OK guys.  Let's just agree to disagree.

And if you find the discussion inappropriate,ask for removal.

Cheers,
mike/wa4d

Ham Radio operators are hardly the group to be providing "emergency support", when their ranks are full of dead people who claimed to be "safe".

With the death of 4 hams recently the same predictable rhetoric and platitudes pour out in the media.

4 hams were killed in a plane crash 2 weeks ago piloted by 69 year old W2GJ who is said to have been "meticulous" about his airplane. And that he could "function on 4 hours of sleep" according to another. [ Ask yourself would you let your children/grand children go up in an prop airplane with a 69 year old pilot taking off from a rural airport in the dark?] The wife of one of the victims declared the pilot to be "extremely safety conscious" [ Yes Maam and now your husband is dead]  All of this before any investigation has been conducted. The NTSB reportedly has ruled out weather as a factor. Could pilot error be a possibility? Fatigue? How many 69 year old men are in good enough shape and have the stamina needed to safely pilot a small aircraft? These questions should be addressed in the investigation. These deaths happened for a reason. It's not a mystery. Either pilot error. Mechanical failure. Fatigue. Or Incompetence will emerge as a factor or factors.

And how about those 3 dead people putting  up a Ham antenna down in Florida?  By my count the Ham Radio Body count is 8 since field day!


In Oct. of 2007 when 60 year old ham radio operator W4WYT crashed his home brew gyro copter, killing Judy Diane Albert, 43, of Christiansburg, Va. press accounts were similar. Pelt was said to be "highly respected".


Earlier this summer, "professional tower climber" KE4PM was killed while erecting a tower on field day. He was said to be very "safety" oriented and like the other victims above, was "very passionate about Amateur Radio".

And what of May 30, 2006? —Two  California  Hams died after the  vehicle in which they were riding during a mobile hidden transmitter hunt went over a cliff,  in rugged terrain near Lake Isabella in Kern County.

"Mike and Dave were some of the best T-hunters in the biz," said Scott Press, N6SAP, calling
both "true assets to this hobby."  Yep, and now these assets are Dead!

What do these hams have in common?  Committed to their hobby and perhaps their own egos. They all participated in dangerous activities. Yet all were said to be so "careful" and "safe" and "respected". And now they are all dead. [Correction: Pelt W4WYT was badly burned and presumably lived, while his passenger died]

There is more at play here than "freak accidents" as some said of KE4PM's demise. I look forward to the NTSB findings in the S. Carolina crash.


Public safety officials need to do  serious background checks on these EmComm groups (to  include random drug testing, and certifications) and their record of safety and training before allowing participation.  The public should  not be subjected to a group with such a safety record.

I don't think it's "wet blanket" at all Mark. It's the world we live in.  You and I grew up in a less urgent period.

American kids in say Waterloo, Iowa or Chicago are not competing against kids in Dallas or Atlanta. They are competing against kids in Jakarta, Bangalore, Prague and Shenyang.  And as we know all too well.....many American kids are not doing well in that competition.  And it begins at age 8.

Here's an example of doing well. Two kids who interned for me during their Senior year of college in 2005. Both finished their undergraduate degrees in 4 years flat and are now 25. One is a Multi-media developer at the State Department in DC and finishing a Masters Degree in Instructional Design. The other works for a large PR firm in NYC and is going to Law school at night. They're both over achievers. Both are single and have salaries well north of the national median household income (2006 data).

That is their beginning. They both know they will have to keep going back to school repeatedly through their lives and they will switch jobs  if not career fields every few years.  (The stultifying analog practice of a person working for one firm for many years is over! And they know it.)

Working class families are especially vulnerable to being washed away by this new reality. They (the low skilled and poorly educated) will be rendered irrelevant in a world wide economy where knowledge is all that matters.

So I say again, don't emphasize  to kids a deadend hobby like ham radio. The Norman Rockwellian image of an old man sitting at a desk with a Swan 350 is long gone. And that is as it should be.

This is the silliest post I've ever seen online. Anywhere.

David....you obviously know nothing of child development and learning. The absurdity of a PSK  demo for an 8 year old is pathetic.

Cognitive learning at age 8 is not ham radio. No matter what the geriatric crowd here says. Further if the kid's parents care about him, they'll offer him music, art or books as an alternative to an antiquated, irrelevant and dying hobby.

Study after study show that children from families that read go to college at much higher rates than those that do not. (Less than half of American adults READ books for pleasure). Develop a learning environment that is relevant and will encourage him to grow. The uneducated have no future in a globalized knowledge worker era. And that is as it should be.

The good news is the kid will indeed make his own decision. If this kid is intellectually curious and an achiever I predict he'll reject ham radio. To do otherwise will be a waste of time

mike/wa4d
 

The responses here by  those who consider formating to be "fancy" or "bandwidth hogging" is laughable.

The good news is that these people are irrelevant amidst those who live in a fast moving digital lifestyle.  Most hams have been left behind by communications technology and more importantly the culture.  They are relics of a fast fading analog past and this is the demographic eHam caters to.  eHam is condescending by maintaining their Compuserve era infrastructure. It is what Hams deserve. And who they are.

Over on K9ZW's Blog  there is a discussion of the 2008 Dayton Hamfest . Topics include the broken  and putrefying toilets, pot holes, weeds, extortionist hotel prices, disintegrating infrastructure, flea market organization (rather lack of organization).  They even lament that wives have nothing to do in the low tech rust belt high crime city of Dayton, Ohio. (No Ham who cares about his wife would take her to such a trashy event)

The Vulgar Dayton Hamvention is the metaphor for amateur radio today.  Hams of substance should attend the classy venues like the  DX convention or HamCom as K9ZW suggests  

But most Hams deserve the  Dayton of 2008.  It is who they are.

WA4d: http://www.wa4d.net

K9ZW: http://k9zw.wordpress.com/2008/05/28/dayton-hamvention-2008-follow-up-report-no-21-dayton-the-unwashed/#comments

The The W$J reports today how the China earthquake news was quickly disseminated via micro-blogging, text messaging and online videos that reached millions. In cities across China, many were glued to their cellphones, getting the latest news.

eHam (arguably representative of the types of communications ham want) is a crude platform. Little more than a bulletin board on a country store wall. Primitive (like it's users) it moves at a glacial pace.

In China the diverse array of communications technologies in play illustrate why eham and the culture it serves is an antiquated model. An apt metaphor for the hobby at large.

Field Day. The venerable ham tradition for decades. A weekend to get out and operate radios.  The date is announced months in advance. Some groups do it up big with families, others eek it out minimalist QRP style, and still others just do what they can. The "contest" is the same as it has been for many many years. Points awarded for contacts and the usual multipliers for various other criteria (power level, mode, power source).  

What if Field day?

Was held at different times of the year?
Was announced with only 90 minutes warning? (in a 6 week window)
Was limited to an 8 hour stretch of operating
Required Digital modes and connectivity with a central server
Asks that groups stream a Web cam of their operations so others could monitor
Recognized a group for the most amusing set up? the most extreme operating conditions? or multiple locations during the 8 hour shift?
Didn't matter how many contacts you made if your emphasis was on the set up and a using a combination of the web and bands to "educated" others on logistics, operating practices and a "live" demo using both video across the net and over the air demonstration of the methods you use.
No numeric point scoring system. That's been played.
Make your own "media"---- Local mainstream media stories are generally poorly written and the same tired tripe that is published year after year. Emphasize the fun and connection to larger technology. And deemphasize the "when all else fails" propaganda.
Add your own suggestions......

Does the League ever do anything new? It's time to blow up the old model. Even Hiram Percy would welcome a new party. Field day is a relic of another time. Let's move on.

WA4D.net

Jeezus! WB5 Victor Zulu London?!?!?!?!

Hello George!!! I don't get to interact with Ham radio royalty very much. (No I'm not being facetious).  Nice to "see" you!

I hear what you're saying yet ask why are you spending time tweaking it? You can "outsource" the entire system at reasonable cost. (this may be a debateable point since I don't know the financials of eham).

My larger issue is one of philosophy. I'm reassured that you are thinking about changes and I agree there is merit to the  (Craigs list "vanilla model" vs. the Web 2.0 services concept.) Further, the demographics of the hobby are a VERY valid consideration. Just who are your users? Fact is most hams won't use more powerful site features.  But does that mean you don't offer them?

Cheers,
mike

3 Years ago, FaceBook didn't exist. One recent estimate puts now it's value now north of $15 Billion.

My Space, Okrut, Photoblogs, Twitter and all  sorts of  social networks have exploded around us. They offer environments that are rich in features, visually engaging and interactive.

The eham site is based on crude text based responses. No editing, no You Tube Video insertions, No Text messaging built in, no collaboration tools, no formating ability, no images or graphics in forum messages, no linking or blog style referencing to name but a few of the routine features found in the sites that are among the most popular around the world.

Yet eham plods along like the hobby and demographics it represents. Compared to what's happening on the net at large, eham is like a web rest home

wa4d.net

APRS and D-Star share some similar features. Kenwood has endorsed the APRS model while Icom is full bore behind D Star.

I've been wondering what hams are thinking about these two modes.

I put up a quick poll on my web site. Click to Vote please.

http://www.wa4d.net

OR

http://mewcomm.typepad.com/wa4dnet/2008/05/poll-which-digi.html

THANK-You

APRS and D-Star share some similar features. Kenwood has endorsed the APRS model while Icom is full bore behind D Star.

I've been wondering what hams are thinking about these two modes.

I put up a quick poll on my web site. Click to Vote please.

http://www.wa4d.net

OR

http://mewcomm.typepad.com/wa4dnet/2008/05/poll-which-digi.html


Thank YOU

K8AC tells WP4NXA all the ways to get the club going without any reference to learning, curiculum or educational relevance. How to scam the budget, buzz word use, and school marketing ("cast the school in a good light").  Typically self centered.

WP4NXA....tell us of your student's test scores? How do they compare with students in Prgaue, Banglador or Haiphong?  What is the intellectual basis for your decision? (Or is this just another, "I'm a ham" so they'll like it too" idea?)

Here's a better idea. Spend time doing real teaching instead of looking to push your hobby on the kids. Teach them the old fashioned way. With imaginative lectures. Spark their young minds without reference to an irrelevant hobby.  Do you use IM? Video conferencing? Collaboration tools? 3D Creation? Grid Networks?  Of course you don't. You're a school teacher. . These are the contemporary tools kids need to master. Not the analog methodology of ham radio.

Discard K8AC's tired and predictable response. Come into the future and leave ham radio where it belongs. Stuck in the analog past and in rest homes around the nation.

Revised address:

http://mewcomm.typepad.com/photos/kenwood_tm0d710_aprs_radi/index.html

Link repaired.
http://www.wa4d.net
Thanks