Well said.
Dave AB7E On 7/28/2025 4:28 PM, Al Lorona wrote:
I hear the frustration in Dave AB7E's voice and resonate with what he has been saying; I really do. Years ago I wrote an op-ed piece very similar to Dave's comments that QST never printed... probably because it hit too close to home. We all know that most new licensees never get on the air. Many of them see amateur radio as a kind of 'disaster readiness'. They think that a Baofeng gives them a reliable back up plan in case of a communications outage. In my case, when I told my guys that they'd have to pass a test, most of them made a face as if to say, "I just wanted a SHTF radio in my house. You're telling me I have to take a test?" So, there's that. They made another face when I told them that a Baofeng will get them about as far as the last house on the cul-de-sac. Beyond that, given the current ability of even a five year old to communicate instantly with everyone everywhere, we probably have all the active hams we're ever going to get. We shouldn't believe that *anybody* should get into ham radio, any more than we believe they should get into quilting, or flute playing, or ballooning. It's a hobby, and it's not for everybody. To be a true ham, you kind of have to be an experimenter, and you kind of have to have some technical training. Still, where you see a little bit of interest, you have to nurture it. That's about all we're obligated to do. It's pretty much like leading a horse to water, and not much beyond that. Al W6LX/4
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