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

[Richard F DiDonna NN3W]

Ya know, that is a great idea.

By the way, can someone -please- find a way to emulate Dr. DX to the 
current windows/mac world?????  MorseRunner is great, but the ability to 
actually move your VFO, change bands, change power levels makes it quite 
distinct from MorseRunner.

Perhaps VE3NEA can find a way to blend the two.

73 Rich NN3W

On 5/26/2013 10:47 AM, W0MU Mike Fatchett wrote:
> 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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