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

[Art Peters]

Matt,

Great points, at our high school club, there is incredible interest in making, but 90% focuses around PICs, Arduino’s, & Raspberry Pi’s mostly around High Altitude Balloon, HAB, payloads.  Now in our 4th year, we have seen some uptick in interest of operating, and did successful SCR participation and have 3 or 4 students (out of 20) to get on HF and make their first Q — it is magic to watch their face light up!  But you are definitely right on, they are interested in integrated stations (computer & radio) with automation coming quickly as the world that they are used to, this is a bit of a challenge for some of our mentors, who want to start from the theory of discrete components and work toward crystal radios, then onto discrete components, then ... 

I believe that both approaches will appeal to different constituencies; however, the former approach of starting with the integrated station and then dealing into the theory, seems to be more effective on a broader base.

My take away is that there is no one single bullet and that we will need multiple approaches; however, from my observation, if not a statistically significant sample, is that this approach in getting them online then work to fill out operational and theoretical competence has offered an appeal to a broader set of students that we have the privilege to interact and offer a road to hamdom....

73,

Art / K0ACP

Sent from my iPad

> On Nov 13, 2017, at 10:30 PM, Matt NQ6N <matt at nq6n.com> wrote:
> 
> 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
>> 
>> 
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