[CQ-Contest] Observations of a young ham

[Gerry Hull]

A very interesting topical discussion.

Here's some of my discovery over the past year and a half, where we did the
"Discover the HF Experience" event, once in Canada, one in MA,
and another in Dayton, all with experienced contest ops doing the demos...

Some facts:
- There are lots of young amateur radio licensees
- Most of them are on VHF only.
- We have more licensees now than we have had in many years.

So, hopefully, this should dispel the the idea that we are competing with
Video Games.  People are interested in the IDEA of ham radio.
They just don't understand enough about it.  And we don't show 'em.
Hell, there are tens of thousands of things that compete for peoples time
and energy.

Amateur Radio -- HF Operation -- and contesting are very compelling
activities -- however, as one young  ham said to me "Amateur Radio is
hidden in plain site."
Yes, there are 1000s of web sites about Ham Radio in the internet.  BUT,
you have to know what to look for!!!  We cater to ourselves, and we use an
awful lot of jargon that will be totally foreign to new/non hams.

All of this was especially evident in Dayton.  Many licensed hams came to
our event and told us they had never operated HF.
One father and son team said "We have our extras.  We got them together,
just for the challenge."  They had never been on HF.
Another guy stopped by.  We had six remote stations they could operate.  He
said "I have no interest in operating.  I just want to talk to you about
getting my antennas up.   I came here to get info.  However, every booth I
go to, it is just old buddies talking together and I cannot get the info I
need."

I received and email from a ham in San Francisco -- SAN FRANCISO!!  -- that
said he could not find a ham to help him put up an antenna -- he was
interested in learning about contesting.  (We got him hooked up.)

I think those who think HF, and especially HF contesting, are not
compelling hobbies, better think again.    Do they have a social component
that anyone of any age craves?  You bet.  I have more contesting friends
than friends IRL!!

Do we have barriers to entry?  You bet.  Can they be overcome?   That's for
us, as a community, to overcome.
,
If I'm a new ham and I don't have a compelling experience operating HF, why
would I want to go on and push myself to upgrade?

Take a new ham, or even an unlicensed op, into a decent station with a
tribander, a KW and computers.
Work DX.  Break Pileups.  Operate a contest.   Explain Propagation and it's
challenges.  Talk about gear and antennas.
Do  a newbie team.  Don't worry about score -- but let people know it's a
competition.

Part of the problem is you have to experience the excitement FIRST HAND.  A
WRTC video, a youtube video, though well produced, is not the same as
experiencing
first-person operating.

As espoused by Mary, KC1CWF, treat young hams as PEERS.  They are very
smart.  They WANT to learn.  They WANT to be challenged.
Do they have to win CQWW CW on the first try?  Of course not.   Do they
want to be part of a team?  YOU BET!

We, contesters, are the cream of the crop of HF ops (IMHO).  Looking at
magazine pages, we are the most popular activity in the hobby.
We drive the development of high performance gear.    We have to be the
ambassadors!

Part of the problem is we are all getting old.  We don't want to make the
effort.   Social Norms are different today.
People question why a 15-year-old would go into the house of a 50-to-60
year old person they did not know well and spend a weekend.
All this can be overcome by education.

So -- if you just want to pontificate on CQ-Contest about how it's all
going to hell, and that we have lost our youth to video games, then I
guess our fate is sealed.

Instead, take some of that energy and focus it on bringing new people into
the fold.  They are there for the taking...

73,

Gerry, W1VE
Contesting since age 16....(42 years and counting)






On Tue, Dec 20, 2016 at 1:06 PM, Stephen Bloom <sbloom at acsalaska.net> wrote:

> Given the big go around on this subject, I think WL7F and KE3X bring it
> down
> to the essentials
>
> Re:  KE3X (and related to something I had mentioned early about wondering
> why EU continues to grow contesters), the ticket for young people is
> social,
> *especially* young people who may still be at that awkward stage (that some
> of us never grow out of!) of finding their social niche.  I run into a
> *lot*
> of contesters who I remember from my teen days in the late 70s/early 80s in
> W2 land with pretty much identical paths.  They got their licenses either
> through family or a local elmer/club, played on the air some, and got
> recruited or found by one of the major contest clubs or multiop stations.
> As best as I can tell, a number of them are getting on 40 years of
> contesting without significant breaks.  Not only that, but many of their
> closest friends, confidantes, people who have gone through their lives with
> them, have been together since then.  We can discuss technology changes,
> gaming, "busy" user interfaces vs. spare etc. etc. but I've known enough
> millennial and younger to know that the basic dynamics, "nerds and geeks
> looking for a fun group to do geeky stuff" doesn't change.
>
> We have a very modern well designed station at the Anchorage Amateur Radio
> Club (KL7AA).  With travel and now with the KL7RA station, I haven't had
> much time in the last few years to do much with them, but, at least for SSB
> and RTTY, we can count on some newly licensed or newly reactive ham getting
> on to "just play around" in some contest, and, "get it."  Not all stick
> with
> it, but more than you would expect.  I can tell you, that it is the #1
> attractant to the younger folks, much moreso than the beer gutted guys
> playing EmComm (not that there is anything wrong with beer or EmComm).  The
> best thing anyone on this list could do for the future, is convince their
> local club to become a "hackerspace."  A clubhouse, with equipment, where
> it
> is comfortable to hang out, bs, and learn, will pay yuuuuge dividends.
> Also, concentrate on fun, the younger guys and gals really don't want to
> hear about how everything has gone to hell since the code requirement was
> dropped, or how anything involving ip is "not Amateur Radio."  Our future,
> as a hobby overall, is going to be first and foremost, radiosport, and
> secondly, the permutations of RF and IP, with socializing being the glue
> that holds it all together.
>
> Re:  WL7F, Wes is on a similar path, plus he brings up the other point that
> I think is center, regarding the two discussions going on right now, 1)
> How
> do we get new people  2) Why can't we change the rules for Contest <fill in
> the blank>
>
> We talk about winning.  What's winning?  One answer, and I think the
> important one is ...if you had fun, you won.  If you had 5 people over,
> made
> 30Qs, and had more beer than points, but you had fun, I don't see the
> problem.  Now, let's assume you are truly competitive, somewhat Type A and
> "just being in the game" either leaves you cold, or you are bored with it.
> Odds are, you have some idea what you want to be competitive at.  If having
> a shot at winning in a SOAB category in CQWW is it, if you have the money
> for it, you are keeping your passport up to date, and checking out the cost
> of land in the Caribbean or EA8, if not, you are shamelessly kissing up to
> someone who already HAS a place there and checking out fares on EasyJet.
> If
> you want a shot at winning a category in your section in SS, but have the
> same big gun winning HP each year, you might decide to run low power, but
> put up a gain antenna for 40.  Everyone has a contest or two, or twenty,
> where the rules either actually disadvantage ones QTH or particular
> operating preferences, but overall, change creates more agita, then just
> taking each contest for what it is.  We also *can't* have rules existing
> because of cheating.  Remember, first and foremost, this is not just
> technical, this is social, anything beyond trust and verify if and only if
> something seems way out of kilter, is as good as it can get, in maintaining
> that balance.
>
> 73
> Steve KL7SB
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> WL7F wrote
>
> I have been reading these posts for a while now and wondering why I
> continually see a trend of I can't win so ya need to change the rules so I
> can. First off there is no such thing as Can't secondly what kind of a win
> is it if you have to change the rules to do such. If you just want a plaque
> go down and buy one the local shops will be more then willing to make you
> one up saying what ever ya wish it to.
>
>
> Sounds to me like it is not so much promoting the contesting but rather
> showing the backsides and competitors that are sore they don't have the
> wherewithal to actually compete. Now ya wana get youngsters in this well
> quit trying to compete with video games and just get out and invite them in
> to the shack for some of the contests and have them help from the get go.
> It
> is not anywhere close to a video game so comparing the two as said earlier
> is like comparing a apple to a orange .. not gona happen.
>
>
> Now I am in one of them places, competing in a class that I have less of a
> chance of winning then most that are reading this. I Spend the hours in the
> chair in front of a radio to make myself competitive. It is called strategy
> and decision making. Am I good at it .. naa I just put the seat time in as
> I
> could always be better. Guess what I will get better I will do better and I
> will at some point win a contest in North America at least. Do I wish for
> there to be more overlays or what not NO and that is a resounding NO let
> there be less of them so when I do it will mean that much more to me. This
> is a mindset that is productive and not destructive!!!
>
> KE3X wrote replying to K2WR
>
> "There is something (or many somethings) that is failing to attract the
> younger generation(s) that nobody has quite identified yet."
>
> I think it's easily identifiable:  that 'something' is the social aspect.
> Gaming is an excellent comparison.   Example:   My 18-year old was accepted
> Early Decision to college last week and within 24-hours he was already
> playing League of Legends with a group of his future Class of 2021's.  Kids
> bond around an activity. Can you imagine one of them saying "Hi - hope to
> work you in CQWPX CW next Spring!"
>
> Yes - you will occasionally find a teenager with the patience to learn
> about
> propagation, or (God forbid) learn Morse Code, and Amateur Radio may be
> additive  to that kid's life.
>
> But what most kids really want is friends, fun, social acceptance and a
> competitive outlet. Contesting may have satisfied some of those basic needs
> in the 1970's but today there are more efficient outlets.   The technology
> has moved forward - but human nature has not changed.
>
> Disclaimer:   I have 3 kids (ages 22, 21 and 18) with General class
> licenses
> and one who competed for Team USA in High Speed Telegraphy.   They all
> started with Radio Merit Badge in Scouts.   If they do any contesting at
> all, it's only because Dad invites them to help with a family Multi-Op.
> They would never sit down at the radio themselves, mostly because none of
> their friends are on the other end of the airwaves.    My 11-year old will
> do Radio Merit Badge next year to learn the basic principles, and maybe
> he'll get his Technician license, but I anticipate a similar outcome to his
> brothers' after that.
>
>
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