a bit are the Morse Code requirement and a lot of people don't
realize that there is a difference between ham and CB. *he code
barrier is gone and that is a good lead in as to why someone may want
to consider ham radio even if they had dismissed it at an earlier
time.

I don't think the Morse Code test is the "barrier" that it is often
said to be, but that's
soon to be a moot point.

The code/no-code thing is past us now.

Almost! Three weeks.

*I agree that it's time to move
on to potentially productive discussions and get past hurt feelings in
the past. *Of course, that's easy for me to say since I elected not to
participate during the battle.

I think one major point to keep in mind is how much the code test was
supposedly limiting growth. We will soon see just how true that claim
really was.

I do think confusion between cb and Amateur Radio has really hurt
growth in Amateur Radio for many years.

Agreed again. *This doesn't happen often.

You mean agreement? I disagree ;-)

I also think that complete ignorance, or gross misunderstanding, of
the *existence* of Amateur Radio is a continuing problem.

Then someone could look back over the various open discussions and
write an article to be submitted to any of the various media
describing the advantages of ham radio over other methods. *eople who
otherwise hadn't considered ham radio as an option for their
particular needs may get a chance to see that it is indeed an option
that would meet a need.

Perhaps - but that method emphasizes "means to an end".

I say the best selling point is that simply going on the air and
making contacts is a heck of a lot of fun. So is designing, building,
testing, fixing and repairing your own radio setup. That's what ham
radio is really all about, isn't it?

It's like trying to sell sailboats instead of motorboats by
emphasizing how a sailboat doesn't need lots of fuel the way a
motorboat does, and is only a bit slower than many motorboats. You may
sell a few sailboats that way, but it's not the best approach IMHO.

The way to sell sailboats is to sell the unique *experience* of
sailboating itself - how it makes you feel, how much fun it is, etc.
Sailing as an end in itself. Some people will "get it", most won't.

Of course most people's motivations to do something are a mix of the
practical and the emotional. So the ultimate goal is to appeal to both
of those, not just the practical.

Agreed and point taken.

There are lots more. The invention of photography did not eliminate
drawing, sketching and painting. The invention of the motorcycle did
not eliminate the bicycle. Many homes still have fireplaces even
though they have modern, efficient heating systems.

It's not only a good chance to promote ham
radio in a media read by someone other than hams, you might make a
little money from it. *here are many here with excellent writing
skills who are capable of doing it.

The other option is to take a fatalistic viewpoint that the market is
saturated and growth is impossible. *o that, I say that marketing is
everything and right now the vast majority of marketing is keyed
towards those already in ham radio. * *t's a policy that I disagree
with and if no one else wants to do it, it's something that I will do
alone as soon as time permits. *owever, that may be after the current
widow of opportunity created by dropping the code requirement has
passed and that would be truly unfortunate

How something is sold is very important, though. If we sell amateur
radio only by what it can do for your personal communications needs,
we will always be at the mercy of the next technological improvement.

Any technology is at the mercy of technological improvement.

Yes and no.

The invention of fiberglass did not eliminate wooden sailboats.

*I think
that we are using one of ham radio's biggest competitors right now.

The internet is only a competitor if you don't consider radio to be an
end in itself.

The only advantage of ham radio over the Internet is mobility and
price. *Otherwise, anything you could imagine doing via radio can be
done here either via newsgroups or IRC.

I disagree!

An internet-capable computer can be had for almost no cost. The
computer I am writing this on is a Dell Dimension XPS R400 - which
cost me nothing but the time to set it up and add a few pieces (CD
burner, soundcard) from other old computers. AOL with DSL costs less
than POTS.

That kinda eliminates price as an issue.

Mobility is served in most cases by a cell phone.

What amateur radio offers that the 'net and telephone don't is a
completely unique experience, and freedom from dependence on a
commercial infrastructure. That's not going to change with technology.

However, that too is something better left to another thread.

Or this one.

Good luck with your family's health issues. I hope they are quickly
resolved in a good way.

73 de Jim, N2EY

wrote in
s.com:

On Jan 30, 8:03�pm, "
wrote:

previous post stuff snipped

* *At last, an amateur extra licensee besides Hans Brakob
* *who admits what has been visible for years.

* *The old paradigms are no longer worth a pair of pennies.

Which old paradigms, Len?

What should the old paradigms be replaced with?

Element one is gone. The hams who fought code elimination for so many
years, many with unbridled hatred for uncoded hams, or even nickle
Extras such as myself now are at a crossroads. They can either accept
the change for what it is, or become like little neutron stars, perhaps
embracing their hatred, perhaps clanning together to reminisce about the
good old days when hems were really hams. Perhaps not much consolation
however in the fact that they will have become irrelevant.

My experience leads me to suspect that most will choose the latter.
Too bad, that.

The new paradigm IMO should be that hams should now be expected to
advance their technical skills and knowledge. The days when a Ham's
worth was measured by motor skills and auditory processing ability are
gone.

I'm planning on moving on and am excited by the new potential.

What are you going to do?

- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -

On Feb 2, 10:43�pm, Mike Coslo wrote:
wrote ups.com:

On Jan 30, 8:03�pm, "
wrote:

previous post stuff snipped

* *At last, an amateur extra licensee besides Hans Brakob
* *who admits what has been visible for years.

* *The old paradigms are no longer worth a pair of pennies.

Which old paradigms, Len?

What should the old paradigms be replaced with?

Element one is gone.

In three weeks, yes.

The hams who fought code elimination for so many
years, many with unbridled hatred for uncoded hams, or even nickle
Extras such as myself now are at a crossroads.

Do you think I am one of those you describe, Mike?

Have you ever seen me display hatred for *any* amateur radio operator
who follows the rules?

They can either accept
the change for what it is, or become like little neutron stars, perhaps
embracing their hatred, perhaps clanning together to reminisce about the
good old days when hems were really hams.

There's nothing wrong with opposing a change that one thinks is not
a good idea. Of course there are good ways and bad ways of opposing a
change.

Perhaps not much consolation
however in the fact that they will have become irrelevant.

Why should any radio amateur be irrelevant?

My experience leads me to suspect that most will choose the latter.
Too bad, that.

That works both ways.

The new paradigm IMO should be that hams should now be expected to
advance their technical skills and knowledge.

That's not a new paradigm at all. It's as old as amateur radio itself.
In fact, it's a very old, traditional paradigm.

Basically it says that amateur radio operators are not simply users of
radio appliances. IMHO.

The days when a Ham's
worth was measured by motor skills and auditory processing ability are gone.

Operating skills are still a major part of amateur radio - and what
hams should have and continue to develop. Whether or not they are
tested doesn't mean those skills are no longer relevant.

I'm planning on moving on and am excited by the new potential.

* * * * What are you going to do?

Promote amateur radio - help other hams and wouldbe hams - enjoy
building, fixing, operating, teaching, and learning.

IOW, the same stuff I've been doing in amateur radio for almost 40
years.

No new paradigm at all.

73 de Jim, N2EY