The changing nature of amateur radio

This is perhaps because I am older now, but my perspective on amateur radio has changed. This weekend in the UK is VHF NFD. I went on 70cm SSB briefly yesterday afternoon to work a local and have not been on since. At one time I would have been really keen.

Operating SSB and FM no longer give me great pleasure and chasing DX on all bands has lost its thrall. Much operation has moved to FT8 and fewer people use amateur radio for chatting.

Many are plagued with high local noise levels. Up to now, this has not been a real problem here. although I am aware of noise levels as high as 70cm getting worse.

Overall, I am more interested in seeing where my QRP signal reaches and far less interested in 2-way contacts.

The end?

For several years now, I have been predicting the decline of our hobby. In this case I hope I am very wrong! An undeniable fact is that ours is (mostly) a hobby that interests older males. In itself, this is no bad thing: people retire, want new interests and tend to have more disposable income as children leave home and education.

What bothers me is we are all getting older. As we age fewer rigs will get bought, there will be little (or no) profit in our market. Dealers will disappear, magazines will shrink or stop.

Already our hobby is less about self-training and research and more about appliances and who has the deepest pockets.

What do I think will happen?

• Fewer new rigs
• Fewer and smaller magazines
• CB and amateur radio will merge (possibly ISM too).
• Amateur radio (as we knew it) will go.
• Callsigns (for those that want these) will be issued by national societies.
• Organisations like OFCOM and the FCC will wash their hands.
• A free for all will follow.

Am I worried?  No. 

Personally, I have always preferred research.  Those that want to do this will still carry on in a deregulated world. In some ways it could be better.

Views?

The future of amateur radio

This is a subject we have touched on many times. 

However, an increasing proportion of people in our hobby (the vast majority?) are getting very old and frail. Most are old men. We seem to have become (in the main) appliance operators where the main challenge seems to be the knobs on the latest and greatest product from Japan. Real researchers seem to be very much in the minority.

It is my firm view that national authorities will increasingly see the Amateur Radio Service as an unwanted burden. I can see the day coming when the Amateur Radio Service ceases. One possibility is that all non-licenced services are combined in some administrations. I cannot see the Amateur Radio Service existing beyond 2040. 

Already in the UK 3 dealers seem to have merged. The writing is on the wall....

Personally, I am not bothered as long as we have free access to interesting spectrum for research.

Promoting amateur radio

From time to time we get a chance to promote our amateur radio hobby at other events. The RSGB has published some notes to help us do the right thing.

See https://rsgb.org/main/clubs/media-guide-for-affiliated-societies/

G3XBM history

Although this has been on before, some may be interested in how I got into the hobby. Even now, nearly 60 years later I still get fun from it.

Amateur radio means different things to different people. Some just like chatting, some ATV, others repeaters, others satellites, others QRP, others moonbounce and so on.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/history

The FT8 debate

There is a debate currently about the merits (or otherwise) of new digital modes like FT8. The amateur radio population is aging alarmingly: in a few years' time most amateurs will be very old and, unless we attract younger people, our hobby will just die out.

In just the same way high streets are changing, there will be fewer new rigs, fewer radio magazines and fewer rallies. And that is just for starters. 20 years from now what will our hobby look like?

It appears that FT8 is overtaking SSB as the main mode on HF. Unless you have specialised software, you will not "chance on" casual amateurs as we "old timers" did. This is how I first found amateur radio. These days I am unsure how young people find us.

Personally, I love WSPR and FT8, but I can see that these and similar modes could adversely impact newcomers entering our hobby. I wish I had the magic bullet. Clearly what attracts people today is very different from what attracted me all those years ago.

Cheque Book Amateur Radio

When browsing earlier, I chanced on this video. It made me sick.

According to this ham you need a linear, a big ATU, a big SWR bridge and several high cost radios to enjoy the hobby. Total rubbish in my view!!!

In my view, not one of these are needed. Each to their own, and how people choose to spend their disposable income is their decision. However, it is not necessary to spend vast amounts to enjoy amateur radio. For the cost of the income from a few paper-rounds or meals/drinks out with friends you can buy or build a rig capable of spanning the globe with a simple wire antenna. Just don't believe this total crap.

Optimism in the future of our hobby

Southgate News has a very positive video on the future of our hobby. This was a video made at a recent YOTA event.

The secret seems to be to embrace future technology.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/october/the-future-of-amateur-radio-video.htm#.WdyVOrpFzIU

Old mans hobby?

Many times I have cautioned that our hobby could die unless we attract and keep younger people. According to Southgate News, this will be discussed at a forthcoming IARU session.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/september/the-future-of-the-amateur-radio-service.htm#.Wb7fr7pFzIU

Low cost amateur radio

As many of you know I am a miser who does not like spending money on amateur radio. My ethos has always been to get the most for the least money. If I do spend real money, it is an investment that has to last years. My FT817 is almost 17 years old!

Perhaps this is one reason why I have always liked QRP: gear is low cost to make and every contact gives you a sense of pride, especially if home made. I hope you can take some inspiration from the various projects on my main website.

See http://www.g3xbm.co.uk . Drill down on each page to find all the various projects.

Given up on 10m?

It would appear that most have given up on 10m and migrated to lower frequencies where there are easier pickings. Understandable, but a shame as it means there are now far fewer people around to catch the openings that still do occur on 10m.

For a long time I have recommended digital modes like WSPR or JT65 running in the background. Only low power is needed.  WSPR creates its own beaconing format, but sending "B callsign locator" in JT65 appears on PSK Reporter Maps, so you can soon see where your JT65 signal is being copied. Yes, 10m DX is still there, but harder to find now than a few years ago.

But, are you man enough to take the 10m challenge?

I have said before, but if all you want to do is chat to friends around the world you can do this by video for nothing on the internet. Amateur radio is about learning and pushing the boundaries. For many years 10m will be that final HF frontier.

Care to join us?

Back to radio

Now the house is back to normal, I can concentrate again on my amateur radio hobby. The pattern is usually 630m WSPR in the evenings and overnight and 10m JT65 in the day time.

This year, I should try for more 2-way QSOs with JT65. At some point I may buy a new radio, but I am in no hurry and am waiting for prices to drop. I expect quite a bit of price cutting in 2017 as dealers fight for our trade. I would like to see them all survive, but they have to be totally fair to customers making a fair profit but without exploiting us.

Although my voice is not great, I try to go on the East Cambs 2m FM net at 2000z Mondays 144.575MHz (yes forty four) and the 2m and 70cm UKAC sessions on Tuesday evenings. I assume the first 2m UKAC is tomorrow evening? It is very easy to forget at this time of year!

As for New Year amateur radio resolutions, I have made none, although  I hope my health improves so I can do more building and field work again.

More expensive UK amateur gear?

With the fall in the UK pound as a result of the UK vote to leave the EU it is possible that amateur radio gear (paid for in US dollars) will get more expensive. This is not certain and I hope the dealers will hold or reduce prices and their margins. Fuel will definitely be a bit more expensive.

Our hobby in 30 years?

Although I cannot speak for other countries, here in the UK ours is a hobby mainly of older people and mainly men.  When I was fitter, I gave several talks to local radio clubs in East Anglia and without exception it was mainly OAPs who came along. OK there were a few youngsters and women, but the vast majority were older men.

Amateurs and SWLs are a dying breed, unless we can attract young people into the hobby. I am 67 and will be dead within 30 years, probably a lot sooner. An aging population will not buy so many rigs, will not support magazines etc. Numbers will fall, activity will fall, interest will drain away.

In 20-30 years we will be very much in uncharted territory. What will our hobby be like in years to come?

Getting fun from amateur radio

My current operating is almost exclusively WSPR. I go on the 8pm East Cambs net on 144.575MHz FM on Mondays and Tuesday UKAC contests (especially on 2m)  but my voice struggles. I tend to go on MF WSPR at night and 10m and 6m WSPR during the day.

On all bands I do not use very good antennas. I quite like the way I operate: it is a "low intensity, low cost" way of enjoying the hobby. I miss my field work but I am just too wobbly still.

Our hobby - very diverse

There can be few hobbies that embrace so much as amateur radio. Some enjoy QRP, often making their own simple gear and each QSO is a thrill. Others spend a great deal of money on rigs, towers and antennas and enjoy just talking to others around the world. Some like the challenge of microwaves or optical.  The list is endless.

We are lucky that our hobby can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities and in so many different ways.  It is very easy to be critical of how others enjoy the hobby - I know as I am guilty of this!  We should be thankful we are a "broad church" and allow each of us to enjoy the hobby in the way that suits us best. I used to enjoy building and field work, but because of my stroke I have had to adapt. Thankfully, I enjoy the hobby as much as ever.

Alibaba

Some weeks ago I bought a small 40m Pixie CW transceiver kit via www.alibaba.com for $10. This arrived by air very quickly and I was very impressed with the kit and the excellent service. Apparently you can buy these even cheaper on eBay. I built mine in a few hours and it works well.

A quick search in Alibaba for other amateur radio products shows a wide range of units are available. Of course, I have no idea if VAT or duty is included.   My little 40m Pixie kit just dropped in my mailbox and cost me just over £7 total including shipping. Buying the individual parts would probably have cost me more!

See http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=amateur+radio .

OFCOM statement: Updating the Amateur Radio Licence

OFCOM here in the UK have decided to make 470kHz and the 5MHz slots available to full licence holders without the need for an NoV. There are some other changes too, mainly affecting microwave bands in the UK.

See http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/amateur-radio-licence/statement?utm_source=updates&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=amateur-statement-dec14 .

Our varied hobby

One of the great things about amateur radio is the number of different ways in which the hobby can be enjoyed.

For over a year now my health has been poor because a brain bleed in September 2013. Before then, I enjoyed QRP QSOs (mainly SSB), construction and field experiments from VLF to optical. Since my stroke I have been clumsy and (until recently) not allowed to drive. Very very slowly, normality is returning but I think it will be way into 2015 before I can call myself well.

In the meantime, I still manage WSPR and other digital modes from home. I can even, albeit briefly, manage our local 2m FM net and the occasional VHF/UHF contest. Some people enjoy satellites, MS or moonbounce. Others just like to ragchew on 80m.

We must rejoice that there are so many different, yet equally valid, ways of enjoying ourselves. We have a great hobby.

What IS amateur radio?

This is a question I keep asking myself. It clearly means different things to different people, but I am saddened by the trend to cheque book amateur radio.

In its early days the hobby was clearly about experimental radio: making receivers and transmitters that communicated over short distances, with many/most of the parts being hand-made, even down to the variable "condensers". Over the years this has changed for many (most?) amateurs and now one could be forgiven for thinking all that matters is how expensive ones new HF radio or antenna is, so one can boast about how wonderful ones station is to others on HF.

I was struck by the cost of the hobby, for some, again tonight when visiting http://www.bigskyspaces.com/w7gj/vhf.htm and looking at the massive and very expensive antenna farm at W7GI.  Now this 144MHz antenna, like many, antenna arrays at this amateur's QTH is aimed at reliable EME operation where large antenna gains help. But what I see is 16 very expensive antennas plus an equally expensive support structure, expensive coax and an expensive mast. This is just one antenna for one band. He has another very big array for 50MHz too, plus no doubt a shack full of expensive radios and linears. The rotator to turn this lot will be a very large device indeed.  Yes, successful EME operation needs big antennas and high power, but honestly is this AMATEUR radio still or semi-commercial experimentation?

I can understand why an amateur may want one 100W commercial radio as the "mainstay" radio for the shack, but I see many shacks loaded to the gunnels with very expensive radios that must have cost their owners well over £10k and in some cases well over £20k.  It amazes me how much money some amateurs must invest in their hobby. I had a decent job and a decent salary when I worked, but there is no way I, personally, could justify this sort of expense on my hobby. It's a personal view and I do not want to preach to others on how to enjoy their hobby, but I am fascinated that spending lots of money on radios seems to be the norm.

Are any readers prepared to share (in the comments) how much they spend, on average, a year on their hobby? £10, £100, £1000, £10k, £20k?  Just for the record, I reckon on about £2 a week (a couple of new HF transceivers over 12 years plus the odd accessory and components).  It is possible to really enjoy the hobby and spend less than the cost of a coffee every week.

My question is, what IS amateur radio?