[Towertalk] A final comment on the Ham Radio Business and getting new hams

[A9xw@cs.com]

maybe some ham magazine will pick this up and print it  hint hint hint:

Some Ideas on Attracting New Hams
Henry Ruhwiedel AA9XW  and thanks to many who e-mailed comments.
5317 W 133rd
Crown Point, IN 46307 

    It seems to me that we may not have noticed how we can attract, promote, 
Elmer new hams with little or no cost.  There just seems to be so many ways 
that the grass roots ham can apply a little effort to help things along.  Are 
you doing any of these activities?

When you administer a ham license test, do you follow up? Isn't it rather 
simple to give each applicant the club newsletter and meeting information at 
the time of the exam? Maybe a list of club or group activities in the area, 
dates of the next local hamfests and a personal invite from the examiners? 
Ask the applicant if they need help finding equipment, Elmering their first 
on-air experience, of a list of equipment dealers or locally known used 
equipment is all the person needs to feel they have JOINED ham radio, not 
just taken a test.
How about asking them if they are going to put up an antenna and offering 
some advice or help in doing it so it is done safely?  Do they know how to 
connect coax, put on connectors, tune up, or have any experience? Just ask 
them!  
When the newly licensed get on the air, do you talk to them?  Do you invite 
them to local club meetings? Do you ask them to drop by on Field Day or other 
FUN activities?  
Its nice to take a rig to a Scout meeting or a classroom, but how about 
getting the Scout troop or class to a local ham store and let them just look 
around at all the stuff, watch as the demo rigs are used for contacts, and 
encourage them to ask questions?  Make them sit there and read a book or 
magazine from the literature racks. Let the OM's tell them of fun happenings 
in each hams activity, that rare DX, the VHF contest, your first ATV or SSTV 
contact, why you like CW or SSB.  Let them look at all the mobile stations in 
the parking lot. Get them to participate in the QSO, something besides  
asking the  name, rank and QTH.  What does the other person do for a living, 
is ham radio a part of their career or just a hobby and what other hobbies do 
they have?  Get them to actually converse with another ham over the radio.  
Here's an easy one. Buy your local high school a subscription to the ham 
magazines. QST, CQ, World Radio, ATVQ, and ask them find the scientific 
errors in the 73 editorials. Encourage them to become amateur scientists in 
their own homes. 
If you have a radio store, how about a blurb in the local paper for a learn 
about ham radio day? Invite the public, have some extra demo gear out. "You 
are invited to explore the fascinating world of Ham Radio at the XYZ radio 
store. Come see how communications have changed over the years and the new 
fun and excitement to be found in being a ham. Free soft drinks and chips" or 
some other imaginative ploy to attract the unlicensed.  Invite the media. 
They don't have much else to do on a weekend anyway. 
Is your club bogged down in politics? Meetings as exciting as a barb wire 
collection?  Then cut to the chase, eliminate the business meeting and get to 
activities or have a segment for business and a fixed starting time for 
general stuff so those who want the details arrive early, those that want the 
activities arrive later. If each officer and board member can't cut their 
report to 50 words or less, vote them off.  Learn how to be brief and not 
drag out every little nickel and dime detail. 
There have been a couple of clubs that have had their own cable access TV 
show. Why not contact the local cable company and do one of your own. 
Interview various hams and others affected by ham radio.  You might even get 
a local sponsor if you ask around town. 
Many years ago I tried to promote hams getting LPTV stations. These low power 
TV stations could have been had for about $3,000 each.  Today most are worth 
a half million or more.  One LPTV station is now a major market ABC affiliate 
and worth millions.  You could have made money as a home Shopping channel 
affiliate and sprinkled in your own ham radio club meetings, televise 
(legally broadcast) your ham events, etc.  Today there is still an 
opportunity for a low power FM station to do the same thing.  A 100 watt FM 
station with a 100 foot high antenna would fit on may ham towers, buildings 
etc, and costs about 10 cents an hour to operate.  Interference free coverage 
is about 6 miles radius and typically receivable up to 15 miles radius.  That 
covers just about any town in the country outside of the top 20, and a 
sizeable portion within the top 20.  
Back in the late 60's and early 70's I made a TV PSA 60 seconds long, and 
sent copies to about 200 TV stations. They get tired of running the same old 
spots for the same old charity, a cup of coffee a day can feed thirty filthy 
rug rats spots. With the inexpensive but high quality consumer TV gear today, 
you could take a DVCam and edit a simple spot to promote ham radio and your 
local club on local TV and cable channels. With a little group you could 
easily produce a simple program for cable access.  You don't have to produce 
a "Ham's Wide World" just concentrate on a fun aspect of the hobby and 
explain it in simple terms. If you aren't up to video, do it for radio.  In 
1970 A few hams and I recorded a series of ham radio shows called the Marconi 
Experiment, and distributed it on tape or CD to stations to air during those 
non profit hours on Sunday AM It meets their public service requirements!  It 
cost about $5 a week to do. You can ask the stations via letter or a phone 
call to air your free program. The tapes can be sent from station to station 
so you don't need a lot of tapes. With internet file transfer, you could 
record it on your PC and send the audio file to the station for zero cost. 
 Did you ask the local Radio Shack store if they would put up a poster 
listing your local club meeting days and times?  How about the local book 
store?  Do you send notices to local schools for inclusion in their school 
papers, or activity boards?  Do you even contact the local schools?  How 
about inviting a school class or science club to your home shack for a demo?  
Simple project: using algebra, a measuring tape and compass have them figure 
out how high your antenna is or verify your rotor heading. 
Do you fox hunt?  Did you ever invite non hams along for the ride?  "Hey lets 
go for a beer and pizza, oh by the way, I have to find a transmitter along 
the way. Here, hold this while I turn the antenna."  Maybe give the fox hunt 
receiver and antenna to the Scouts or school group, show them how to use it 
and let them find the fox! 
Just about any fun ham activity can be a fun activity for a non ham if you 
invite them to participate, show them how or what to do and let them in to 
the circle of ham radio.  That's how we get new people to JOIN ham radio, not 
just throw license tests at them and challenge them to get the right answers. 
Be friendly, pass on a smile and a bit of knowledge. They may want to buy 
your old rig when you want a new one!  Now come up with some ideas of your 
own!