not all hams are like that. sure there are a holes in both hobbies. i enjoy radio what ever i got hooked up at the time. there is enough hate in the world.
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Hey older hammies, what's with the attitude???
- Thread starter loosecannon
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I have met "Clergy" that were the biggest aholes. Some of them were related by marriage. One was telling me I need to change my ways or I was going to hell.
Later that month he was arrested for rape, he also had children with women other than his wife. Other groups were just as bad.
Later that month he was arrested for rape, he also had children with women other than his wife. Other groups were just as bad.
Because of the 10 year licensing cycle, and 2 mouse click renewals, this number is somewhat meaningless. It doesn't really depict how many people are actual active on the air. Sadly I think while the number of "valid" licenses are up, the number of active operators of all types is way down. Obviously there's some geographic slant, too. For example on BOTH services up here in New England, over the past decade I've seen an easy 50% drop in people on the air. You used to be able to turn on a 2M rig and hear a half dozen active repeaters during the morning commute, now its like 3 or 4 maybe. Same thing with CB, there are still people around but the days of just turning the radio on during daylight hours and finding people to talk to all over are gone. Even the number of truck drivers using Ch. 19 has plummeted quite a bit. It used to be I would turn on 19 in the morning back 15 something years ago and you'd hear a ton of people, now its just a few pockets of drivers here and there.
BJ radionut
Supporting Member and 6m addict
Dr. Grant : I don't doubt that in some regions activity is down. I can tell by 6m here...many 1-2-3 area callsigns have relocated to other areas. As far as general activity I find it still very busy here in the Mid-West. Even 2m FM Simplex operation seems to be coming back.
I have operated a few SSB/CW contests of late, and can tell you I have noticed a jump in activity during those events.
The 10m ARRL SSB/CW contest last month with the cycle in such poor conditions, I thought with over 800+ Q's in 28 hours of operation was pretty damn good.
We (W8PR Team) also had almost 60% of those Q's made in the CW sections.
Certainly the poor conditions in this Solar minimum have seen some op's drop off and doing other things, however I believe there will be a resurgence once the conditions improve.
Last Spring/Summer during Eskip season, 6m was very active, and 10m shown some good activity also.
I can't tell you how many times I worked New op's on 6m last Summer, running Dipoles or Squalo's w/100 watts...
So there are op's trying the bands when conditions give them the opportunity.
I would agree we may have lost some, due to poor conditions, op's trying to work 40/75m with 100 watts plus dipoles or marginal antennas only 15-20ft above ground are going to experience some serious frustration.
I certainly believe the Digital modes have contributed to reduced SSB/CW activity on most of the bands, making it appear there is nobody operating. However if you follow the " DX clusters" activity is there, it is just isolated to those very small segments of the bands.
DIGI is not my cup of tea, but if it gets people operating...FB.
All the Best
Gary
I have operated a few SSB/CW contests of late, and can tell you I have noticed a jump in activity during those events.
The 10m ARRL SSB/CW contest last month with the cycle in such poor conditions, I thought with over 800+ Q's in 28 hours of operation was pretty damn good.
We (W8PR Team) also had almost 60% of those Q's made in the CW sections.
Certainly the poor conditions in this Solar minimum have seen some op's drop off and doing other things, however I believe there will be a resurgence once the conditions improve.
Last Spring/Summer during Eskip season, 6m was very active, and 10m shown some good activity also.
I can't tell you how many times I worked New op's on 6m last Summer, running Dipoles or Squalo's w/100 watts...
So there are op's trying the bands when conditions give them the opportunity.
I would agree we may have lost some, due to poor conditions, op's trying to work 40/75m with 100 watts plus dipoles or marginal antennas only 15-20ft above ground are going to experience some serious frustration.
I certainly believe the Digital modes have contributed to reduced SSB/CW activity on most of the bands, making it appear there is nobody operating. However if you follow the " DX clusters" activity is there, it is just isolated to those very small segments of the bands.
DIGI is not my cup of tea, but if it gets people operating...FB.
All the Best
Gary
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I'll give you the best summation of this CB vs Ham radios I can. If you were an asshole before you got your ticket, you are now the same asshole with better equipment.
S&W357
$upporting Member KO4RJD....WDX-556
I had the same experience with the VFW, American Legion no problem. I dislike it when people paint a broad stroke across a large segment of society that stands off the side of general population because they have a skill or interest that is not mainstream. Hot rod cars, radio groups, photography, radio controlled aircraft all are cliquish. If you enter a contest for photography and you do not belong to their club you won't even place or get an honorable mention. I entered a photo that I thought was better than anything they had and nothing. The photo was painstakingly composed and the subject matter fantastic. It was a young lady in a yoga pose fully clothed with the sunrise looking like a halo around her head. Everybody that saw it wanted a copy. So what was the problem? All of the.photos had been prejudged at a club meeting the week before the contest, they knew who was in the club and they were the judges.
My,My, Make that 5 gaggles of OLD hams, @ 5 times, in 5 places!!! After getting my General in 1965, I tired of sitting on the ropes & dropped my call in 1985!!! But continued 0in electronics...
At 72 yrs old, after 34 yrs away, in March/2019 I started cramming to see if could cut it again... You must realize in 34 years electronics transitioned from Valves (tubes) to transistors!!! I was relentless in my NEW challenge... I was pleasantly surprised at the welcoming I received from the VE's & WHOLE GROUP @ club when taking & accessed Tech & Gen tests!!! Received my new call on 05/02/19... Gonna make it work this time!!!
I bought a baofeng uv82 last year. I got into a tech licensing class earlier this year but I wasn’t able to attend due to some issues that popped up. Today I started taking some practice tests just to see what to expect. But honestly I’m on the fence about it when I’ve read so much negativity about hams. I’m 32 and an experienced CBer but I’m not sure I like the idea of all the rules. That’s just me though.
Read or experienced? We have our complete bastiches but they're easily ignored.
like CB the miscreants tend to congregate in one place and are easily ignored.
All the rules? Or several specifically? Part 97 basically states " stay within the lines, don't be an ass, assist or give way in emergencies, and don't abuse the privilege".
I'm a "ham" an extra in fact. It isn't and hasn't been commonly known here as I don't include it in my details. I'm a volunteer examiner as well. 1st phone/GROL through most of my adult life.
Ignore the "likes" and read a sample of my non technical rants. Do you see any but humorous negativity ? ie; "get below and row" to a tech, or a reminder to a general that "it's on the exam, figure it out". In any case that's what the public sees. I've already given the answer in PM.
I consider myself to be a fair example of what the majority of hams are,
human beings.
Let me give some examples of what HAMS are:
1. After hurricane Katrina the first responders were paralyzed and had zero communications. The local hams got together with their own equipment and set up a system that got them on the move. No body asked them. They just did it.
2. A search and rescue group in the North East of the Untied States had trouble communicating with the command center and each other to coordinate the search parties and aircraft being used. A ham and one of the locals involved with the search and rescue devised a plan to fix the problems. Recommended test equipment was bought and put to use. Repeaters and command central tuned up and now a Handy Talkie can make contact with any other members of the group reliably over very rough terrain.
That my friend is what you don't hear about "HAMS." Not all of us are the cranky snooty curmudgeons and are dedicated to public safety and service.
So If you don't want to be a member of such a noble group, Okay but we could use more people to chip in and help out in times of crisis.
I don't think that is an attitude.
I guess I mean the more structured aspect, maybe “rules” was the wrong term. CB is a little more free I guess. I also hate how a lot of people tend to look down on CB, especially because it’s what got me into radio in the first place. You can be on the air for less than $150. I have done some listening, and I do enjoy it, but I haven’t heard anything that has made me wish I could join in. I will say the couple of hams that I have had contact with have been very welcoming, maybe I shouldn’t put so much stock in what I read. But with threads like this, I can’t help but wonder.
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