Ham radio started falling apart when cell phones that could connect to PBXs for conference calls became popular... Looks like they're trying to make ham more like cell phone now.
I think they really don't know what to do with ham radio. Some have tried to take it in a packet radio direction, but realistically that requires encryption. Some have tried to use it for more general-purpose voice communication, but again, privacy concerns come up. Cell phones have made it a lot more difficult to justify the time and expense, and other kinds of unlicensed radio or looser-licensed radio (GMRS/FRS type stuff) makes it harder to justify using ham radio for short-distance communications, an
As a new-ish ham, I hear a lot of "ham radio is dead" stuff, and it's just not true. There are more registered hams now then ever before, and the rate of new licensees is also going up. (i.e. the number of new hams every year keeps going up) But the new young hams are not getting into it for the same reasons the older hams did. Most of the older hams were at least amateur radio electronics guys. Now, nobody (or very very few) builds a radio from bare components, and the first level of license requires only
As a new-ish ham, I hear a lot of "ham radio is dead" stuff, and it's just not true.
There are a number of older Hams who we call "Old Farts", for whom personally, Ham Radio is dying. Their buds are dying off, their high technology is no longer high technology. I don't mind people going into reminiscent mode, but all too many of the old farts are openly antagonistic toward anyone new, and any new technology.
I suspect that there were old farts during the transition from spark to alternator radio, From that to tube radio. I know old farts decried the mass switch from AM to Single Sideband. Then as the Morse code testing went away, they went into full dudgeon. Now, just like the old Single sideband haters, the old farts sit in the corner of club meetings, telling us all about how everything is bad, and Ham Radio is dying.
Yeah, for them it is. But not for the 96 year old Ham I had a digital computer mode QSO recently. H'e jus picked up a new laptop, and was trying it out on PSK31 mode.
In the meantime, the rest of us are having a blast, bouncing signals off the moon, talking to astronauts in the space station, building satellites, setting up networks for weather and position reporting, doing propagation research, talking around the world on milliwatts, writing software for radio use, building radios and support peripherals, and helping out in emergencies. And sometimes putting together an old school one tube radio and pounding on a Morse key.
bad idea (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Ham radio started falling apart when cell phones that could connect to PBXs for conference calls became popular... Looks like they're trying to make ham more like cell phone now.
Re: (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:5, Informative)
Re:bad idea (Score:3)
As a new-ish ham, I hear a lot of "ham radio is dead" stuff, and it's just not true.
There are a number of older Hams who we call "Old Farts", for whom personally, Ham Radio is dying. Their buds are dying off, their high technology is no longer high technology. I don't mind people going into reminiscent mode, but all too many of the old farts are openly antagonistic toward anyone new, and any new technology.
I suspect that there were old farts during the transition from spark to alternator radio, From that to tube radio. I know old farts decried the mass switch from AM to Single Sideband. Then as the Morse code testing went away, they went into full dudgeon. Now, just like the old Single sideband haters, the old farts sit in the corner of club meetings, telling us all about how everything is bad, and Ham Radio is dying.
Yeah, for them it is. But not for the 96 year old Ham I had a digital computer mode QSO recently. H'e jus picked up a new laptop, and was trying it out on PSK31 mode.
In the meantime, the rest of us are having a blast, bouncing signals off the moon, talking to astronauts in the space station, building satellites, setting up networks for weather and position reporting, doing propagation research, talking around the world on milliwatts, writing software for radio use, building radios and support peripherals, and helping out in emergencies. And sometimes putting together an old school one tube radio and pounding on a Morse key.