[CQ-Contest] Will there be anyone to work in 20 years?

[W0MU Mike Fatchett]

This is why online gaming has become big.  You can find action almost 
anytime day and night.   Major contests are monthly at best.

What I wish we had was a DR. DX MMO  Massive Multiplayer online game.

Mike W0MU

On 5/26/2013 8:10 AM, Cqtestk4xs at aol.com wrote:
> ...and you forgot one other thing.
>   
> Today's young people live in an instant gratification society. Why spend
> time studying for a license to talk to someone in Russia when you can do it
> today on Skype.  I applaud the efforts of those who are doing lots of work
> to encourage people to get into the hobby, but it is a tough battle.
>   
> Bill K4XS
>   
>   
>   
>   
> In a message dated 5/25/2013 10:07:58 P.M. Coordinated Universal Tim,
> k3fiv at arrl.net writes:
>
> Ham  radio contesting arguably invented "online gaming", long before
> there was a  'net.   If we can remember what it was like to be young, I
> think  there's some easy explanations for why our own form of online
> gaming isn't  very popular.
>
> Young people typically don't have much money.  Maybe  they can scrounge
> a few hundred dollars, or convince a doting relative, and  buy an XBox
> or such.   They can do battle with their friends, and  if they develop
> skill at the particular game, they can even win, at least  among their
> online buddies.
>
> Contrast that with ham radio.  A  few hundred dollars might get them a
> basic station scrounged from flea  markets - the 100 watt and a wire
> type.  They can have a little fun  with that, but it's not likely
> they'll ever be able to win anything unless  they find an obscure entry
> category where there's no competition.  And  then they might experience
> a pretty hollow victory.
>
> To win, they're  told they need a Real Station -- a modern radio,
> preferably two, at least  one tower/rotator/antenna, and assorted
> accessories.  Perhaps $5000  would get you started.  That still isn't
> likely to be a winner's  station, no matter how skilled they become.
> Plus they need to commit rather  large chunks of time, since contest
> scores strongly correlate with BIC  time.  Maybe even schedule a trip
> to a more score-friendly QTH where  you can really be competitive.
>
> If they somehow manage to find that wad  of cash, they're probably far
> more likely to spend it on a car than on a  pair of K3s or a tower.
> They'll be out somewhere doing something at least  part of their
> weekends.   They won't be pulling all-nighters to  try to win a contest
> that they know their station isn't good enough without  that extra
> tower, or amp, or set of beverages, that won't get past the  local
> Parental HOA anyway.
>
> So they go buy the new version of Call of  Duty, and spend a few hours
> gaming before heading out with their  friends.
>
> This situation isn't limited to the young.  There's  legions of new
> hams that committed a few hundred dollars for an HT and got  a Tech
> license, who can be coaxed into getting an HF license too.  But  the
> cost of setting up a competitive HF contesting station is a very  big
> hurdle that few cross.
>
> I think a big obstacle to getting new  contesters, of any age, is
> simply that the bar to entry is set too  high.   There aren't any
> categories, in any contest, where a  "simple station" can compete with
> others of its kind, to see who has the  best radio skills.
>
> If contests provided a way such that "simple  stations" could actually
> compete, with each other, perhaps we'd see more  contesters, of all
> ages, in the games.
>
> 73,
> /Jack de  K3FIV
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