~ HAVE YOUR SAY ~

2 of 5

If you would like to add a comment to this "Have Your Say" Section, please Email your response by clicking the post box (below).

     PLEASE EMAIL YOUR POSTINGS   

Please Put "POST" in the SUBJECT Field.

 

What's happened to AR?

18 Sep 2004

 

Ever been to one of those Linux/Computer parties where computer enthusiasts get together and (apart from drinking coke and eating pizza) swap ideas, hardware, software, play network games and generally have a good social outing. They are great fun and it's good to meet the folks who are normally just an email address.

Seems to me Hams don't do that very much these days. A bunch of hams could pack a tent, swag, esky, radio gear and go bush (Deep Creek in in South Australia comes to mind). They could play radios all night or just sit about having a good time talking radio/rubbish or whatever.

Another idea just popped into my head - get a bunch of Hams together and have folks sponsor the group. Say 5 cents a contact and aim for 1000 contacts. Over 24 hours that's just over 40 contacts an hour. The money could be donated to charity bringing publicity to the Amateur Fraternity.

If we do these sorts of things, maybe people will stop thinking we are just a bunch of old loners, sitting about in our underwear playing with CB's.

Kevin, VK5KKS
President of Society of Radio Heads, Australia.
(and only member)

 

 

HAVE AMATEURS SOLD THEIR HOBBY OUT

Feb 8 - 2006

 

Have Amateurs sold their hobby out?  I think they have.  What happened to the limited Band Allocation for the Foundation License, and for the Standard Lic.  Their is no incentive to upgrade to the Advanced from the Standard as you get little reward that most will not even want.  Further, their is NO incentive from what most Foundation Lic. holders are telling us for them to upgrade either as they have too many bands and seem happy with their power levels of 10 Watts, or is that a silent 100?  What happened to the equipment building and teaching for the Standard and Advanced Licenses, gone without a word.

 

The Foundation Lic. holders come on Air, and compared to before they KNOW NOTHING. They haven't even been taught correct operating procedures and I hear NONE of them even asking questions!  I have heard NOT ONE saying they would like to upgrade in the future.  ITS JUST CB WITH MORE AND BETTER BANDS TO THEM!

 

Are they  going to learn and ever upgrade, or just use high power levels without anyone the wiser and just run a muck.  Putting in the time and study breed's respect, appreciation and responsibility, doing a weekend course achieves little of those attributes if any, with nearly every band open to them to do as they wish!

 

I think most Amateurs have become complacent and have forgotten the great privileges of spectrum access we have, and have just given it away with the words, we have to do this so the hobby doesn't dye.  Well its been dying for decades and NO PROMOTION of the hobby has EVER been done in any substantial way.  That to me equals lazy, complacent and loss of respect for their privileges.

 

All this has been compounded by the WIA doing nothing in restructuring or promotion for decades and then in a blind rush and for NO GOOD REASON ends up with a fragmented National WIA, NOT AN Australian WIA.  Further to this they see no real reason for State WIA bodies, as they say they are going to phase them out and leave everything to the Clubs.  This will never work, as the Clubs cant do everything and its the responsibility of the National WIA to do most of this work .... result ... things like promotion etc etc will be neglected, just like in the decades before.

 

I just don't get it.  We get a rush of no knowledge Foundation Lic. holders loose on nearly all the bands.  I wonder how long this little rush will last.  well, NOT LONG if you ask me!  Are we better off by selling our hobby down to the level of CB!  I say NO, were worse off and it will get even worse as we see what happens in the years to come.

 

Have we any more democratic principals in place, NO .... that's the BIGGEST shame, keeping most disillusioned.  Its still a small group of Amateurs that have forgotten how privileged and lucky we are that are totally controlling our once great hobby.   Its just spectrum, who cares if we put a whole lot of totally uneducated in the most basics of Electronics and Amateur Radio on air and let them loose on nearly all the spectrum we have.  Its CRAZY.

 

Just remember back to the first few years you had your naturally UPGRADED Amateur License.  You viewed AR as THE BEST HOBBY IN THE WORLD and had tons of fun, on Air, building things and learning and learning MORE!  Unfortunately, as time go bye its natural I guess, as you learn and learn and experiment and use AR like it is meant to be used,  that you slowly forget how great the hobby is and how privileged you are .... and unfortunately, when big decisions had to be made and in an unnecessary RUSH, you got LAZY,  you forgot to think back and remember the respect you once had for YOUR hobby and you dumped it down the drain. Its just like your new rig, its great for the fist few months and after that its just a rig!  I only hope I'm wrong, but EVERYTHING that has happened in the last two years could have been done around 500% better and without selling our once great hobby for peanuts.  All this for NO GOOD reason, just lazy, rushed, unthoughtful and complacent BAD decisions followed by bad decisions!.

 

I honestly hope I am proved WRONG!

 

Rob VK5MM

 

 

2 of 5

This Page was Last Updated on Monday, 01 May 2006