Amateur radio recruitment

[N0NB]

The Field Day thread was kind of veering off into recruitment for a bit so rather than reply there I'm starting this thread.

Recruitment is kind of a touchy subject it seems. It seems as though we've had sort of a caveman approach to recruitment, i.e. got out and club 'em over the head, drag 'em into a testing session, tell them to have fun in the hobby, and then wonder why they're never seen or heard from again. Perhaps that is merely my perception as I've never had success with the caveman approach.

When asked I explain amateur radio and the hobby aspect. I have learned that amateur radio only appeals to a vanishingly small percentage of the population. Its appeal is higher among RF technologists but even there the interest in radio as a hobby is probably far less than 50%. Nearly 100% of the people who have asked me about amateur radio over the years have not pursued getting licensed. Most likely this says more about me than the hobby.

As a result I've given up on the caveman approach and don't support others who pursue that avenue. Am I wrong? I would gladly help anyone who approached me with an interest in getting licensed, but I'm not out beating the bushes trying to drag anyone into a class for a hobby they didn't even know about beforehand. I'd really like to see more activity locally but it seems without dragging them in, they'll never approach on their own. My conclusion is that radio just doesn't fascinate people any more and that saddens me.

This became a bit more of a rambling missive than I intended. I am heartened by a couple of younger guys who are enthusiastic. Perhaps they will generate some local interest.

 

[w9cll]

My conclusion is that radio just doesn't fascinate people any more and that saddens me

Maybe we can have Pokemon over the radio, that should bring in droves. Radio as a hobby is dying a slow death, both 11 meters and Ham are slowly fading away. Over the last few years the ARRL has been touting the numbers are up the numbers are up but where are the people on the air? I am in my early 50's and I'm the kid on the radio, enjoy it while it last.

 

[2RT307]

I don't think enough of the "new" technology is being presented enough. SDR is pretty fascinating and can be quite inexpensive to get a setup going. Satellite communication, APRS, and all the low power digital modes are pretty cool, too. CW is exactly the opposite, but seems to have a coolness about it since it is nostalgic,and I think the younger folks are intrigued by it. My son has commented several times about our 440 repeater identifying in code, and has told me he learned some code in his history class and in the Boy Scouts. He still hasn't shown enough interest to take the test, though.

I know one of our club members left to go to another because he felt like the "kid" at the meetings, so I get what W9CLL is saying. It can definitely come across as an old fart's hobby. As far as folks getting a ticket and just fading away, I believe that could be helped if the local clubs would offer newbies the chance to come over and operate at their station. Once they see how much fun it can be, and get over those initial jitters about getting on the air, they should become active on the air.

73,
Brett

 

[Obed]

interesting topic...
to sell amateur radio effectively, you need to sell yourself a bit...you can't just tell folks how great you think it is and drag them to a test session and tell them to have fun...
if you are not willing and don't have the time to elmer... just keep your hobby to yourself and have fun.
there is still a place for amateur radio in today's world, it is quite a bit different than when I got interested back in 1961 but all things change.
Kids today for the most part are interested by aspects of the hobby that are not really my personal interests...
IRLP and echo link make more sense to them than they do to me... but hey if that is what I think they would be interested in, that is what I expose them to..
I put my dual banders on the win system and demo that... then I point them to folks who can give them better info on that aspect of the hobby than I can...
HF is still my passion and that does not appeal as much to young folks as it used to, in my personal experience...
I find that when folks see my tower and radios they immediately start asking about how much all of that stuff costs... that is a hurdle that I try to avoid...
I focus on the entry level and what it takes to get started... i have a few radios that I use as loaners to help get them going...I have several Ht's and a couple of dual banders... and 3 hf base rigs and several tunners and some pre-made dipoles I can loan out as well...only once in the last 25 years or so have i lost a radio, loaned one that did not make it back. If you want folks to commit to the hobby, you have to be willing to commit to them some.

 

[N0NB]

Perhaps my hurdle is that I was never "sold" amateur radio 35+ years ago as I was sold on it the moment I learned of it. Actually, radio and then especially two-way radio intrigued me from an early age. No one "sold" me to be a part of the radio hobby.

I guess that given my experience it is very difficult for me to present my interest in such a way that would appeal to anyone not already intensely interested in radio. Does that make sense?

As a result, my philosophy has been to simply not hide my interest and other like minded souls will come to the hobby.

 

[w9cll]

Last year I started a ham club at my son's school, at first it was fairly well attended but as it went on the attendance fell off sharply. Those that stuck around were very interested and one when on and got his ticket. I still stand by statement earlier that it's a slow death but maybe just maybe the life support machines can keep it breathing longer.

 

[Obed]

I was not sold on it when I first heard of it, but was sold on it when I entered the shack and saw what amateur radio made available.
That is why I often pass folks on to others once I have determined what their interests might be. Kids today who are into computer use almost before they can talk often do not have much use for my HF rigs, but they do find things like IRLP and Echo link interesting...
I can not sell an idea to anyone who does not have some basic interest in the concept to begin with... you just have to find what that interest is, and make them aware of some aspect of the hobby that fits into that area... something they simply did not know existed...
I am not an amateur radio confrontational evangelist, but I do not hide my hobby either...most of the folks I have brought into the hobby over the years have been quite by happenstance and not a planned effort.

 

[Tallman]

I was on a road trip and geared up pretty good. (Electronics)
I had an individual ask "Why all of the CB gear?"
He whipped out his little smart phone and demonstrated how easy it was to use. I was a little miffed at his tone. So I said, When you are stuck in traffic do you know the phone number of a driver five miles ahead of you to ask what's going on up there? He got this puzzled look on his face and he walked away muttering.
I wasn't going to take time to educate and explain that I had a ham radio transceiver because of his attitude. You can't really teach someone who think they know everything.

 

[Obed]

you gave him something to think about though.

 

[N0NB]

Obed, you're absolutely correct, the old saying of leading a horse to water comes to mind.

W9CLL, don't feel bad, getting one licensed is an achievement. The others, though they may not have become licensed now may come back later in life. At the least they may carry a knowledge of not just amateur radio but two-way radio through the rest of their life. That can only be an improvement over anything they didn't learn in school as hopefully they won't so easily buy into the nonsense surrounding RF exposure. Or they may know now to ask some neighbor with the antennas about certain claims. You never know what positive impact you're had.

Tallman, I've never bought into the argument that two-way radio and cell phones are mutually exclusive as some think. I have and use both. Both are tools to complete a task. When confronted with this thinking in real life I outline the pros and cons of each and why each is very useful. A cell phone is a one-to-one paradigm, unless one has a conference bridge, while two-way radio can be one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, or many-to-many. I explain that a two-way radio can be used without infrastructure (if setup as such) as a direct communications link which is not possible with a cell phone.

I'm not sure is schools are the best place to look for prospective hams. I know that when I was in school 35+ years ago that my folks would not have laid out the cash for amateur gear though they did find my interest in model rockets and plastic models cheap enough to go along with them. We kids did get a pair of cheapie walkie talkies with predictably poor results. That still did not dampen my interest which did not fully bloom until I was out of high school and away from mandatory studies. This was a topic I willingly and cheerfully studied. So, I've long thought that people out of school and likely empty nesters would have the time and interest to get involved in amateur radio. I would not discourage a school aged child but I remember that during my time in school that my plate was full and these days theirs is an order of magnitude greater.

I've seen far more adults come through my exam sessions over the years than minors. I now tend to keep my eyes open for adults that may be interested than kids. Still, I would like to find the magic bullet to reach those who may be interested, but just don't know it yet, but I want to avoid putting obligations on any prospects, if that makes sense.

 

[Tallman]

I just got my first smart phone in May and I'm still learning about all it can do. The Verizon Navigator is a great addition to my equipment for road trips. That along with the CB radio, GPS, and my IC7100 keeps me moving down the road. In several instances the Navigator helped me dodge some pretty bad traffic tie ups. But I knew about them because of the radio first.

 

[jon666]

I just got my first smart phone in May and I'm still learning about all it can do. The Verizon Navigator is a great addition to my equipment for road trips. That along with the CB radio, GPS, and my IC7100 keeps me moving down the road. In several instances the Navigator helped me dodge some pretty bad traffic tie ups. But I knew about them because of the radio first.

i want to take the test. but there is no one here in my town or nearby places to take it. im not going to travel 1000 miles to take the test.i have all the equipment just no place to take the test
jon

 

[Tallman]

i want to take the test. but there is no one here in my town or nearby places to take it. im not going to travel 1000 miles to take the test.i have all the equipment just no place to take the test
jon

A Thousand miles? Where do you live? I could find a place to take test. You also can take the test via SKYPE if there are some VE's doing that now.

 

[Obed]

it is hard to figure a place that did not have folks to test somewhere around... where/what town do you live in?
It is likely that folks can be found to help you out with the testing.

 

[N0NB]

@jon666

If you're almost anywhere in the jurisdiction of the USA, you're probably quite close to someone who has an established VE team. There may be some remote areas where a 100 mile drive might be necessary but folks that remote are used to driving anyway. If you're in the USA send me a PM with your approximate location if you'd like and I can look up on the VE sites for someone nearby.