One of the challenges I’ve long experienced with any of my hobbies is they are often niche and beyond the interest of most of the people I talk with; Amateur Radio even moreso. Nearly none of the people I interact with in daily life “get it”. They have their phones and Internet and don’t recognize the continuous marvels which constitute Amateur Radio.
I think all the -OTAs (POTA, SOTA, etc) have done a wonderful job of increasing visibility of our hobby, but to really supercharge it, every radio operator should also be willing to hang a sign which encourages passersby to come ask questions and engage. I was up at a fairly popular community park with a 200’ (~61m) span OCFD and not a single person approached. I reckon they’re unwilling because of how “official” a setup looks and don’t want to risk crossing into an area they’re “not supposed to be in”.
There’s not enough popular media which portrays the utility of Amateur Operators, which is probably an extension of the general unfamiliarity of the hobby by authors. Think of what percentage of any of the movies you’ve seen in the last 20 years and one can probably count on one hand the accurate portrayal of amateur radio communications.
These are just my initial thoughts having woken up not too long ago. I’d really be excited to hear others’ opinions.
“every radio operator should also be willing to hang a sign which encourages passersby to come ask questions and engage”
I thought about this EXACTLY! We travel a good bit in our bus conversion. I’m working on building some semi permanent radio equipment in here. Often we find ourselves in parks and other natural areas, which I plan on setting up antennas for fun.
I was thinking that I should put up a little sign that says come talk about radios!
As a non-amateur who every few months thinks “I should consider getting a license”, I’ve been hoping for an obvious bootstrap point.
The library has some old “here’s every exam question” style cram books, but I’m actually looking for a course for understanding, so I don’t pass the exam and proceed to have no idea what to do or how to behave. That went so well eith the driver’s license exam. :)
Here’s your bootstrap. Assuming you’re in the US, HamStudy.org. Spaced repetition studying for the exam, no Morse code requirement anymore.
FCC exams can now be administered remotely via computer. I’ve taken all three of my exams remotely; my first while sitting on a beach!
It’s a bit late, but here’s my upvote. Ground the site for a few weeks, and took my Technician and General exams today, holed up in my bathroom.
Nice! I did the exact same thing. Remote exam in my bathroom. Congrats on the tech and general. If you plan on the extra, do it before you forget anything from the general because there’s a lot of carry over from the test.
I studied all the legal questions for all three license levels through brute force using that site. Went through the questions so many times that I could tell you the answer within the first few words.
Now is that a good thing? Meh, i think most of the learning occurs once you’re on the air. Then again, i do have a EE degree so the radio science part i already knew.
I agree. The FCC exam is a framework for learning. All my follow-on learning, including antenna building and using an NVNA have come from doing it.
That was the big thing I brought up when giving exams. You just need to pass and then you can start learning.
@667 @HakFoo Unfortunately our club is fixated on scheduled instructor led classes (death by powerpoint for the most part) and in-person administration of electronic tests.
They deliberately conceal the fact that self-study and on-demand remote testing are options when people inquire about getting licensed.
edit: fixed wordwrap
That’s disappointing to hear. What would be the fallout within your club if you were to just go get licensed on your own? Does your jurisdiction permit licensure outside of clubs?
@667 In the US licensure is independent of clubs.
There _is_ gatekeeping going on. It seems to stem from OMs who want to control how folks get into hobby.
Although they won’t turn away a warm body toting a license…
Edit: added tag line
Ahh ok, I’m US licensed also. Was surprised to see your club insists on such a rigid learning experience.
You’ll know best for your present situation, but I’d encourage you to just go get your license on your own and get on the air. There’s plenty of media channels to learn.
@667 I’m already licensed … went “from zero to hero” on my own over a span of about 4 months back in 2011.
It’s just so frustrating seeing the obstacles which are constantly thrown in the way of people who want to become licensed (or upgraded).
Edit: licensing year
100%
That’s wild your club makes newbies sit through such a course and refuses any kind of modernizations. OMs for sure.
The answer on how to get your licence depends on which country or locality you live.
If you are comfortable sharing that, we can likely get you a starting point.
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