Thursday, January 08, 2009

Why The Hell Would You Want A Ham Radio?

In a recent post on his blog, Robert V. Bolton (KE7ZEA) reflects on the above question, which was asked of him by a neighbor. In his post, he asks "why would the average person want a ham radio?"

The simple answer is that the average person simply wouldn't want a ham radio, any more than the average person would want a finish planer, an anvil, or a Jacquard loom.  Ham radio simply isn't for everyone, any more than is woodworking, swordsmithing, painting, writing, or just about any other activity that isn't essential to personal maintenance. Fundamentally, there are two reasons why one would get a ham radio (or a ham radio license). One of them is because some other activity that one is interested in doing involves, or would be easier to do using, ham radio. The other is because one has a raw fascination with radio itself and with what can be done with radio, and having a ham radio license allows you to experiment without as much risk of getting in trouble.

I don't have a good feel for what proportion of hams fall into each of these categories, and I suspect there's quite a lot of overlap. I admit to feeling that those in the second category—the "hardcore radio geeks"—are somehow "purer" than those who are "hams of convenience", but I suppose that's not really fair.  And I'm not really sure where so-called "radiosport" falls in this scheme of things.

Also, the set of activities that are enabled or enhanced by having a ham radio or a ham radio license is quite large.  I mentioned in a previous blogpost that quite a few people in Indiana are obtaining ham radio licenses just so they can use a scanner while in a car.  This is an example of a totally artificial incentive to become a ham, driven entirely by the vagaries of Indiana's mobile scanner law; many of these people have no real interest in radio for its own sake, but are instead driven by whatever it is that drives people to listen to scanners, a motivation I confess I don't understand. 

SkyWarn is another program that drives people who are not fundamentally interested in radio into ham radio.  Stormspotters and stormchasers often get ham radio licenses not because they are interested in radio for its own sake, but because SkyWarn has developed over time to use amateur radio frequencies and repeaters as a primary means of communication.  Ironically, the spread of terrestrial cellphone coverage over the United States has reduced the importance of ham radio to SkyWarn, although it's certainly true that the ham radio communication channel continues to be important to volunteer severe weather reporting—for now.

One of the motivations that used to draw people to ham radio, but not so much, was the desire for communication with other people, often over long distances.  It used to be that if you wanted to chat with someone halfway across the country, or the world, the only way to do that without paying exorbitant telephone toll rates was going to be ham radio.  The Internet has completely undermined this motivation, however.  I talk to people from all over the world on a daily basis, in text and occasionally even in voice (via services like Skype), at no cost to me beyond that of my internet connection.  The connection may not be terribly reliable at times, but then again neither was the ham radio connection, what with sunspot cycles and solar flares and all the other vagaries of propogation.  I think this motivation drew a lot of people to the hobby in the middle part of last century, and is probably the basis of statements like Jeff Pulver's claim that twitter is "[t]he Ham Radio of Today".  At the same time, that motivation is no longer an effective draw, and that likely has a lot to do with the constant parade of predictions of the death of ham radio, as people who were drawn to the hobby for that reason find that there is an increasing dearth of likeminded people left in the hobby.

I'm not really sure what motivates people into contesting.  I don't participate in contesting, and don't really understand the appeal, but it sure seems to be popular with some people.  I'd be curious to hear if there's anyone who became a ham explicitly to participate in contests.  Much the same can be said of explicitly working toward awards such as "Worked All States"; I rather doubt that many people became hams for the explicit reason of accomplishing some award or set of awards, but instead such motivations come up after one has been in the hobby for some time. 

There's also the entire "EmComm" aspect of ham radio, which has been discussed quite a bit on Twitter and elsewhere recently.  Emergency communication support is clearly contemplated as part of the official purposes for the existence of amateur radio (at least in the United States), but of late the quality of that support seems to have lagged quite a bit.  This aspect of ham radio also seems to attract a particular type of individual known derogatorily as a "whacker": someone who wants to be involved in police, fire, or other first-response public safety activities, but is either unwilling or unable to complete the training or accept the responsibilities of a full-fledged police officer or firefighter.  These people often get involved in emcomm groups (such as ARES) because the barrier to entry is very low (many ARES groups will take anyone who shows up) and membership often gains them access to emergency operation centers and other first-response organizations, and may give them impressive-looking documentation to flash at people or even the legal authorization they need to mount a lightbar on their car.  Unfortunately, many of these people have no real understanding of or competence at what they're supposed to be doing, create more problems than they solve, and give amateur radio a poor name with both real emergency management entities and the public generally. 

I imagine that the analysis of why any particular ham became a ham, and why he or she remains a ham, would reveal a mix of motivations.  I have some clue as to what drew me to the hobby, and I must admit that it's a mix of several different things: a desire to know more about radio and electronics, a desire to give something back to the community, a desire for camaraderie.

Fundamentally, though, if you can't think of a reason why you would want a ham radio, you probably don't.  If you ask me, the recruitment strategy really needs to be more along the line of finding people who really are interested and helping them get started, rather than finding people who fundamentally aren't really interested, and giving them an excuse to be involved anyway.  Of course, there's probably some people out there who don't realize that they would be  interested simply because they don't really know what ham radio is.

17 comments:

  1. Nice story. I can tell you that becoming a ham these days is nothing like it was back in the 50's. At age 16 I was enthralled with the notion that I could actually talk, I mean by morse code, to someone thousands of miles away. That I could actually build a transmitter from a kit and hang an antenna. It was the hobby that elevated a young kid above the level of his parents and peer group, who had no clue, into a world where everyone was equal regardless of age. Because one had to learn code and pass a test also empowered a kid to become a ham. There is no way kids today will ever experience the thrill of what ham radio was to me back in 1953 when I passed my novice test and built my first transmitter. Ham radio was the power that drove me into a career of science, electronics, NASA, and finally starting my own electronics company and retiring knowing that I had followed my passion throughout my life. KG5SR

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  2. Hi, Kelly

    An excellent summation and articulate accounting of our current condition as ham radio operators. Some but not all are early adopters who are building our future wireless infrastructure, yet.

    Another cohort of ham radio operators possess an entirely different perspective and set of experiences. Neither is better than the other but ham radio is evolving and we are listening to that conversation.

    I, for one, feel a definitive excitement and passion for ham radio developing on Twitter and/or 73s. In either case, operators are going back into their shacks and looking around then choosing a preferred mode of operation. This is probably the most exciting development in ham radio in at least three years.

    Essentially, I believe, defending our spectrum and just operating will rise to the top of our priority list especially in the microwave regions of our FCC allocated spectral spaces. I see a "use or lose" scenario developing in the next three years.

    Commercial interest in the efficient use of these bands may result in ham radio getting a spectrum foreclosure notice for example, WiMAX and RF video [I'm researching this] is under development at Motorola as well.

    On the other hand, I'm into RadioSport and it is adrenaline coupled with technology that motivates my activity. However, I want to branch out this year and will look into PSK31 as an example.

    Thanks again for a well thought out posting.

    73
    Scot, KA3DRR

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  3. Kelly,
    Good post. I'll add two more categories that have faded. There is the Personal Communicator who basically uses ham radio in place of a cell phone. This used to be a significant percentage of licensed radio amateurs but now why bother with the popularity of cell phones. Closely related is the Autopatch User, which has faded out for the same reason.

    My experience with Emcomm folks is totally different than your read on them. I have not yet run into the whacker type. (Yes, I know they exist and I have seen the various web sites.) I have run into tons of hams that truly help out when times get tough. I try to do this when I can but my efforts are minimal compared with some of the dedicated guys. Their work is the most compelling reason the FCC should set aside spectrum for the amateur radio service.

    73, Bob K0NR

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  4. I was originally interested in ham radio because I was interested in electronics and long-distance communications. I grew up in a small town with no hams that I knew of, so an Elmer was out of the question. I tried several times to learn CW, but with little success.

    Much later in my life, I read articles about packet radio and the then-new no-code license, and thought, "Cool. Email without paying long distance." That motivated me to get my first license. Then I wanted HF privileges, and upgraded to Tech Plus. After realizing how lame the allocations were for that level, I moved up to General, right after the slow-code rules came into effect.

    Now, with short drives to work each day, it's hardly worth getting on the repeater, and the internet burns up a lot of time I might have spent on-air at home.

    I maintain my license primarily for public service events, but ones I'm interested in are few and far between.

    I really need to get a decent HF rig so I can try playing with the newer digital modes. It looks like fun, and could rekindle my fascination with the hobby.

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  5. Hi,

    I can say that I like contests because they are the ideal excuse for building an above-than-average station. This doesnt mean strictly spending tons of money, but mainly spending it well. I like learning how I can solve problems that I probably would not had if I where not in contesting game. I often say that preparimg/building a station for contesting may be more fun than operating it in the contest. Seems like a giant lego.

    When operating, to do serious contesting, and have decent results, operator must be top-notch. It would not help to have a Ferrari in hands if you cant handle it.

    Its about pushing things and people to their limits. Is it useful to any purpose? I cant tell. hihi

    73,

    Felipe - PY1NB
    PR1T contest team

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  6. Well, I can't speak for anybody else, but I got my Technician ticket (yesterday) for several reasons: I live in a flood-prone area and I want to be able to help out with emcomm; I'm interested in digital modes and I want to tinker with my computer, network, and a transceiver and see what's possible; and although I can easily communicate with anybody via the Internet or the telephone network, there's something appealing about communicating *directly* with somebody via radio.

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  7. Some good points indeed. I got into ham radio because I do a lot of camping, hiking and 4-wheeling where there is no cell service [middle of Nevada, Wyoming, Utah as examples]. And am also an EmCommer...not because I want to be a cop [been there, done that] but because there are times here in the West when ham radio subs for snowstorms, widespread phone outages, etc. You are correct in that, one day, when the country is all built out with cell phone towers there will be little need for day-to-day stuff like ham radios. Still, they're used in my area for Skywarn even though cell service is readily available simply because they are easy and are the ultimate 'party line' for multiple people to use when reporting immediate bad weather conditions. One last point I agree with--like ice fishing, woodworking, knitting or any other hobby you're either into it or you aren't.

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  11. Please go to and read my BIO on QRZ.com under my callsign W9FIZ - It pretty well defines what is happening on Amateur Radio these days.

    Also I was given some good advice from an old ham years ago who is now silent key (ham talk for deceased) "He said stay off 2 meters" That was good very good advice.
    on a lot of these 2 meter repeater systems there are groups that form and if you are not in the incrowd or one of the good old boys
    you will be ignored. If you must use 2 meters focus on simplex, sideband or CW modes.
    Its not the same hobby - I sometimes think all the CB idiots migrated ham radio after the CB
    craze of the 70's petered out.

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  12. There was a time when there was a great fellowship among amateur radio operators whereby we freely helped one another and if he had a call sign he was never a stranger. Instead of bitching and disrespecting the hobby on this forum I intend to do something worthwhile and revive and display the way Ham radio operators used to treat one another. At the Dayton Hamvention 2013 I will be at Flea Market Booth space # 3977 right next to gate E on the far north end of the Flea Market. I will be offering at least 6 FREE Services to the attendees. WHY? to have fun, make new friends, and to provide needed services to my fellow Hams. Go and check out my BIO on QRZ.COM for full details. I decided it is really conterproductive to come hear and complain, that accomplishes nothing. Talk is Cheap- Sweat is Dear- 73 and see you at the Dayton Hamvention 2013 Barry Gose - W9FIZ - licensed since October 1970

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  15. It can be a very expensive hobby- not sure if it is worth the time & effort- mostly full of kooks & weirdos - glory mongers seeking recognition- there are more rewarding & enjoyable hobbies out there

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  16. Nothing at all like it was 50 years ago - I am more into Shortwave listening now

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