Abraxas3d

"Why is the [#hamradio] hobby dying? Because a bunch of cantankerous old men demean and condemn the new and exciting and cutting edge aspects of amateur radio that made it so interesting in the first place. And are super vocal about it."

-from an email I received about a big new movement in citizen science radio work.

Next July, I'll be helping these people put on a really nice event.

A lot of us have left amateur radio, but haven't forgotten what amateur radio was supposed to be about. All of us - and a growing number of organizers and leaders - are thinking much broader and much more inclusive, picking up #opensource teams, industry groups, and authentically and kindly serving people that legacy and traditional organizations have forgotten, hate on, or outright exclude.

On the "naughty list" are #ARDC, #ARRL, and #AMSAT. Odd how they all start with the letter "A".

Nov 6, 2023 at 6:26pmWeb
Show threadAbraxas3dNov 6, 2023
There are other well-known projects in amateur radio that are going to be dropping the "amateur radio" from their name and focus, and moving on to serve a wider community. And, at least one is going to cause some waves (pun intended).
Show threadLeo BistmansNov 6, 2023
@abraxas3d the hobby is growing in parts of Asia, maybe we can learn from their ways?
Show threadNicklas Johnson 🏳️‍🌈Nov 6, 2023
@abraxas3d that's literally the reason my radio stays off most of the time. Pretty much any time it's on, it's guaranteed I'll be hearing from some shitty person about their shitty political or religious opinions, or hear some boring old tirade about how much they miss CW being part of the test.
Show threadRobert WardNov 6, 2023
@spatula @abraxas3d I feel kinda lucky, our repeater traffic around here is mostly just complaining about various physical ailments. I will say the digital repeater networks tend to be a lot better in my experience.
Show threadNicklas Johnson 🏳️‍🌈Nov 6, 2023

@rtward
Some small intelligence barrier to entry probably helps. Probably why digital modes tend to be just a smidge better off than SSB, especially if they involve precisely setting a clock.

@abraxas3d

Show threadOpen Water Otter VE7GR🏳️‍🌈Nov 6, 2023
@abraxas3d These days, if I hear sombody refer to MHz as "Mega Cycles" I'm outta there so fast... RED FLAG! https://hackaday.com/2016/12/12/my-beef-with-ham-radio/
My Beef With Ham Radio

My amateur radio journey began back in the mid-1970s. I was about 12 at the time, with an interest in electronics that baffled my parents. With little to guide me and fear for my life as I routinel…

Hackaday
Show threadComrade WeezNov 6, 2023

@abraxas3d #hamradio is dying so hard that it has more licensees than ever worldwide. It is diverse; whether HF DX, satellite, digital modes, local VHF/UHF, SSTV, ATV etc. every ham has a favourite niche. If it's on air, someone is doing it.

There are some internet 'radio' devotees who don't twig why their niche isn't well loved, and they have the hurt of butt. Bless their little cotton socks anyway. 😃 👍

Show threadAbraxas3dNov 6, 2023

@weezmgk I did a study on US licensee demographics. You might find it interesting.

https://github.com/Abraxas3d/Demographics

Amateur radio is why I became an engineer. The sexual harassment is easily the worst I've seen from any aspect of a long and continuing engineering career.

The 10+2 year long license means that evaluating the numbers is not straightforward. As Sterling Moss points out, the "all time high" numbers that even I like to point to are due to the underlying population growth, and not an actively growing licensee base.

This is a better situation than, say, Japan.

GitHub - Abraxas3d/Demographics: US Amateur License Holders Demographics

US Amateur License Holders Demographics. Contribute to Abraxas3d/Demographics development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub
Show threadComrade WeezNov 6, 2023

@abraxas3d Ham radio (and electronic engineering in general) does have a terrible sausagefest problem and every ham is responsible for it. On a micro level, my radio club cultivates a culture of acceptance and respect. One 'woman driver' jibe is enough to get the offender admonished, a repeat gets the Wouff Hong.

I'm a recovering American living in Australia for the last 25 years. I'm VK2AAF but still WD9GYO. Praps things are different in VK.

Show threadSteveNov 6, 2023
@abraxas3d Here here. I’ll admit I was mislead by the #ARRL when I first got my ticket in 2020 thinking they really had the best interests of amateur radio operators at heart. But if they deliberately choose to not make their own self-published works accessible to the blind patrons they claim to support, well… let’s just say I let my membership expire, and I won’t be rejoining their organization.
Show threadAbraxas3dNov 6, 2023
@sclower there are a lot of really good volunteers in ARRL. They are definitely not being served well by the headquarters or executive leadership. It's a bad situation. I do hope it improves.
Show threadSteveNov 6, 2023
@abraxas3d There are, and I sat down with the central director earlier this year to talk about my gripes. He did actually pass them up the chain, but top of said chain didn’t give a fig.
Show threadAbraxas3dNov 6, 2023
@sclower Understand completely.
Show threadOnno (VK6FLAB)Nov 6, 2023

@abraxas3d I touch on this aspect of our community regularly in my weekly podcast. There's bullying, gatekeeping, misogyny, sexism, homophobia and all the other special ways that people can be derogatory towards "others".

To be clear, our community is a welcoming environment, filled with hope and joy, but there is a small rotten element in our midst that we need to rip out root and branch, much like we would if it was deliberate HF interference.

https://www.eham.net/article/48285

Take a Long Hard Look at Our Community...

Show threadAbraxas3d W5NYVNov 10, 2023
@vk6flab @abraxas3d thank you. I've read your eHams post several times now, and am very happy to find you out there.