[CQ-Contest] Interesting Youth In Ham Radio (was Digest)

[Matt NQ6N]

Jim has been a great source of mentor-ship for hams of all ages through is
comments on various reflectors and through his many articles and
presentation decks that he's shared.  As a relatively young ham (41 years
young) I'll chime in a few thoughts:

In much the same way that radio transmissions are magic to many of us, I
think that the internet has been similarly magic for a lot of young
techies. The idea of getting an app accepted into the app store is not just
a dream to modern youngsters, it's a reality and it is far more common than
one would expect.  I think the intrigue of it is very similar to that of
radio -- one's effort can be magnified by being suddenly accessible to
people all over the world.

Imagine being a kid today. You can spend a weekend making an app that all
your friends will think is cool, or you can spend the weekend with amateur
radio. The difference is not in the kids, it's simply that there are a lot
of other options that now compete with amateur radio for attention and
provide similar "magic" for the technically inclined individual.  Also,
compared to when I was a kid, video games today are much more challenging
and more social than they once were.  There are apparently big communities
that revolve around tactical voice chat for video game missions.

I recall when studying for my novice how excited I was about showing off my
forthcoming ability to talk to others across the country or world for no
fee.  This is no longer something that is perceived as scarce (because of
Skype, etc.), even though doing it with radios or antennas one has
personally built/assembled is quite different from downloading a program.

What makes me optimistic is that I think that the internet is becoming more
and more obviously a vehicle to deliver ads and commercials into our
brains, and many of the seemingly creative personas and statements of
individuality that made the early internet so intriguing are becoming
tired, repetitive, and indistinguishable from any other form of
advertising.  Cynicism about the internet is on the rise among young
people, particularly cynicism about being the "product" that is being sold
to advertisers.

A few evenings ago I was riding in an Uber cab with a former coworker who
had come to town. We'd just had dinner during which I'd mentioned my
long-time interest in amateur radio.  He'd apparently not realized I was a
ham but had a lot of awareness of ham radio but wasn't sure how it was
current/relevant.  I went into a 10 minute explanation of all the ways, and
by the time the ride was over the (millennial) Uber driver was extremely
fascinated and totally blown away by the stuff I was describing.  I would
not be surprised if the driver winds up becoming a ham.

Another person (likely in his early 30s) fairly recently interrupted me
while I was reading over some of the WSJT-X source code and asked what I
was working on.  I went on to explain the JT modes and how they relate to
some of the basic information theory that launched the computer revolution.
The person was totally shocked and really did not believe that the low
power worldwide transmissions I was describing were possible.  I'm thinking
that I'll have to start carrying my KX2 with me for impromptu demos when
this sort of thing occurs.

A few years ago I attended the GNURadio Conference. There were attendees of
all ages, including some hams.  Many of the non-hams I spoke with had very
little exposure to HF, propagation, etc. The wireless industry dominates
the interest in SDR for recent college grads because it dominates hiring.
Surely the same was true years ago when HF communications were more
directly relevant to national defense, etc.

But if the sales pitch for amateur radio is "hey look how fascinating
ionospheric HF propagation is compared to big budget VHF/UHF line of sight
communications" I think it's a very easy pitch to make.

I think that we as amateurs need to realize that buying an old HF rig on
eBay will cost $200 to $500 while building an app is free and publishing to
the Apple app store is only $99.  For the young person who has $100 and is
looking to invest in something with a high probability of fun, how does
amateur radio stack up?  How much fun would it be for any of us with a $100
station budget?  I think the payout for amateur radio is very high, but my
point is that for the new, not-yet-licensed person with technical
interests, there are a lot of things to spend one's time on (such as
building apps) that can also result in landing a six-figure job after a few
years of tinkering.  The economics of this do not favor amateur radio, as
the learning curve and level of technical sophistication needed to launch a
career in RF engineering requires a much greater level of skill and
accomplishment to achieve a similar financial outcome.

I think the solution is for the amateur radio community to make sure that
as many colleges and universities )and high schools) as possible have a
well-funded station with state of the art gear, antennas, test equipment,
etc.  The shack should be something that offers "toys" that rival the fun
to be had with off-the-shelf video games and app development environments.
I think that if we do this and realize that there is real competition do
decide what the most tech-savvy youth will do for fun, we will have a
chance at attracting those people into the hobby.   The cost of video games
is very high when you think about hours wasted learning hand-eye
coordination, etc., but most young people will not amortize that cost
appropriately and will balk at the upfront price tag of proper HF
equipment.

73 and thanks for the great discussion.  Anyone wishing to donate to the U
of Chicago or U of Michigan club stations feel free to contact me, and I
can put you in touch with the proper person to talk to.

Matt NQ6N



On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 3:13 PM, Jim Brown <k9yc at audiosystemsgroup.com>
wrote:

> On 11/13/2017 11:51 AM, Ria Jairam wrote:
>
>> Question - do you actually interact with younger people? Or do you
>> simply look down on them?
>>
>
> You obviously didn't read my email.
>
> 73, Jim
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>