The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

Just finished another annual running to the two-weekend Sweepstakes contest (one
weekend Morse, one weekend phone).

As many of you know, this contest simulates traffic handling protocols with a
modestly challenging exchange with 5 information elements exchanged in each
direction. One of those elements is a "check" which is a 2-digit number
indicating the year the station was first licensed.

(This doesn't have any direct connection to the age of the operator, but it does
tell you how long they've been licensed.)

During this years contest weekends I was struck by the higher incidence of
"recent checks" in the phone event as compared to the Morse event.

Since I have Cabrillo logs available for the past 5 seasons of Sweepstakes, I
did a quick Excel evaluation looking at the "newcomer" trend of the Sweepstakes
contest. The total data population is right at 10,000 QSO's, so should be
reasonably "statistically relevant".

My intent was to test my hunch about a higher tendency for recent licensees to
be on phone, and that hunch proved true (no particular surprise), but in
addition a much scarier trend rose out of the figures.

The numbers below show the percentage of my QSO's which had a recieved "check"
in the current and 10 previous years (i.e., this year I counted "95" thru "05",
last year "94" through "04", etc.)

(Tabular info best viewed in 'fixed width' font)

Year CW% Phone% Combined%

2001 7.4% 24.0% 17.5%
2002 6.9 18.8 13.5
2003 7.0 14.8 10.9
2004 4.5 14.0 8.7
2005 4.0 14.0 9.9

As I mentioned, it's no surprise that newcomer contesters are more likely to be
on phone, but the really scary part is that the overall percentages (regardless
of mode) in the "licensed-in-the-last-10-years" are dropping so dramatically,
almost halved in just 5 years.

If the trend of "newcomers active in contesting" is a representative subset of
"newcomers active on the air in general" (as I suspect it is) then the future of
our hobby has a rather disturbing look.

What are we (all of us) going to do to reverse this ominous trend?

--
73, de Hans, K0HB
--
Homepage:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~k0hb
Member:
ARRL http://www.arrl.org
SOC http://www.qsl.net/soc
VWOA http://www.vwoa.org
A-1 Operator Club http://www.arrl.org/awards/a1-op/
TCDXA http://www.tcdxa.org
MWA http://www.w0aa.org
TCFMC http://www.tcfmc.org
FISTS http://www.fists.org
LVDXA http://www.upstel.net/borken/lvdxa.htm
NCI http://www.nocode.org

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

"KØHB" wrote in message
ink.net...

What are we (all of us) going to do to reverse this ominous trend?



Sign them all up for the Legion. That way you will
have a bigger audience for your war stories Hans.


73 from Vince Folcarelli
Italian Ham Op Club
Little Italy

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

KØHB wrote:
Just finished another annual running to the two-weekend Sweepstakes contest (one
weekend Morse, one weekend phone).
cut

The numbers below show the percentage of my QSO's which had a recieved "check"
in the current and 10 previous years (i.e., this year I counted "95" thru"05",
last year "94" through "04", etc.)

(Tabular info best viewed in 'fixed width' font)

Year CW% Phone% Combined%

2001 7.4% 24.0% 17.5%
2002 6.9 18.8 13.5
2003 7.0 14.8 10.9
2004 4.5 14.0 8.7
2005 4.0 14.0 9.9

As I mentioned, it's no surprise that newcomer contesters are more likelyto be
on phone, but the really scary part is that the overall percentages (regardless
of mode) in the "licensed-in-the-last-10-years" are dropping so dramatically,
almost halved in just 5 years.

If the trend of "newcomers active in contesting" is a representative subset of
"newcomers active on the air in general" (as I suspect it is) then the future of
our hobby has a rather disturbing look.

One I suspect you are wrong

few newcomers I know of and by the standard you are using I am one
still are that interested in contesting, personaly I looks at and tend
to chuckle I also hear the tales of the that try and get flamed for not
"doing it right" as if the flamers was born with this knowledge or
receieved it as a implant

What are we (all of us) going to do to reverse this ominous trend?

inventing better contests might be a start

--
73, de Hans, K0HB
--

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

"an old friend" wrote

inventing better contests might be a start

I was more interested in activity in general, not just contests, but hey, that's
a fair comment.

What would make a "better contest" for you, especially as it would relate to
newcomers? What features of current contests interest you and what features
annoy you? What would you add that would cause you to send in a log?

73, de Hans, K0HB

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

KØHB wrote:
"an old friend" wrote

inventing better contests might be a start

I was more interested in activity in general, not just contests, but hey,that's
a fair comment.

What would make a "better contest" for you, especially as it would relateto
newcomers?

less cookie cutterness a contest where the exachance was to in fact say
something. I mean I do FD becuase it is club thing mostly but I feell
silly going aroing around saying 8A MI

What features of current contests interest you and what features
annoy you?
little about the current contests (those that I am aware realy
interests me, FD holds the most appear but with the imporvised nature
of the setup

What would you add that would cause you to send in a log?

maybe a contest where the points were on how long you were able to
hold a contact how much airtime you were able to fill with a near
stanger

just some thoughts

73, de Hans, K0HB

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

"an old friend" wrote

maybe a contest where the points were on how long
you were able to hold a contact how much airtime
you were able to fill with a near stanger


Be interesting to see how you could set up the scoring matrix...... If it was
simply length of contact (not the amount of information exchanged) then the real
slow talkers/slow senders would win. A built in advantage for southerners!

Would you have an upper limit on a contact length, and would the scoring be
linear...... for example 1 point per each 30 seconds of each contact, or
hockey-stick scoring with 1 point for 30 seconds, 5 points for one minute, 100
points for five minutes, and a bazzilion points for an hour?

What would you use for multipliers?

The thought occurs that newcomers are often somewhat mic-shy --- would they be
drawn to this kind of activity?


73, de Hans, K0HB

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

KØHB wrote:
"an old friend" wrote


maybe a contest where the points were on how long
you were able to hold a contact how much airtime
you were able to fill with a near stanger



Be interesting to see how you could set up the scoring matrix...... If it was
simply length of contact (not the amount of information exchanged) then the real
slow talkers/slow senders would win. A built in advantage for southerners!

Would you have an upper limit on a contact length, and would the scoring be
linear...... for example 1 point per each 30 seconds of each contact, or
hockey-stick scoring with 1 point for 30 seconds, 5 points for one minute, 100
points for five minutes, and a bazzilion points for an hour?

What would you use for multipliers?

The thought occurs that newcomers are often somewhat mic-shy --- would they be
drawn to this kind of activity?


73, de Hans, K0HB




Hans
I suspect that many newcomers are intimidated by the action in contests
like SS. They know they have no realistic expectation of winning. The
efforts like participation pins may help a bit. Again looking at SS the
first hours are quite frantic and top contesters give the exchange very
fast. If a newcomer isn't quite sure what was said or what he must say
they are not likely to respond.
I have heard some operators patiently explain what the exchange is and
help a first timer. However this appears to be a relative rarity as it
slows down the rate.
How about an incentive for the big scorers to work the newcomers? More
points per QSO if the check is less than 5 years old? More points if the
serial number is also below a certain threshhold? If it makes the big
guns more likely to be helpful I thin it would encourage those that are
a bit timid to join in. Also, can the contest logs be used to get
credit toward ARRL awards like WAS the way it used to be for DXCC?
Given the cost of QSLs and the return rate, that could also be an
incentive for some newcomers.
BTW - How did you do?
73, John K4BNC

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

"KØHB" wrote in message
nk.net...
///////FLUSHED///////


Hey Hans. How much is a Shot 'N Beer down at the
Legion Hall now? I hear the war stories spin faster and
better, after a few shot 'n beers.

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

"John" wrote

How about an incentive for the big scorers to work the newcomers? More points
per QSO if the check is less than 5 years old?

I really LIKE that one! The contest sponsor would need to validate it however,
or operators would adopt an artificially low number just to generate a run.

More points if the serial number is also below a certain threshhold?

I'm not sure that one is workable ..... everyone starts out with serial #1,
and the object is to rapidly increment that number so this would be a
disincentive to do well, even to the newcomer (unless I don't understand what
you propose).

Also, can the contest logs be used to get credit toward ARRL awards
like WAS the way it used to be for DXCC? Given the cost of QSLs and the return
rate, that could also be an incentive for some newcomers.

In effect this is already in place. I uploaded my log to LoTW 10 minutes after
the close of SS PH and already had close to 50 QSL's waiting for me. Right
now LoTW supports just DXCC, but WAS and WAZ are next (soon) to be implemented.

BTW - How did you do?

Not as well as I'd hoped. 773/79 on CW and 1043/80 on Phone weekend.

Phone weekend was especially frustrating, because conditions seemed so good.
Don't know what I did wrong, but just couldn't ratchet it up to the right level.
First few hours were OK (not great) with rates in the 70's, but then struggled
with long bands until about midnight. Couple good hours on 40 after midnight,
but not enough stations left to recover from the slow evening hours. Had a
pretty good Sunday afternoon on 40 starting about 2000Z, but I think I was
paying too much attention to my "half radio" (Drake R4C) looking for missing
mults. Ended up about 400 Q's off my target.

May be time to look at a new radio. I know I'm missing a lot of weak stations
on my run freqs, especially on 40M/80M. The Icom 775 attenuator doesn't seem to
be any good on those bands, and consequently the front end folds up with a lot
of strong adjacent RF. When N0AT, KT0R, NN7L, K0AD (all within a couple miles)
stroke up on 80M you could power an amp by rectifying the RF off my antenna
field!

73, de Hans, K0HB

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

KØHB wrote:
"John" wrote


How about an incentive for the big scorers to work the newcomers? More points
per QSO if the check is less than 5 years old?


I really LIKE that one! The contest sponsor would need to validate it however,
or operators would adopt an artificially low number just to generate a run.


More points if the serial number is also below a certain threshhold?


I'm not sure that one is workable ..... everyone starts out with serial #1,
and the object is to rapidly increment that number so this would be a
disincentive to do well, even to the newcomer (unless I don't understand what
you propose).
Probably not clearly stated and hard to implement. I was thinking of
someone with a small number for the time since contest started. That
is, some way to encourage working those who might just be making
occasional contacts.



Also, can the contest logs be used to get credit toward ARRL awards
like WAS the way it used to be for DXCC? Given the cost of QSLs and the return
rate, that could also be an incentive for some newcomers.


In effect this is already in place. I uploaded my log to LoTW 10 minutes after
the close of SS PH and already had close to 50 QSL's waiting for me. Right
now LoTW supports just DXCC, but WAS and WAZ are next (soon) to be implemented.

LOTW goes part way but I think the old DXCC method was even simpler
although it took longer. Once the contest results were published you
could just claim credit for a station worked in the contest. However as
I recall the number you could claim per DXCC submission was limited
unlike LOTW. It sure helped me back in the days when I was chasing DXCC
QSLs.


BTW - How did you do?


Not as well as I'd hoped. 773/79 on CW and 1043/80 on Phone weekend.

Phone weekend was especially frustrating, because conditions seemed so good.
Don't know what I did wrong, but just couldn't ratchet it up to the right level.
First few hours were OK (not great) with rates in the 70's, but then struggled
with long bands until about midnight. Couple good hours on 40 after midnight,
but not enough stations left to recover from the slow evening hours. Had a
pretty good Sunday afternoon on 40 starting about 2000Z, but I think I was
paying too much attention to my "half radio" (Drake R4C) looking for missing
mults. Ended up about 400 Q's off my target.

May be time to look at a new radio. I know I'm missing a lot of weak stations
on my run freqs, especially on 40M/80M. The Icom 775 attenuator doesn't seem to
be any good on those bands, and consequently the front end folds up with a lot
of strong adjacent RF. When N0AT, KT0R, NN7L, K0AD (all within a couple miles)
stroke up on 80M you could power an amp by rectifying the RF off my antenna
field!

73, de Hans, K0HB


Still a good score. I had troubles with the 40M vertical on Saturday
night. SWR had gone up so high I couldn't use the amp. FIxed it next
morning. AS far as I can tell the guy mowing the nextdoor lawn must
have run into the posts holding up the coax and broke the ground
connection. Still managed to make some contacts with it.
Made my goal here of 80 in 80. Last one was VE2; that one always seems
to be the hard one here.
John

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

**** you and your "morse" you sick cocksucker.i like to drop the mall
on your dit-dit ass. you ****ing freak.
KØHB wrote:
"an old friend" wrote

inventing better contests might be a start

I was more interested in activity in general, not just contests, but hey,that's
a fair comment.

What would make a "better contest" for you, especially as it would relateto
newcomers? What features of current contests interest you and what features
annoy you? What would you add that would cause you to send in a log?

73, de Hans, K0HB

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

KØHB wrote:
"an old friend" wrote

maybe a contest where the points were on how long
you were able to hold a contact how much airtime
you were able to fill with a near stanger


Be interesting to see how you could set up the scoring matrix...... If it was
simply length of contact (not the amount of information exchanged) then the real
slow talkers/slow senders would win. A built in advantage for southerners!

well itcould certainly promote slow code use

Would you have an upper limit on a contact length, and would the scoring be
linear...... for example 1 point per each 30 seconds of each contact, or
hockey-stick scoring with 1 point for 30 seconds, 5 points for one minute, 100
points for five minutes, and a bazzilion points for an hour?

very likely some upper length and likely in blockmaybe linear maybe not

part of the point is to avoid the Salm bang thank you maam feeling I
get at FD and the few other contests I have been in


What would you use for multipliers?

The thought occurs that newcomers are often somewhat mic-shy --- would they be
drawn to this kind of activity?

peronsonaly I am looking forward to being able to effectively bein
things likke a RTTY contest I have heard of or id love to see some
kind of SSTV contest althought the noise would likely drive everyone
else nuts but collecting for contest a number of SSTV images and maybe
some kind of multipliers like FD added to something for the igmage
quality perhaps



BTW congrats on sparking some On topic stuff here Hans well done

73, de Hans, K0HB

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

KØHB wrote:
Just finished another annual running to the two-weekend Sweepstakes contest (one
weekend Morse, one weekend phone).

As many of you know, this contest simulates traffic handling protocols with a
modestly challenging exchange with 5 information elements exchanged in each
direction. One of those elements is a "check" which is a 2-digit number
indicating the year the station was first licensed.

(This doesn't have any direct connection to the age of the operator, but it does
tell you how long they've been licensed.)

During this years contest weekends I was struck by the higher incidence of
"recent checks" in the phone event as compared to the Morse event.

Since I have Cabrillo logs available for the past 5 seasons of Sweepstakes, I
did a quick Excel evaluation looking at the "newcomer" trend of the Sweepstakes
contest. The total data population is right at 10,000 QSO's, so should be
reasonably "statistically relevant".

My intent was to test my hunch about a higher tendency for recent licensees to
be on phone, and that hunch proved true (no particular surprise), but in
addition a much scarier trend rose out of the figures.

The numbers below show the percentage of my QSO's which had a recieved "check"
in the current and 10 previous years (i.e., this year I counted "95" thru"05",
last year "94" through "04", etc.)

(Tabular info best viewed in 'fixed width' font)

Year CW% Phone% Combined%

2001 7.4% 24.0% 17.5%
2002 6.9 18.8 13.5
2003 7.0 14.8 10.9
2004 4.5 14.0 8.7
2005 4.0 14.0 9.9

As I mentioned, it's no surprise that newcomer contesters are more likelyto be
on phone, but the really scary part is that the overall percentages (regardless
of mode) in the "licensed-in-the-last-10-years" are dropping so dramatically,
almost halved in just 5 years.

If the trend of "newcomers active in contesting" is a representative subset of
"newcomers active on the air in general" (as I suspect it is) then the future of
our hobby has a rather disturbing look.

What are we (all of us) going to do to reverse this ominous trend?

--
73, de Hans, K0HB

Newcomers???

I passed my Novice exam in November 1986 and I'm still considered a
newcomer by your OF buddies here. And you ask what might be wrong with
the ARS? Hi, hi!

You're trolling again, right? That was at least an S7.

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

wrote:
KØHB wrote:
Just finished another annual running to the two-weekend Sweepstakes contest (one
weekend Morse, one weekend phone).
cut

What are we (all of us) going to do to reverse this ominous trend?

--
73, de Hans, K0HB

Newcomers???

I passed my Novice exam in November 1986 and I'm still considered a
newcomer by your OF buddies here. And you ask what might be wrong with
the ARS? Hi, hi!

at least it is a better thread than many on here and has some radio
content

You're trolling again, right? That was at least an S7.

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

an old friend wrote:
wrote:
KØHB wrote:
Just finished another annual running to the two-weekend Sweepstakes contest (one
weekend Morse, one weekend phone).
cut

What are we (all of us) going to do to reverse this ominous trend?

--
73, de Hans, K0HB

Newcomers???

I passed my Novice exam in November 1986 and I'm still considered a
newcomer by your OF buddies here. And you ask what might be wrong with
the ARS? Hi, hi!

at least it is a better thread than many on here and has some radio
content

It's all about embracing the Morse Code.

You're trolling again, right? That was at least an S7.

I admit I was suckered into responding. Kind of like Hans with a 2005
uniform issue regulation that somehow applies to Steve's claims of
service in 1974.

"raped an old friend" says Tennessee Nurse Steven J Robeson, LPN. He's
clearly a misfit in any society.

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

N0IMD wrote

It's all about embracing the Morse Code.

Not at all, Brian. It's about getting newcomers involved in on-the-air
activities of any mode.

In fact specifically points out that in 10,000 QSOs, newcomers (at least to this
contest) are most likely to be voice operators by a ratio of over 3:1.

Then it points out what I consider to be a scary wakeup call --- that newcomer
activity in both modes seems to have fallen by half in just a short 5-year
period.

Finally it asks what we (all of us) can do to turn the ship around.

Thanks, Mark and John, for your thoughtful suggestions.

73, de Hans, K0HB

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

KB9RQZ wrote

peronsonaly I am looking forward to being able to
effectively bein things likke a RTTY contest I have
heard of

That contest is the first full weekend in January (if memory serves). It's one
of my favorites, but I need to find a better software package for it.

or id love to see some kind of SSTV contest althought
the noise would likely drive everyone else nuts but
collecting for contest a number of SSTV images and
maybe some kind of multipliers like FD added to
something for the igmage quality perhaps

SSTV doesn't have a large pool of users. I wonder if you could interest enough
of them to have a "critical mass" of participants. On the other hand, maybe
having a contest would interest others in the mode. I like your idea of using
"image quality" as a multiplier or "weighting factor" perhaps.

73, de Hans, K0HB

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

KØHB wrote:
KB9RQZ wrote

peronsonaly I am looking forward to being able to
effectively bein things likke a RTTY contest I have
heard of

That contest is the first full weekend in January (if memory serves). It's one
of my favorites, but I need to find a better software package for it.

well then i will likely miss it another year even if the R&O come out
quickly they likely will not effective that quickly

or id love to see some kind of SSTV contest althought
the noise would likely drive everyone else nuts but
collecting for contest a number of SSTV images and
maybe some kind of multipliers like FD added to
something for the igmage quality perhaps

SSTV doesn't have a large pool of users. I wonder if you could interest enough
of them to have a "critical mass" of participants. On the other hand, maybe
having a contest would interest others in the mode. I like your idea of using
"image quality" as a multiplier or "weighting factor" perhaps.

SSTV is one of my favorite modes and was my introduction to many of the
hams around here

when we were shoping I would fill my digial cam in the flied and send a
bunch of the pic back to a waiting set up in my hotel room,(to make
some room for more) did drive a couple of the local a bit nuts
listening to them as they monitored the repeater, but one of the
interfaced for it and lo another SSTV was made other installed mute
funtions to the stations (one interfed to a smal stereo with a remote
that inculded Mute functions he and I are geting along even if he
thinks me a bit strange

73, de Hans, K0HB

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

"KØHB" wrote in message
k.net...

SSTV doesn't have a large pool of users. I wonder if you could interest
enough of them to have a "critical mass" of participants. On the other
hand, maybe having a contest would interest others in the mode. I like
your idea of using "image quality" as a multiplier or "weighting factor"
perhaps.



Hey Hans I hear the Legion Hall is sponsoring a new drink for the
war story crowd. It is called the "critical mass" special?

Pepe Laurito
Mexican Taco Radio Club

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

KØHB wrote:
N0IMD wrote

I passed my Novice exam in November 1986 and I'm still considered a
newcomer by your OF buddies here.

You're not even eligible for QCAO membership! BSEG

which ever gruop they are

but the caste syetm is one of the problemds with the ARS, and why what
ever the cost to our techial standard favor a one class liencense and
nothing in the acceable database to tell how long you have been
liencesed etc

And you ask what might be wrong with the ARS?

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

an old friend wrote:
KØHB wrote:
N0IMD wrote

I passed my Novice exam in November 1986 and I'm still considered a
newcomer by your OF buddies here.

You're not even eligible for QCAO membership! BSEG

which ever gruop they are

but the caste syetm is one of the problemds with the ARS, and why what
ever the cost to our techial standard favor a one class liencense and
nothing in the acceable database to tell how long you have been
liencesed etc

And you ask what might be wrong with the ARS?

One ARS, one amateur radio license. Get rid of the class system.

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

"an old friend" wrote


You're not even eligible for QCAO membership! BSEG

which ever gruop they are



The QCAO (Quarter Century Appliance Operators) was founded
in the early 1950's by a small group of Amateur Radio operators
from the Pacific Northwest. They had been active in their hobby
for over 25 years, yet still lacked the basic knowledge of radio
electronics and had no idea of how their equipment worked.

They banded together to try and protect each others honor
and pride. At radio gatherings and club meetings in the 1950s
one was considered unworthy of the name Ham Radio Operator if
he or she couldn't not only name components, but know how to
solder them together and make a radio work, or fix a broken set!

When faced with insults and dreision, those few hardy
pioneers banded together and formed the First Chapter and
National Organization of the QCAO. This was known as the "Cold
Solder" Chapter. They even coined the now-famous club byword
"e pluribus ignoramae" which is Latin for "We don't have to know
how to solder, we just wanna talk on our radios."

No veterans of that first chapter are known to be active on
the air today. In the late 1950s and early '60s, with the
worldwide interest in science and space and technology, the QCAO
membership went underground.

It is with great pride and dignity that today in the 21st Century
the revived QCAO stands ready to rise from the ashes, and become
the standard of mediocrity it once proudly was. In honor of
those first pioneering members, QCAO hereby invites all eligible
applicants to step forward and join!

The benefits of QCAO include not only the pride of
membership. Think of the warm glow you will feel at club
meetings and gatherings showing off your new all-plastic
imprinted QCAO pocket protector! And that's not all! For your
minimal membership fee, you will also receive a handsome,
suitable-for-framing, certificate of honor, with hand-lettered
name and Charter Membership Number. Other QCAO memorabilia
will soon be available for members, including T-shirts, caps,
pins, etc. At this date charter membership numbers are still
available. Membership requires a 25 years (more or less)
interest in Amateur Radio, coupled with a basic ignorance of how
radios work and how to repair them.

Think of meeting other QCAO members on the air! No more
embarrassing pauses when someone in the QSO mentions an RF choke
or a parasitic bleeder...Be able to exchange meaningful sharing,
talk about real things, yes, even swap QCAO numbers with each
other! And soon perhaps . . . a worldwide QCAO contest!

You no longer have to shrink to the back of the room at post-
meeting sessions of your radio club. Just display your QCAO
protector and others will be able to identify you immediately.
Who knows? Perhaps one of the originals from that old QCAO
Chapter is just waiting for you to find him. Join now! Remember
"We don't have to know how to solder, we just wanna talk on our
radios"! Don't let technoids embarrass you and kick jargon in
your face. Stand up for what's right! Join QCAO!

"e pluribus ignoramae"

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

"KØHB" wrote in message
ink.net...

"an old friend" wrote


You're not even eligible for QCAO membership! BSEG

which ever gruop they are



OK, this is an interesting thread and this is a good post to join in on.


The QCAO (Quarter Century Appliance Operators) was founded
in the early 1950's by a small group of Amateur Radio operators
from the Pacific Northwest. They had been active in their hobby
for over 25 years, yet still lacked the basic knowledge of radio
electronics and had no idea of how their equipment worked.


You speak for their mission, but is that what members of this organization
would say of themselves? And did they even know that when they turned the
radio on it was electrical energy that was helping it work--or did they even
lack that knowledge of how their equipment worked? How deep was their
ignorance and, at what point would one say they were "worthy" of being
called an amateur radio operator (even though it seems that merely to be
licensed by the FCC deems one as an amateur radio operator).


They banded together to try and protect each others honor
and pride.


What honor and pride? Are you saying they "bought into" that whole concept,
or did they actually exclude themselves as honorable amateur radio operators
simply because of what others may have thought of them?


At radio gatherings and club meetings in the 1950s
one was considered unworthy of the name Ham Radio Operator if
he or she couldn't not only name components, but know how to
solder them together and make a radio work, or fix a broken set!


Ah. It seems you've answered some of the first questions I had. However,
why are you limiting this sentiment to the 1950s? This sentiment exists
today in amateur radio.


When faced with insults and dreision, those few hardy
pioneers banded together and formed the First Chapter and
National Organization of the QCAO. This was known as the "Cold
Solder" Chapter. They even coined the now-famous club byword
"e pluribus ignoramae" which is Latin for "We don't have to know
how to solder, we just wanna talk on our radios."


Good for them. It sounds like a great opportunity to respectfully dig back
at any attempts from others to say one is disqualified even if they have met
the requirements of the licensing system.


No veterans of that first chapter are known to be active on
the air today. In the late 1950s and early '60s, with the
worldwide interest in science and space and technology, the QCAO
membership went underground.


One of my points exactly. If someone really is such an awful amateur radio
operator, they'll disappear from the airwaves soon enough (well, myself
excluded :o).


It is with great pride and dignity that today in the 21st Century
the revived QCAO stands ready to rise from the ashes, and become
the standard of mediocrity it once proudly was. In honor of
those first pioneering members, QCAO hereby invites all eligible
applicants to step forward and join!


Are you a member of this newly grouped organization?


The benefits of QCAO include not only the pride of
membership. Think of the warm glow you will feel at club
meetings and gatherings showing off your new all-plastic
imprinted QCAO pocket protector! And that's not all! For your
minimal membership fee, you will also receive a handsome,
suitable-for-framing, certificate of honor, with hand-lettered
name and Charter Membership Number. Other QCAO memorabilia
will soon be available for members, including T-shirts, caps,
pins, etc. At this date charter membership numbers are still
available. Membership requires a 25 years (more or less)
interest in Amateur Radio, coupled with a basic ignorance of how
radios work and how to repair them.


Sounds like most of the amateur radio club organizations I've been witness
to over the years. A few who know "a lot" about radios (if even they are so
expert at it that they find it too far beneath them to join in the community
of amateur radio and do some public service, etc.); with the rest of the
membership being those who may not know all that much about radio but of
whom many are quite willing to learn from the best, and of whom many become
the support structure for the local amateur radio community and emergency
services.


Think of meeting other QCAO members on the air! No more
embarrassing pauses when someone in the QSO mentions an RF choke
or a parasitic bleeder...Be able to exchange meaningful sharing,
talk about real things, yes, even swap QCAO numbers with each
other! And soon perhaps . . . a worldwide QCAO contest!


Wow, ya mean no more pauses as others try to figure out the relevance of why
someone just butted into the QSO with that kind of chatter? Cool.


You no longer have to shrink to the back of the room at post-
meeting sessions of your radio club. Just display your QCAO
protector and others will be able to identify you immediately.
Who knows? Perhaps one of the originals from that old QCAO
Chapter is just waiting for you to find him. Join now! Remember
"We don't have to know how to solder, we just wanna talk on our
radios"! Don't let technoids embarrass you and kick jargon in
your face. Stand up for what's right! Join QCAO!

"e pluribus ignoramae"



I've found that most of those who are labeled "appliance operators" at club
gatherings already know each other real well because they are the most
involved in the amateur community. And, while the solderers have been busy
yakking and impressing each other with all that stuff (truly important for
the heritage, yes, but not necessary knowledge in today's world), those
"appliance operators" have researched the internet for the best of the best,
have saved their money up and equipped themselves for most emergency
situations and are ready for public service with the touch of a few buttons
and the attachment of a few connections. YMMV.

Kim W5TIT



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The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

"Kim" wrote in message
...
"KØHB" wrote in message
ink.net...

"an old friend" wrote


You're not even eligible for QCAO membership! BSEG

which ever gruop they are



OK, this is an interesting thread and this is a good post to join in on.


Sorry, Kim, but I should have prefaced that QCAO post with this disclaimer:

[warning]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Humor-Impaired Induhviduals should depress the Next button now.
Management will not be responsible for mental trauma suffered by those
of Thin Skin who read the following humorous exaggeration of the
valued but non-technical members of our Amateur Radio Service who
"serve in other ways".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[/warning]

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

KØHB wrote:
"Kim" wrote in message
...
"KØHB" wrote in message
ink.net...

"an old friend" wrote


You're not even eligible for QCAO membership! BSEG

which ever gruop they are



OK, this is an interesting thread and this is a good post to join in on.


Sorry, Kim, but I should have prefaced that QCAO post with this disclaimer:

[warning]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Humor-Impaired Induhviduals should depress the Next button now.
Management will not be responsible for mental trauma suffered by those
of Thin Skin who read the following humorous exaggeration of the
valued but non-technical members of our Amateur Radio Service who
"serve in other ways".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[/warning]

Are you a member of this newly grouped organization?

Member? Hans is no mere member, he is an Occifer of the Ogrenization.


Position? Public Information Occifer (PIO).

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

"KØHB" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Kim" wrote in message
...
"KØHB" wrote in message
ink.net...

"an old friend" wrote


You're not even eligible for QCAO membership! BSEG

which ever gruop they are



OK, this is an interesting thread and this is a good post to join in on.


Sorry, Kim, but I should have prefaced that QCAO post with this
disclaimer:

[warning]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------
Humor-Impaired Induhviduals should depress the Next button now.
Management will not be responsible for mental trauma suffered by those
of Thin Skin who read the following humorous exaggeration of the
valued but non-technical members of our Amateur Radio Service who
"serve in other ways".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------
[/warning]




That's all well and good, Hans. But, you brought up some important topics
within your post. Are you not willing to discuss them outside the realm of
"humor"? Others may be, hopefully. If not...come see come saw.

Kim W5TIT



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The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

"Kim" wrote


You speak for their mission, but is that what members of this organization
would say of themselves?


There is no "mission". The group does not exist, except in the fertile
imagination of Danny "QRP is for Sissies" K7SS who first published this humor in
NCJ several years ago.


What honor and pride?

Honor and pride among non-existant fictional characters in non-existant.


Ah. It seems you've answered some of the first questions I had.

I've tried to.


One of my points exactly. If someone really is such an awful amateur radio
operator, they'll disappear from the airwaves soon enough

They didn't disappear. They never even existed.


Are you a member of this newly grouped organization?

The organization does not exist.



I've found that most of those who are labeled "appliance operators" at club
gatherings already know each other real well because they are the most
involved in the amateur community.

"involved in the amateur community" means what? Most of us are hobbiests,
loosely connected by common interests like contesting, DXing, experimenting,
repeater support clubs, public service interests, etc., etc. I derive great
enjoyment from my experimenting and contesting, and I have a half a wall of
"recognition" for various public service activities, but I don't consider myself
part of any "community" of amateur radio.

And, while the solderers have been busy
yakking and impressing each other with all that stuff (truly important for
the heritage, yes, but not necessary knowledge in today's world),

Are you suggesting that technical curiousity and experimentation is no longer
needed? That everything has already been invented, so no new knowledge in
electronics/radio communications is needed?

"appliance operators" have researched the internet for the best of the best,
have saved their money up and equipped themselves for most emergency
situations and are ready for public service with the touch of a few buttons
and the attachment of a few connections.

I disagree. There is a small and very valuable cadre of dedicated hams in ARES,
RACES, DMCS, AERO, SATERN, and similar public service/disaster recovery groups.
By and large they are above average in their technical qualifications, and they
take their roll very seriously.

Then there is a larger group of "fair weather volunteers" who are eager to grab
their handheld and rush to provide public service communications for the
marathon or the walkathon, but only so long as their 2 batteries hold up. They
impress each other by the number of T-shirts they've gotten from the local
chamber of commerce for these outings.

73, de Hans, K0HB

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

KØHB wrote:

(asking about ways to attract newcomers to contesting):

Well, Hans, I'm not a newcomer, and I don't qualify for QCAO either.
But
here are some ideas from what I remember as a newcomer:

1) More entry classes for the "little guy". This has already been done
on FD,
and to a limited extent in SS. The problem is that the new-to-contests
ham with
a midlevel 100 W transceiver, paper logs and G5RV is in the same
category as
the big gun with multiple big beams, an IC-7800 and every automated
doodad
conceivable.

2) Put the results back in QST - all the results. First time my call
was in QST was
for SS scores. Why shouldn't the newcomers get the same thrill? Website
is
*NOT* the same thing.

3) Perhaps the check could be changed from "year of birth" to "number
of times
you've operated this contest", with a bonus for new folks. Oldtimers
couldn't adopt a low number because it would be easily detected. This
also helps the folks who may have held a license for years but who are
new to certain aspects of amateur radio.

4) More contests (!) but also more variety. The QRP folks do this with
their sprints,
and there used to be 4 CD parties a year. For example:

- A "mini-SS" in late summer that lasts only 6-12 hours and you can
work the same station on different bands
- Low-power (150 w max) contests
- Contest exchanges that include something that changes with each QSO.
For example,
you might have a list of 10-12 items like op's birthday, name, grid
square (on HF!)rig/key/mike/antenna/exact power in use, zip code, old
callsign, etc. One item from the list would be exchanged with each QSO,
and the item would change after each QSO. When the list ran out you'd
start it again. For a real challenge, require a couple of items in each
exchange.
- Single-band and couple-of-band contests to concentrate the action.

73 de Jim, N2EY

The "newcomer quotient" --- a serious policy question
 

"KØHB" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Kim" wrote


One of my points exactly. If someone really is such an awful amateur
radio
operator, they'll disappear from the airwaves soon enough

They didn't disappear. They never even existed.


Well...you're still referring in terms of the fictional group of people you
posted about. There is still the reality that "crappy" radio amateurs are
generally ignored or otherwise discouraged from on-the-air participation,
etc. So, after some time, they'll usually "disappear." That's why CW/or no
CW requirement (if CW was ever used as a filtering mechanism as some
claimed), the filtering mechanism is other radio amateurs.


I've found that most of those who are labeled "appliance operators" at
club
gatherings already know each other real well because they are the most
involved in the amateur community.

"involved in the amateur community" means what? Most of us are hobbiests,
loosely connected by common interests like contesting, DXing,
experimenting,
repeater support clubs, public service interests, etc., etc. I derive
great
enjoyment from my experimenting and contesting, and I have a half a wall
of
"recognition" for various public service activities, but I don't consider
myself
part of any "community" of amateur radio.


I would define amateur community as the whole population of all amateurs.
You may not consider yourself a part of the whole, but you are (to me).


And, while the solderers have been busy
yakking and impressing each other with all that stuff (truly important
for
the heritage, yes, but not necessary knowledge in today's world),

Are you suggesting that technical curiousity and experimentation is no
longer
needed? That everything has already been invented, so no new knowledge in
electronics/radio communications is needed?


Absolutely not! I would think you know me better than that. You are either
completely ignoring or completely missed the open paren/close paren part of
my response. What is intended in that is that, some-not-all, grumpy old
amateurs choose to spread the word that "all that stuff" is still as
necessary as ever for radio operation. Which, IMNSHO, is untrue. One can
walk into any store and pick up a radio and have it working inside of a few
minutes these days. And, hallelujah for that. The "stuff" of amateur radio
is still very, very important for a lot of reasons; not the least of which
would be the heritage quotient, experimentation as you've so aptly pointed
out, and for the real nitty-gritty science of the art of amateur radio. I
DO, however, choose to recognize that there are those amateurs who just
plain aren't interested in that aspect. And, I don't call them any less an
amateur.


"appliance operators" have researched the internet for the best of the
best,
have saved their money up and equipped themselves for most emergency
situations and are ready for public service with the touch of a few
buttons
and the attachment of a few connections.

I disagree. There is a small and very valuable cadre of dedicated hams in
ARES,
RACES, DMCS, AERO, SATERN, and similar public service/disaster recovery
groups.
By and large they are above average in their technical qualifications, and
they
take their roll very seriously.


MMmm, I would choose to disagree with your belief, and it would be
interesting to find out which of us is closer to the truth on the matter.
Oh wait! You said "small." OK, I'll go along with that. BUT, wouldn't you
also give that others involved in public service take their role very
seriously as well? I mean, really. I know some folks who've spent
thousands on being prepared and being able to fully serve; and I know the
"small" group you refer to. Do we place more value on the amount of money
one has spent on preparedness or how "above average" they are in technical
qualifications? I think that each in their own right are just as
valuable--given that the propensity to volunteer is equitable.


Then there is a larger group of "fair weather volunteers" who are eager to
grab
their handheld and rush to provide public service communications for the
marathon or the walkathon, but only so long as their 2 batteries hold up.
They
impress each other by the number of T-shirts they've gotten from the local
chamber of commerce for these outings.

73, de Hans, K0HB



Absolutely. I agree totally with that.

Kim W5TIT
and, Hans, 73 to you too.



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