Similar Situation.
Go figure the guy (ME) that has limited income, what does he do? He has
TWO hobbies that can be and now days mostly are expensive to do.
Radio, & Astronomy.
These two hobbies are very similar in nature. for the most part they are
indeed hobbies one does alone.
And entry level Radios, and Telescopes are priced similar a few hundred
bucks.
Then the top of the line stuff can be very expensive. Telescopes can
make Radio equipment look like garage sale prices. Like $20,000.00
bucks! And just like radio that is just the scope. you still can spend
thousands on prerferial support equipment. Like top of the line
Eyepieces. Without them the scope can not be used. You look through the
eyepiece. Top of the line ones can easily cost several hundred dollars
just for one. And you need many to fully utilize the capabilities of the
scope.
Analogy Radio = Antenns,, Telescope = Eyepieces.
And everything is similar ya got radios and telescopes, ya got Towers
and antennas, and outside shelters for the telescopes. computers for
both. as well as tons of other perferial support equipments.
I fount the two hobbies are complimentary, daytime play radio, cloudy
nights play radio, clear nights use telescope.
There are clubs for each.
There are organizations that support and promote both like the ARRL for
Amateur Radio, and the Astronomical League for Astronomy.
Thing is even tho the estimated population of Amateur Astronomers is
hard to determine, (no license required and able to track) the latest
estimate from the Astronomical league say that the population in the USA
is between 300,000 and 400,000 people are interested in Astronomy, as a
hobby more than just the casual interest, in other words just like the
level of interest of someone interested in radio and was interested
enough to get their license.
Even more similarities are
Amateur Radio has "HOA's" and CC&R's that restrict their ability to do
the hobby,
Astronomy has Light pollution.
But there is one BIG difference that i see between the two.
Amateur Radio has more licensed in the hobby than it has ever had in
history, yet all ya hear is how it is a dead hobby, and need to get more
people involved. or it will surely die soon. 700,000+ licenced in USA alone
Astronomy maybe only has 300,000 to 400,000 in the hobby in the USA,
yet the hobby is thriving and you never ever hear about it dieing. The
only thing you hear is to be really serious about it you have to now
either live where there are no lights, or spend hours driving to one
hoping for good weather.
Imagine having to every time you wanted to use your radios having to do
it AKA Field Day style! Where you can't do it where you live and you
have to drive 500 miles to set up and play radio, thats what probably
90% of amateur astronomers now have to do.
Yet I have yet to hear one compliant about the hobby dieing and needing
to get more people interested.
Interesting huh?
Joe WB9SBD
On 5/29/2013 12:11 PM, David Gilbert wrote:
Ham radio had that kind of appeal fifty years ago because for most of
us it was the best way to get something done (i.e., communicate around
the world). That no longer is even close to being true, and ham radio
now falls into the category of a niche hobby like model boat building,
fly tying, crossword puzzles, bird watching, quilting, guitar playing,
or fishing. The problem is that thousands of those exist and most
even offer competition in one form or another. Your description is
completely accurate for most of us, but it is not just "dated" ...
it's ancient history and your premise that it offers appeal for newer
generations doesn't hold at all. It would be like somebody telling us
we should use oiled paper for windows because it lets in so much more
light than does a solid wall, and how "magic" it is when the light is
right so that we can actually make out the landscape outside ... when
glass gets the job done so much better in almost all conditions.
People who want to communicate want to communicate, not put in a lot
of effort and pay a lot of money for the meager possibility to do it
poorly.
I think that's where a lot of hams go wrong ... they don't realize
that the majority of the younger generations actually want to
communicate and interact in depth and couldn't care less about the
mechanism of doing so.
In all reality, that probably is more the case with us than we tend to
recognize. I will bet that the average amateur radio operator spends
far more time communicating via other means (cell phone, texting,
email, etc) than they do by ham radio, and I'll even bet that the
average subscriber to this reflector spends more aggregate hours each
year reading and responding to these posts than they do actually
operating in a contest. A wisp of a signal emerging from the
background noise is magic to us, but other media that allow
simultaneous sharing of voice, pictures, and music in real time in
conversational quality with anyone in the world are going to win out
every time. And when you consider the relative depth, visual
environment, richness of competition, and cost of participation for
video games versus a ham radio contest, there is simply no comparison.
I truly love radiosport, but at least I recognize that it is a legacy
infliction that wouldn't even exist if I were a generation or two
younger. When I was a teen, nobody had to recruit me to ham radio. I
was technically inclined and fascinated by the possibility to
communicate with the world. For us to think that today's teens ...
with the mountains of information available to them ... are too lazy,
ignorant, or ill informed to make similar choices just seems illogical
to me. We may acquire a few converts, but they're going to be in the
same category as those drawn to clock making or classic car restoring.
73,
Dave AB7E
On 5/28/2013 2:42 PM, Radio K0HB wrote:
Here is something that I wrote a couple decades back --- it's a tad
"dated"
now, but I think the central premise holds...
Dit dit,
Hans, K0HB
-------------------------------------------------------11
What is Ham Radio, and How do I get started?
- A short introduction by Hans Brakob, K0HB
(I have to explain something you might not have realized. In doing
so, I'm
going to paraphrase something written by Steve Ford, WB8IMY, in his
introduction to a book entitled "The ARRL Operating Manual".)
In case you didn't know, belief in magic is a necessary requirement
for all
Amateur Radio operators. Of course, you won't see a question concerning
magic or metaphysics on the test you take to obtain your license, but in
your heart you will come to believe in that powerful, intangible force.
<snip>
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