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

[Ward Silver]

I like where this thread has gone and picked out a few of the bits I 
thought most thought-provoking.  N3BB's earlier comments were of 
interest, as well. Perhaps I could add a couple of thoughts and maybe 
RM2D will re-appear with some thoughts about younger contesters, as well.

My "sales pitch" is usually some variation on "you can hear the world 
turning" on HF.  This immediately provokes questions and starts any 
number of stories.  Most people are completely unaware of the 
ionosphere, solar weather beyond the occasional sensationalized news 
item about how we're all going to die from a solar flare, and the idea 
that things change every day and every hour.  This at least starts a 
conversation which can lead anywhere the interest goes.

Radiosport is also missing two crucial elements to hold the interest of 
anyone accustomed to being online: visualization and real-time 
interaction.  At the moment, contesting is like submarine racing - 
awfully interesting to whoever is in the submarines but not of much 
interest to anyone else.  All the amazing stuff we imagine during the 
contest - openings, pileups, grey line, angle of arrival, rate, strategy 
- they're all between our ears and very little is displayed visually.  
Some progress is being made - like with the waterfall display - but 
there is so much data we could overlay onto various presentations.  
People are visual today and we need to make what we do a little more 
visual.  I'm not saying turn it into a video game - just think up ways 
to make the core functions of what we find so exciting something to see 
as well as hear and imagine.

Real-time interaction (meaning scoring) is the other part.  The 
real-time scoreboards are a step or two in the right direction - more of 
us need to be using them and we need more tools for comparing, tracking, 
ranking, analyzing scores and the breakdown data.  The underlying 
mechanism of reporting score data to a common processor seems to be 
solved.  Why not send QSO data along with the score?  Collect the QSOs 
and send them to a cross-checking validation engine that runs until the 
contest is over. (gross oversimplification)  Then the final scores are 
published in minutes, not weeks or months.  So everybody has to be 
connected - so what - make a new CWAC overlay to CQ WW called the 
Internet WW and run everybody's totals there.  If a QSO isn't validated 
because the station isn't online, give it one point or something.  Or 
make a new contest with everybody online - that's where our target 
audience is anyway.  We can't wait until the last non-online holdout 
gives in.

Those are tonight's ideas.

73, Ward N0AX

>
>> 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.
>>
>> = = =
>>
>> 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've found contesters to be among the most young-at-heart people I've ever
>> met.  I've been shocked a few times to discover that a contester I had
>> operated with was 10+ years older than I'd realized.  Contesting truly may
>> be the fountain of youth.  Maybe it's the combination of a spirit that does
>> not decline with age and the strategic insight that only gets stronger with
>> experience.
>>
>> = = =
>>
>> ...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....
>>
>> = = =
>>
>> Amateurs have spent decades building the foundations of radio, it's time to
>> help the new crowd take those foundations and build something of their own
>> on top of it.