[UK-CONTEST] Straight Key Night...good idea!

[David Ferrington, M0XDF]

I don't agree that encouraging Morse is backward looking - although 57, having only started with Foundation in 2003 and got Full in 2006, I consider myself young blood in this hobby and I'm still working on my Morse, only use a straight key at present and not well at that.

Any kind of encouragement will help, there are quite a few new hams like me, learning morse while gaining experience in other areas too.

I think the UKAC and CC contents do a lot to encourage people into contesting, but you have to get them interested in amateur radio first. I'd agree that a SKN might not be the way to do that, but it certainly wouldn't put them off either.

Are you looking to promote the hobby or contesting? I don't think one necessarily leads to the other, whichever you hear about first.
And no, I don't have any good ideas on how to encourage more young people into the hobby.
I'm a Scout leader and do what I can to encourage cubs and scouts into the hobby, I've taught a number of them and helped them pass their foundation license. I run JOTA and special event stations at our summer camps and saw 5000+ go through GB4WINGS at the WINGS 2009 camp in Windsor.

I'm keen to here any ideas on how we can encourage more young people into the hobby - got any?
-- 
73 de M0XDF

On 13 Aug 2010, at 08:45, Mike Farmer wrote:
> 
> I would not favour the New Years Eve suggestion I would have thought 1 April
> was a better day.
> 
> Can we close this thread and make suggestions on how to get young blood into
> the hobby which is supposed to be forward (not backward) looking?