melodicoffer

@croyle It's a bit of a catch 22 at the moment.
Hams will say they're friendly and will say they worry about the hobby dying.

But at the same time my experience a new ham and relatively young one (by comparison) has been miserable.

VHF/Uhf has been horrible. Most of my local repeaters are dead and when they active it's old white males discussing politics I don't agree with. They dont give me a chance to break in even if I wanted to.

Despite this, my interest in technology has kept me going and working towards a generals liscesne.
But for the average layman 2 exams to get started and find an enjoyable community is a tall order for a hobby.

The problem with amateur radio isn't that the technology is out of date. It's that most of the operatators are. That's the reason the hobby is "dying".

#hamradio #amateurradio #arrlisdying

May 1, 2024 at 4:19pmWeb
Show threadNorris Dale AC1LPMay 1, 2024
@melodicoffer
I'd have to agree, being both a relatively new ham and an old white guy. His description of the repeater experience was telling, and it matches my experience exactly.
Show threadMegahertzMay 2, 2024
@melodicoffer @croyle well said.
Show threadMegahertzMay 4, 2024
@croyle @melodicoffer Something I've realized leaving my rig on in the background during the day is that there are some very nice open-minded older hams. But they are in the minority. The rest meet on air to stroke each other's damaged ego and try to convince themselves that the "old days" were the best days, that being openly racist is the cool thing to do to fit in with your group, and that everyone who's not running a perfectly resonant antenna isn't a real ham.
Show threadRich CaseyMay 2, 2024
@melodicoffer @croyle hang in there. I’ve been a ham for 60 years but still enjoy it. I learn something new all the time and constantly encourage others to join the hobby. We started a neighborhood club here and now have over 25 members in just 5 years. We do need to encourage new hams. I just spent 30 minutes on the phone with a 30 something guy that found our net on his scanner and is excited to join the fun! 73 from n5csu