[Towertalk] The Ham Radio Business (Longer post laced with personal opinion)

[gb]

On Monday, April 01, 2002 3:24 PM  Henry AA9XW stated:

> 1.  Ham radio has been dying for over 30 years.
I believe that the current state of ham radio reflects today's society...
just as it has reflected our society for the past thirty years!  In my first
voice contact as a newly licensed General class, I broke into an 80 meter
conversation of some W4s... looking for a VOICE signal report -- my first!.
After announcing my call (de WA3___ ), the one W4 replied "Who cares!"  That
was in the mid-60s.  Nowadays, if you're not part of the 'clique', you don't
get recognized by anyone in the QSO.  It's sad!  How many Extra Class or
Advanced class licensees make trips into the Novice band for QSOs?  I would
listen to the 40m static for hours... hoping to hear/contact a General class
licensee.  Ham radio used to be the haven for experimenters and the
inquisitives.  We were all 'Elmers'.

> 2.  There is almost no interest in ham radio by anyone out side of the
hobby anywhere in the world.
What is there in ham radio to attract new ham radio advocates??  Learning
code won't help you get a job... the coastal CW stations are all but gone!
'No-code' allows you to be licensed by learning some theory, but that won't
help you get a job either.  Electronics jobs today require a more formal,
thorough education.  WHAT organization today repairs at the component
level??  Who needs electronic theory?  CW?  How fast can you TYPE?  Please
don't ask me what is exciting about ham radio for a non-ham because I'm
having trouble thinking of anything.

> 3. If you take into account the 10 year lag between license renewals and a
> percentage for SK's that arenot yet reported as such, most are never
reported
> until the 2 year renewal grace period is passed,  you find that the
"active"
> ham population is about 1/3 less than the stated "licensed" hams.
This would not surprise me.

> 4.  Stores including the big names are all reporting sales are down
30-50%.
If all other things are equal and the NUMBER of consumers is declining,
sales WILL go down.  Also, companies that do not keep up with the buying
practices/procedures of those willing to spend money are destined for
declining sales.  ANY 'walk-in' store (except perhaps the likes of the food
stores) are faced with competition from the I'net and 1-800.  I personally
would rather buy off the Internet than drive 10 miles into town, *hoping*
they have what I want, and try to find a parking space.

I'd really like having one of the gee-whiz radios produced today... but I am
appalled that I would have to spend a recognizable portion of my take-home
pay for one??  Never happen!  Do we really NEED all those whistles and
bells?  WHERE'S THE CHALLENGE??  I guess it's a matter of taste and pocket
size.  It's discouraging... ham radio is being undermined by the technology
we espouse.

> 5.  There is little effort to get any substantial growth in either
activity
> or new hams. the same old contests, sweepstakes, and OSCAR stuff has
almost
> no interest to non hams and although I don't keep track of entries, I
would
> like to know if the number of contest and award logs are going up or down.
My
> guess is down.
I used to hold classes for CB'ers... to help them with the code and theory.
As a math teacher I started a ham radio club at school and again held
classes open to the public.  Both of these scenarios are predicated on the
fact that there is an interest base... that someone is willing to work for
the privledge of operating a ham radio.  Interest is frequently driven by
incentive... remember when the first 2m phone patch went into operation??
Now THERE was incentive!  I see no incentive now.  How many of *your* kids
have cell phones???

> 6.  [Snip] If the bulk of hams were not over 60 and too old to do
> much more than sit and drink beer and fart on 40 meters, we could mount a
> good terrorism emergency plan that might be of interest to the non ham
world
> and the Government, but I don't see anyone, let alone Newington leading
the
> charge on that one either. just the ususal MARS, RACES and 2 meter HT
> repeaters.
There remains an emergency mission for ham radio!!!  As the state's warning
and communications officer in the 80s, I know all too well about the need
for flexible, deployable communications when traditional communications
fail.  Unfortunately, no one else sees the need.

And if you DID try to set up an emergency net adjacent to some of the
'slugs' on 40m and 80m, you would get harassed and QRM'ed to death for
interferring with their 'regular sked'.  Ham radio's demise has been aided
by the FCC.  Their inaction... their 'police the bands yourself' attitude...
has over time allowed the ham bands to digress into 'private frequencies
obtained by squatters rights and Alpha linears'.  There is not much to like
about these bullies.  The river of disdain runs deep.

> 7.  If it weren't for the CB'ers buying ham gear to operate on 10, 11 and
in
> between, at power levels to 25 KW,  most of the HF gear sales would be 90%
> lower also.

> 8.  When those of us who are over 50 die, the ham population will be under
> 125,000 and ARRL membership will be less than 15,000.  new hams do not
join
> ARRL.  no code hams do not join ARRL.  they also do not buy magazine
> subscriptions, or expensive gear, usually a 1-2 band HT, a mobile antenna
and
> an amp if the repeater is more than a few miles away.

At almost 60 years old I guess I'm disillusioned.  Ham radio used to be
great fun... it was thrilling.  I remember waking my wife up at 2 in the
morning to tell her I had just gotten another state on 40m CW!  There is no
skill necessary to become a ham today... perseverence, yes.  But no
challenging skill to attain.  This is one reason why I opposed no-code
licensing. Heck, you can easily run all mode on all bands at 10dB over full
legal power for a mere $12000.  All it takes is a checkbook.  And don't
forget the 'power mike' and keyboard for 'CW'!!

TowerTalk revived my failing interest... it rekindled the flame called
curiousity.  What TowerTalk has given me is the desire to experiment... in
this case with antennas.  For instance, what effect would a magnet have on
the radiation pattern?  If I took a insulated circular magnet and positioned
it at various points along a dipole, what effect would this have on the
feedpoint impedance??  What effect would it have on the radiated fields?
And lastly... how can I convey this desire to learn -- to try, to
experiment -- to my kids?  To others??  Because they, like the rest of the
world, are too caught up with the Internet to really care.

gary b
k3gb