Subject: How to attract people to the Amateur Radio Service
From: (William)
Date: 4/16/2004 12:01 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

THERE'S where we need to be "recruiting"...In "FLYING" , "Emergency
Medical Services", the various military papers (NAVY Times, ARMY Times, AF
Times), "Field and Stream", etc. Throw the occassional ad into "Boy's
Life",
and the science related magazines I noted earlier and a few (such as your
Astronomy field) that I am sure others can come up with.

Hmmmmm???

Steve, K4YZ

Steve, good point. Flying, RC model airplane, model rocketry, GPS,
any type of military or public service (LE, fire, EMS), but also
electronics hobbyists and careerists.

Not your usual skateboarders and glue sniffers.

Speaking of glue sniffers, we just had a full arrest on a 15 year old who
waas huffing glue and paint...What's up with these kids...?!?!

Anyway...Thanks Brian...Maybe a letter to the ARRL suggesting this...?!?!

73

Steve, K4YZ

Have you ever taken the time to stroll through "QRZ's" bios? If you do,
I think you'll notice that certain "hobbies" and career paths keep turning up.

A very large number make reference to flying, some type of active outdoor
sports (usually camping or hiking), participatioon as volunteer FD or EMS, or
active or retired career in the Armed Forces.



Al the above people make use of 2 way radios. So ham radio is a natural
path of progression for
them.

Subject: How to attract people to the Amateur Radio Service
From: Robert Casey
Date: 4/16/2004 1:57 PM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

Have you ever taken the time to stroll through "QRZ's" bios? If you
do,
I think you'll notice that certain "hobbies" and career paths keep turning
up.

A very large number make reference to flying, some type of active
outdoor
sports (usually camping or hiking), participatioon as volunteer FD or EMS,
or
active or retired career in the Armed Forces.

Al the above people make use of 2 way radios. So ham radio is a natural
path of progression for
them.

EXACTLY the point I was making, Robert!

So if we KNOW that people involved in these activitites are more likely to
be the ones to be interested or get involved, why not cocentrate our efforts
there?

Certain, by no means do I suggest that we NOT "recruit" in other media,
nor should we exclude anyone by omission, however if we KNOW that we are more
likely to draw from those groups aren't our efforts more wisely spent in those
venues?

73

Steve, K4YZ

Mike Coslo wrote in message ...
Steve Robeson K4CAP wrote:

I honestly believe that if we put a cupon in Popular Science offering an
all-privileges license for $20.00 plus the cupon, we'd STILL not see any
"marked" growth. Yes...there'd be an initial spurt...Just like all the other
"incentives" over the last 80 years, but that would be it.

Way to go Steve! you just messed up the end-game strategy for the NCTA's!

Actually, I am willing to bet they'd either whine about the
$20.00, demanding that it be halved, or they'd complain about how
cutting out the cupon aggrivated thier carpal tunnel, and they'd
subsequently sue under the American's with Disabilities Act to have
the cupon requirement waived.

73

Steve, K4YZ

In article ,
Mike Coslo wrote:

| The world is full of examples of things that have been improved by
| making them really easy, isn't it? Want to see a kid get rid of a
| video game? Give him or her one that is real easy to beat. It will
| be traded in in no time. A game that is just difficult enough will
| keep 'em busy for a long time. If there is no intellectual
| investment in the hobby, then there is no intellectual investment in
| the hobby. A challenge is not a bad thing.

Bad analogy, a game vs. ham radio.

The FCC tests are a tiny fraction of what there is to learn out there.
The FCC could replace all the tests with a `check here to get your
license' form, and ham radio wouldn't be any easier, harder or less or
more interesting.

You make it sound like ham radio is all about the FCC test, and if
that's easy, ham radio is suddenly easy. Well, I disagree. The tests
are already easy -- it's all the other stuff to learn, the *useful*
stuff, that's interesting and challenging.

Really, all the tests do is keep the riff-raff out. (Which seems
*very* important to many people.) And I guess as far as 30 mHz goes,
I'm riff-raff. For now.

| Show a newbie that it is fun. Let them make a DX contact with you as a
| control op. If they are shy to talk, maybe that keyboard and PSK31 might
| be a catalyst!

I actually was able to decode several PSK31 discussions last night on
14.073. I was very pleased. I was beginning to think that the dipole
I set up in my garage was somehow wrong.

I've passed elements 2, 3 and 4 and am working on 1, but I'm still a
rank amateur and I know it. Still, I'm really bummed that I can't
transmit on anything under 50 mhz until I pass the CW test, even
though I'm not really that interested in doing CW.

(And passing element 1 isn't going to magically make me stop being a
rank amateur. But at least then I'll be able to transmit `down
there'.)

--
Doug McLaren, , KD5YRD
01234567 - The amazing* indent-o-meter!
^ (*: Indent-o-meter may not actually amaze.)

Doug McLaren wrote:

In article ,
Mike Coslo wrote:

| The world is full of examples of things that have been improved by
| making them really easy, isn't it? Want to see a kid get rid of a
| video game? Give him or her one that is real easy to beat. It will
| be traded in in no time. A game that is just difficult enough will
| keep 'em busy for a long time. If there is no intellectual
| investment in the hobby, then there is no intellectual investment in
| the hobby. A challenge is not a bad thing.

Bad analogy, a game vs. ham radio.

The FCC tests are a tiny fraction of what there is to learn out there.
The FCC could replace all the tests with a `check here to get your
license' form, and ham radio wouldn't be any easier, harder or less or
more interesting.

You make it sound like ham radio is all about the FCC test, and if
that's easy, ham radio is suddenly easy. Well, I disagree. The tests
are already easy -- it's all the other stuff to learn, the *useful*
stuff, that's interesting and challenging.

Really, all the tests do is keep the riff-raff out. (Which seems
*very* important to many people.) And I guess as far as 30 mHz goes,
I'm riff-raff. For now.

Well, something is working to leep ham radio from being like the CB band
(yes, there are some instances like 14.313 and that repeater out in LA
but those
are fairly rare). May not be the tests, it could just be the existing hams
giving guidance and elmering the newbies as they first get on the air.
There's
more than enough of a "critical mass" out there on the ham bands to keep
this
happening. All of us new general and extra-lites have not trashed HF since
restructuring.


| Show a newbie that it is fun. Let them make a DX contact with you as a
| control op. If they are shy to talk, maybe that keyboard and PSK31 might
| be a catalyst!

A rank newbie might think that you're on the 'net. Though you might
point out that
there's no ISP or other infrastructure than your radios and anttennas
required.


I actually was able to decode several PSK31 discussions last night on
14.073. I was very pleased. I was beginning to think that the dipole
I set up in my garage was somehow wrong.

Indoor antennas can be troublesome, but if you have CCRs you got little
choice....


I've passed elements 2, 3 and 4 and am working on 1, but I'm still a
rank amateur and I know it. Still, I'm really bummed that I can't
transmit on anything under 50 mhz until I pass the CW test, even
though I'm not really that interested in doing CW.

(And passing element 1 isn't going to magically make me stop being a
rank amateur. But at least then I'll be able to transmit `down
there'.)

I did it, and I'm no good at "motor" skills like that. Be sure to be
ready for high
speed characters spaced at 5WPM (Farnsworth method). This is designed to
get you used to the "sound" of each character and not get you in the mode of
counting dits and dahs. Makes getting up to higher speeds easier if you so
choose.

I think weather weenies are a potential market for ham radio.
Admittedly, I'm biased by the fact that storm spotting is what led me
to become a ham.

I guess that we can write off anyone on a diet, anyone concerned about
his/her blood cholesterol, and health/fitness gurus.

Jason Hsu, AG4DG

(Jason Hsu) wrote in message . com...
I think weather weenies are a potential market for ham radio.

Hey, I resemble that remark.

Admittedly, I'm biased by the fact that storm spotting is what led me
to become a ham.

I guess that we can write off anyone on a diet, anyone concerned about
his/her blood cholesterol, and health/fitness gurus.

I should be.

Jason Hsu, AG4DG

Jason, looks like you're going to be a regular around here. Welcome.

bb/n-0-eye-m-d

On Tue, 13 Apr 2004, Mike Coslo wrote:
I've been here a few years now, and listened to a lot that has been
said and done.

Two big problems:

1) Stop calling it "ham radio" as that is actually a derrogatory term. One
origin of it is from 19th century telegraphy where POOR telegraph operators were
called "hams." Only the truly ignorant really believe the story that it was
from the initials of the operators of one of the more popular (east coast)
stations.

2) Impose a requirement where one's weight (in pounds) may not exceed one's IQ.
There are just too many fat people in the hobby, and one may think that it's
called "ham radio" because all the people in it are PIGS (literally).

;-)

1) Stop calling it "ham radio" as that is actually a derrogatory term.

Good to see that someone else realizes that the term "ham" radio is
derrogatory.

2)
....
There are just too many fat people in the hobby...

I've noticed that also.