Subj : The Future Of Ham Radio
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Sat May 28 2016 07:43 pm
The median age of ham radio operators seems to be above 40 years old. Like any
other hobby, the youth of today is the FUTURE to the hobby.
Unfortunately, most kids today are so into their "tablets", etc. that they
don't care at all about any hobbies, including ham radio. But, we have to do
something to replace those ham radio operators who are dropping out of the
hobby, for whatever reason...whether it's letting their licenses expire then
lapse (not renewing), or they die (becoming a Silent Key).
I heard of one young lady in Tennessee, who passed her Technician exam at 5,
her General exam at 6, and her Amateur Extra exam at 7. At that age, the kids
are like a sponge with information!! I've known pre-teens on the air as Net
Control operators.
One example of getting kids interested was with one of the modes with D-Star,
known as D-Rats. It allows sending of email, messages, and files, along with
chat in real time. One of the older hams in the El Paso, Texas area, Lew,
KB5HPT, had his grandson in the shack one day...and he was curious about
Grandpa's setup (what's all this ham radio stuff??).
Well, Grandpa tried to explain it in terms that his grandson would understand.
He wasn't interested...UNTIL Grandpa used D-Rats to send a text message to his
grandson's smartphone. The reaction: WOW!!
Lew told him he could reply to it...and said his grandson's eyes were as big as
dollars!! That did it!! He was hooked!! :)
Plus, kids on the air, with a high pitched voice (either boys who haven't
gotten to puberty yet, or girls), tend to get more contacts. Ham Radio may be a
male dominated hobby, but when it comes to making contacts, if you have women
or young kids on the air, "the clocks are cleaned!!".
Daryl, WX1DER
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