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Author Topic: Lack of interest?  (Read 3084 times)

K3UIM

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Lack of interest?
« on: May 26, 2019, 03:35:22 PM »

Just for the heck of it, I checked our club's membership list of 46 members and compared it to my eHam's list. Aarrgghh!!

Now I wish I hadn't looked! What is wrong with this generation? I know they use eHam to look up call signs, but have they no interest in what is involved in the hobby except what might concern their 2 meter hand-helds??

Having been an experimenter, home-brewer, tinkerer, etc all of my active years in the hobby, I find it hard to believe that there isn't more interest in the electronic side hamming.

Sheesh!! Now I'm an old fogy stuck in TAE's time warp! … sigh …
LOL

Charlie, K3UIM

« Last Edit: May 26, 2019, 03:41:47 PM by K3UIM »
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Charlie. K3UIM
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K3UIM

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2019, 09:14:53 AM »

Rereading my thread made me chuckle aloud. The thought  came to mind that possibly, in this "enlightened education" age, how many of today's youth would even wonder who or what TAE is or was. I suspect that or anyone or anything that happened before the middle of the 20th century has gone the way of the "multiplication Tables."

… uh … Those were a series of numbers … oh, never mind. LOL (Judas Priest! How I hated having to memorize them!!!) LOL

Charlie, K3UIM

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Charlie. K3UIM
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MACGUFFIN

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2019, 01:02:55 PM »

how many of today's youth would even wonder who or what TAE is or was.

Thomas Alva Edison?
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K0UA

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2019, 03:07:42 PM »

Who's time warp?  What is a TAE?
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73  James K0UA

K3UIM

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2019, 09:08:46 PM »

Am I to assume that you're "a youth"? (That was my word.)
If so, then I stand corrected. Otherwise? … well … LOL
Charlie, K3UIM
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Charlie. K3UIM
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MACGUFFIN

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2019, 03:03:55 PM »

Why aren't more people interested in this thread?

Here, I'll add my 2 cents just to see if I can get this ball rolling.

The reason that I see so few people interested in the electronic side of ham radio is the abundance of OFs that chase them away.  I'll see someone reprogram a WiFi access point with open source software, tweak the output up a notch, adjust the filters to keep it in the ham bands, build a high gain antenna, set it up to auto-ID with his call sign, then show it off to the OFs, and expects to get an "attaboy".  Instead he'll get a chorus of, "That's not ham radio!!"

I recall a prominent member of the open source software community doing all kinds of work to develop and demonstrate a new spread spectrum network protocol, and the hardware he had to build to make it possible.  He wrote a blog entry somewhere on how he was surprised on how many people came to see him present this new protocol.  What stunned him at the end was that in the Q&A it became clear that the reason so many came was to make every effort possible that this new protocol stayed on paper and off the air.  Because, "That's not ham radio."

What the OFs seem to see as the electronic side of ham radio is building power supplies and restoring old vacuum tube gear.  This might be exciting for the people very new to the hobby, and I can imagine it keeps a handful interested for a very long time but for the rest it gets old real quick.

Would it hurt all of you OFs to encourage people to try something new once in a while?  Or at least just shut up?

I know where all the electronic experimenters went, they went to Part 15 mostly.
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K4EMF

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #6 on: May 31, 2019, 06:42:17 AM »

.....Or at least just shut up?


1) What's an OF?
2) What's a MacMuffin?
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K3UIM

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #7 on: May 31, 2019, 06:52:49 AM »

Why aren't more people interested in this thread? Here, I'll add my 2 cents just to see if I can get this ball rolling.
The reason that I see so few people interested in the electronic side of ham radio is the abundance of OFs that chase them away.Would it hurt all of you OFs to encourage people to try something new once in a while?  Or at least just shut up?I know where all the electronic experimenters went, they went to Part 15 mostly.
"Mac", I'm going to assume you mean "Old Folks" when you mention "OF" Hi.

Like most (I hope) of us OF's, I prefer to retain what we consider hamming. That is to say experimenting, building, repairing, etc on our equipment. We get a certain contentment from it that some get by reading a great novel or painting a seascape. Any hobby that takes you away from the uncertainty of today and puts you in a state of relaxation is well worth any effort involved.

I, for one, think, (as do many others and not only the OF's you mention,) that the FT8 (or whatever it's called) system is not hamming, but in a separate class of its own. It could be compared to hams getting into SSTV, another "electronic" phase, so to speak. Working wonders for the future and whatever it may spawn, but hamming? Perhaps, in a way.

Now that I have everyone PO'ed at me, I apologize, but this is my feelings on the subject.

Now, back to the 40 meter CW rig I'm trying to put together. LOL

Charlie, K3UIM
 
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Charlie. K3UIM
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K4EMF

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #8 on: May 31, 2019, 07:00:33 AM »

...I'm going to assume you mean "Old Folks" when you mention "OF" Hi.

Ah....old folks eh.   Am I'm I old enough to be an OF at 58?  Just curious.

Quote
Now that I have everyone PO'ed at me....

I'm not PO'ed and I even plan to try PSK31 soon.

:)
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K3UIM

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #9 on: May 31, 2019, 07:44:15 AM »

EMF: ElectroMotive Force?? LOL
You're only as old as you feel and at 85, I feel it. Hi

PSK31??? W.T.Heck is that? LOL
I prefer Brandy while others like cough syrup. To each his own.
(But you gotta admit, Brandy tastes a whole lot better!!!Hi.)

Charlie, K3UIM

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Charlie. K3UIM
Where you are: I was!
Where I am: You will be!
So be nice to us old fogies!!

ND6M

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #10 on: May 31, 2019, 08:51:00 AM »

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MACGUFFIN

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #11 on: May 31, 2019, 10:18:21 AM »

1) What's an OF?

Take your pick, old folk, old fart, old fogie, old firetrucker, whatever you like.

2) What's a MacMuffin?

I think it's a brand name for an egg sandwich from a popular fast food restaurant.  Why are you asking me?
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MACGUFFIN

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #12 on: May 31, 2019, 10:36:17 AM »

"Mac", I'm going to assume you mean "Old Folks" when you mention "OF"

Close enough.  I really meant something like "old firetruckers", but I added a few letters in the middle to avoid a standards of use violation.

Hi.

Good day to you.  (Typically such a greeting is at the beginning but I'll follow your lead.)

Like most (I hope) of us OF's, I prefer to retain what we consider hamming. That is to say experimenting, building, repairing, etc on our equipment. We get a certain contentment from it that some get by reading a great novel or painting a seascape. Any hobby that takes you away from the uncertainty of today and puts you in a state of relaxation is well worth any effort involved.

I can understand that.

I, for one, think, (as do many others and not only the OF's you mention,) that the FT8 (or whatever it's called) system is not hamming, but in a separate class of its own. It could be compared to hams getting into SSTV, another "electronic" phase, so to speak. Working wonders for the future and whatever it may spawn, but hamming? Perhaps, in a way.

Is it on ham frequencies?  Is it legal?  Then it's ham radio.  There's no "in a way" about it.

Now that I have everyone PO'ed at me, I apologize, but this is my feelings on the subject.

I'm not "PO'ed".  I'm quite satisfied at your honesty.  You wanted to know why hams are not interested in more electronic aspects.  My answer is that from my experience those that have an interest in electronics simply left ham radio.  They did so because of people like yourself.  If you want to see more people in ham radio interested in electronics then it would be in your best interest to stop suggesting that what electronic interests they have are not ham radio.

What you have written reinforced my experience quite well, you wrote nothing to contradict what I wrote.  Again, the people interested in electronics were chased off by the old firetruckers and expressed their interests in other ways outside of ham radio.
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K3UIM

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #13 on: May 31, 2019, 04:12:49 PM »

Mac,
"Again, the people interested in electronics were chased off by the old firetruckers and expressed their interests in other ways outside of ham radio."

I firmly believe that if one loves a hobby, no matter what it might be, he will stick with it, learning more with each qso, experiment, rag chew, problem solved, etc. It becomes a snow-balling experience that very possibly may find outlets in other facets of hobbyism. (Is that a word?)
ie: Installing a 2 meter rig into a vehicle and solving a problem that comes up, diverting himself off in a new direction, finding a "second love" so to speak. Thus devoting himself more in that direction, learning more …… And so it goes. Perhaps in a few years he might return to the original hobby. <hidden text> And discover that it has all changed, so darn it all, he has to practically start all over again. @#$%^&*!!<End text> LOL

Charlie, K3UIM

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Charlie. K3UIM
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MACGUFFIN

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RE: Lack of interest?
« Reply #14 on: June 02, 2019, 02:15:25 AM »

I firmly believe that if one loves a hobby, no matter what it might be, he will stick with it, learning more with each qso, experiment, rag chew, problem solved, etc. It becomes a snow-balling experience that very possibly may find outlets in other facets of hobbyism.

What you seem to misunderstand is that the interests these people have is not inherently bound to being a ham radio operator.  They can express their interest in electronics and communications in other ways besides ham radio.  If the OFs keep telling them "that's not ham radio" then they'll do their hobby of "not ham radio" somewhere other than ham radio.

(Is that a word?)

If it wasn't a word before then it is now.

You are correct to assume that people "stick with it".  The "it" they are sticking to is electronic experimentation.  If the OFs chase them away because it's "not ham radio" then they "stick with it" somewhere else.  A person that just entered ham radio will have little to hold them to the hobby.  Maybe they bought a handheld radio and an antenna.  That's maybe $200 in hardware, not a significant investment for many adults earning a wage.  Maybe they keep it "just in case".  Maybe they sell it.  Maybe they reprogram the radio for GMRS/FRS and use it there.  (You and I both know that using a ham radio on GMRS/FRS frequencies is illegal.  You and I also know that the chances of getting caught and punished is near zero.)

Why do you find it so difficult to believe that someone could leave ham radio so quickly and easily?
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