Yesterday, a reader contacted with a bit of information that I found almost incredible. He wrote:
You may have seen the video of N6AA at the Yuma hamfest (ARRL Forum). One tidbit he shared from the latest Board meeting is that each year there are approximately 30,000 new FCC amateur licensees. 3,000 of these join the ARRL, and only 600 of them keep their ARRL membership into the second year.
This is way worse than I would have expected. That’s a 2% capture rate. Using my advanced strategy skills, I submit that it is not what we call a sustainable business model. :-)
I replied, “Those numbers are truly bad, almost to the point of being terrifying.” I daresay that there are more than 600 ARRL members pass away in a given year. With numbers like that, it’s no wonder that the ARRL membership is falling.
What really gets me is the cavalier attitude that the League seems to have about this. They’ve known for years that membership has not kept pace with the number of licensed radio amateurs, and yet they haven’t seen fit to do something as simple as set a membership goal.
It gets worse
Here’s the video. It starts at the 42:00 mark, where N6AA begins talking about this issue.
Apparently, this study was done by Mintz & Hoke, an Avon, CT public relations firm. (Why the ARRL hired a PR firm to do a membership survey is kind of puzzling to me. They do list marketing and branding as one of their “capabilities,” so I guess that’s how they got the gig.)
Mintz & Hoke’s study noted that one of the problems is the lack of Elmers (“Elmer” is ham radio lingo for mentors). D’uh. Haven’t some of us been saying that for years? Did the Board actually have to pay a PR firm tens of thousands of dollars to hear this?
What really got my goat was the PR firm’s proposed solution – a website! They actually proposed that the ARRL pay them more than $400,000 to set up some kind of “lifelong learning” website. But the real kicker is that this money was just for the framework. The ARRL would still have to provide all the content!
There were a number of suggestions from the floor, including:
- Publish a list of Elmers on the ARRL website.
- Publish more information for newcomers on “The Doctor is In” podcast.
- Give a year’s free membership, then reduced membership for some number of years after that.
There was also the suggestion that every radio club should have Elmers. While that’s certainly true, just saying that’s the way it should be isn’t going to improve the situation. I’ve blogged many times about how poorly the ARRL supports clubs.
I’ve blogged in the past about how the ARRL should be Elmering Elmers. Amateur radio technology has gotten pretty sophisticated. Asking a ham to not only master the technology, but also have the people skills to be a good Elmer is a tall order. Providing some training to hams who would like to be mentors would go a long way, I think, to producing a solid corps of Elmers, who would then do the job of helping more people have fun with ham radio….and become ARRL members.
The decline in membership is only going to get worse if the ARRL doesn’t take steps now. I really hope that the Board takes this lesson to heart and figures out what to do here. I stand ready to help in any way that I can.
MJ - WO9B says
Hi Dan,
Good topic! Here is my $.02 on the subject.
Ask any new hams, particularly the millennial generation, if they’ve ever heard of the ARRL. The answer does not require a marketing firm study. The fact of life is the ARRL is no longer synonymous with ham radio. They gave up that cherished high ground years ago.
So what to do? They need to do the equivalent of what Major League Baseball does. If you go to a MLB game, by gosh they are dropping free baseballs into the hands of every 8-12 year old kid they possibly can, part of how they create life long fans. The ARRL needs to do the same thing, only make it a ham radio thing.
Specifically, the ARRL should be peppering every successful VE exam taker with an official ARRL Welcome to the Hobby Kit which includes a years free membership and if you are 18 or younger, a nice shiney Baofeng to get you started. They’ll remember the ARRL after that. Guaranteed.
Secondly, QST needs a whole new look and feel to it. Sorry guys, but the magazine is total sleep material to the new ham generation. And I gotta say the digital version reads like something grandpa would be comfortable with, not their generation.
Well there you go, my thoughts. Let the conversation get going!!
73
MJ, WO9B
Jeffery Legere says
That may also perk up the activity on 2m and 70cm. I’ve had my HT for about 6 weeks and have yet to have a conversation on it. No one is ever there.
On the flip side, that could also discourage them. I know it has for me, if I didn’t have an SDR (software-defined radio) to listen to HF on I would have given up long before.
Eric 4z1ug says
Jeffrey – you can use your computer and browser to listen to ham radio all over the World using http://websdr.org/ . Join a ham radio club near you or one on-line. Find a mentor and you will love ham radio.
DE says
This is why repeaters are quiet. Nobody hears anything so they move on.
Press the transmit button and call out. I’ve hear repeaters come alive simply from a couple people starting to use it for a bit every evening. It draws people in.
Rob W4ZNG says
> a nice shiney Baofeng to get you started.
Pretty good idea. But if you’re going to do this, please please please program it with the local repeaters and some simplex frequencies. Baofengs have a steep learning curve, and I’ve seen them halt and drive away more than one new ham.
William Barrett says
I agree. Made my wife slow down her enthusiasm.
Keeliey KE0ZMW says
Baofengs are simplicity itself.
Erik says
Yeah. You can’t get any more simple…
Ria N2RJ says
Please don’t encourage even more dirty Baofengs on the air! At least if you’re giving away a free radio, please provide one that repeatedly and reliably meets FCC spectral purity requirements. In fact, I’d say that an HT would be a pretty poor choice. Instead, how about something like a BITX transceiver that can be used on HF? If you introduce new hams to dead repeaters with cliques on them, they are going to turn away pretty quickly. But if you turn them on to exciting things like DX and special event operation, then they are more likely to gain interest.
Sasquatch1791 says
Baofengs are the reason companies like Yaesu started making FT-65Rs. To compete with them. The more competition the better. Ill take a ham with a baofeng then no ham at all.
Mike Chritton KG5MRT says
I guess I’m old. I used to like technology. I got two Yaesu FT -60’s. Took me the better part of three days to figure out how to program the first one. Then I bought the interface cable and software. Redid the first one with frequencies from Oregon, Arizona and Ohio in 15 minutes and cloned the second one in seconds. Sigh. It sucks to get old!
John Mouw says
Agreed!
Jim H says
MLB can afford to take that approach… just look at the cost of admission to a game.
Aubrey J. Young says
All good ideas. I will add this. As we Hams get older our cost of living goes up. Especially if you have a spouse that is ill. My situation is such. My monies go for her medical needs and so a membership is sacrificed.
WK0Y
Len Umina says
What has the ARRL actually done for the average ham? After 40 years of membership I dropped it because of their total failure to do anything about antennas in HOA’s. Only the government is worse. They talk a great game but also do nothing. You wonder why kids are playing video games instead of exploring radio? Ask any grandpa. They can’t put up an antenna in their new HOA neighborhood – even a wire!
I rejoined the ARRL recently just to take its pulse but the problem is far bigger than I thought. Just look at the political demographics of CT vs the rest of the nation. ARRL should be moved to a more centrist environment, and W1AW should be duplicated in each call area. W2AW, W3AW etc….
We need more conservative approaches in the ARRL but who would want to live in CT?
I do admit I find the ARRL people to be good folks and concerned about customers, but the ARRL is doomed because of one thing – inflation – which falls harshly on the elderly that make up a significant portion of its current membership. As for the tax component of inflation, that will hit everyone, and I don’t think there is a way out of what’s going on in Washington.
The ARRL has ignored a rapidly growing segment – preppers – many of whom write articles praising ham radio. I saw one very good article in Concealed Carry last month that actually had some ARRL references and content, but that is the exception, not the rule.
But in general I can’t worry about the fate of the ARRL when the fate of the USA is on the edge of a cliff. I help fund organizations fighting to preserve our way of life, and the ARRL has not been part of the solution, in fact if you dig deep its part of the problem. It’s support of the U.S. idiotic response to COVID is a good example. We outlawed the treatments known to work (Hydrochloroquin and Ivermectin) and went for a vaccine that kills, and injures many people who take it. To spread fake news misinformation we shut down hamfests. We support mask policy in spite of all the information that masks don’t work. So where is the ARRL? On the wrong side of the issues, as usual. Just like their HOA effort. Completely un-creative, inconsistent, and ineffective. Their strategy is like negotiating with the Taliban to save Americans.
If you want to be a leadership organization, you have to LEAD. The ARRL does not do this. They are simply a tool of the government (you know the one that nobody trusts in Washington) and the people’s interests have been abandoned. If this isn’t fixed quickly, the ARRL will cease to exist, and the gap will be filled by some U.N. organization that will take its place. Ham Radio will be dead.
Where is the white paper on the impact of USA socialism on ham radio?
Where is the white paper on the impact of a CCP victory in the USA on ham radio?
Where is the white paper on the impact of hyperinflation on ham radio?
Guys, the old red, white, and blue is on its death bed and nothing we’ve taken for granted in the past 70 years is safe, and if it dies, seriously, what happens to ham radio? Someone needs to be thinking and planning to mitigate the damage.
Can we help the USA survive? If so, how is that best accomplished? If you are dumb enough to think ham radio has no place in politics you are part of the problem. At the very lowest level the original competitors (Apple, Google, and Microsoft) took the other road, and its very clear that was a smarter choice. The only way to get in the fight is going to require creativity. We need to define a new leadership role for ham radio, get off our asses, and start working. It can be done, but before we get to the successful end of the battle we need to do one thing. START.
Anthony Cruz says
One word: BINGO…!
Kevin Hunt says
Len:
Your critique of ARRL in which you conflate it with ‘USA socialism,’ etc . is simply bizarre. Take, for example, your beef that ARRL doesn’t get anything done to provide us relief from restrictive covenants.
ARRL lobbied like crazy and had legislation introduced session after session, and repeatedly petitioned FCC, to adopt federal preemption of restrictive covenants against amateur radio antennas/antenna support structures. FCC previously issued a preemptive order of that nature with regard to satellite Television Receive-Only (TVRO) dishes. Do you know why Congress and FCC don’t provide hams with that relief? I’ll tell you.
It’s not because of the supposed anti-business, “wrong side of issues” orientation you attribute to ARRL. It is just the opposite: restrictive covenants are attached to real estate not by governments, but by BUSINESS, that is, by developers. If you buy a house in a development that has anti-antenna restrictive covenants, you have entered into a PRIVATE business transaction. Now, what do you call it when the federal government purports to stick its nose into peoples’ private business transactions, and imposes regulations prohibiting good capitalist businesses like developers from exercising their private property rights? You would call that socialism, wouldn’t you? You certainly would object to this in other ambits. And if you bought a house because of development-wide restrictive covenants that, say, prohibited keeping chickens, and the feds came and tried to nullify that, you’d be ticked off, wouldfn’t you? You had paid a lot of money and/or taken out a huge amount of debt, for a nice home in a residential area you believed wouldn’t have chicken coops and crowing roosters. How dare the feds purport to nullify that private business agreement!
Well, Congresspeople — who rely on millions of dollars of big business dark money to finance their re-elections — by and large feel the same way. And those with your evident right-wing perspective are the strongest in that feeling.
So, why did FCC issue a preemptive order with regard to TVRO dishes? First, it’s because that is a huge constituency. Second (and more importantly), it’s because of the hundreds of millions of dollars in profits that sat TV providers stood to lose. (This happened before the advent of small digital TV dishes).
The right wing organizations you fund in order to “preserve our way of life” are exactly the same interests that vigorously oppose government regulations in general, and which resist and defeat federal regulation of private business transactions, and usurping of states’ rights, in particular.
Contrast that with the comparitively puny ham radio cohort. Moreover, ARRL does not have an alliance with the U.S. Chamber iof Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, et al,, or millions of dollars to spread around Washington.
ARRL does not “ignore” the “prepper” community; it is a general interest amateur radio organization. Still, it reviews and runs articles about, more QRP, backpacking, SOTA/POTA/IOTA, mountaineering, solar powered operatimg, etc., all the time; and QST reviews Baofeng and other “prepper”-targeting radios. It was EXTREMELY ALARMING that the seditionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol coordinated their coup d-etat attempt via, among other means, AMATEUR RADIO. If the insurrectionists had been labeled as socialists, those who utilied ham radio for that purpose would already be in prison.
It is usually Republicans in Congress who have ham licenses, but it has been Republicans who spearheaded the gutting of FCC regulations that prevented the unlimited acquisition of broadcast stations by single entities and the consolidation of media that has placed 90% of U.S. media under the control of five corporations.
This RWNJ ranting about “CCP victory in the USA on ham radio,” and “the effect of USA socialism on ham radio” is ludicrous.
In 1989, I was part of a delegation of USA radiosports enthusiasts invited to compete in various radiosports comptitions in the USSR. I am by no means a fan of the former USSR totalitarian state, but they got a hell of lot right when it came to ham radio.
For example, if you were a ham, you went to the top of the list for a top-floor apartment in multistory state-constructed housing, so you’d have a short coax run and ready access to the roof, where you were authorized by law to install antennas, whether verticaals or multi-element yagis, etc. You were considered a vital asset to the nation and your community for disaster relief and civil defense. DOSAAF (sort of a hybrid volutary militia and training program affiliated with the military services) was government subsidized and provided military transmitters, amplifiers, etc. to clubs. On-foot radio direction finding was integrated into physical education beginning in grade school. When we competed in a high-speed telegraphy competition, the auditorium was SRO with local residents and an army band played fanfares as each contestant took his/her turn. The local newspapers covered the competitions, as did national radio and television.
The only thing on which we agree, is that we all need to become actively involved in strengthening leadership on behalf of amateur radio. What will cause its decline and demise most quickly, is the continued “right vs. left” nonsense that has no place in amateur radio.
73,
Kevin K7IWW
Please stick to something you have expertise in, which is definitely not infectious disease. Hydroxychloroquin does NOT work to treat COVID-19, and the concentration of Ivermectin necessary to produce SARS CoV-2 antiviral effect is several times greater than the concentration that is toxic to humans. You would know this if you regularly read peer review medical journals. The same with regard to social distancing and masks. You don’t know what you’re talking about. But it fits your trope.
Raymond "Abe" Mitchell says
Laws against monopolies, insider trading, and many other examples of government taking authority over privet business. So that argument isn’t valid. Even though one enters into a contract the government has repeatedly shown they can make that void.
Trip - KT4WO says
Mr. Hunt—
WELL SAID!!!! THANK YOU!!
Big Easy Attorney says
“prohibiting good capitalist businesses like developers from exercising their private property rights? ”
OK, I’ll dance.
ONCE I BUY IT, HAVE THE DEED TO IT, AND AM THE ONE PAYING THE TAXES ON IT, IT ISNT; THE DEVELOPERS “private property” anymore. It;s MY private property. And when a privaye coproration can tell me what I cant do on the property I own, that I have title to, and that I’m paying the governments extortion fee on, that is….. SOCIALISM.
Daniel says
If it’s so bad, why did you enter into that contract? You made that choice! Quit expecting people to bail you out of your own bad choices. I bet you want your student loans forgiven, too, don’t you?
eric Florack says
It’s clear you’ve never dealt with a restrictive zoning board.
Allen says
I got into Ham radio for emergency communications purposes. I care nothing about how many countries I can put in a logbook, how many different types of events I have participated in! I got my ticket in 2014. The local club was very active, repeater was busy during commute times and the weekly nets were what I looked forward to. Later, when we had SK’s, one of which was my Elmer, people moving out of the area, my busy schedule and internal squabbles within the club is when I distanced myself. I haven’t been to many of the monthly club breakfasts or business meeting so I cannot speak of what is covered or what they are doing. The repeater is the quietest I’ve heard it since I got my ticket.
To the HOA restriction, if you look around the web and in print you will find many types of “stealth” antenna options in many of the bands we use. Some will be in the attic, hidden in plain site as with a 10m vertical placed inside the flagpole, or simple “temporary” use dipoles that can be pulled up for use or mowing then lowered “OUT OF SIGHT”. Use your gutter as an antenna, Lay the wire on top of the backyard fence. There are as many ways to get on the air with the HOA looking as there are uses and purposes for Amateur radio. My purpose is ARES, NOAA spotter and EOC communications during storms.
73
Allen KM4GNY
Jerry Bates says
The membership cost far out weighs the benefits. $75 is too much for younger HAMS and out of range for older HAMS living on a smaller budget. Tell me how someone on Social Security can afford membership. There needs to be a reduced rate for seniors and for those young HAMS under 21 who are still students. ARRL should consider volume and retention rather than just getting the money. Once or twice and losing a member forever. Seniors over 65 should be FREE and Students should be $15.-$20. Grow your base and thrive.
Corey - K3CPK says
As a young ham myself, I ask many of my ham friends why they don’t belong to the ARRL, and they simply say that they don’t see the point. They see lobbying for things ham radio related as a fruitless effort, they’re not interested in the discount on any of the items the ARRL sells, and they don’t want a hard copy of a magazine that’s either going to get tossed or end up in a giant pile like many hams have.
I’m a member of the ARRL myself. I guess I have a bit of hope that there’s a group fighting for us in Washington and I certainly enjoy all the resources on the website.
The hams of my generation are not operators, we’re experimenters. Things like Software Defined Radio is what’s bringing the current generation in.
John - N9AMI says
Problem is not the new hams its the ARRL. They have always had there own agenda and never listen to its average Joe membership. Oh they will act like they do but then it just goes in the circular file and they move forward with what the ARRL wants to do. I was a member for oh like a year in 1997/98 and will never put a cent towards them again. The paper chase is meaningless when Eqsl is available also I can make up a nice certificate for anything and say I did it. Snail mail qsling is dead. The whole radio sport is pretty much a sad attempt to act like its a real sport meanwhile 88% of the hams are fat out of shape and have no interest in being fit in what most would call participation in a real sport. Maybe the ARRL should do a column about the psychological issues of what many hams seem to have? Or maybe a keep fit ARRL article? Clicking a microphone or footswitch doesn’t count sorry. What I am saying here is newer radio folks know that there is more to life than ham radio unlike lots that are involved now. They treat it as a hobby not a life mission to collect the most rigs and gear they never will use. Living at swap meets and consistently making “friends” so they can grab up that SK estate when it happens. And with the onset of things like DMR where you can own a HT and hotspot for 300 bucks total and talk around the world (albeit VOIP) it doesn’t make much sense to have big expensive HF rigs and towers, fighting HOA’s and such. It really isn’t worth the effort and so the ARRL is dying, so be it I say. They never did anything for my ham radio hobby. Oh you can tout they lobby for this or for that. But no, as far as I look I see nothing but self proclaiming political people who like to toot their own horns and pretend they are helping others.. Oh sounds familiar? Maybe like the politics today in washington? Bingo. People are tired of it. Especially in a hobby.
Dale says
Exactly. As a Tech license might as well have a $29.95 CB radio
More frequency aditions across the board open Ham up so it’s enjoyable.
Frank Howell says
Ah, geez. What a crock. $400K for a framework website! I’ll never donate.
73,
Frank
jim says
… and the 2019 meeting INCREASED it to $485,000!!!!!
Nathanael Allen says
What’s an Elmer?
KM6FDP
Dan KB6NU says
Great question, and one that I probably should have defined. Elmer is ham radio lingo for “mentor” or someone who helps another learn about amateur radio. The origin of the term is explained on the page, http://www.arrl.org/elmer-award. It says:
Jeff Bauer says
What’s Google?
KE8GMS says
If you wish to catch the “millenial” generation write technical articles that show the math, the theory, and the hardware used. Show true skill, application, and at the same time quit watering down the articles.
Give me QEX instead of QST any day of the week. And stop calling us “millenials” as if we are uncaring or wet behind the ears. We know what the ARRL is but we are not paying for membership in an organization which does little more than publish watered down material (or pay its QEX writers under $200 for a good article).
Also divorce the commercial guys. We are tired of Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood, and Diamond clogging good publications with ads.
73
Dan KB6NU says
Great comment, especially “And stop calling us “millenials” as if we are uncaring or wet behind the ears.” Spot on.
Steve Boyd says
> clogging good publications with ads.
Ads pay the bills, especially in print media. It’s one of the reasons that the medium is on its way out the door.
Frank Mooney says
I agree. I was a new tech and general the same time last year. After long time listening to SW and ham radio, I bit the bullet and got liscened. 20/40ssb. Just discovering 17m and building a vertical for it. In retirement, I know I will never have $2000 radios, 50 ft towers and huge antennaes that are advertised in QST. I have a 25 yr old Alinco radio and a 120 ft homebrew endfed wire. And I have fun. But I am not on 24 /7 like some and am for sure not interested in digital, contesting, satellites, or awards. I have a friend who is a general ham and member of ARRL and he passes the magazine along to me. Other than a few how to articles, I do not see any merit to joining just to get a magazine 3/4 full of advertising for things I’ll never buy or use.
Allen says
I agree!! I try to put the “nuts and bolts” of the getting on the air in play, learning from the web and print then see what works. You have to get something in the air and have the equipment to utilize that antenna, WHO CARES WHAT IT COST YOU!!! If it is FCC part 97 compliant, can you tell if I’m on a $100 or $3500 rig?
I try to keep it simple, ICOM 706 MIIG and modified Carolina windom. That antenna covers multiple bands without a tuner.
73
Allen – KM4GNY
Raymond "Abe" Mitchell says
If ads pay the bills then membership should be free? Or even pay the members dividends….
John says
This is spot on. Capture the maker movement.
Young people want to create technology and tools. If we want to operate a piece of factory kit then the phone is always nearby.
Emphasize things like telemetry and remote control, video and data.
David KM4ZYH says
Six months after getting my tech, I moved. My “Elmer” had been my ex brother in law who also became a silent key just days before I moved. I had a lot of experience with radio, being a military pilot plus years of Civil Air Patrol operating HF and VHF equipment. But still bounced questions and ideas off him.
There are several clubs in my new hometown area. The first one I went to ignored me completely. They asked everyone to give their name and call at beginning of the meeting. They had their meeting and a interesting class and that was it. Still no one said ANYTHING to me. About a week later one of those at the meeting was on a local repeater expounding on how new hams should always be greeted and welcomed.
So I found another club. I went to their meeting and found the opposite! I was welcomed immediately, introduced around. Of course I joined them.
My interest is emcomm and the Public Service aspect. Most of the club members are ragchewers, and that’s okay. Experimenting and building, not so much, except for antennas.
As for ads in QST, really gentlemen. That’s how they afford the printing and mailing. It’s expensive to print those things. BTW I do read every article to expand my horizons! I do enjoy the glossy pics. The technical articles hurt my head sometimes but I’m catching on. Contesting, it’s a part of Amatuer radio as is moon bounce, linking, CW and talking to the ISS!
I’m a ARRL member
VK4FBEN says
yep. mentor please.
I’m a new ham (licened for under a month) and when i was looking for a club to join i went to a local club. at this club i mentioned i had a baofeng. I was scorned and mocked for this. I said I am a carer for 2 intellectually impaired children so money is tight I was told this hobby is not for me.
I walked out, went elsewhere and got licensed. I’m saving up for my dream home rig (Yaseu FT-991a) and it might take me a year or 2 but i’ll get there, not thanks to that club
Dan KB6NU says
I’m glad you’re sticking with it. Fortunately, most hams/clubs are not like that.
Sasquatch1791 says
Same here. I became a ham in my early 20’s and joined a club. I was absolutely the youngest there. I volunteered for events often, and even did some stuff with a MARS station club members ran. They were just rude. Anyone who was younger/new was looked down on. The guy who ran the club was amazing, but the members drove people away. The atmosphere was hostile enough that I eventually walked away.
All of the progress I have made in the hobby has been for EMCOMM/prepping stuff. I have had older ham’s help along the way. NONE of them were club affiliated. When I would ask them why, they generally gave me the same sort of answer. That the clubs were hostile to newcomers.
I think the biggest reason the ARRL is having membership issues is because MANY hams, new or otherwise, have these experiences. The clubs are virtually all ARRL affiliates. So if the local ARRL club is full of jerks who drove them out, then why pay to be a member of their parent organization?
KI7JTU says
KE8GMS, WHAT DO YOU TRANSMIT ON?
Bill - N8WED says
I supported the ARRL for many years. I grew tired of reading about all the Washington lobbying the ARRL was doing on my behalf, but not seeing much substsntive expansion of frequency allocations or operating privileges for amateur radio practitioners.
I looked at the balance sheets of some of the annual reports on ARRL’s web site and followed up searching lobbying activity tracking web sites and did find the ARRL had spent money lobbying, but it seemed to be a very small part of ARRL’s budget. It seemed to be well less than a massive lobbying effort.
Rather than spend $400K on a bookish web site, I’d recommend spending the money to promote amateur radio to K-12 schools and to provide materials to help make radio an engaging element of their science and technology curricula.
I’ll agree with MJ WO9B. I have not paid much attention to QST magazine in the last few years, but last time I did, there was a lot of the uusal stuff about contesting and DXing but not much that would make ham radio feel exciting to a youthful radio neophyte. There were too many pictures of old guys sitting at folding tables under canopies. I’m almost 60 years old, and QST feels old and stodgy to me. Just think how it would appear a 20-something year old woman or man.
73, N8WED
David R Thayer says
I think amatuer radio has taken away the real meaning of the hobby by allowing people to get a license without Morse code,I had to learn it so do all the old timers now it’s almost like cb radio.bring back the Morse code requirement.that is what seperated us from cb radio.
Dan KB6NU says
I’m as big a CW geek as anyone in the hobby, but I disagree with you there, David. The CW test kept a lot of good people out of the hobby. I’m perfectly fine with no CW test.
James KI5II says
It seems to me that many new non-CW hams are now learning it. CW is as popular as ever. We should not bring the CW requirement back as it’s a detriment to bringing in new members. I almost exclusively use CW QRP.
VK4FBEN says
the CW requirement was the thing that kept me out of the hobby. it was only when i recently found out i didn’t need to know it that it was one of the final bits that pushed me to get licenced
John Griswold says
The CW requirement kept me out of Amateur Radio for years. I did learn enough to get past the General exam, but if that change hadn’t been made, the ARRL would not have me as a member.
toni says
What he said.. and the rest… CW is nice and good goal for those that want it. I don’t and used it it in aviation.. but memorizing is as a form of comms is not my bag. Just as learning other languages is tough for me..
Mike says
Would you (any reader, in general), learn CW if you were paid $6,000.00?
THATS what CW is worth. You’ll be able to work those stations that’ll never hear you running 100 watts on SSB. I worked the Ducie Island DXpedition on 4 bands, first call, on a G5RV @ 70′, and 100 watts, thanks to CW. So, save yourself that big expense of an amplifier ($6,000.00), and learn it…..or don’t. Whichever.
I just enjoy being able to pull a cw transceiver that runs on 4 AA batteries, some speaker wire for an antenna, and a travel key out of a fanny pack, toss the wire in a tree, and work the world. And, I can’t remember the last time I heard an argument on cw. In fact, they’ve been some of the nicest chaps I’ve met on ham radio.
James McCarty says
That’s BS. I learned enough morse code to pass the test, then never used it again. I’m now learning it because I see it as a challenge that I am now interested in.
N7MSD says
I’m in the same boat but so far my efforts to re-learn it are failing. A presumably old military radio man is giving a code class that I’m hoping to take so maybe that’ll do the trick.
Too many see code as the end-all-be-all of ham radio to which I could not disagree more. Instead the General written test should be the Technician test and the Extra test should be the General’s. I mean, seriously, the original point of ham radio SHOULD be the ability to make and/or repair your own equipment, know what it does and how to keep it clean: if you can’t do that, go get a GMRS license or something.
Frank Mooney says
Having to learn cw while being partially tone deaf, is what kept me out of Amateur Radio for 44 years!
Len Umina says
I am more than partially tone deaf and it didn’t stop me. I just changed the tone to one I could hear.
Bob, KG6AF says
I’m a 20WPM Extra, but I’ve never seen any convincing evidence that a code test improved the overall quality of amateur radio operators. And just about everyone knows someone with the potential to be a great ham who either gave up on the hobby or had to wait for the requirement to go away before getting a license.
Mike Cline says
Oh please! Have you not ran over enough of us with making you mode have to be my mode. I will send better code with my laptop! When was the last time you were on DMR? When was your last JT8 contact? JT8 is no different that 2 contesters exchanging calls. Dinos like you need to go.
Ian says
The Morse Code Requirement kept me out for half my life! I am dyslexic and can not do Morris Code, trust me, I have tried. I went to Doctors, tried trainer glasses, etc. No Dice. I really hate that Gatekeepers like you actually believe things like this. Your belief that we should further restrict who can be a new ham THAT IS THE PROBLEM! I find that Backward Thinking and Resistance to Change is what is killing the Hobby! This is a great example of that thought process. The ARRL is Dying because of antique people with Antique Thoughts! Morse Code Requirements were killing the hobby, not helping it! Geesh!
Ian – KO4EFS
Allen says
Well Said!! Now for my $.02:
I agree and was another that the code test kept me out of the hobby for OVER half my life. Back in the ’70s my uncle was my Elmer. At 10 yrs. old it is hard to grasp the fundamentals and learn code to get your ticket. In 2014 I was talking to a local ARES member who informed me there is no longer a code requirement. I started searching for study guides, taking practice tests. I got my Tech ticket Late 2014 then upgraded to General in a few months. I am studying for my Extra but as a General I have privileges in the bands of interest as all I want to do is EMCOMM, ARES, and NOAA weather spotter. I would not classify myself as a prepper, but as a Marine veteran, I can tell you that ANYONE who has ever served in any Armed Forces has the training, survival skills required to be put in the category. They may not be as hard-core as others, and as stock up as much as hard-core preppers will, but they are preppers. Any good survival plan must have communications in there somewhere. During Hurricane Florance, we found out that cell phones will only last as long as the battery backup keeps the towers on and was very restrictive as multiple dropped calls and failed messages. The radios had 100% 5/9 type contacts.
73
Allen – KM4GNY
Sterling N0SSC says
I’ll bet ARRL recensures N6AA. To their merit, the board rescended their last anti transparency push but only due to wildly overwhelming public opposition. I think it’s in the current BoD’s blood to continue down this businessification path with nonsensical things like hiring PR firms for damage control, the elmer “website” (especially when they won’t bother bringing back the Youth Column).
However one of the main reasons why ARRL started down that path was due to the CEO. He did what he knew best and brought a lot of efficiency to the league, and made a few people upset along the way. I think it was too far of an over correction, and this backlash is like a resonant critically damped system coming back to equilibrium – if and only if the new CEO and next BoD realize and work from their mistakes.
Kenneth W7ITC says
I look at the cost of a membership vis what I get for that membership is it not worth it. I can get better info faster online. The ARRL seems to have the attitude you are obligated to Join. They do nothing to convince you why you should join. Their presence on the Internet is nowhere. They need to reach out and convince new hams that the ARRL is relevant to the hobby.
W8IMP says
QST DE W8IMP — I LERND CW FROM BOY SCOUT HANDBOOK AGE 10–WN8FKZ IN 1962–SK XCEPT KQS8947 CH19M TIL KB8VVX 1994 20 40 80M CW WID ALL TUBE SHAK ES WIRE ANT UP 35FT–DROP OF CW WAS BAD-ARRL NOT STOPPING DROP OF NET NEUTRALITY WAS LAST STRAW FOR ME SK
Joel Olsen says
In the late 70s, I was EC of two counties in Colorado. I had several nets that I ran each week. One Sunday morning, I called the net on a local repeater in Denver. As soon as I closed the net, I got an emergency call from one of the check ins. My wife called him on the phone, telling him to have me call my work. I worked at a hospital, as a biomedical engineer. There was a patient in the midst of an operation. The doctors could not get a critical piece of equipment to work, and it was much needed. They needed me to to show them how to make it work. I thanked him for the call, and then it started. Both of us caught hell from a bunch of others on the repeater. Dispatching for work is not allowed on the amateur bands is forbidden. I tried to explain that rhis was a “life or death” situation. They would not listen. Their minds were closed. I wrote a letter to the ARRL, and after a month, I got no response on this matter. I sent in a second letter, explaining the situation, and asking for their thoughts on this. After a second month of being ignored, I packed all of the ARRL hand out literature that I passed out at the county fair, ham fests, etc. Also enclosed was a letter explaining why they got it back. I never got any response. The only thing that I got was a renewal notice for my ARRL membership. It went in the fireplace. That was the end of ARRL membership for me.
Joel
WB0TTW
toni says
Good for you Joel.. That’s what more should do.. regardless if you get a response..
Kory says
I’ll build a website for $399,000! 🙄
Dan KB6NU says
I got first dibs on that! :)
Jeff says
All the money pocketed by the marketing firm gave the ARRL nothing. Common sense would of told ARRL that the dwindling membership is due to millennials being interested in smart phones, computers, and themselves.
I don’t belong to the ARRL for simple reason other hobbies keep me active among the local community.
73
Jeff N.
Tom "SMS" says
More interested in Smartphones, games and themselves/social media. The ARRL needs to advertise in some popular magazines, newspapers and some network TV. AND cater more to the newcomers. I talk it up whenever I get asked about my antennas.
Patrick KX4PH says
Couldn’t disagree with you more, Jeff. I’m both a millennial and a new extra class ham who found this article by looking for what value is provided by the ARRL.
Why would I give 50 of my hard-earned dollars away for no value? Lobbying is literally the only thing I would get out of it. QST magazine is the only return the average member gets and it’s frankly not worth more than $10/year to me. I’d give another $10 for the lobbying for spectrum space, but that’s it. $20 max for what they’re providing.
Don’t get me wrong: The books I’ve read thus far that are published by ARRL are great quality. But ARRL membership? It’s useless. The vast majority of comments I’ve found here seem to reinforce my previous views and I won’t be joining until I get something out of that $50. Hopefully CEO Howard Michel saying he’s going to change things and provide value in a recent article is true.
Chuck K4RGN says
Culture of the younger generation is, in general, not to join fee-based membership organizations at the rate that previous generations did. The ARRL is just another fee-based membership organization to discover this. The younger generation is also stressed by college loans and other financial constraints… people with college degrees
working at Starbucks, etc. They have to watch their money.
A targeted website is a decent idea, although the devils are in implementation and execution. Social media is another. But really the question is how to inspire learning and experimentation in microprocessor-based electronics for communications. People tire of Baofengs quickly, and for many of these folks a traditional HF station is out of the question because of budget or apartment living.
N7MSD says
Chuck, you seem to be missing the point but not by much: what are the “fees” for this “organization” getting you? I can say that in the case of most clubs the answer is “NOTHING”; in the ARRL’s case, it would be junk mail asking for more money. I’m not a millenial and I don’t see any reason to support them, either. FWIW, ditto for the NRA who also just sent me my money back in junk mail asking for more money.
Todd KD0TLS says
As far as “Elmering”, teaching is a skill. There’s a big difference between knowing something and being able to impart that information to others. Many are willing to help, but they fail miserably and then blame it on the ‘student’. This just makes the situation worse.
Also, pushing the aspects of the hobby that the *Elmer* is interested in, while ignoring the things that the *student* is interested in is both common and counter-productive. If someone asks about 6M EME, they shouldn’t get a high-pressure sales pitch for 75M SSB — and if the Elmer doesn’t know anything about 6M EME, they should just say so. You can use that common lack of knowledge as a bond to build upon, rather than dismissing the aspect as stupid.
Dan KB6NU says
Absolutely correct. That’s why I’ve proposed that we develop some training for prospective Elmers. Personally, I love it when the guys I’m Elmering push back and ask me about things that I don’t know. When that happens, I learn about new things myself.
Rob W4ZNG says
> Also, pushing the aspects of the hobby that the *Elmer* is interested in, while ignoring the things that the *student* is interested in is both common and counter-productive.
Man, that’s the truth. As a way around this problem my club’s recently started is to put out a list of prospective elmers and their fields. For example, I’m on the list for small solar, PSK-31, and lightweight hiking portable; some other guys are down for CW, FT8, etc. Then the new hams can do the picking to find someone who shares interests, rather than just randomly teaming up with some old dude who has an unrelated set of priorities.
Noel - KF5SLK says
Since the firm chosen to do the study is right in the ARRL’s backyard, I bet they just hired someone they knew from around town. Not much into conspiracy theories, but it makes me wonder if one of the principals at Mintz+Hoke is family member, close friend, or neighbor of someone on the board. http://www.mintz-hoke.com/team/
If that is the case, it just reaffirms my allowing my membership to lapse in January. Sweetheart deals in business may be legal even if ethically suspect. But, when you take money from an organization like the ARRL and piss it away on stupid studies that you could have used Survey Monkey to do… That morally bankrupt.
Mike Devita says
You can’t teach theory and math to this common core taught generation. They’ve screwed.
Dan KB6NU says
I’m sorry, Mike, but you’re just wrong about this. This view is so wrong, I even debated whether or not to even post it.
steve says
I agree Dan. Less than 1 in 300 people are licensed hams. Certainly we can find 1 in 300 younger people who have interest in learning.
M.B.Bucher says
Mike, using your own words, can you tell me what you think “common core” is?
FWIW, I’m on the older end of Millennial(mid-30s) and was NOT taught via common core. While I have some ARRL books, I haven’t joined for the same reason I’m not part of the NRA; I don’t want a mountain of junkmail written by people who look down on anyone too young to receive social security benefits.
Bob, KG6AF says
If Common Core has addled the minds of school-age kids, then why does the annual Bay Area Maker Faire draw about 140K people, including lots of youngsters who are diving into challenging electronics projects?
This isn’t even a novel complaint; I used to hear the same nonsense about “New Math” when I was a kid in the 1960s, yet somehow we survived it.
Kevin Ashcraft says
The idea that we work together lobbying to ensure that the FCC does not remove any frequency allocations, and instead expands our ability to experiment and learn is important. I’m 32 and want to see the hobby still around and even expanded as I grow older. Because of this it’s disheartening to hear that the more of the budget isn’t used to represent us in a legal effort. Take the failed legislation from last year, for example, which would have given amateurs the right to put up antennas in deed restricted communities. It failed because of a lack of lobbying, a lack of strength in our legal efforts.
The ARRL should do two things: 1) ensure that hams are represented in Washington, and 2) be a focal point for everyone to work together by providing a forum of information and communication, doing things like displaying calendars of upcoming contests and interesting radio projects in a straight forward fashion.
I joined in my first year, have maintained my membership for the past 3, and will renew again in the next month because it’s the only option, however I’d really like to see things modernized with a clean website (maybe a good place for antenna designs, a forum to organize contests, projects, and most importantly legislative efforts.. and one that’s not a ridiculous 400k?!), and with a common sense approach to getting new members by lowering fees and making the benefits obvious.
It’s difficult keeping things fresh, keeping people’s attention, but we’ve got one of the most interesting hobbies that’s already centered around communication so it should be doable if we focus on the goals and use the tools available.
Mark Cheshire says
Hate to break this to you, but as the tech expands and more of the spectrum is needed, your HAM hobby activities will become the very last concern for the FCC. Nothing is changing for the better. I have been into electronics since a young age, but over this past decade I’m actually getting sick of the expansion into almost every aspect of life. I’m at the point I’m withdrawing from all of it. I was thinking of joining ARRL and getting my technician license. My background has been Avionics in the Navy, Instrumentation and Control for manufacturing and for a long time now a telecom tech. After watching this… I might still get the HAM license, but I don’t see the point for a ARRL membership. Maybe I’ll change my mind. Constantly making jabs at the younger generation like a bunch of old know it alls by calling them ‘millenials’ in the tone it is used is very counterproductive. I’ve mentored many people on electronics/computers/etc… and you get their interest from the start if you don’t start off with a label on what you think they are with a broad label that has negative connotations.
ct says
Actually, it’s a good thing it failed because the bill actually gives HOAs complete authority over all ham radio antennas for any reason whatsoever.
It does the opposite of what the ARRL claimed it does.
Richard H Flint II says
If what is lacking is the lack of Elmers, there is no lack of Elmers. W0EDE
Dan KB6NU says
Eeeps. Fixed.
steve says
What we may have is a lack of Elmers who are educated and have skills in some of the newer facets of ham radio which are attractive to younger new comers.
Keith says
I’m new to the hobby. I joined the ARRL because I thought I was going to find good information on antennas and radio programming on the website. I didn’t. Every time I clicked for information it turned I to “hey, buy this book for more info!” I will let my membership lapse and not look back.
Roger says
It should be free to talk on the Ham radios and no ARRL and there should be no law against anybody talking on the Ham radios and we all have the freedom to do anything that we want to do and the law should be allowed to do anything that we want to do and they should be like CB radios and talk around the world and we have the rights and it should be pissed and it should not be the law.
Dan KB6NU says
Hi, Roger. It is free to talk on amateur radio frequencies. All you need is a license—and a radio, of course.
Pete Babacheck says
As far as new hams not renewing, I think the biggest problem is they look at the ARRL as a $49 subscription to a magazine. They don’t fail to renew because they lost interest in the hobby. But looking at the content of the magazine, most of the topics are not really interesting to new hams. Why spend that much a year when they can google the topics that do interest them for free?
And as far as having the league teach you how to Elmer, I’ve said it before, you’re on your own. Dan, please forward me the materials the League sent you showing how to teach that one day tech class. While you’re at it, have the ARROW group send me the info the League sent them on how to organize a bus trip to Dayton. All kinds of clubs just did Winter Field Day, an increasingly popular contest that isn’t even on the League’s Contest Calendar. The talk of “The League should …” and “The League could …” is just more hot air than the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. I understand members paying a half a hundred dollars a year expect something. But it is what it is folks. You’re on your own.
Bill cawthorne says
Three brothers with licenses from back in the 60s. None are active. I earned mine in 2013. I am stumbling through antennas and protocol. VHF & UHF are active sunup to sundown here in Mesa AZ. I travel and use my 2m mobile all over the country. I can usually find contacts everywhere. The “hobby” is evolving. It almost leads to technology overload and shutdown. Maybe ARRL can lead with a “flow chart” for the various technologies. Where to start and which direction? I want to do it all!
Bill
KF7SZT
73
JAMES BARBER - (W0ZEN) says
As a new ham (64yo) I have chosen not to join ARRL and, frankly, I am not certain if I will persue the hobby. The biggest reason is how hams treat each other. The political rants and insults on HF do not inspire me to spend thousands of dollars to tune in.
As far a ARRL goes my first reaction is it is very expensive especially considering I only paid $65 USD for my radio.
If I do anything it will be QRP using CW on kit I build. That’s about all I find attractive at this point.v
Tj. Kd8ydn says
After reading all the comments. Why not get hams together and start an new all volunteer
Worldwide amateur radio society. Just a thought……
Dave New, N8SBE says
It seems the ARRL has conflated ‘being active’ with ARRL membership.
I don’t see that at all, except perhaps in the reverse order.
Someone how is very inactive after their first year, or perhaps never got on the air at all, will almost certainly never join or will not rejoin ARRL after the first year.
However, the ARRL cannot expect that just because they’ve figured out how to entice or keep a new ham active, that they’ve automatically gained a new/repeat member.
I see these as two different things. It’s one thing to get someone on the air, but it’s quite a different thing for them to decide that joining the ARRL is of some benefit to them or to the hobby.
It follows that ARRL has to solve both problems — activity (Elmering seems to be the accepted method) and membership (the Doctor is still ‘out’ on that).
Ria N2RJ says
The ARRL does have a problem with loyalty. However, I’ve found that loyalty to the ARRL is highest among the DX and contest crowd, the kind of crowd that my division director calls elitists. But it’s quite clear why we are loyal – the ARRL provides support for our activities. The DXCC program, LoTW (as bad as the actual app is), radiosport initiatives and events held at various conventions, we have a vested interest in keeping ARRL alive.
As much as some people hate contesting and contesters, we actually bring in many young people who remain loyal to the hobby. The spirit of mentorship among radiosport enthusiasts is very high, in fact. Young people love the challenge of competition and achievement.
I also find that some activities such as HST and ARDF are kept as a big giant secret. Sure, they get a mention here and there but I don’t really see ARRL pushing active recruitment for these. They should.
Steve, KB9MWR says
I supported the ARRL for about 10+ years in response to a letter I wrote the president at the time. I was messing with pre 802.11 wireless stuff and realized this all overlapped ham freqs. Much to my surprise they created a HSMM working group. And I was impressed by the momentum that stemmed from that.
I agree with others on they should try and capture the maker movement. And the quit watering down the articles. Being licensed for 20+ years, QST really is of little use to me, about the only thing I looked forward to reading was Steve Ford’s Eclectic Technology blurb, as this promoted more experimental ideas. And we need a whole lot more of that. I get it the League’s focus is on new members as pointed out in this blog. And I know they are moving to offering free study materials….. But then there is retention, the boat I am in.
John Dilks says
Introducing Ham Radio to young school students is a wonderful idea.
While working at a middle school I tried. The biggest problem was money and finding a teacher who was interested in an afternoon activity. Money is tight in most schools. And teachers are forbidden to provide free activities, they must be paid a stipend per their contracts, NO EXCEPTIONS! NO MONEY AVAILABLE!
So I built a ham station on a mobile cart using my spare HF rig. Snuck on the roof and placed the antenna out of the way. Found that the librarian had an afternoon open library for students. She allowed me to utilize part of her room and supervision.
It was immensely popular for 4 weeks, 1 day a week. But complaints from others in the school ended it abruptly. The two things we accomplished in the 4 weeks was contact with europe, and we built code oscillators from components on a breadboard which each student took home. (I bought everything for them.)
So its money and breaking of the status quo. Good luck to others. Keep trying. Expect the worst to happen.
Bill (KF4Q) says
Print QST quarterly with contributing post online monthly.
Improve technical content is a must. Refer to issues 1950-1970. Compared to dumbed-down articles today. If you can’t find technical subjects, choose from current question pool and explain in detail. Merits for long term members. Add sponsors required contribute one technical article per year of current relevance unrelated to their product line. Preferably new trends in related technology.
K7HPY says
I used to belong for couple years but could not justify the $49 annual membership when most clubs only charge $15-25 annually. The hobby cost enough without another $50 added to it. Especially when things keep going up. Skip the mag and support clubs more. Lower membership to $25. Website should be more news and training. Not books and mags or other stuff, leave these to private industry.
Cale K4HCK says
How do we know those numbers are “truly bad?” Compared to other organizations the ARRL appears to be doing okay.
23% of Hams are ARRL members.
746,000 US Hams.
170,000 ARRL members worldwide.
(arrl.org)
Less than 19% of professional photographers belong to the Professional Photographers Association.
150,000 pro photogs in the US.
29,000 PPA members worldwide.
(ppa.com/Wikipedia)
6% of US gun owners are NRA members.
75 million US gun owners.
5 million NRA members.
(qz.com/NRA)
Dan KB6NU says
I’d say that it doesn’t matter what the numbers are for other organizations. The “right” number is the number that lets the organization meet its goals. Two of the ARRL’s stated goals are to provide member services and lobby for amateur radio in Washington, DC. With more members, the ARRL would have more resources to not only provide its members more services, but also be a more effective lobby. That being the case, I’d say increasing the membership is a worthwhile effort.
Justin says
Well, I got my license this month and technically speaking am a Millennial (but was born in the first year of the age range so may be a little different). While others have already panned the $400K website, I wanted to comment on the other points.
I think there is too much of a focus on an “Elmer” being a single person. When I go looking for information, I go looking for “how to do x”. Not, “Dear Bob, Do you know how to do x? No? Ok, Let me ask Sam”, etc. If people are doing cool things or have good starter points to the hobby, I want to see them all. Link them, categorize them. And allow different points of view. Even now when I’m looking for information it’s hard to put comprehensive starter information together.
In terms of the podcast, video please. I know this is about radio, but even there we have SSTV. If you’re looking to show me something, pictures are worth the 1,000 words. Screenshots, walk-throughs, seeing someone actually do something has an advantage. You may be thinking “well, a real life Elmer could show you in real life” and I concede that, but a real life Elmer can show how it’s done on Youtube and show 100,000 people.
The third point, I don’t think it’s just about money. I feel two Baofengs a year (or half a Yaesu if you prefer) for ARRL membership is too much but I’m not a member because of the actions of ARRL; not the cost. You need to fix both before I’d consider it.
K9ete says
Personally I think the ARRL should drop the entire commercial end of their “business” ie the magazine,store publications and trinkets and just focus on representing hams to governing bodies so we have a voice where its most needed. Lets face it, the ARRL has done a great deal for our hobby over the years but I think they have to reinvent themselves without all the money making fluff. If they were to drop the magazine alone their dues could be greatly reduced.
I offered to start up a class at the local school to see if there was any interest. I didnt get one response. The hobby has and is constantly changing and the league has to change with it or become a shadow of its former self.
Josh Walton says
I’ve only a few years under my belt with a call sign, several of which I paid a yearly due to the ARRL. Every time I receive a renewal notice I think “Yup, I should do that.” Then I remember that the only value I receive is a magazine with one or two articles that might be interesting… most of which are on topics I’ve already investigated online (and learned more online from.) Then I drop the renewal notice in the trash.
Like all organization, businesses & civic groups; once they stop providing value to a body of individuals, we should let them die. It’s the natural order of things. If a business does not sell goods or services people want, let it shut down to make room for another more well thought out and successful business.
Organizations must change with the world we live in, and must learn to evolve. One sign of death, is a lack of movement or growth; t’s unfortunate that ARRL leadership has been so inept in leading, truly dead to a changing world. Let them die, let another generation pick up the torch, and let that generation do it their way. This is the natural order of things as sad is it may be to some.
Obviously the hobby is growing based on license numbers. Allow the ARRL to die a respectful death and make room for a more effective body that can provide those 98% of new licensees something of value.
John, K5AMO says
May have overlooked it, but does the 30,000/year new licenses represent a growing hobby? Is it stagnant or declining as it was 20 years ago? Maybe hobby growth does not pertain to the subject, but I think it parallels it. If our ranks are swelling doesn’t that further underscore the need for the ARRL to wake up, reach out and grab? What grabbed me as a youngster? The ability to communicate with someone even 3 blocks away…wirelessly!
Recalling what I did to grow in the hobby was #1 elmers and other hams…what were they doing? #2 ham radio publications. Couldn’t wait for the next issues of QST and CQ. Now, everything’s available on line and QST and CQ and others are just a couple of many publications and resources in a very crowded field. So, with QST being a major income source for the ARRL, times will be tough and get tougher unless the gurus at the top reinvent and recalibrate and bring in some technology based hams that discuss what got them excited about the hobby. Is it time for a changing of the guard? If yes, just please don’t leave out us old analogue guys struggling to figure out Echolink. :-)
Dan KB6NU says
Over the last several years, the number of licensed hams per capita has been growing.
Mike W6LPS says
I could not have gotten my General a year ago without the ARRL manual, but honestly the $50 membership was the difference between having a dipole to use my new license. HAM radio is a hobby and luxury for me, I still need to support my family first. Drop the membership dues to $20 and I’ll join every year.
And yes, like most HAMs, I’m cheap. :)
Bobby Staggs says
I’m new to this hobby. Were the members asked to weigh in on Any of the League’s problems and their views as to solving them. How much did this firm get paid? For that matter how much of the Members Dues go to those who are supposed to be Leading, instead of paying a firm to tell them how to Lead.
Who votes ARRL Leaders into office?
When I joined the hobby ARRL told me I could buy there book or take class at a Ham Club. Made it sound like to be in a Club you had to be in ARRL.
Wilson Hines says
Sorry I don’t have time right now to invest in a longer response, however you must have club leadership buy-in in order to get new licensees to obtain ARRL membership. First thing we do to facilitate ARRL membership is to get the new tech to realize the value of the ARRL while in the class. As President, there are a lot of issues that come up as questions quickly after one is licensed, and we purposefully point them to the ARRL site for more info and always say something like, “And this is another great reason the ARRL membership is worthy of your time and money.” Usually, after pointing people like this a few times, they pony up. We have a high rate of members being ARRL members and I think it’s because of this as much as anything.
The ARRL need to provide services which make the ARRL obviously invaluable to the new tech, and they do, but then the ARRL needs club leadership to buy-in.
Mary says
After getting my tech in ’15 and General in ’17, I have yet to find an Elmer. I’ve asked, begged, pleaded, and I get “”I’m too buzy”. I’m retired Law Enforcement/Military Intelligence/DOH. I have cheap HTs, Yaesu 991, Icons, DMR w/rd open spot, beam antennas, loops, vertical, 5btv with 2 add one. I built cactus j-pole. All this by 51 yrs old, started at 49. I joined ARES, already assisting running the net. I join in traffic net. However, it’s all “play it by ear”. I’ve taken 2 FEMA courses online, (Need a SID, which the ARES leader didn’t even know abt). The only info I got on ARRL was “join and you get a free [something]”,. You can tell I never joined. Fortunately, being YL I do get a bump up to the head of the line during contests. My 150ft tower, General ticket, being YL, having fusion, DMR, etc, despite all that without good information, ie; a great Elmer, you’re stuck with dead air, and, as another phrased it, cliques. You’re lost. After 3 years (March ’18), I’ve been ready to give up this hobby several times. If ARRL spends $400k on incomplete junk, it’s no wonder there’s a decline and nonrenewal.
ETR III says
For Mary ::
It takes most of us a whole lifetime to amass the equipment you have obtained in just 2 years. What’s the rush? It’s just a hobby. Maybe you have already burned yourself out. Settle down and enjoy the nuances of the hobby a little. You don’t have to do it all by 55 years of age. You may have started a little late, but you have plenty of time. Relax a little. No rush.
And BTW, you said there’s a 150 ft. tower? Will you marry me? I will be your Elmer, baby.
Mark says
Seems like the wrong attitude and what is killing the hobby for some. When you have someone who is gunning it, put more gas in the tank, don’t make them hit the brakes. If they are desperate for the knowledge, lead them to it. Especially concerning Mary’s background, I’m betting shes the type that wants to get stuff done yesterday and she’s wanting this to continue being of service to others and didn’t want to wait for it. I admire that.
LEE MARION says
As a Ham of 62 years, I am deeply disappointed in the support that ARRL gives Ham Radio in general….in other words….PR…..BEEN SUBSCRIBED A FEW TIMES…..ITS ALWAYS THE SAME OLD STUFF…..nothing much to keep the poor HAMS in the loop…..always about the rich side of Ham Radio, not us every day Joe’s that Elmer, teach classes, promote Ham Radio and work with the Public Service sector to foster working relationships…..I give ARRL A 4 OUT OF 10…..W8CGQ, LEE MARION, SINCE 1955
Carlos D Ingram says
Do you ever wonder how much the ARRL elite pay themselves. Good luck trying to find out. You may find out it is not a volunteer organization after all.
Dan KB6NU says
I think that the salaries of the paid staff are public information, or at least the total amount paid in salaries is public information. I don’t think that they’re all that extravagant.
Edward Scherf says
The reason I quit ARRL is there is nothing in it for me other then the web site and that info I can pick up just about anywhere on the net. $50.00 a year is not worth the web site.
The magazine has changed from what it once was, A magazine for building and testing your radio ideas and project that other hams send in were in the magazine.
Youtube is a good source of project and it does not cost $50.00 a year.
Now days it a magazine of ad’s and reviews of Radio that I would never see in my shack.
Yes it does give DX info but the most part ad’s and reviews.
This mag is more for ARRL top business people not the average person unless you love DXing and then for how long will you put $50.00 a year to DX?
If you want people like me back then you are going to have to start putting more project and more pages or more project and less ad’s.
You have to remember most hams are into more then DX.
Electronic for a starter..
NW4K 73’s
Bernie Skoch K5XS says
There are a lot of good ideas here, and I hope they are shared in more forums than just this one. I hope every good idea is sent to a local or state ARRL rep.
I have been a ham for 50 years. I remain very active as much as work and other circumstances permit. I also happen to work now for a non-profit organization with a large membership base. The declining membership, non-renewals, and abundant “They should…” are not unique to the ARRL and almost mirror what our association–as most membership organizations–are experiencin. For a lot of reasons most membership organzaitons are seeing declining membership.
I do not agree with all the decisions reached by the ARRL, but neither do I agree with all the decisions reached by the country I love. They are both representative and participatory democracies and that’s what happens in them.
To my thinking the ARRL remains an important voice for Amateur Radio. I support it with membership and an annual contribution. I’d rather have it than nothing.
Dan KB6NU says
Thanks for your comments, Bernie. I think that one of the problems is that there is no forum where these ideas can be discussed reasonably. Discussions on eHam and QRZ.Com tend to turn into flame wars, and I’m not sure that ARRL forums at hamfests are reaching the right audience. That’s why I’m going to continue to write about it here.
John Wright, K6CPO says
You say the league should be “Elmering the Elmers…” Recently, the League put out a call for mentors to help conduct their EMCOMM courses. I thought this was a good idea and perhaps something i could do with some of the time I have available. Until I read the list of requirements to become an ARRL Field Instructor… http://www.arrl.org/requirements-for-field-instructors. Now I can understand some of the requirements, such as league membership, completion of EC-101 and the ARRL Instructor Indoctrination Course. I can even understand the basic FEMA ICS courses (which most EMCOMM organizations require anyway,) but seven (7) different FEMA Professional Development courses? I don’t have time for that. If I did, I’d go back to college and finish my degree.
If you ask me, the league is asking too much and by imposing such a strict set of requirements for instructors, they’re ruling out a large segment of the ham radio community.
Bill Clarke says
I have been on the air for over 60 years. I see little information in QST that I can actually use. Maybe an antenna system costing thousands of dollars or review of a multi-thousand dollar rig. Not much for the beginner. Nothing for the older folks that live in places where antennas are not allowed. No info about VOIP, which would help them stay active in ham radio.
Ham radio is wide in scope, yet ARRL appears to very narrow sighted. Of the most recent QSTs, I have been through them in just a few minutes. Nothing of interest or applicable to my needs or price range.
Search their website for answers and you get nothing but advertisements for publications to purchase.
Basically, ARRL offers nothing to me any longer. Further, on the rare occasions that I communicate with the ARRL – it is all one sided. I receive no responses. Extremely discourteous on their part and I view it as a lack of member services and support.
James Jones, AB4D says
Simply taking the number of new hams, versus the number that joined the ARRL, does not provide a full analysis of the situation. IMO, many new hams seem to just obtain the entry level technician license, only to fulfill a secondary communication need, that augments some other main interest, such as prepping, off roading, Ecomm, scouting, etc.
They are not a traditional ham radio operator. Rather than someone that is fully immersed in the hobby, they only have a casual interest in being licensed to fulfill a secondary communication need. They go no further in the hobby, than to purchase a few cheap HT’s and perhaps a mobile VHF/UHF transceiver for their vehicle. It’s all they intended from the start.
I took some random samples of 40 new licensees from 10 years ago from the pages of QST. Only 7.5% of the random sample had kept the license after 10 years, only 5% held a license higher than a technician.
There has been a surge in new licensees since the elimination of the code requirements. However, the caliber of people being brought in, do not fit the profile of the traditional amateur, those whose focus is all things amateur radio. It’s no wonder these people don’t join the ARRL. They don’t have anything more than a passing interest in amateur radio, beyond having a communication service they can use. The ARRL cannot offer most of them anything, because they are not, and never intended to be fully vested in amateur radio as a hobby/service.
Bill Johnson says
From a different perspective…..
I have been a licenced ham since 1954. In the “old” days you built a Heathkit. If you needed a SWR meter, you built it, etc. You spent hours chasing DX, you rag-chewed for hours, you helped your ham friend put up his antenna.
Today ham radio must compete with the internet where you can make contacts all over the world on your phone. Today FEW hams would even start a “home brew” project and I will admit that with all the electronics today it does not lend itself much to home building.
For me ham radio got me a job at Cape Canaveral as an electronic tech which led me back to college and a degree as an Electrical Engineer…. So I started ham radio as a kid and it has shaped my life. Today socity is so scattered that as I watch my grandchildren and greatgrandchildren they cannot sit still for 5 minutes and do anything non internet related.
As downtowns gave way to shopping centers which is giving way to on line shopping should we be surprised that the ARRL is lagging? For it to continue they MUST change to something that will benifit this new generation of hams…..
I joined ARRL as a novice and still retain my membership but like those remarks before me, there is not much there for me anymore.
Dan KB6NU says
I kind of disagree with you, Bill. There are a lot of guys out there hacking away on kits and homebrew projects. There are also several companies, such as the QRPGuys who make and sell kits. And that doesn’t even include the guys out there hacking away at ham radio-related software.
Bill Hurlock says
I have been a HAM since 1961. I never started at the Novice level. I jumped right into the TECH. I didn’t like CW. I got up enough speed to get to the TECH and stopped. I was really interested in experimenting. The ARRL never really seemed to do anything for me as I learned more and moved along with my experimenting. I never found the ARRl Website to be friendly. I always wanted to get the QRX stuff but just couldn’t afford it. It was always such a ‘chore’ to find anything on the site, and it is still just as bad. As for the new potential Hams… The ARRL needs to toss out everything they do and start listening to the people. Save that 400K and put that into developing better advertising of the hobby. Make it appealing to the younger set. I would bet good money on more members it they just toss out the old stuff and make something that will appeal to everyone. I really think this is my last membership. Nothing is there except..Send us more money. Wake up ARRL before you are just dust in the wind.
Dr. Jim Kennedy says
Perhaps instead of paying high priced lobbiests and PR firms ARRL should be investing in sending people into our schools to present ham radio and also the ARRL. I strongly believe that instead of being an organization that promotes ham radio that they are anpublishing company that prints articles on ham radio. Perhaps if they get back to basics their membership would grow.
Dave Stewart says
ARRL simply has not kept up with the rapidly changing tech-immersed public. Huge loss of opportunity through this “miss”. There is now monumental catching up to do by the ARRL leadership to integrate shortwave technology into the mainstream. Here’s an idea for contemplation… the Prez of US will soon be testing a National texting emergency system with cell carriers volunteering to cooperate. Why not include a simultaneous massive emergency communication rollout through shortwave networks as well? If cell towers are down are we hams coordinated enough to serve as a reliable backup network working on portable, emergency power?
Patrick K6PDG says
“If cell towers are down are we hams coordinated enough to serve as a reliable backup network working on portable, emergency power?”
The Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network is trying to be coordinated enough.
Bobby Wilson says
Just look at the whole picture. I mean look at 2m or 70cm. Who is there, listen anytime, lets see you have radio clubs who once a week hold a net for practice sign ins. The rest of the time you get 1 to 2 hams talking with each other about the weekend or a project they are doing … hmmm that’s what cell phones do (don’t need a radio for that) .. Other than that unless you have a friend with a radio or someone you know to talk to pretty much 2m and 70cm are dead except for the older generation that just has to be distracted while driving to work and has to talk on the radio in their car to justify its cost and existence.
Look at the clubs, all of them they exist to help the community, translate that EVERY CLUB wants something for nothing, we need you to do this for us, we need volunteers for that. Really, you want everything free or donated but you continue to raise your memberships and give little benefit to the members.
Look at the Hamfests any of them, 90% consist of grumpy overweight fat men looking around tooting smelling up the place and want to pay 10 cents for everything unless its from another buddy whos just as old as they are and selling tube stuff that’s obsolete.
Face it, the state its in today the Hobby is Dying quickly, Older hams are encouraging the licensing of their kids, for what, to get them interested in the hobby and what happens daddy or grand daddy gets them a HT they are happy they want to talk on the air, but NO no one is on the air on 2m or 70cm for them to talk with, its just a fancy walkie talkie for them with rules. They would rather spend time on their cell phones.
Look at HF especially 40 meters or 80 meters, again a bunch of grumpy old men who are retired and have nothing better to do but sit on the radio for 8 hours a day talking about how Joe is sick and Billy went to see his Mama, Really, you have to do that at 1.5Kw and share your dirty laudry with everyone listening… once again the cell phone rules.
You say its emergency communications, well yea and you try to justify unsightly towers in otherwise pristine neighbor hoods that used to look great till all the towers spring up to compete with the unsightly cell towers etc.
Yes you need the ARRL to fight for those towers, if you don’t like the rules done move into an HOA controlled area or put your antennas up at night outside and take them down at dawn.
Emergencies are just that and should be taken care of by the government and funded the same, of course police and fire depts. encourage the Ham’s cause its free volunteers making their jobs easier under the guise of a dying hobby.
I initially got my tech license in 2002 purchased several radios, put 2 in vehicles and had HT’s and within 3 months lost total interest in the Hobby. 2m and 70cm dead no one hardly on it, but back then more than today now its baron bandwidth except the on the way to work blah blah chatter and gossip, really like a woman’s gossip circle and usually not welcoming to anyone not known or part of the circle of the club or buddies they group with.
Yep looked at it again in 2008 wow look no code requirements ok that was a motivator, within 4 weeks I had the general and extra passed. I mean who cant memorize answers to a test when they are required to be published and required not to be changed in content. Then once you got the license unless you screw up and forget to renew it within 10 years you have it for life, or unless you really don’t follow the guidelines and rules.
Maybe someday there will be a use for morse code, but it does not matter, that’s what computers are for, my android app decodes morse 100% copy and my MFJ keyer sends perfect morse code by keyboard typing at up to 70wpm without error, who needs to know the code, that’s why it was removed it was obsolete, just like the direction the hobby is taking now along with the ARRL.
Listen to HF, sure but 90% of the weekends is contest crap, everyone is 5/9/9 even though you have to repeat your callsign 16 times and say everything 2 times your signal is 5/9/9.
No one is there to talk just send their 1.5kw signal out that 200 ft tower with a 30db gain beam antenna in your direction to prove you can blast the ears off the guy in Japan who still cant copy your callsign till you repeat it 20 times due to propagation.
Yep the contests are real fun, they prove the propagation is terrible and no matter how much power you have it just don’t work.
You know Emergencies don’t change propagation either …. so much for that justification.
So ARRL your on your way out and don’t even realize its coming …. New Hams if there are any will lose interest within 6 months and until the propagation improves to what it used to be, Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu and others will see sales keep improving with new units from Hams who are hoping for the magic bullet that will drive the 1.5kw amp to get through to tell their buddy Joe is sick instead of using the cell phone.
Expert Amps failed to get the ARRL and FCC to raise the limit of gain for Linear Amps, hmmm maybe they should better channel their time praying to the supreme being to make the propagation better.
So have a great time, I listen more than talk, I have always enjoyed listening to stupidity and runs wild at Golden Pond just listen to the HF or 70cm or 2m and you wont be able to dispute much I said here. The last Hurricane yea emergency comm’s some guy on 14.300Mhz and other frequencies trying to get a weather report from the affected area, REALLY, you think ANYONE involved and affected by the storm wants to take time to tell you a weather report, and you think your helping, turn on the 5 oclock news and you will see it live on 5 pictures, videos and all sent by the Sat’s in the sky NOT HAM RADIO.
Wake Up – America!!
Mike. S says
I have no idea why so many complain about the Baofeng HT, ( I own 2 and love them ) it works, and is cheap enough that if you drop it in water or damage it some other way, it can be replaced at low cost. It may not be squeaky clean, but look how some hams run their equipment, like the AMers running 30 wide with limiters cut out or any of the operators that run with poorly adjusted equipment. The way some of you guys go off on Baofeng almost makes people think you own stock in Icom, Kenwood or Yaesu and the cheap Baofeng radio is cutting into your pocket cash. I didn’t join the ARRL because they fall in love with every new thing that comes out for ham radio, like digital, SDR and SMD ,what ever junk that the manufactures push out, they push like it is gods gift to the Ham world. All the stuff that most hams can not or will not work on themselves to build or repair their radio equip, they do nothing to promote good old school equipment that we can work on or build, they don’t push the FCC to get the QRMers off the air, and the so called gifts they give for joining the ARRL stink. I may not be right, but that’s how I see it….But what do I know, I’ve only been a ham for 5 years
Matt says
Interesting topic to say the least. After reading about twenty plus of the comments here a lot I agree with but a lot I don’t. Living here in Southern California I see and hear a LOT of Ham Radio activity unlike some people have mentioned. I would prefer to see the glass as half full not half empty but one can not deny some mentioned truths here. Yes I believe the ARRL needs some changes as to the way they do things if they want to keep people interested as a member as some have stated give membership to new hams for the first year then after that they pay. However as to the free radio thing some have mentioned,.. no way. I do also believe they had best find a new way to better the organization as well as the hobby to promote it or there demize is coming. Yes, the ARRL needs to restructure just as many companies have had to do the same thing to not just survive but keep up to pace with changing times and technology. As to a 400 grand website cost as well as hiring some wickedly expensive research and marketing firm it is just proof that some in the ARRL are making some very bad and costly decisions and those are the ones that need to be ousted or removed from that position. Myself I never seen any real benefits to joining ARRL so I never have and until I see a different approach I most likely never will. My father was a ARRL member all through the 70s and 80s but same thing it was a different world then. Now on another note Ham radio and the younger generations more are getting involved from what I am seeing as a VE but how long will they be interested in a hobby that has ALWAYS been dominated by Senior citizens. It was that way forty and fifty years ago when I was a kid and to large degree it still is. Myself I am a 2nd generation Ham and to be honest if it was not for my father I might have never got my license. 73
Mike A says
Only when the ARRL offers QEX instead of QST will I reconsider rejoining the ARRL. I’ve been a ham for 50 years, Extra Class. ARRL pinns and free antenna books to rejoin does not cut it for me anymore!
Reo says
I belonged to the ARRL when it was $30/yr. I don’t want the printed magazine. I insist on complete transparency and account for every dollar. Provide that and I will be back. Otherwise, Kiss my finals.
JC says
Interesting thread. I’m not a ham – but was thinking about getting into the hobby. I hope you won’t mind my thoughts as a member of the target audience?
I thought ham radio looked interesting, and the idea of doing something non-mainstream (that is, not internet) with lots of neat buttons and dials looked like fun. I’m interested in hearing and eventually talking to people in other countries, and figured ham radio would be a fun way to do that.
I bought a book to take the test (haven’t yet), I subscribed to ARRL for 1 year hoping to learn what i needed to get started. I didn’t renew when i realized it was useless.
The last straw was when local clubs held a ham radio intro event downtown. I thought that would be a perfect place to learn what I needed to get started and spark my interest. Well. Instead, I went home and told my wife “a bunch of crazy old guys who are totally out of touch with reality, I want nothing to do with them.”
One guy just went on and on about a placque the club got for contesting (I have zero interest in contesting). Another was excited about having a laptop saying he “talked” to so many people and logged it, and he demonstrated – but never actually talked. He clicked buttons on the laptop that sent signals through the transceiver, and that was it. I didn’t want to break his heart by telling him the internet was a much easier way to do that, and actually TALK to people besides… I was completely bewildered. So… what was the point of ham radio?
Finally, someone said there were actual radios upstairs. I went up there, and saw one of the neat radios like I wanted, buttons and dials! But there was nothing happening. The guys said it no one was talking. So I asked some questions, like what the dials and knobs did. I was told they don’t touch those. ok. I asked what kind of antenna I might need to get started because it was so confusing. They agreed it was confusing but no help. I tried a different way to get help, “what kind do you have at home?” The guy said “I don’t have to tell you that!”. Then he started ranting – literally yelling – about the FCC and Government telling you what to do.
I left and won’t look back. I’ll still get my license in case I ever need to use the little Baofeng I bought, but that’s the end of it. I know there are some decent people out there but what everyone said in this thread about the impression is of a bunch of fat old guys out of touch with reality – yeah. That’s my impression, alright.
It’s a shame. I’m into Raspberry Pi and Arduino and wanted to tap into some neat non-internet technology, but there’s just not enough justification and too much hostility, and no help that I could find. Not worth it. Now I know why it’s a dying/dead hobby.
:(
Jennifer Bond says
And they’re arrogant attitude and bowing down mindset that hams don’t need to be able to put up an antenna on their own property and should be happy that the HOA gave them ANYTHING, will continue to see the ARRL die the death that it has become, the link below will help explain, it has an example in the form of two posts I just posted at the link below, and the response I received from the ARRL, of which I did not feel like I was talking to my advocate or advocate for our hobby… go to the link below, two posts in my name, read the top one first.
https://www.kb6nu.com/arrl-annual-report-highlights-membership-problems/?unapproved=490169&moderation-hash=7e9720dcf78e40e3da92812efab6c7ac#comment-490169
73’s
Jen
KB6JEN/VE7OTH
Tom says
I am 39 and got my license in ‘94 when I was a freshman in high school. Seeing people being able to use autopatch was cool, as cellphones were only for wealthy businessmen then.
I do remember the days when you’d hear people talk in the way to work and home. The local club at good attendance.
I got out of ham radio for a long time and only recently got back in due to DMR which I heard about from another ham who I work with.
To be frank, amateur radio -is- a dying hobby. Kids today do not care about talking on a radio or using CW to talk all around the world.
JC had a spot on post about how things are. Especially since he’s an outsider.
It’s gotten so bad that the scooter companies are putting up giant ads on the sides of 18-wheeler tractor trailers at Dayton. Just peruse the HamSexy archives. 75% of the people I see w ham radio are 3x morbidly obese, smoking and can’t hardly walk to the mailbox to get their QST so they need a scooter. And I’m not making fun of elderly or folks with real medical problems that couldn’t be helped, like cancer. Sitting at a $12k Yaesu rig for decades and drinking Mountain Dew while QVC is on in the background will however catch up with you. Zero exercise and Bob Evans breakfast 5 days a week and that’s what you get.
Most young or middle age people today that do have an interest in amateur radio and electronics don’t care about these 70 year old rigs that look like something out of a movie on TCM.
Another poster was right- repeaters are dead. Why do that when you can sit and stare at Facebook for 7 hours at a time.
All these people into “emergency communications”…. I in no way want *any* of these people handling any type of emergency. Let the professionally trained folks in LE and the government handle it. I’m a 6 year Army combat vet and have been on the radio during incoming fire, and *I* wouldn’t want to be relied on w a 5 watt HT or a 50 watt mobile to relay anything when someone’s life is in danger. And how many times can anyone count where “Amateur Radio was there!” when “all else failed” in the last 30 years? If you have examples that are valid, then I’d concede. A lot of these people just want to look and feel official w a Sky Warn patch and an HT mic clipped to their shirt epaulet because they never joined the service or became an EMT out of high school.
I remember being so excited to get my ham license. Excited to take and pass the both 5 and 13 wpm code tests. The Advanced question pool was not easy either.
Now you have these weirdos who won’t invite JC over to their house. Show them what the dials and buttons do. Show them antennas, rotators and coax. Tell them about SWR.
I arrived at this page researching why I should rejoin the ARRL. I was surprised it was $50! I’m an IT pro and $50 isn’t a lot of money, but it seems ultra expensive for QST.
If they knocked it down to $30 and let me get QEX instead I may do it.
The ARRL, forth-going, should really consider Liberator Medical and Avandia ads alongside 200 ft towers from TT that no millennial w student loans will ever be able to afford.
So sad as everything from EME, QRP, CW and VHF/UHF and DRM are all fun to work.
BR549 says
Mostly all good points.
Amatuer radio started dieing when the cost of equipment became ridiculous and CB is following for the same reasons, modern technology (Internet, Cell Service, Smart Phones), ridiculous over complication (FCC rules) and snobs (“Just say no to Baofeng and invest a few hundred dollars to talk on the same empty channels instead”) are just nailing the coffin shut.
I’ve talked around the world on CB and VOIP is super easy, no radio is needed and it can even be done in a smart phone, investment is around the same price as a Baofeng but nobody cares how much you paid for your Smart Phone or what brand it is.
As others have stated it’s a hobby, some people choose to make their hobby their lifestyle but most don’t and again, cost, cost, cost, ARRL charges too much for too little, as mentioned already like many such organizations they don’t really care about member opinions and many potential members don’t care to have QST delivered in any form (put it on the website), thus $49 a year is simply too much not to mention that many people have more than one hobby (did I mention the equipment is too high?)
As for emergencies, for starters no license is required but if you have a radio and a license and find yourself in a disaster lasting days you may be able to get in touch with friends and family assuming an EMP didn’t cause the disaster. Most first responders rely on rerepeaters and carry weak HTs and it takes time to repair the power grid and time to move generators and fuel, if you have a place to setup a genrator (floods) to start with so yes Hams can be useful under the right circumstances for those without a radio or a repeater.
Mickey Baker says
Excellent discussion.
I’m running for ARRL Director of the Southeastern Division on a platform designed to help address issue raised here. If Dan doesn’t object, I’ll place a link on my web site to this discussion There are a lot of good ideas here!
Thanks!
Mickey Baker N4MB
http://n4mb.com
Ross says
I’m quite new to HAM radio and have started off with 2 meter, as I understand that most nubes do.
I learned quickly that local repeaters are dominated by a hand full of people who won’t respond to anyone outside of their group and that seldom if ever use call signs. I don’t want to abandon the protocols I’ve been taught or have to chum-up just to be recognized. So, scratch local repeaters
The local club is populated by radio purists with little for patience or interest in applying HAM to anything outside of their well established exercises or experience. Not that those don’t have any value, because they do, but the narrow tribal aspect is a definite barrier to new operators. How many years do you have to be a member before the conversation isn’t one way and condescending? So, scratch the club.
I have found groups of HAM enthusiasts, however, that apply their radios and skills, like antenna building, to activities including bushcraft, hiking, orienteering, geo-cashing, off-road rallies, kayaking & rafting and similar out-bound interests.
There’s a great deal of interest in HAM radio among the emerging generation, but it isn’t taking place in church basements and community halls. To the degree that they’re made welcome, young operators will seek out information, clubs and elmers as a secondary support system to help them use HAM radios in their primary interests and activities. Many of these young people will mature into solid club supporters in time.
The ARRL needs to tap into these enthusiastic young operators and help grow them into strong knowledgeable members. If organizations don’t embrace new young operators and applications, the operators will not embrace the organizations. As that’s allowed to happen, the protocols, policies and laws will have marginalized themselves.
Phil Sisson says
I guess I can step on a lot of toes, but here goes. I got licensed in early 1956. There are a lot of hams reading this who have been a ham a lot longer than I have been.
I have never been a member of ARRL, not in 60 some years continuous as a ham. I started out with a table top Howard short wave radio. My mentor helped me add a bfo circuit and a bandspread condenser. It tuned 80 and 40 meters. The transmitter was a 6AG7 crystal osc driving a 6BG6 and with an “input” of 30 watts or so. I had 2 crystals, one on 3712 and the other in the 40 meter band. Later I got a used BC312 like many other fortunate novices had.
In those days the call districts were pretty well defined. If you heard a W9 or K9 guy calling cq, you knew where he was coming from. if he was not in Indiana, Wisconsin, or Illinois, he would hang a (/) on the end of his call followed by the district he was in.
Now a person keeps his call and there is no way to have even the foggiest idea of where he is calling from by his call sign alone. It means nothing anymore what your number is. I think the ARRL had a little to do with that.
The Arrl has done a few other things that I personally don’t care for. Someone benefited from them, but not everyone.
So in 63 years, I just never felt I needed the arrl.
Phil
Brandon25373 says
I’ve considered an ARRL membership, but after hearing the trash that is on the airwaves these days’ “mainly 75 meters” $50/year sounds pricey for basically a magazine subscription to QST. If I’m going to invest money into the hobby in places other than gear, I’d like to see it go towards making the hobby more enjoyable and friendlier to those who are just now getting into it. There also seems to be more and more of an unwelcoming attitude towards newer hams these days.
Kevin Hunt says
Your idea of what ARRL does, is really deificent if you believe you get only a magazine subscription.
Without ARRL, there would not be amateur radio, in the US or anywhere else. ARRL was organized to save amateur radio from abolition.
Here are a few more things that would be different if not for ARRL:
* No ARES
* No RACES
* No federal preemption of debilitating local antenna laws
* No 17M, 12M and 30M HF ham bands
* No international operating pivilege reciprocity
* No third party communications
* No unlicensed RECEIVERS
* No digital modes
`
Jerald KI5HZG says
And in response to all this, ARRL says?
Dan KB6NU says
Pretty much nothing. I’ve pretty much given up on them really trying to increase membership. What can you expect when they tout in their annual report that membership went down less than they expected after the recent dues increase?
Peter Hacker says
“(Why the ARRL hired a PR firm to do a membership survey is kind of puzzling to me. They do list marketing and branding as one of their “capabilities,” so I guess that’s how they got the gig.)”
Because they are desperate. Because if their internal capabilities can’t offer a solution, they need to say it was someone else’s fault. ARRL/QST used to be the main technical and organization resource. Ham radio is no longer much of a technical hobby, and the aspects that are can be found all over the web. Central organization doesn’t offer much to most license holders today either, and they can just again search the web, chat groups, message interest groups, etc.
cliff says
n3xim names cliff i was an extra class radio operator i made it to extra class i am 70 years old i got early stages of dementia earlier i would say over 20 years ago a join a county radio club it was nothing but a clique so i left the club never really felt welcome ham radio operators are the reason ham radio is dieing
Doug says
ARRL is a failure, one of the worst business I have ever seen. I wrote a very large letter, only to have the software loose it. Typical of ARRL, sticking the money in their pockets and not spending it on 2020 innovation. I’m sorry ARRL, but even I am not dumb enough to support a company who’s goal is nothing more then to squeeze the last few dollars out of a “Hams” pocket. In my opinion, you are not supporting amateur radio, you are destroying it.
Patrick Molloy says
I have to say, reading this is like a review of the UK’s RSGB – I’m a member. I was thinking of joining the ARRL just to see what they do. Or don’t do….which is the same problem as the RSGB. An ageing membership, lack of ideas, zero product….I wrote to the RSGB suggesting some ideas….modern electronic kits for the getting newbies interested in the hobby. We could definitely use training courses to teach more experienced members how to impart their knowledge to others. I’m 2 years into the hobby. I bought good gear, and a pretty good antenna. This is by example…I had an issue setting it up. All the help I got from my club was several guys saying I didn’t need that, just throw a wire out of the window… but I never got an answer to the issue I had. A few few clubs here are better than that, but the majority simply don’t know how to impart their knowledge. The RSGB organises the testing for the UK licence on behalf of OfCom … the equivalent of your FCC…..but beyond that, many hams don’t see it as relevant. Getting younger people involved can be done. YOTA for example, and SOTA … but are these even publicised?
It’s down to us to try to change that. I enjoy the hobby, I’d like others to do so as well. Keep pushing the ideas.
73 de M5PM 🇬🇧
Jeddy says
I don’t know much about the history of the ARRL or its internal and external problems. I’m a brand new ham operator that just tested through a club affiliated with the ARRL. I am still waiting for my call sign to be issued. And most likely will be waiting for a while. However, there are newly licensed hams who tested the same day I did through a different VEC and received their call signs within hours of testing. So, my first experience with the ARRL is “they’re slow.” After researching why other VECs have substantially quicker turn arounds on their call signs, I found out its because those more efficient VECs submit things directly to the FCC by computer. So my second experience of the ARRL is “they’re running this like its 1990.” Not a good first impression (or second one) at all for a new ham. And its definitely not the kind of PR that the ARRL needs right out of the gate with the people they want to attract to the league. I won’t even mention the one ARRL certified VE who gave the test using extremely racist language about the Chinese (none of it can be repeated here) during the testing session.
MARK D JOHNSTON says
The ARRL is the radio equivalent of the NRA. Pretty much useless unless you’re looking for a magazine subscription. Why bother?
Mark
AC7AZ
Robert van Spyk says
Sad state of affairs, and totally avoidable.
1. Any computer science university program would gladly take on a web site project…and for free.
2. QST Content needs to be much more varied include meaningful build projects but also highly technical material.
3. Publish list of elmers. Recruit elmers…..companies will often support employees taking time for this. Train elmers. Not having any means everybody starts from scratch.
4. I introduced radio as part of my telecommunications curriculum. Students immediately saw the connection (so to speak).
5. Make amateur radio work for you by NOT looking at a possible use but look at a much broader view of tomorrow.
Eric 4z1ug says
What is the alternative to the ARRL in the United States as an organization that represents ham radio to its members, the general community, and to the regulatory bodies that would re-assign our valuable spectrum to other entities? If there isn’t a rival, then becoming involved, running for sectional, regional, and national roles in the ARRL seems to be the way to influence the direction that the organization is taking.
Do the people who complain about the ARRL vote for its representatives in your section or region?
Do they call the league headquarters with their ideas and suggestions, in a civil or polite way?
Do they volunteer to take on a project with their radio club, mentor new hams, and help old hams find something new?
Do they write articles or volunteer to write a column for QST or one of their other publications. Anyone who knows publishing knows that content is king and getting it on a regular basis is difficult.
All of those that complain about the number of hams that license but don’t get involved, have you reached out to local licensees to see if they need help? See this site: http://www.city-data.com/aradio/ You can use this site to find the licensees that live on your street or in your neighborhood. Reach out and find out why they are not on the air.
I don’t live in the USA anymore, but I still belong to the ARRL. All organizations depend upon their members to take an active role. If you think it is just a service business like Taco Bell, then it will disappoint you. If you truly believe that its leadership is committed to the hobby and protecting our interests, but is off track, then get involved by being a mentor and encourage ARRL membership. Ask the league leadership how you can help.
Thomas says
Long time listener, first time licensee here.
I joined the ARRL. It is the best voice for Amateur Radio in the US. That makes it a benefit to me and all hams. Not impressed with the litany of “what have they done for me lately” crowd, though I recognize that is important to promote membership. I do enjoy the publications and get value from them, for what it’s worth. But then I am a new licensee with few skills or knowledge.
I will make one elephant in the room observation: Ham radio is really over represented by old white guys. I mean my gosh, it is like traveling back in time. Look at the ARRL board. All old white guys with two white women in the photo (are they board members even?). Local clubs, same thing.
If ham radio was recruiting, reaching out, offering something meaningful to most, it wouldn’t look like that. And maybe if folks made an real effort for it to not look like that, it would make the reaching out a bit easier.
Don’t have answers, I am a newbie. Would be nice to see more Elmers. Would be nice to see local clubs sponsoring makers spaces with electronics instructions and projects.. Would be nice to see serious outreach to local colleges, including HBCUs. Would be nice to see more visibility. Would be nice to see folks looking for a slice of the Boomer resources recognize that the amateur bands are something of real value worth exploring, utilizing, preserving.
Hope all sorts of creative life comes the way of modern ham radio and the ARRL.
Mike says
You racism is noted and not appreciated. Do you judge the validity of all your endeavors by the immutable characteristics of the participants? How many other groups would you feel comfortable “calling out” based upon skin color? And exactly what do you mean by “white”? Are you singling out specific ethnic groups? Please recognize that behaviors such as what you exhibited here is part of the problem.
Zork says
Tom is right. I tried joining a club here in the Boston area and ran into a gaggle of old, fossilized, self-righteous white guys who pride themselves in being unable to give simple answers to simple questions, and think knowledge of acronyms is what defines a good ham. And did you go to the latest Near-Fest in Deerfield, NH? I think I saw one or two people who were not lily white and old as sin. The one Latino I saw was employee of another old white guy. Pathetic.
Dan KB6NU says
Why don’t you start your own club, Zork? There are hams out there who aren’t old, white guys. Find them and do something cool together.
Raymond "Abe" Mitchell says
While the ARRL does a lot for hams by lobbying they are unable to take care of their own house. One example is I have never seen an ARES group obeying the ARRL rules. When aligned with law enforcement the groups tend to forget that they are bound by ARRL rules anytime they use the ARRL or ARES logos or name. A letter from ARRL could exempt them but I have never seen such a letter and the ARES groups I’ve asked do not even know about it. There are several other reasons, of similar nature, that I stopped renewing with ARRL.
Jon says
I just wrote arrl. The quoted is what i sent. I have tried to join there website more then once and always came up disappointed. I wrote this message in frustration but i stand by it.
I tried to use the support tab and had sent a number of emails asking for assistance only to come up with not one single reply not one.
I am convinced by the organization’s actions or lack of actions that they are only a way of discourage licensure in the realm of amateur radio.
A front to do just the opposite of it’s stated purpose. A gaslighting organization.
It is too bad amateur radio operating will die at the feet of arrl. Too bad all of our eggs are in one basket to easily be destroyed with one fatal swoop.
“I am writing this is disappointment with your organization. I have written arrl more then once for help with issues. Since i am sure you won’t reply anyway unless i have money for you i will say my piece.
Arrl by all accounts is worthless excuses for a organization. You should remove all customer service links since you have no intention of responding at all.
Your organization is not to help foster interest in amateur radio but to silence it. Like the NRA is to compromise the 2nd amendment into oblivion.
It makes perfect sense by your actions that you and your type have sold out to your organization’s purposes.
The fact i can’t login unless i hit the donation tab!
The learning center isn’t accessible without a users name which is unobtainable.
So on and so forth. “
Bill says
I was actually going to join ARRL until I accessed the website. On the website, one has to check off 4 boxes in which he has to grant consent for storage of Personal Info, Financial Info, Technical Info, and Miscellaneous Info. When I called the office, some airhead answered. When I asked her about it and what the rationale behind it was, she had no idea. I asked her if there was anyone there that did and she replied in the negative. I got the impression that anyone who asks questions about the organization is not welcome and is just taking up her time. It will be a cold day in hell before I join that sorry outfit.
Paul says
These are likely compliance with GDPR and other privacy laws that require such.
KE2YK says
I solicited the ARRL several times about reducing the subscription rate by offering a “digital only” subscription for seniors. I am fully aware that the ARRL digital copy of QST looks like something that was “transcribed from stone tablets” but felt it was a respectable alternative. As anticipated my suggestions fell on deaf ears. Finally, the money I forked over for decades is now going to a far better cause.
Daniel says
I’ve been trying for three days now to create an arrl account. Their support won’t even respond to my emails.
ARRL, how can I join if your website doesn’t work and you won’t even respond to me?
Dave says
I just got rejected for a WAS award on arrl, that was going to cost $22.00 and the reason given was I am not a member. so I’m suppose to pay to be a member and then pay for the award too. so now they lost the 22 bucks and I will close my account there. lost another one!!
Dave K0DLP