24 Sept 2022

The future of radio clubs

For several years radio clubs have been unable to meet because of Covid-19. Some turned to Zoom and found it far better than many expected. I have been very impressed how good these meetings have been. With Zoom all participants can chat and see each other if they wish.

The Cambridge Club has started meeting again in person, but has held "virtual" meetings, so that people at home can still see the talks and take part. As I am really unable to drive far by car at night, I have joined the last 2 meetings by Zoom.

Last night there were far more people on Zoom than in person! I just wonder if this is the future of radio clubs? The advantage of Zoom is speakers and listeners can be anywhere in the world. In the past, CDARC has had people give talks from Canada. With screen sharing this has been really good. We have had viewers from all sorts of places, from where they would be totally unable to attend in person.

What I wonder is should clubs do talks via Zoom with "in person" meet ups, say, once a month? No need to hire rooms, members could be from across the world, they could have lower fees. For those without PCs, people could get together in each other's homes. Social meetings could be in a pub or someone's home.

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