An Occupation for Old-timers?
Amateur Radio is one of those hobbies where there's a concern about new blood making it into the field; the perception is that no young people bother with it -- why would they, when they have the Internet, easy global communications have always been available to them, and listening to static has to compete with an XBox. The U.S. is not alone in this, and it may have been a reason in removing the requirement for Morse code from the licensing examinations. Morse code (hereafter just code or CW) is still widely used and I feel distinctly hamstrung by not being proficient in it. While archaic, there's no simpler or more reliable way to communicate; CW radios are the simplest you can have, and CW can be received by humans when nothing else will work through the noise. Removing the code requirement wasn't all about "lowering the bar," though. Modern technology has made many digital modes available and arguably they are a much more mature use of the radio spectrum than code. There was lots of hue and cry about dumbing down the exams and letting any old CB'er get a Ham license, now. (There is a deep dislike of all things CB among radio amateurs for some reason. They're treated much like furries on 4chan.)
Amateur Radio for All?
When I got into the hobby in 2001 thanks to my roommate at the time, his interest was also rekindled. We had ran into some of the people in the local amateur radio club entirely by chance at Lai Thai, a local Thai restaurant, where we were dining on September 11th 2001. We had a small wideband receiver with us; we had no idea what was happening, if there would be more attacks, if there would be a state of emergency or what. They also carried a strange looking radio, and conversation soon ensued.
Consequently, we attended a meeting of the club. The first meeting was to be our last. It started with the Oath of Allegiance, saluting the flag, and then moved onto some other business which I don't much recall. The people there were all polite and nice enough, but they were also very much the stereotypical older white male, and neither of us felt at all like we fit in or had much in common with anyone else in the room. Later, another friend of mine who happens to not be a white male commented that when he had ventured to check out the meeting it struck him as something akin to a clan meeting. I'm not suggesting that the people involved are racist, bigots or anything in that vein. I do, however suggest that amateur radio organizations take a good, hard look at how they appear to outsiders from different ethnic, cultural, gender and generational backgrounds. My roommate had also mentioned that the club he and his father belonged to in Atlanta had become rather unpleasant due to people increasingly not getting along and polarizing the club's activities.
Flamewar to Follow
The more dramatic experience is a recent one. I had signed up for my General class license exam, found a used Yaesu FT-450, and since I didn't yet have a high-current power supply, transmit privileges on most bands or even an antenna, I joined a Yahoo group for this particular radio and asked if anyone had suggestions on how to check the health of the used radio short of actually transmitting with it. I figured there'd be a self test, a way to check the noise floors with the transceiver disconnected from the antenna, or something in that vein.
Oh boy. Some of the responses included:
Without a power supply, antenna and/or dummy load you so far have aquired a usless piece of gear. Best you can do is just look at it.
I think some of you are missing a point. KG4OXA has a tech license
and can only work a small portion of 10M with CW and a tiny bit on SSB Phone.
If you guys want to work HF get a general license and act like you are legal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Many ex CB'r do not believe any rules apply to them. Normally that new of a radio with out a manual indicates it may be a stolen radio.
Not sure the call matches a actual ham, may be borrowed.
Well, this is why the oldtimers don't like the newbies. If they
continue making contacts where they shouldn't one of these times an
old timer will nail him to the barn wall. One of the first things
they usually do is look up the call and see what kind of license they
have and then make a recording and give it to the FCC. So let this
be a warning.
Well, then. Welcome to Amateur Radio.
There were some more positive notes in there as well, notably WM5Z, KJ4EED and KB3RNS who either gave useful pointers or stood up counter some of the vitriole.
Thank you, KC1JB
The one person and event that made the entire episode so notable, though, was Peter, KC1JB, who had contacted me directly after my post, and offered to send me a power supply and antenna tuner he wasn't using anymore. Despite my repeated attempts to offer to pay for the gear or at least shipping, he declined and only asked that I do a good deed to someone else if I have the chance. Having such incredible, unanticipated kindness and generosity shown made it much easier to just ignore all the negative comments.
Generation Gap
The experiences of myself and my friends also include something a bit more elusive which I suspect is mostly due to the difference in generations, experiences and general knowledge of technology. It may also be that we all have an engineering background, which perhaps isn't all that common in new arrivals to ham radio. My sample size is small, so that's what I have to base my observations on.
Quite often, when we ask for advice or help, a well-meaning veteran begins to explain things -- but in a fashion suited for a middle-schooler, not a person who knows what an electron is and what it does. Consequently, we're stuck being rude and interrupting, or smiling and nodding while we get a lecture of Radio 101 and got no closer to answering our questions.
Having no common ground in things such as favorite TV shows, video games, Internet activities, lifestyle end so forth certainly doesn't make things easier. It'll be interesting to see how I can find more likeminded people within the field.
Posts
I'm really pleased to see you keeping a blog about this -- I wish I had kept notes when I got started.
ReplyDeleteAbout the forum issues...
There is a really odd age related duality aspect of the ham community that I've never fully understood, although I can say that it is easily seen in other groups that are devoted to a hobby that involves a lot of learning and hands-on work. If you're young when you enter the hobby, as I was at age 14, you will quickly find yourself being treated warmly by most of the community and may even attain someone willing to mentor you. There is such a desire to have new blood injected into the hobby that the community will bend over backwards to get children involved. This, of course, is a very good thing -- we had great times volunteering at special events for science museums and children's camps that helped foster an interest in amateur radio. However, once you're not a kid, anymore, you better know your shit or a vast majority will turn their back on you. You need to research on your own, experiment on your own, obtain an EE degree, and have some soldering iron scars on your hands to prove you have suffered for your hobby like everyone else was forced to do. Part of the hobby, it seems, is suffering for the art, and if you've ever asked for help with hardware driver problems on a Linux forum before and got replies akin to "write your own" then you know what I'm talking about.
This, of course, is absolutely hilarious given the state of the radios commonly sold and used today that include previously home made components such as notch filters all the way to high-end components as complex as band and audio scopes. Ask an old timer in his shack who is busy configuring the compact flash memory card to tweak his Icom IC-7800's custom filter settings for his field day outing with the club about tips on building a basic attenuator instead of buying one and you'll likely be sneered at and told to figure it out for yourself or head back to the Chicken Band. He struggled for decades to get where he is, now, and has the wall of exotic QSL cards to prove it. He is part of a unique, select, dying breed and you, sir, have a long way to go and many badges and wounds to earn before you're permitted to address those topics at his level. My father and I were both extremely fortunate to have an elmer who was open to any questions and would take the time to explain, to teach, and to share. That kind of mentor helped us both to pursue knowledge and to experiment, not stifle it with the frustration of "learn it yourself or get off the band". His friendship and his willingness to lend a hand encouraged us to further ourselves in amateur radio. When he became a silent key and the rest of the members in our local club shut themselves in and held strong to the mantra of "shut up and learn the code", it all fell apart. Even those of us who earned our tickets with that stamp of approval didn't have the needed war scars.
Years later, when I tried to immerse myself back into the hobby by attending the local club meeting, I was absolutely appalled. When I found out their contest and field day participation had nothing to do with making the hobby known to new people, educating others, or having a good time with friends, I refused to entertain the idea of membership. Non-hams would not be permitted any radio time -- they wouldn't even be allowed close -- and even then only the fastest club members would be allowed to work the station. No obstacle or interference that might possibly cause them to not be as close to the top of the QST score results page as possible was permissible or forgivable. Even out of contest season, their idea of "community" did not extend beyond exchanging callsigns, locations, signal reports, and bragging about the model rig you could afford. Some fun that is.
The irony in all of this is that many in the amateur community feel very strongly that it is the removal of code from the requirements that is destroying the hobby and causing a drop in the "quality" of hams. Others feel that the ease of technology in purchased radios and lack of effort required to start bouncing a signal off the ionosphere to the world is what is causing the hobby to bleed participants -- the environment of the golden age in decades' past that they knew has changed and they are quick to assign fault. The truth is that the hobby has become something heavily composed of the competitive, the reclusive, and the cantankerous who feel that most are not worthy to learn or to even be introduced to the world of radio. It is absolutely depressing and it is strange that people continue to wonder where all the new members are. When was the last time you heard of someone working the station and demonstrating radio to kids? Have you ever even seen an open field day event that invited the public to come see, to come participate? If someone's idea of a giving a new ham a warm welcome to the hobby when they ask a question is to be suspicious of your callsign or think your rig might be stolen then the hobby might be better off fading away entirely.
This, however, I feel is not the way it should be or, hopefully, what will happen. I feel positive, thanks largely to all the good experiences I had that the better people and aspects of amateur radio will prevail. Some group, out there, is having a fun field day letting transfixed children pick up the microphone in a city park as steaks sizzle nearby on the grill and others work to sling dipoles into trees for a night of contesting. In some shack, somewhere, people are experimenting with building directional antennas for a fox hunt and documenting their construction a-la "Make" to publish online and show the world one of the adventurous aspects of ham radio. Knowledge is passed along, beers are shared, and good friends are made in a hobby that is supposed to be all about meeting people the world over. Even if, almost impossibly, this is not the case, your involvement in it and being a good ham will help make it to be so. Just do what is right and follow in the genuine spirit of what is supposed to be. You'll find the good people, that way, and you'll have a hell of a lot of fun doing it, too.
I would also like to add that I am delighted that you've already had one of what will hopefully be many more encounters with the very good and helpful people of amateur radio, KC1JB. That is some incredible generosity, there! Wow!
ReplyDeleteHey, just found this old post while googling for something or other. It appears you're still active in ham radio. Just wanted to say I agree with your view on the old timers in the hobby.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there's enough of us younger folks out there, and we're starting to find each other, and to connect with the older folks in the hobby who are more simpatico. The best place I’ve found so far is Reddit 's amateurradio subreddit. Drop in, say hi!
73,
Paul, K7PJP
Wow, surprising that anyone found it! Thank you for the comment. I've been getting on the air a fair bit more lately, and keep thinking about updating the blog, but talking about antennas really needs pictures, and that means dusting off the camera, charging batteries, climbing to the attic...
DeleteMy elmer / the guy who keeps getting me excited by setting an example, KE4DYX, is also to blame for me being on reddit, where you can see me with my callsign or Varjohaltia. That does seem to be a great place for the under fifty crowd! Thank you for advocating!
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