This has been touted by the RSGB as a way to get newcomers into the hobby. I have mixed feelings. Yes, we do need more young people and if this could be linked to things like scout badges that could be a good thing, but I am a bit concerned that "dumbing down" is really the answer though.
As I understand it, this would be restricted to 5W commercial gear only on 2m and 70cm. At this stage I think it is just an idea being tossed around rather than a firm proposal.
See https://www.kb6nu.com/rsgb-vhf-manager-proposes-beginner-license
Three points:
ReplyDelete1) I know it's hard for senior hams to believe, but a lot of younger (and even middle-aged) people are NOT interested in HF operation -- or even in DX.
2) VHF/UHF FM is not that complicated.
3) While some want to build their own gear, it's a minority. Often it's just accessories (PSU, TNC, keyer, etc.)
Yet, we've designed the entire hobby's licensing around the idea of a few people who still want to build their own HF phone rig and 'make contacts' with distant people.
Is the purpose of a licence to ensure a minimum level of competence, or is it social engineering designed to force preservation of a past that many no longer find intriguing?
Lastly, portraying people that aren't interested in HF DX operation as "dumb" is something that is not lost on those younger hams. Senior hams need to understand that people are not getting into the hobby to impress or otherwise emulate them. They often have different goals and interests than senior hams.
Entirely reasonable comments Todd. We have to get away from the old mentality of making gear to work the world and REALLY get inside the heads of modern people. In the past I enjoyed making my own simple gear and working the world, but I can well understand this probably is not attractive to newcomers of today. If we are stuck in a 1950s mentality our hobby will just wither and die. If we can get into the minds of 2019 people,there is a chance.
ReplyDeleteWhat "2019 people" want is connection, a sense of community and room to explore. In a sense, that's what senior hams want, too -- but on their own terms.
ReplyDeleteWhile we seem vastly more connected with the advent of the internet, we are also much more isolated. Amateur FM, in particular, is a way to overcome that.
I routinely have video conferences with customers in India, exchange emails with suppliers in China, have conference calls with subsidiaries in South America. And here I am posting comments on a UK blog. Yet somehow, the idea that I could have a relatively brief, nearly content-free 'exchange' with someone 1000 miles away *over radio* is supposed to excite me.
If amateur radio is to survive, we need to stop obsessing over *distance* and start being concerned about *content*. I would much rather have one interesting chat with someone ten miles away than 10 empty 'contacts' with people 1000 miles away. Yet, even amateur FM has turned into 'serious business' for people to discuss arcane aspects of RF theory or ponder new HF rigs. If you don't find that interesting, than you are just an "appliance operator" and you should "go back to CB" -- which is utterly dead.
There's nothing wrong with making your own gear. I love reading your posts about it, in fact. But a line gets crossed when people start defining the hobby as being primarily about that (or HF), and placing people who don't build their own gear (or get on HF) as somehow "lesser". And no matter how polite and well-intentioned these "superior" people are, they never fail to subtly convey their belief that others are inferior and are struggling (but failing) to emulate them.
Ironically, these senior hams want the same thing: a connection to like-minded people who value the same things as they do. In trying to find that, they destroy the very social fabric of the hobby they seek to preserve. So it's not about sinister Bad Guys twirling their moustaches. It's good people with good intentions doing self-defeating things that end up making everybody unhappy.