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Putting ARRL back "mainstream" with hometown hams
The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly
via the Technician license. This segment of the Amateur population does not seem highly attracted to ARRL membership, nor affiliative with the "national association" nature of ARRL. Interestingly, however, these new Amateurs are "local joiners". They attach some importance to public service communications events such as disaster drills, SkyWarn, flood relief, marathons, parade communications, and similar functions of a local nature. Interestingly, even though their on-the-air participation is limited, they represent a significant portion of the crew at Field Day, hamfest staffs, and similar "local" events. They are also well represented on the rosters of many local clubs. Following is a PBI (Partially Baked Idea) to favorably position ARRL (and Amateur Radio in general) with these newcomers to our hobby. I propose that the ARRL BoD consider an initiative to attract these newcomers to an interest in ARRL by establishment of a new "Department of Community Support". The mission of this department of ARRL would be to organize, train, support, and nurture a system of tactical communications teams on the LOCAL level. I use the term "tactical" as opposed to "emergency" intentionally to broaden the scope of the mission to include a wide variety of community-level communications needs. This "department" would be outside the current Field Organization, and given VISIBLE and COMMITTED volunteer leadership at Director or Vice President rank. Did I hear someone muttering "Isn't that what ARES is all about?" or "Our current field organization already provides for this." Good points -- ARRL already has some of the pieces in place, and it looks good on paper. Unfortunately these "pieces" tend to be scattered around the ARRL organization and are not linked into a cohesive program. Support and leadership responsibility, from Newington all the way down to the local level, is often a collateral duty and the attention level is spotty and often diluted by competing responsibilities and personal interests. Leadership attention at the SM level is widely variable, and SM's have a diminished mindshare of the general membership by the unfortunate H.Q. decision to remove "Section News" from the national journal of our Association. Without dwelling overlong on the shortcomings of the current situation, I think we can all agree on four points: 1) A focused national program with Director (or higher) level leadership would have more impact than the current fragmented attention to "local" Amateur Radio. 2) Such a program, if successful, would give Amateur Radio valuable credibility in the regulatory and legislative arenas, and with national organizations like Homeland Security, FEMA, and the Red Cross. 3) Such a program, if successful, would serve to elevate the perceived value of Amateur Radio with local civil authorities, perhaps softening the effects of issues like tower ordinances, etc. 4) Such a program, strongly identified with the League, would provide a membership "attractor" to those classes of Amateurs that are now only locally "affiliative". Gaining some traction into this huge reservoir of potential members would be a godsend to the health and growth of ARRL. What would need to be done to implement such a plan. Here are some "off the top of my head" thoughts. -- Define the mission and organizational structure. -- Many of the people (SEC/EC's, etc) are already in place. The organization structure would need to include a short chain-of-command headed by a focused leader at Newington. -- Move Field Day and SET into this organization as "their" events. -- Devise a recognition vehicle to give visibility to noteworthy work by individuals and teams in this Department. This visibility (QST?) should extend outside the organization to the "general population" of hams as a recruiting tool. -- Establish a new periodical (like NCJ for contesters and QEX for experimenters) to help build a "sense of community" among the participants. -- Educate local civil authorities about this organization, their capabilities, and how to best interface with them to take advantage of their capabilities. In order to build some critical mass and gain traction, the outreach effort to build these teams should not initially stress ARRL membership for "grassroots" level players, but rather depend on a strong ARRL identity to build esprit de corps and lead to an attitude of support and affiliation with the parent organization. Perhaps appointment to team leadership positions would be conditioned on ARRL membership. Obviously a lot of this proposal needs a great deal of "fleshing out" and refinement, but I present it in the spirit of a "topic for discussion". I'm sure that the minds gathered here will not be bashful about improving my PBI. 73, de Hans, K0HB -- http://home.earthlink.net/~k0hb |
KØHB wrote:
The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license. This segment of the Amateur population does not seem highly attracted to ARRL membership, nor affiliative with the "national association" nature of ARRL. ARRL needs to speak to them. Interestingly, however, these new Amateurs are "local joiners". They attach some importance to public service communications events such as disaster drills, SkyWarn, flood relief, marathons, parade communications, and similar functions of a local nature. Interestingly, even though their on-the-air participation is limited, they represent a significant portion of the crew at Field Day, hamfest staffs, and similar "local" events. They are also well represented on the rosters of many local clubs. No argument there. Many of the people I can count on to help with this sort of thing are the Tech's. Following is a PBI (Partially Baked Idea) to favorably position ARRL (and Amateur Radio in general) with these newcomers to our hobby. I propose that the ARRL BoD consider an initiative to attract these newcomers to an interest in ARRL by establishment of a new "Department of Community Support". The mission of this department of ARRL would be to organize, train, support, and nurture a system of tactical communications teams on the LOCAL level. I use the term "tactical" as opposed to "emergency" intentionally to broaden the scope of the mission to include a wide variety of community-level communications needs. That is a good idea. Tactical communications would serve as a good training ground. This "department" would be outside the current Field Organization, and given VISIBLE and COMMITTED volunteer leadership at Director or Vice President rank. Did I hear someone muttering "Isn't that what ARES is all about?" or "Our current field organization already provides for this." Good points -- ARRL already has some of the pieces in place, and it looks good on paper. Unfortunately these "pieces" tend to be scattered around the ARRL organization and are not linked into a cohesive program. Support and leadership responsibility, from Newington all the way down to the local level, is often a collateral duty and the attention level is spotty and often diluted by competing responsibilities and personal interests. Leadership attention at the SM level is widely variable, and SM's have a diminished mindshare of the general membership by the unfortunate H.Q. decision to remove "Section News" from the national journal of our Association. Without dwelling overlong on the shortcomings of the current situation, I think we can all agree on four points: 1) A focused national program with Director (or higher) level leadership would have more impact than the current fragmented attention to "local" Amateur Radio. 2) Such a program, if successful, would give Amateur Radio valuable credibility in the regulatory and legislative arenas, and with national organizations like Homeland Security, FEMA, and the Red Cross. 3) Such a program, if successful, would serve to elevate the perceived value of Amateur Radio with local civil authorities, perhaps softening the effects of issues like tower ordinances, etc. 4) Such a program, strongly identified with the League, would provide a membership "attractor" to those classes of Amateurs that are now only locally "affiliative". Gaining some traction into this huge reservoir of potential members would be a godsend to the health and growth of ARRL. What would need to be done to implement such a plan. Here are some "off the top of my head" thoughts. -- Define the mission and organizational structure. -- Many of the people (SEC/EC's, etc) are already in place. The organization structure would need to include a short chain-of-command headed by a focused leader at Newington. -- Move Field Day and SET into this organization as "their" events. -- Devise a recognition vehicle to give visibility to noteworthy work by individuals and teams in this Department. This visibility (QST?) should extend outside the organization to the "general population" of hams as a recruiting tool. Perhaps if the new hams believed that there was relevancy, they might join, eh? -- Establish a new periodical (like NCJ for contesters and QEX for experimenters) to help build a "sense of community" among the participants. I have mixed thoughts on this. Perhaps if the other efforts appear to be working, it would be a good thing. It might be an expensive thing if the effort were to fall flat. -- Educate local civil authorities about this organization, their capabilities, and how to best interface with them to take advantage of their capabilities. Absolutely. Some effort should be extended toward event coverage also. I think that there are a lot of groups that do not know about Hams even offering this sort of coverage. And their other options don't work very well. But these groups would probably enjoy the tie-in with the civil work too. In order to build some critical mass and gain traction, the outreach effort to build these teams should not initially stress ARRL membership for "grassroots" level players, but rather depend on a strong ARRL identity to build esprit de corps and lead to an attitude of support and affiliation with the parent organization. Perhaps appointment to team leadership positions would be conditioned on ARRL membership. Obviously a lot of this proposal needs a great deal of "fleshing out" and refinement, but I present it in the spirit of a "topic for discussion". I'm sure that the minds gathered here will not be bashful about improving my PBI. I do think this is a good idea, and as PBI's go, it is pretty good. I believe that at some point in the process, advancement should be gently suggested. I think esprit de corps hinges upon that also. - Mike KB3EIA - And tks for something to talk about! 8^) |
"Michael Coslo" wrote in message ... I believe that at some point in the process, advancement should be gently suggested. I think esprit de corps hinges upon that also. That may be true, or it might not be, but I think it is a completely separate agenda from pointing ARRL back at "mainstreet America". In my mind we should leave the question of social-engineering missions to the regulators (FCC). 73, and thanks for your thoughtful comments, de Hans, K0HB |
K0HB Said:
QUOTE: Did I hear someone muttering "Isn't that what ARES is all about?" or "Our current field organization already provides for this." Good points -- ARRL already has some of the pieces in place, and it looks good on paper. Unfortunately these "pieces" tend to be scattered around the ARRL organization and are not linked into a cohesive program. UNQUOTE. Yes, that was my first thought, Hans. A couple of points of my own. First of all, there's already flexibility written into the ARES program to allow for it's implementation based upon local needs or concerns. The needs of emergency planners in Plymouth, MN or Winchester, TN are going to be different than those of New York City or Miami, FL. I don't see how a nationally directed program could possibly do anything more than appear to be micromanaging. Secondly, the ARRL Special Services Club's program already offers assistance for helping to manage some aspects of club activities, offers of sponsorship, etc. What they (the ARRL) COULD do, without creating a whole new "branch" and field directorship with it, would be to start spending some more money to get more recruiting materials, including TV/Radio "commercials" into the field. They could "regionalize" the materials with pictures of local clubs, landmarks, etc in them to help "identify" them to the target audience. Otherwise, I like the ideas. 73 Steve, K4YZ |
K=D8HB wrote: .. . . . Obviously a lot of this proposal needs a great deal of "fleshing out" and refinement, but I present it in the spirit of a "topic for discussion". I'm sure that the minds gathered here will not be bashful about improving my PBI. All warm and fuzzy good Hans but it's another OF's top-down "reorganizational solution" which I don't see would work any better than it's predecessors. The League needs to recognize/concede that it has a serious marketing problem and address the problem the same way other businesses do in these situations. They have a product line which isn't selling to a large sector of their potential buyers. Why? Nobody actually knows. And nobody will know until the League finds out why the Techs aren't buying their wares. Well-run businesses tackle this problem via market research and the League needs to do a bunch of long-overdue bottom-up market research as a first step if they expect to get any more real penetration into their Tech market. The League should go out into the trenches in volume and, for openers, start asking all the Techs who are not ARRL members why they aren't members and what the League needs to do to pry the forty bucks a year out of them. Then properly analyze the results of the surveys and make the appropriate changes in their product line. Shuffling SM's duties around and talking up ham radio to the town burghers, etc., etc. as "potential solutions" would drive a real marketeer to tears of laughter. =20 73, de Hans, K0HB w3rv |
I do think this is a good idea, and as PBI's go, it is pretty good. I believe that at some point in the process, advancement should be gently suggested. I think esprit de corps hinges upon that also. For some reason, when I read "advancement" above, my first thought was to encourage the Techs to advance to "general" or "extra". Then they'd get on HF and then have a reason to join a national club (ARRL). But that reason is kinda stupid. Upgrading doesn't mean that you'd have to give up the Tech allocations, so the Techs could still do local stuff even if they did upgrade. Not like the old days when a Novice upgraded to Tech and thus lose the Novice allocations (now THAT was stupid). Where am I going with this? Damm if I know... :-) - Mike KB3EIA - And tks for something to talk about! 8^) You can say that again. Lately this newsgroup was nothing except mindless flameage... :-) |
wrote:
The League needs to recognize/concede that it has a serious marketing problem and address the problem the same way other businesses do in these situations. They have a product line which isn't selling to a large sector of their potential buyers. Why? Nobody actually knows. And nobody will know until the League finds out why the Techs aren't buying their wares. Here's one big reason: The League is a *national* organization. Focused mostly on national, international, and regional issues, and not so much local ones. Now if a ham's focus and interest are national or international, the League can have a lot to offer. But at the local level, how much the ARRL can offer someone depends entirely on who the local folks are. As a prime example, look at QST. How much of it is devoted to purely local stuff? Not much - the mag would have to be huge to cover ever locality in any depth at all. So why should someone whose main interest in amateur radio is the folks within, say, 50 miles, shell out $40/yr for a membership? 73 de Jim, N2EY |
K=D8HB wrote: The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license. Do you have any numbers to back that up, Hans? The license numbers I post here every two weeks point back to 2000 but not to 1995. I agree that since about 1987 or so, most new hams have started out as Technicians. Maybe even earlier than that. But it's also true that many of them have gone on to other license classes. The total number of Technicians and Technician Pluses today is less than it was 5 years ago.=20 73 de Jim, N2EY |
wrote in message oups.com... KØHB wrote: The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license. .... since about 1987 or so, most new hams have started out as Technicians. Jim, we can nit-pick the semantics if you really think that's productive, but the two statements above both seem to convey the same notion, which we might more clearly state "Most new hams since 1991 have entered via the Technician class which is now the largest single license class in the US, comprising almost half (47.7%) of the population of licensees in this country, nearly equal to the combined total population of the three higher classes.". 73, de Hans, K0HB |
"KØHB" wrote in message ink.net... The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license. This segment of the Amateur population does not seem highly attracted to ARRL membership, nor affiliative with the "national association" nature of ARRL. Interestingly, however, these new Amateurs are "local joiners". They attach some importance to public service communications events such as disaster drills, SkyWarn, flood relief, marathons, parade communications, and similar functions of a local nature. Interestingly, even though their on-the-air participation is limited, they represent a significant portion of the crew at Field Day, hamfest staffs, and similar "local" events. They are also well represented on the rosters of many local clubs. Following is a PBI (Partially Baked Idea) to favorably position ARRL (and Amateur Radio in general) with these newcomers to our hobby. I propose that the ARRL BoD consider an initiative to attract these newcomers to an interest in ARRL by establishment of a new "Department of Community Support". The mission of this department of ARRL would be to organize, train, support, and nurture a system of tactical communications teams on the LOCAL level. I use the term "tactical" as opposed to "emergency" intentionally to broaden the scope of the mission to include a wide variety of community-level communications needs. This "department" would be outside the current Field Organization, and given VISIBLE and COMMITTED volunteer leadership at Director or Vice President rank. Did I hear someone muttering "Isn't that what ARES is all about?" or "Our current field organization already provides for this." Good points -- ARRL already has some of the pieces in place, and it looks good on paper. Unfortunately these "pieces" tend to be scattered around the ARRL organization and are not linked into a cohesive program. Support and leadership responsibility, from Newington all the way down to the local level, is often a collateral duty and the attention level is spotty and often diluted by competing responsibilities and personal interests. Leadership attention at the SM level is widely variable, and SM's have a diminished mindshare of the general membership by the unfortunate H.Q. decision to remove "Section News" from the national journal of our Association. Without dwelling overlong on the shortcomings of the current situation, I think we can all agree on four points: 1) A focused national program with Director (or higher) level leadership would have more impact than the current fragmented attention to "local" Amateur Radio. 2) Such a program, if successful, would give Amateur Radio valuable credibility in the regulatory and legislative arenas, and with national organizations like Homeland Security, FEMA, and the Red Cross. 3) Such a program, if successful, would serve to elevate the perceived value of Amateur Radio with local civil authorities, perhaps softening the effects of issues like tower ordinances, etc. 4) Such a program, strongly identified with the League, would provide a membership "attractor" to those classes of Amateurs that are now only locally "affiliative". Gaining some traction into this huge reservoir of potential members would be a godsend to the health and growth of ARRL. What would need to be done to implement such a plan. Here are some "off the top of my head" thoughts. -- Define the mission and organizational structure. -- Many of the people (SEC/EC's, etc) are already in place. The organization structure would need to include a short chain-of-command headed by a focused leader at Newington. -- Move Field Day and SET into this organization as "their" events. -- Devise a recognition vehicle to give visibility to noteworthy work by individuals and teams in this Department. This visibility (QST?) should extend outside the organization to the "general population" of hams as a recruiting tool. -- Establish a new periodical (like NCJ for contesters and QEX for experimenters) to help build a "sense of community" among the participants. -- Educate local civil authorities about this organization, their capabilities, and how to best interface with them to take advantage of their capabilities. In order to build some critical mass and gain traction, the outreach effort to build these teams should not initially stress ARRL membership for "grassroots" level players, but rather depend on a strong ARRL identity to build esprit de corps and lead to an attitude of support and affiliation with the parent organization. Perhaps appointment to team leadership positions would be conditioned on ARRL membership. Obviously a lot of this proposal needs a great deal of "fleshing out" and refinement, but I present it in the spirit of a "topic for discussion". I'm sure that the minds gathered here will not be bashful about improving my PBI. 73, de Hans, K0HB -- http://home.earthlink.net/~k0hb Overall I like the ideas. So who is going to take on the job of spearheading this. It's going to take someone willing to take the time and effort to work with bulldog determination to work with the ARRL (and push the ARRL) and make it happen. Dee D. Flint, N8UZE |
"KØHB" wrote in message ink.net... wrote in message oups.com... KØHB wrote: The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license. .... since about 1987 or so, most new hams have started out as Technicians. Jim, we can nit-pick the semantics if you really think that's productive, but the two statements above both seem to convey the same notion, which we might more clearly state "Most new hams since 1991 have entered via the Technician class which is now the largest single license class in the US, comprising almost half (47.7%) of the population of licensees in this country, nearly equal to the combined total population of the three higher classes.". 73, de Hans, K0HB In any activity it would be normal for the "beginners" group to be the largest segment. There are always a lot of people who start activities but then drop out for a wide variety of reasons. Dee D. Flint, N8UZE |
"Dee Flint" wrote In any activity it would be normal for the "beginners" group to be the largest segment. There are always a lot of people who start activities but then drop out for a wide variety of reasons. Astute observation. It would be nice to find a way reduce that "first termer" attrition by promoting an atmosphere which reinforces the reasons they took the time and trouble to come aboard. To steal an idea from marketing, "It's usually a lot easier and cheaper to keep an old customer than to identify and recruit a new one." 73, de Hans, K0HB |
"Dee Flint" wrote in message ... Overall I like the ideas. So who is going to take on the job of spearheading this. As many of us as possible! But it might not be as big a battle as you'd guess. I posted this same idea on QRZ.COM this morning and within the hour received a phone call from W5JBP. We spent a full half-hour exploring the PBI. 73, de Hans, K0HB |
KØHB wrote:
wrote in message oups.com... KØHB wrote: The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license. .... since about 1987 or so, most new hams have started out as Technicians. Jim, we can nit-pick the semantics if you really think that's productive, but the two statements above both seem to convey the same notion, which we might more clearly state "Most new hams since 1991 have entered via the Technician class which is now the largest single license class in the US, comprising almost half (47.7%) of the population of licensees in this country, nearly equal to the combined total population of the three higher classes.". Even if we do pick the nits, you have a point that is valid. A lot of Technicians elect not to join the ARRL. During the time that I was a Tech, I didn't think that the league was relevant to what I was doing in Ham radio. You know, stuff like helping with walkathons, 4-H events, Bike races.... Sound familiar to what you wrote? For about 2 years, the type of Ham you spoke of was ME. After I got my General license, I decided that ARRL was relevant to my new interests. And personal experience, not just opinion, is why I agree with you. Event support is an overlooked area. Instead of the sometimes (rightfully so) rigid protocols of the serious emergency work, it allows the new guys and gals to get used to the idea of communications with other people. We handle traffic, call for and receive assistance for the occasional boo-boo, and occasional serious problem, but in a more relaxed atmosphere. This is great for the new folks. It needs to be encouraged. - Mike KB3EIA - |
Dee Flint wrote:
"KØHB" wrote in message ink.net... wrote in message groups.com... KØHB wrote: The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license. .... since about 1987 or so, most new hams have started out as Technicians. Jim, we can nit-pick the semantics if you really think that's productive, but the two statements above both seem to convey the same notion, which we might more clearly state "Most new hams since 1991 have entered via the Technician class which is now the largest single license class in the US, comprising almost half (47.7%) of the population of licensees in this country, nearly equal to the combined total population of the three higher classes.". 73, de Hans, K0HB In any activity it would be normal for the "beginners" group to be the largest segment. There are always a lot of people who start activities but then drop out for a wide variety of reasons. Every person that drops out is one small failure on our part. We need to cultivate these new folk into the ARS. They are a resource that is being largely ignored by the "better Hams". - Mike KB3EIA - |
Bill Sohl wrote:
From the different organizations I've been involved with, I think the larger beginner "drop-out" is just a truth of human nature. I've seen it in scouting, college, classic car clubs, etc. Exactly why newcomers move on to other pursuits is one of life's mysteries in most cases. Cheers, Bill K2UNK With many people as soon as the new wears off and their initial curiosity is satisfied, they move on to something new. Call it a short attention span I guess. |
bb wrote:
You're a bit early. The Novice was the entry level license at that time. Technician was the consolation prize for passing the General exam, but failing the 13wpm exam. Which still granted one the Novice privilege. Someone earlier posted that when the Novice upgraded he lost Novice priviledges. Not so. |
wrote: The League should go out into the trenches in volume and, for openers, start asking all the Techs who are not ARRL members why they aren't members and what the League needs to do to pry the forty bucks a year out of them. Then properly analyze the results of the surveys and make the appropriate changes in their product line. Shuffling SM's duties around and talking up ham radio to the town burghers, etc., etc. as "potential solutions" would drive a real marketeer to tears of laughter. w3rv I just received the reminder that I asked for when my membership is due to expire. If I make it to Dayton I'll renew. If I don't, I won't. I almost read last month's QST. I won't miss it. |
wrote: wrote: The League needs to recognize/concede that it has a serious marketing problem and address the problem the same way other businesses do in these situations. They have a product line which isn't selling to a large sector of their potential buyers. Why? Nobody actually knows. And nobody will know until the League finds out why the Techs aren't buying their wares. Here's one big reason: The League is a *national* organization. Focused mostly on national, international, and regional issues, and not so much local ones. Hmmmm? Why have they formed Divisions and Sections, ARES and NTS? Now if a ham's focus and interest are national or international, the League can have a lot to offer. But at the local level, how much the ARRL can offer someone depends entirely on who the local folks are. As a prime example, look at QST. How much of it is devoted to purely local stuff? Not much - the mag would have to be huge to cover ever locality in any depth at all. So why should someone whose main interest in amateur radio is the folks within, say, 50 miles, shell out $40/yr for a membership? 73 de Jim, N2EY The ARRL has made an effort to get web pages up for each division and section. That is the method they use of distributing regional and local information. |
Mike Coslo wrote: K=D8HB wrote: wrote in message oups.com... K=D8HB wrote: The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license. .... since about 1987 or so, most new hams have started out as Technicians. Jim, we can nit-pick the semantics if you really think that's productive, but the two statements above both seem to convey the same notion, which we might more clearly state "Most new hams since 1991 have entered via the Technician class which is now the largest single license class in the US, comprising almost half (47.7%) of the population of licensees in this country, nearly equal to the combined total population of the three higher classes.". Even if we do pick the nits, you have a point that is valid. A lot of Technicians elect not to join the ARRL. During the time that I was a Tech, I didn't think that the league was relevant to what I was doing in Ham radio. You know, stuff like helping with walkathons, 4-H events, Bike races.... Sound familiar to what you wrote? For about 2 years, the type of Ham you spoke of was ME. After I got my General license, I decided that ARRL was relevant to my new interests. You echo Len's observation. The ARRL is about HF radio using Morse Code. |
"KØHB" wrote in message ink.net... "Dee Flint" wrote In any activity it would be normal for the "beginners" group group to be the largest segment. There are always a lot of people who start activities but then drop out for a wide variety of reasons. Astute observation. It would be nice to find a way reduce that "first termer" attrition by promoting an atmosphere which reinforces the reasons they took the time and trouble to come aboard. To steal an idea from marketing, "It's usually a lot easier and cheaper to keep an old customer than to identify and recruit a new one." 73, de Hans, K0HB From the different organizations I've been involved with, I think the larger beginner "drop-out" is just a truth of human nature. I've seen it in scouting, college, classic car clubs, etc. Exactly why newcomers move on to other pursuits is one of life's mysteries in most cases. Cheers, Bill K2UNK |
"Mike Coslo" wrote in message ... Dee Flint wrote: "KØHB" wrote in message ink.net... wrote in message egroups.com... KØHB wrote: The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license. .... since about 1987 or so, most new hams have started out as Technicians. Jim, we can nit-pick the semantics if you really think that's productive, but the two statements above both seem to convey the same notion, which we might more clearly state "Most new hams since 1991 have entered via the Technician class which is now the largest single license class in the US, comprising almost half (47.7%) of the population of licensees in this country, nearly equal to the combined total population of the three higher classes.". 73, de Hans, K0HB In any activity it would be normal for the "beginners" group to be the largest segment. There are always a lot of people who start activities but then drop out for a wide variety of reasons. Every person that drops out is one small failure on our part. I wouldn't take it that seriously. Lots of folks start something new only to learn it isn't their "cup of tea." Now if they drop because others in the hobby (whatever the hobby) didn't welcome them or otherwise treated them in an unwelcome manner... then that is a shame and a failure. We need to cultivate these new folk into the ARS. They are a resource that is being largely ignored by the "better Hams". - Mike KB3EIA - Agree...We should always be encouraging new blood. Cheers, Bill K2UNK |
"bb" wrote The ARRL is about HF radio using Morse Code. Bull****. |
wrote: K=D8HB wrote: The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license. Do you have any numbers to back that up, Hans? The license numbers I post here every two weeks point back to 2000 but not to 1995. I agree that since about 1987 or so, most new hams have started out as Technicians. You're a bit early. The Novice was the entry level license at that time. Technician was the consolation prize for passing the General exam, but failing the 13wpm exam. Maybe even earlier than that. But it's also true that many of them have gone on to other license classes. The total number of Technicians and Technician Pluses today is less than it was 5 years ago. =20 73 de Jim, N2EY That doesn't surprise me. |
wrote:
wrote: The League needs to recognize/concede that it has a serious marketing problem and address the problem the same way other businesses do in these situations. They have a product line which isn't selling to a large sector of their potential buyers. Why? Nobody actually knows. And nobody will know until the League finds out why the Techs aren't buying their wares. Here's one big reason: The League is a *national* organization. Focused mostly on national, international, and regional issues, and not so much local ones. Now if a ham's focus and interest are national or international, the League can have a lot to offer. But at the local level, how much the ARRL can offer someone depends entirely on who the local folks are. Which is almost entirely a function of the quality of the leadership of the local clubs and the time and effort they have available to put into the clubs. Which the League can't control or do anything about no matter how they reshuffle the organization and event charts in Newington. Beyond that the facts are that the League has only managed to sign up ~20% of all licensees in this country nocodes thru 20wpm Extras and some uncounted huge number of those aren't members of local clubs either. There's nothing new about any of it, this whole topic area has been massaged into oblivion many times in the past and it'll come up again after this minor cycle of angst peters out. As a prime example, look at QST. How much of it is devoted to purely local stuff? Not much - the mag would have to be huge to cover ever locality in any depth at all. So why should someone whose main interest in amateur radio is the folks within, say, 50 miles, shell out $40/yr for a membership? That question has already been answered by a several hundred thousand zipped-up wallets. Don't get me wrong though. I'm quite firmly convinced that the ARRL can and needs to boost it's support amongst the Techs but I'll stick with my proposal vs. Hans' proposal. 73 de Jim, N2EY w3rv |
Which still granted one the Novice privilege. Someone earlier posted that when the Novice upgraded he lost Novice priviledges. Not so. It was true at one time, but the FCC realized the error and fixed it so techs got to have novice privs. This was back around 1969 or so. |
KØHB wrote:
"bb" wrote The ARRL is about HF radio using Morse Code. Bull****. What Hans meant to convey, "bb", is that your guess is incorrect and that the ARRL is a large organization which promotes any number of operational modes and bands. Of course he cut to the chase and managed to sum it up in one word. Dave K8MN |
wrote I'll stick with my proposal vs. Hans' proposal. Is there a copy of your proposal that I can point my browser at? I'd be interested in your view. 73, de Hans, K0HB |
Dave Heil wrote: K=D8HB wrote: "bb" wrote The ARRL is about HF radio using Morse Code. Bull****. What Hans meant to convey, "bb", is that your guess is incorrect and that the ARRL is a large organization which promotes any number of operational modes and bands. Of course he cut to the chase and managed to sum it up in one word. Very precise and eloquently put, Dave... But do you think he got it...?!?! 73 Steve, K4YZ |
K=D8HB wrote: wrote I'll stick with my proposal vs. Hans' proposal. Is there a copy of your proposal that I can point my browser at? I'd be interested in your view. Oh fer chrissake, spare me will you Master Chief SIR, I clearly stated that the ARRL should engage in a business-like market research effort to find out how to connect with the non-member Techs rather than go off on your fuzzy tangent. =20 =20 73, de Hans, K0HB w3rv |
Bill Sohl wrote: "K=D8HB" wrote in message ink.net... "Dee Flint" wrote In any activity it would be normal for the "beginners" group group to be the largest segment. There are always a lot of people who start activities but then drop out for a wide variety of reasons. Astute observation. It would be nice to find a way reduce that "first termer" attrition by promoting an atmosphere which reinforces the reasons they took the time and trouble to come aboard. To steal an idea from marketing, "It's usually a lot easier and cheaper to keep an old customer than to identify and recruit a new one." 73, de Hans, K0HB From the different organizations I've been involved with, I think the larger beginner "drop-out" is just a truth of human nature. I've seen it in scouting, college, classic car clubs, etc. Exactly why newcomers move on to other pursuits is one of life's mysteries in most cases. It's a dirty job but somebody around here had to get to the bottom of the bottom lines around here eventually. You did, thankew for putting the cork in it William and g'nite. .. . . dit dit . . .=20 =20 Cheers, Bill K2UNK w3rv |
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bb wrote:
Mike Coslo wrote: KØHB wrote: wrote in message egroups.com... KØHB wrote: The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license. .... since about 1987 or so, most new hams have started out as Technicians. Jim, we can nit-pick the semantics if you really think that's productive, but the two statements above both seem to convey the same notion, which we might more clearly state "Most new hams since 1991 have entered via the Technician class which is now the largest single license class in the US, comprising almost half (47.7%) of the population of licensees in this country, nearly equal to the combined total population of the three higher classes.". Even if we do pick the nits, you have a point that is valid. A lot of Technicians elect not to join the ARRL. During the time that I was a Tech, I didn't think that the league was relevant to what I was doing in Ham radio. You know, stuff like helping with walkathons, 4-H events, Bike races.... Sound familiar to what you wrote? For about 2 years, the type of Ham you spoke of was ME. After I got my General license, I decided that ARRL was relevant to my new interests. You echo Len's observation. The ARRL is about HF radio using Morse Code. And lots of other modes too. - Mike KB3EIA - |
Dave Heil wrote:
KØHB wrote: "bb" wrote The ARRL is about HF radio using Morse Code. Bull****. What Hans meant to convey, "bb", is that your guess is incorrect and that the ARRL is a large organization which promotes any number of operational modes and bands. Of course he cut to the chase and managed to sum it up in one word. Aside from the occasional article where a Ham speaks of the mode he/she uses, I find very little in QST about Morse code. Ads for Keys are there. But not a whole lot else. - Mike KB3EIA - |
The League is a *national* organization. Focused mostly on national, international, and regional issues, and not so much local ones. Now if a ham's focus and interest are national or international, the League can have a lot to offer. But at the local level, how much the ARRL can offer someone depends entirely on who the local folks are. As a prime example, look at QST. How much of it is devoted to purely local stuff? Not much - the mag would have to be huge to cover ever locality in any depth at all. So why should someone whose main interest in amateur radio is the folks within, say, 50 miles, shell out $40/yr for a membership? There is a lot of "generic" local stuff the ARRL could deal in. Doing a parade or county fair in Cowville, North Nebraska won't be that different than the parade or county fair in Swampgulch, Alabama. Sure the names are different, but organizational politics and technical issues with 2 meter handhelds on the street would be quite similar. |
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wrote in message ups.com... I "hurl your opinion aside with great force!" As WA6AUD is oft heard to say --- "Sunuvagun!" or "ZUE ZBM2" dit dit de Hans, K0HB |
K=D8HB wrote: wrote in message oups.com... K=D8HB wrote: The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license. .... since about 1987 or so, most new hams have started out as Technicians. Jim, we can nit-pick the semantics if you really think that's productive, but the two statements above both seem to convey the same notion, which we might more clearly state "Most new hams since 1991 have entered via the Technician class which is now the largest single license class in the US, comprising almost half (47.7%) of the population of licensees in this country, nearly equal to the combined total population of the three higher classes.". I'm not trying to nitpick semantics, Hans, just looking for solid info. I do agree that most new hams since 1991 have entered via the Tech license - in fact, by the mid-80s if not earlier, most new hams I encountered bypassed the Novice and went straight to Tech. The main reason they gave me was 2 meter and 440 repeaters - Techs could use 'em, Novices couldn't. The splitting of the Element 3 written test in 1987 and the dropping of the code test for Tech in 1991 just helped the trend along. AH0A's posted numbers only go back to June 1997, which is of course 8 years rather than a decade, but let's take a look anyway: June 1997 (per AH0A.org): Novice - 66,551 Tech - 174,924 TechPlus - 139,608 Tech/TechPlus combined - 314,532 (46.4%) General - 116,629 Advanced - 107,024 Extra - 73,737 General/Advanced/Extra combined - 297,390 (43.8%) Total all classes: 678,473 April 2005 (per AH0A.org): Novice - 28,615 Tech/TechPlus combined - 318,318 (47.7%) General - 136,808 Advanced - 76,418 Extra - 106,587 General/Advanced/Extra combined - 319,813 (48.0%) Total all classes: 666,746 So in the past 7 years 8 months we've seen growth of 3,786 in the Tech/TechPlus classes, pushing those classes' percentage of US hamdom up 1.3%. But in the same time period we've also seen growth of 22,423 in the General/Advanced/Extra classes, pushing those classes' percentage of US hamdom up 4.2%. So when I read a claim that "The growth in numbers of Amateurs over the past decade has been overwhelmingly via the Technician license.", I would like to see more data. Now it occurs to me that you may have meant that "via the Technician license" means most hams start that way, and I agree. Point is, it seems to me that a lot of new hams don't *stay* Technicians forever. -- I don't think there's ever been a time when ARRL had a majority of US hams as members. The most I ever saw claimed was about one-third, and that was many decades ago. I think the big unknown in all this is the percentage of *active* hams who are members - or even the number of active hams, period. The number of ham radio licenses has always included a certain percentage of SK and totally inactive hams, but with the increase of the license term to 10 years back in 1984 and the general aging of the US population, it's logical to think that the percentage of SK and totally inactive hams has increased dramatically in recent years. From 1994 to 1999, no US ham licenses expired at all. In the bad old days, those who lost interest quickly disappeared from the license totals. Novices had one or two years to upgrade or leave the air, and the other licenses were only good for 5 years. IIRC, it used to be that if you didn't get your Form 610 to FCC before the license expired, it was gone - no grace period. (Of course back then FCC would renew a lot sooner than 90 days before the license expired, upgrades caused automatic renewal and you could combine a renewal and a modification.)=20 73 de Jim, N2EY |
wrote: From: "K=D8=88B" on Tues,May 3 2005 5:59 pm "bb" wrote The ARRL is about HF radio using Morse Code. Bull****. In the face of REALITY of years of published fact that Brian is right, I "hurl your opinion aside with great force!" Yup, everyone just got through saying that there's a problem attracting Technicians to the organization. No one seems to be able to put their finger on exactly why, only because they reject the -correct- answer (reminds me of the OJ case). And they still wring their hands and bite their knuckles and ask, "Why?" OK, I'll rephrase the answer. The ARRL may not be just about HF radio using Morse Code, but the Technicians think it is. Hi! Sheds a whole new light on the subject. How about that for fair play? |
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