brainwagon

Comment from marxy
Time 7/21/2009 at 6:18 pm

I don’t think it’s dying. Certainly using the internet to satisfy my thirst for both technology and talking to like minds about technology competes with ham radio.

Ham radio died once before, when CB radio took off, but tune to CB now and it’s dead (where I am anyhow).

There is a magic in radio, where simple (even home made) equipment can communicate over long distances.

Comment from Art
Time 7/21/2009 at 9:55 pm

When internet was not around and cost of long distance phone minutes was much higher than now, HAM radio had certain appeal to people seeking cross-cultural interactions, especially young people. It was probably the only outlet through which those capable of getting a license could form communities spanning far beyond their domicile. Many probably saw it as earned privilege and felt proud about it.

Nowadays with so many unregulated alternatives (VOIP, Web-cams, etc) HAM radio is no longer unique or exclusive with regard to contacting people in different countries. In fact it can be perceived by young people as less appealing for it’s regulations and requirements. And by following the path of least resistance they choose to not join the ranks.
Just guessing.

Comment from Dan Lyke
Time 7/22/2009 at 9:30 am

My sweety and I got our licenses a few years ago with the intent of using them for driving SAG on bike rides, and maybe getting involved in local disaster preparedness stuff.

I’ve driven one SAG route since then, borrowed someone’s radio for it and they hadn’t set it up properly so it wasn’t transmitting (and other radio operators along the route couldn’t get it programmed right). Cell phone coverage was spotty, but I would have been better off if SAG control had simply left cell phone messages for me and I’d checked in when I got coverage.

For disaster recovery, there’s a certain utility in setting up an alternative to the cell phone network, but I have trouble maintaining a cache of water at home: keeping yet another set of gear and batteries up and charged and maintained for that once-a-century event is hard to justify.

And when I talk to my local HAMs I generally either find people who don’t do it any more because it got boring, or people who really enjoy the Monday night when they get a critical mass on 2 meter to have a chat that sounds a lot like CB for people without more interesting things to do. I’d far rather read blogs of people I know are intelligent and doing interesting things than engage in CB radio with people who are sticklers for protocol and rules.

I mean, sure, some of the long-range low frequency stuff sounds like it could be cool, but it’s kind of like tinkering with steam engines: The only real utility that has is if some event suddenly kicks us back to the beginning of the last century technology. For hobbies, I’d rather play with things that either have marketable possibilities or get people to say “oooh, neat!”.

So I’m in agreement with Art: There’s a lot cooler do-more-for-cheaper stuff out there to play with. And there are no language or commercial activity prohibitions on net and cell phone communications.

Comment from AlexC
Time 7/22/2009 at 9:37 am

I agree with Art…. and that’s speaking as a 30 year old freshly minted ham.

Talking to people from “far away” is really the point of ham radio, (yes, the technology is cool, but it’s really communication).

… and i can do that with IM, my phone, VOIP, text messaging, email, etc etc etc.

I recently had my first HT / Arrow antenna satellite contact via AO-51… .and I bragged about it to my non ham friends who just plain didn’t get it.

“But it was 1.5 W to a satellite in space, talking to another guy 850 miles away!”…

Comment from Mike
Time 7/26/2009 at 7:16 am

Unfortunately, I must agree with all comments. I was first licensed in 1960. Been in and out of ham radio for almost 50 years. Shortwave broadcasting is also my profession.

I came across this discussion via Youtube while looking at general ham radio articles. One of the videos I browsed before coming here was the K7AXN Field Day 2009. Wow, I thought….retro AM ham radio. Well, not exactly…

The video was a macrocosm of the abysmal condition of ham radio today. I’m 63 and all of those pictured at the picnic looked old than me. All of the guys had huge guts and their pants were held by suspenders. Never once did we see any ham radio operation. All I could do was shake my head and recall the good times.

Time and technology have caught up to ham radio. It was fun while it lasted.

Comment from Alan M
Time 7/26/2009 at 6:31 pm

Ham Radio is not dying or is it dead. It is restructuring as it has done over the years. Yes talking to someone in “far away” land is no longer magic. However, it is a fact our numbers have gone up recently. Also ask those that have been victims of a major disaster how the cell service not to mention the internet works when “it” hits the fan.

I have been licensed for 17 years and I am always finding new aspects of our hobby to try new modes or bands. Our club has setup at local festivals for the past few years and I have met more young people that don’t know what all can be done with a Ham Radio. It is up to us to show them and that is where a lot of us have fallen short.

IF the hobby is dying it is because we are letting it die. Well time and tech are catching up with us and shame on us for it. We have been the tech frontier and still are to a point. We have to get back to our roots and stop being appliance operators, innovate new tech and ideas to generate even more interest.

We can send data, pictures, sounds, and voice all around the world and into space or bounce off of the moon without big business infrastructure like the internet and such. Try doing any of that if you don’t pay the internet or cell phone bill.

Just my opinion, it and $2.50 might buy you a cup of coffee…

Comment from Ken
Time 1/2/2010 at 3:51 pm

Being able to speak with someone thousands of miles away is no big deal with the internet. And, as for local communications, the cell phone trumps anything that 2 meters can do. I hate to admit it, but I would say it is dead. I guess that it depends on how you define “dead.” I had considered using 2 m at one time, but the cell phones are more reliable for speaking to someone who is not a ham. Computer technology has taken over. The only cool RF products are Blue Tooth, RF routers, cordless phones, wireless weather stations, RC cars, RC boats, etc. You get it. We don’t need high power wireless to communicate. There is no more interest in Ham. Young people are not so much interested in technology, they just want things that work. Heck, even the 2m HTs are only 5 watts, you can get a HT without a ham license that also puts out 5 watts. So much for getting a ham license. Believe me, I am an EE, and if I thought it would be good to get a ham license, I would have by now.

Comment from Thomas
Time 4/15/2010 at 10:33 am

Yes ham radio is dying ! Just listen to the HF bands , 75 meters is nothing more than an old man’s private phone line , 20 meters nothing but over powered stations working contests and DX ! I can see why young people are not going into the amateur radio hobby , what on earth would a 16 or 17 year old want to spend hundreds of dollars on radio equipment and antennas to talk to a bunch of old men who only talk about their illnesses or what they did away back in the 1940’s or 50’s , or someone on the other side of the world when they can do the same thing on the internet ? Want to talk to someone on the radio ? They buy a SSB CB radio , when skip opens up they can talk all over the country and even the world !

Comment from Thomas
Time 4/15/2010 at 8:19 pm

Ham radio can be fun , I only wish that all HF transmitters would be limited to a maximum power of say 200 watts rather than one kilo-watt and there would be an end to so many contests ! I listen almost every evening on my Sony short wave radio to the 75 meter amateur band and sometimes I feel like I’m listening to CB , individuals fighting over frequency use , foul lanuage and off color remarks ! Last night an older California ham was fighting verbally with a ham who was near “his” frequency , telling this other ham to move off frequency and to get the hell out of amateur radio as he did not ID his station every 10 minutes as required by the FCC rules , and he had been an amateur radio operator for 54 years and always followed the rules ! Well needless to say the other ham left the frequency and this ham started up his QSO with his regular contact another old ham about 400 miles away ! Running 700 watts of power ! These are the things that turn off people to even want to get involved in amateur radio !

Comment from Thomas
Time 5/22/2010 at 10:27 pm

Last week I had a rather unfortunate incident and I wish had taken my 2 meter mobile , I was driving down to Phoenix from Sedona and three fourths of the way my car broke down , my cell phone did not work and I had little water and my car broke down going up a rather steep mountain , after nearly two hours and a passing trucker allowing me to call for help on his cell phone I was able to get my car towed to the town of Anthem nearly 30 miles away ! I know now the value of good communications and the value of having a 2 meter mobile in the car with atleast 50 watts enough to hit all the nearby repeaters or a ham who maybe listening on 146.52 simplex who can call the police ! As for CB , I have noticed that very few people still use CB in the vehicles and range is very limited on the highway 5-10 miles , lots of noise and south of the border dx ! And the so called emergency channel 9 is used as any other channel !

Comment from Zach
Time 6/25/2010 at 5:13 pm

I remember getting my license but was disappointed that none of my friends were interested in getting theirs so I could never use it to communicate with them or on trips. Looking back, I wish they would have an “apprentice” type process which would allow non-hams to begin using radios right away with limited privileges and learn as they go. This process is how many electricians and other trades become licensed. I still think this process could save ham radio because it would allow all my friends and family to begin using the radio immediately with a “permit”.

Comment from Mark VandeWettering
Time 6/27/2010 at 11:19 pm

There are already radio services that fufill that need: namely GMRS, FRS and CB. If really wall you want to do is communicate on trips, one of those, or your cell phone are perfectly adequate. I’m mostly for the elimination of unnecessary testing, but radio amateurs are licensed for different reasons than these other services, and I would submit that maintining some minimal technical competency is in keeping with those reasons and goals.

Comment from Jeff
Time 9/14/2010 at 2:22 pm

that is… If you can reach anyone on ham or 2-meters!

In our area, a cell would be best followed by a modified 2-meter radio to work on hunting frequencies (if during hunting season). Everyone in town has 75 watt modified ham-radio 2-meter Icoms so the chance you could communicate with someone on a commercial hunting repeater or frequency is greater. Oh, maybe you could also use the Sheriff’s frequency in the 155 Mhz area. After all if it’s a “TRUE” emergency, da da da…….. The FCC came here once for some ham complaints about the county using ham radios, and never did anything. Some employees still use them. We have like 6 licensed hams in the whole county. maybe 3 active but not on usually on a radio (if that makes any sense). They are “friends”. The local Radio Shack sells commercial VHF radios and antennas (Maxrad, Larsen, Midland, Antennex, etc…) -AND- do pro installations using NMO drills or punches. (It’s their biggest Money-Maker before hunting season!) They even outfit the FD and Sheriff’s Vehicles with comm equipment including cameras! I have yet to see more than a handful of Ham radio installs even close to the same caliber quality and workmanship! Then again, the county needs their radios to work!

I guess that in a populated city, there will always be some who use ham equipment or technology such as CB or FRS radios… Maybe they compliment boring activities with it like driving to work or while on break or waiting for someone, just like the young generation texts “junk” on cell phones at every non-active minute of the day. I still do not understand why “Norma needs to know what her friend is wearing or doing every minute of the day or when out in public.” Waste of time and bandwidth in my opinion. But at least the cellular service is getting a lot of use compared to ham bands… That may be why the FCC is planning to give them additional bandwidth!

And of course we can’t forget the retired generation users that live way out in the country with no deed-restrictions, neighborhoods, or neighbors, where they can run multiple towers and HF contests. Retirees don’t have to worry about work as much as a family that has to put bread on the table and pay bills without jobs! They deserve to enjoy their interests at their point in life, and probably do. Give em a B&W TV and their old-time tv shows and they will probably be content!

Then there are those planning for doomsday? Get a life! If you have money to spare, donate it to the Red Cross or United Way or a struggling family so that it can actually help someone! With the bad economy and people in search of housing, people are giving up pleasures, esp if they need to dig into their pockets and the hobbies do not satisfy a need such as eating, sleeping, or safety needs such as driving, cell phones, security, etc…Also with Satellite Comms and Federal communications caches and equipment, the “when all else fails” just isn’t ever gonna happen anymore! HF? Skywarn? Weather Nets? “It’s raining hard now!” Come on folks… Get real… You would be more useful learning CPR or First Aid for that day than hording gear and planning for the “big event”. At Katrina, church hams from other states setup and did absolutely nothing communications-wise but stand in line at the food distribution points taking daily resources needed by the locals.

Then we have hamfests, though I enjoy the equipment… I wouldn’t want to see what would happen if “The Best of Walmart” photographers got their camera’s into a hamfest! Could you imagine? There would be a rush to see fitness instructors nation-wide and fitness would become a nationwide fad overnight!!! They should teach First-Aid and CPR instead of Skywarn because the ambulance seems to make regular appearances at Hamfests nowadays! It’s sad when hams think an ambulance is an exhibit, then be told to move for a patient being loaded!

However, ham radio technology just isn’t useful anymore. Who carries around a portable radio and not a cell phone? Shopping? In Walmart? Cool? Uh… yeah right. OK, emergency service personnel such as EMS, Fire, Police… while on the job.

And finally, as for cellular, if you cannot get service, you are really out in the middle of nowhere or need to update your brick mobile bag phone get a better service. I can be 50 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico and reach cell towers on land regularly. and was in the middle of New Orleans during H Katrina and used a cell site in Tennessee reliably with an old 860 Nextel (with no booster or external antenna)!

With a population of 9 people living per square mile and no turnpikes or interstate roads, we have full county-wide cellular coverage with 4 cellular companies since 2005.

Ham Radio here isn’t dying, it’s Dead. The reason HF has “some traffic” is because the signals travel farther, kind of like linking every repeater together world-wide! Of course, you will hear more activity, but it doesn’t mean the service is alive and well. There could be only 10 active hams world-wide! I can still break out my Shortwave radio and hear channels on each band, however most countries no longer broadcast SW so what I am hearing is the same program from the same place on 20+ different frequencies or bands. I wouldn’t find this exciting, would you?

Comment from gjones
Time 9/16/2010 at 1:33 pm

Ham radio is DEAD! I have waited a long time to become a ham… CB got me into wanting my ticket. I got it and have never been more disappointed in my life! (except for my first marriage) The guys are rude insulting overweight a**holes! I bought tons of equipment and sold it all within the first month… I did get a friend involved, he got his ticket, and I even gave him a radio… We both were stunned at the lack of support from old hams, and try to hide the fact that we are hams. We can’t wait until our ticket expires! I tried to get my kids interested, but with jerks on the mic… I would rather the kids be on ch19 talking to truckers than fata** rude ham operators! What a shame.

Comment from Doug A.
Time 10/5/2010 at 5:33 am

I just read that the number of new ham licenses is way up??? And, as a new ham (although I went to the highest license class), I can tell you that the bands are so full some days and evenings that it’s hard to find a frequency to use without resorting to a few less popular lines. As for the civility and helpfulness of hams…never met a nicer bunch of folks willing to help me out and share their experience.

Comment from robert d.
Time 10/7/2010 at 1:06 pm

Back in 84 I was all enthused about ham radio and got my ticket. I got involved with a local club what a huge, huge mistake that was! A bunch of rude people and totally self interested in themselves and their good buddies.

That totally ruined ham radio for me!! So I got out of it. I am just now deciding maybe to get back into it but not to get involved with any clubs and only work on HF. I have since moved to a different state. Seems a little better here maybe.

Comment from robert d.
Time 10/7/2010 at 1:07 pm

That is why ham radio is dying, because of people like this! That I spoke of.

Comment from Bill
Time 10/29/2010 at 5:18 pm

Ham radio is not dead nor is it dying. Many people think the internet is killing ham radio because people can now communicate to other people around the world using the internet without getting a license. These people do not seem to realize that when the internet crashes, as it frequently does in times of disaster, ham radio will still get through. They also see cell phone as a ham radio replacement but they too go out when disaster strikes.

Comment from steve
Time 10/31/2010 at 4:30 pm

Ham radio is still around, but on the Edge, it’s a Great Hobbie to get in to and Fun, and many Fun things to Learn, trouble is, most of the teenagers don’t wanna know about radio communications, just Switch on the internet and their you go chat rooms faceBook, bebo, myspace, twiiter, and the Rest the world on a screen, i wish ofcom made it better but seems not, it’s only the very Rare Few of kids who want interest in Ham radio, and the Ham teacher better Think His Lucky to have Kids in the class Room in 2010 not 1971, to my opinion if i was Ham teacher i’d give them the licence straight away because i don’t want anyone walking out Now do i LOL, i don’t know anyone even with a CB-radio shame wish i knew some Ham guys

Comment from Thomas
Time 11/2/2010 at 8:17 pm

Ham radio is still a fun hobby , the problem is that it does not attract young people who see the hobby as nothing more than an old man’s hobby , just listen some evening to 75 meters or go to a hamfest , the average age seems like 75 ! What 16 year kid wants to spend hundreds of dollars for an hf rig to talk with a bunch of old men ? When he can get on the internet and communicate around the world on his computer . The problem with ham radio , it’s become an old man’s hobby that does not welcome new hams , just try entering a qso on 75 meters ! There are too many contests ! There should be cheaper hf gear , mono-band radios for less than $200 , more qrp operation running less power rather than hams running kilo-watt power stations !

Comment from Cliff
Time 11/20/2010 at 7:20 pm

I can tell you exactly why Ham radio is dying

First, younger people only have interest in utilizing technology and not understanding it. Look at the number of American kids who end up majoring in Engineering and Science nowadays…its sad. Electrical Engineering school was what spawned my interest

Second, the community rarely extends open arms to younger operators. It irritates me how the veterans complain about younger inexperienced operators and then bitch about how the hobby is dying out.

Third, the equipment is crazy expensive, so it’s a big risk to buy it and then find out you don’t enjoy it

There needs to be an effort to form clubs at University Engineering Departments that gets students certified and knowledgeable, so I encourage any operators that are professors to make this happen. It might be the only venue that generates a response

Comment from Mark VandeWettering
Time 11/21/2010 at 2:53 pm

I think the second and the third arguments has some merit, but I’m a little uneasy with the first one. It’s just too easy to say that kids today just aren’t as dedicated as we were. I believe I heard some statements like that from my father, and I’d be willing to bet that he heard the same thing from his father. But even if your criticism is true, we must admit that society as a whole (and we are part of this) have rewarded certain kinds of behavior and penalized others, and this includes simple things like education. Higher education was cheaper when I was of college age, and was genuinely more of a guarantee of a good job. Investing in your own education was something that payed dividends, because we still manufactured and designed and built things in this country, and could be certain of a good middle class wage to do so. That version of the American dream is fading, and we should be careful to place the blame where it belongs.

Comment from Thomas
Time 2/2/2011 at 4:01 pm

Well in many respects I can see why ham radio is dying just listen to 75 meters some evening just a bunch of old farts who think that they own the frequencies talking to other old farts running a thousand watts to talk to someone less than five hundred miles away ! And the high cost of radio equipment , I purchased a Yaesu FT-817ND a few months ago for over $600 a good performing radio but very overpriced with a paint job on the cabinet that peels off and and not even as good as some of my $40 CB radios , but Yaesu like Icom and Kenwood have a monoply on ham radio in America so they can get away with anything , third rate quality ! Remember the excellent quality American made radios like Colins , now we are expected to accept anything the Japanese produce and sell to us no matter how poor the quality is !

Comment from Mark VandeWettering
Time 2/3/2011 at 12:04 pm

As far as I know, you aren’t being forced to buy anything, whether it be made by the Japanese or not. As for all that classic American gear, it’s all mostly still available on eBay: if that floats your boat, by all means, go and get some. I have an old Drake 2B and a Heathkit HW-8 that I rather like, but I also rather like my own FT-817ND. As for it being expensive, I can’t imagine how you can compare them. My Drake was list priced at $279 in 1961. If you adjust for inflation, that’s a cost of $1978 (adjusted to 2009 dollars, the last year for which data is available). That’s just for a receiver. The equivalent of the $600 you just spent in 1961 would have been $84. Go back to the ads from QST and see if you can find a multiband radio for $84. My heathkit HW-8 was available from 1976-1983 for an original list price of $139.95, that’s equivalent to about $521. It was 4 band, CW only, and came as a kit.

The old stuff has some romance, sure, but in terms of “high cost of equipment” ham radio has never been cheaper.

Comment from terry
Time 2/8/2011 at 11:26 am

Ham radio has gone the same way that the steam locomotives have .I am licensed since 1984,and loved ham radio, but,it is rather an expensive and obsolete hobby now.If only the internet hadnt been invented!

Comment from Mark VandeWettering
Time 2/8/2011 at 12:36 pm

If only the Internet hadn’t been invented? Dear Lord, fellow hams: we have to stop being so retarded about our hobby. Comments like this only make us seem like puffed-up Luddites.

Comment from Thomas
Time 2/12/2011 at 5:30 pm

If the American hams ever got off of their asses and made the quality radios of the past like the Colins or the Drakes of the 1970’s maybe more young people may decide to get into the hobby ! Why spend hundreds of dollars to talk on a Japanese radio with a bunch of old men who are only interested in working weekend contests on 20 meters or a private phone line talking to each other on 75 meters ! I informed Yaesu that I will never buy another radio of theirs again until basic quality control improves , putting the cheapest paint job in the world on a radio that flakes off and instead of a handle to carry this rig and prop it up while in use , what does Yaesu include ? A cheap carry strap ? I heard that soon China will be offering 2 meter and 440 handhelds , they should be good and cheap and last atleast 6 months before they end up in the trash can ! Like their great American look a like electric drills and saws , lucky if they last 6 months before they end upin the trash can !

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Time 2/13/2011 at 1:12 am

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Time 7/7/2011 at 7:06 am

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