On Tue 4-Nov-2025 9:13a, Rug Rat wrote:
This is being cross posted from FB (GAG), the comments were "Automatically turned off", so I could not get my 2cents in (Adjusted for inflaction).
Thought though I would post it here, to drum up same activity and get your take.
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Ham Radio is Dying . not because of the internet, or technology, or .kids these days. . It.s dying because of us .. And before you blame the FCC,
the internet, or kids these days, let's be honest ..
IT'S OUR FAULT.... The repeaters are quiet, the club meetings are empty, and the *SAME* 10 people are running every event ..
Meanwhile, we spend more time arguing about Baofeng's and Digital modes than actually talking on the air ..
1) I have been hearing "Ham radio is dying, since becoming licensed in 1996
and I am sure this has been going on long since I have became licensed. For the most part I turn a deaf ear.
2) Thats depends on your geography, in SoCal this is not the case (Though one2 of the things I miss about SoCal, is the wide area coverage repeaters 6 - 7k mountains will give you.). I will admit in the Florida panhandle this is the case. I have had more QSOs either on SIMPLEX (My Echolink node via the EastCoast Reflector, or .520). It is what it is, though that just gives me more reason to get on HF.
Meanwhile, we spend more time arguing about Baofeng's and Digital modes than actually talking on the air ..
Where are we arguing, if it is on the air (especially your local repeater), that kind of negates your first argument. What are these arguments about?
1) That some Baofeng models have issues that cause spurrious emissions at best in band, or worse out of band? Either way, that should cause you concern as a radio amateur.
2) That people openly discuss operating the radio outside the amateur bands in bands that require type acceptance? Yes, I know people do it. Yes, I know it has been going on long before Baofeng entered the picture (Using a mobile or handheld radio on VHF Marine or Maritime HF because a second rig would take up too much space.). That doesn't make it legal, and people should definately not be encouraging new hams to do this. If you have a GMRS license, great, just don't use amateur gear to use it.
This is something I've been thinking about for the past 10 months (January 2025), and a lot of people do say Ham radio is dying and I tend to agree
..
I scan 80+ frequencies across town (daily), and what do I hear... . STATIC.. I run my BF-F8HP PRO in Channel/Scan mode constantly.
Maybe once a week I'll hear a net .. but it's the same check-ins, the same voices, reading the same old scripts (high blood-pressure, low blood-pressure, no-pressure at all, etc.) ..
So get on another net. The East Coast Reflector runs some great nets, such as the Morning Brew, Tech Net, Youth Net (Which is a great way to promote amateur radio to young people). Get your younger family members involved. 3rd party traffic is not only allowed but ENCOURAGED (Which will make this post entirely superfluous.), and my favorite Trivia Net. Ham radio has always been what YOU make of it.
We call ourselves a communication hobby, yet half the time there's no one communicating .....
You obviously do not have any VOIP nodes or repeaters in your area, nor on HF. Again the hobby is what YOU make it, and the amount of effort you put into it.
From what I hear .., local clubs are losing members faster than they can recruit them .. And when someone does try to spark interest, they're told, "THAT'S NOT REAL HAM RADIO" ..
Not sure how, "That is not REAL ham radio" has anything to do with club membership or activity.
This "gatekeeping attitude" of superiority is killing us from the inside out .. Get out of the "old man" mentality and let's welcome some new
people into the hobby .. I've had it with the "holier-than-thou" attitudes of old hands ..
"Gatekeeping" another overused phrase to validate any argument. Right up there with "Sad Ham", "Fanboy" "Mysoginyst", and "Narcacist". What exactly do you mean? Are you advocating making amateur radio an unlicensed service? That will kill the hobby faster than anything. If you think about the privledge and responsibility we have of the myriad of bands we are allocated, and how close we to other critical commercial bands, Public Service, Navagation, commercial broadcast. We are one of the few radio services that are allowed to build out own equipment, modify and repair our own equipment, not have to submit said equipment for costly and time consuming type acceptance, etc. If you opened it for everyone without licensing the chances of losing swaths of frequencies, and being able to experiment go away.
Are you talking about feeling butt hurt because someone who has had more experience in the hobby corrects you? Get over it, a ham licnese is a license to learn. Someone usually always have a different oppinion than you, you complain we aren't communicating, but part of interpersonal communication is the abbility to listen. In any facet of life you will have people who will brush you off, if someone at a club meeting or convention gives you the cold shoulder, likes Kenwood Vs. Yaesu, or tells you that you are not a real ham because you have a BatFang, go find someone who does.
I'm over it .. We've got to be welcoming to people in this hobby. And there's nothing that sparked me into this this little bit of outrage, but the fact is we've got to do better, folks ..
"Radar service terminated. Switch to Unicom 128.500, G-day.". While the numbers might not be GREAT, people are getting licensed everyday. You won't be missed. Sorry you want to believe otherwise.
We're making mistakes (DRASTIC MISTAKES).... Let's talk about the next generation. Where are they... They're on Discord | They're on Twitch | They're on Tik-Tok | They're on YouTube | They're on Facebook.
Building massive communities around gaming and streaming and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) .. They're not afraid of technology (they live in it) ..
While we are making mistakes recruiting people comparing it to onther technologies, the mistake is not what you are using as an example, and this comes more from people who couldn't sell an iglo to an Eskimo in positions to promote the hobby. I applaud the effort, I understand it is hard to get people to volunteer their time to go to events. Or like me, really hates talking to people who are not already in the circle of what I am talking about. It's why I am not in sales.
I however cringe going to the fair, and hearing someone trying to entice people to get into the hobby by saying, "Do you have a cell phone? You have a radio right in your pocket..". If I had no interest in the hobby, or know nothing about ham radio. Telling me I already have something that will do what you are trying to demonstrate. I will most likely stop listening as I already have it, and it has more features than what you are trying to sell me.
Again, I applaud the effort, and it would take a lot to get me to take their place, but UGGGH...
The other part of the argument is useless. as social media is a terrible place to learn physical electrical or RF enginnering. Sorry, there just is not much hands on practical education in SOFTWARE. Even with Software Defined Radio, the only experience you may learn is user interface design. STEM and MATH? How do you get that from Discord, Tik Tok, or Facebook? Sure, it takes numbers away because you can effortly talk to people around the world, but ham radio is so much more.
Anyway, that is my 2 cents.... Sorry for it taking so long, but I did get back to it..
and, thank you for your thoughtful reply Sean.
Rug Rat (Brent Hendricks)
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