Is amateur radio having a slow death ?

[jazzy]

Hello i was just thinking is there many people still useing the radio any more?
or has the big net taken over.

[Alf]

I'm not as active as I used to be, but I wouldn't blame the Internet for it. Must admit, I've not been on the amateur bands for well over six months, antenna problems being one of the reasons. Perhaps, hopefully, when the warmer weather arrives, I'll be able to do something about it.

[dave walsh]

Don't know the answer but remember Katrina! A lot of the distress related to digital shutdown-no cell phones/computers for help/advice/support.
In that situation "old technology" suddenly has major value. This is possibly enough reason in itself for sustaining it. Dave W

[tsgunnell]

There is a lot of psk31 i monitor it quite often with my dx 394 useless for phone but ok on most digital modes

[petervk2mlg]

All I use nowadays is 2m.
Peter

[Aub]

I'm still active on 3.615 Mhz, on AM only. Never had a sideband rig, but have used CW in the past.

I would like to use AM on 2 metres, as in days of old.

73's

Aub

[Chris-G8ETC]

Up to 2002 I used to operate the GB7NSY packet radio mailbox and node on 4m, 2m & 70cm. I closed it down after the number of regular users diminished to just one. Unfortunatly my closure forced two other neighbouring packet radio mailboxes in the London area to close down also as without me they lost their mail links to the national network.

73 de

[Hermit6345]

I think it is, or at least is changing into something I personally don't much like. I also ran a packet node which I closed down due to inactivity. I have not switched on any of my ham radios for well over a year now. I only ever ran digital modes anyway The only thing I would say is that when there is a major contest on, everyone seems to come out of the woodwork so I guess every one is just sat watching the DX clusters which I think have a lot to do with lack of none contest activity. Why waste time tuning around and calling CQ when you can just have a DX cluster running in the background until you see something you want to work! Bring back home brew, AM, xtal control and tuning the band from high to low etc..

[Skywave]

Originally Posted by Aub

I would like to use AM on 2 metres, as in days of old.
Aub

I'll endore that. I remember those days well; they captured the true spirit of "Amateur" Radio.

Al / Skywave.

[Sean Williams]

Most of my operating is contest based - however, seeing as this is primarily on 50Mhz and upwards a lot of the gear is home built.

I also have a serious penchant for AM operation - I can generate AM on all bands from 1.8Mhz to 430Mhz.

My real interest is high power stuff - moonbounce, and weak signal DX - this does not fit in well with a domestic location!

73
Sean
M1ECY

[dave walsh]

I passed the exam in the eighties Hermit but have never been licensed.
The combination of sillyness on two metres and increasing reliance on modern technology put me off I'm afraid. As I said earlier, selling the old approach as a non-digital alternative might work. The interenet is great in many ways but you are never very independent-just a part of the system. During the previous enviromental crisis in the early seventies an [essentially practical] Alternative Technology mag called Undercurrents started a radio series sort of on that basis but unfortunately it didn't continue. Dave W

[radiogammon]

I sold up my rig more than a year ago after I became disillusioned by the sport. There were two main reasons. Firstly, I suppose I had achieved my gaol of obtaining a full license (the hard way via morse etc which rooted out only those who were seriously interested in the hobby) and also Dxing most of the countries I wanted to reach, while the sunspot cycle was good. Secondly, the reduction in requirements to obtain a full license had allowed a number of what I would call "undesirables" to gain access to the bands, many of whom were ignorant in usage of the bands and commonly used swearing as part of their vocabulary. Unfortunately they spoilt it for many of the young people being encouraged to join the hobby as they had little patience for them and also spoilt it for "old timers" like myself.

[Skywave]

The short answer to your question is "no" - as a quick look around the Amateur Bands will confirm.


Having said that, Amateur Radio has changed over the years - like most things . As far as trying to ascertain a point in time when one can say "the change started here" - even in a serious way - is meaningless. It all depends on your own particular 'starting point' in the hobby.

My own personal take on this is that over the decades, "Amateur Radio" has gradually become less and less 'Amateur' - for an assortment of reasons. If you go back far enough, every Amateur worthy of his Licence would build his own receiver and transmitter. These days, the modern trend is to buy a 'black box' transceiver that contains lots of exotic innards and simply twiddle the knobs. The understanding of 'why', 'how' and 'what-happens-if' dissappears with this level of technology - this inquisitiveness & understanding, to my mind, is the very essence of Amateur Radio.

For those having an enquiring mind then as to "how does 'radio' work" - etc., Amateur Radio can be great fun, though - even today. Although the 'Net does provide a different means of communication, it's a different type of communications, and will never replace AmRad in its entirety. If anything, the availabilty of information from the 'Net helps encourage and support AmRad in its traditional manner - tech. data, sources of items - even using e-mail as a 'backup' to radio comms.

Finally, it has to be observed that the 'opening up' of the HF Bands to the once-restricted-to-VHF G8+3 Amateurs has helped to boost AmRad frequency allocation use. Personally, I consider this to be a 'good thing' - but I do not want this comment to induce others to re-start the old "C.W. good / bad" issue. That old Topic simply leads to a lot of rants and ill-feeling; it is counter to the Spirit of Amateur Radio.
Besides - and more importantly - it is OT for this Thread, anyway.

Regards to you all.

di-di-dah-di-dah.

Al / Skywave.

[Skywave]

Originally Posted by radiogammon

Firstly, I suppose I had achieved my gaol of obtaining a full licence.

Goodness me! You built a prison (gaol) for a shack?

Sorry about that - couldn't resist!

73

Al / Skywave

[Alan Stepney]

I am probably one of the "guilty" as I rarely go on air nowadays.

My interest was building equipment, and when it became a buy-a-black-box hobby I lost interest. As the black boxes were better than anything I could build, home construction was hardly worthwhile.

IN recent years I have listened to various bands, and so much of the conversation is non-technical and non-amateur, promptly switched off.

However, if I wanted to, I could fire up a few hundred watts of AM at short notice.

[dseymo1]

I'm not a licenced amateur, but as I understand it, the licence is primarily granted to allow individuals to take part in research and development work related to wireless.
I wonder how much scope exists in practice for the average hobbyist to do so these days...?

[jazzy]

Well i doug out a my radio as i have not long moved and had a listen on the bands, and found not much going on, i know on hf this will be better in the next years to come ( sun spots ) but i find this a shame.
The net is not the same as talking and listening to some one.

[Hermit6345]

I certainly agree with a lot of the reasons for non-operation given in previous
contributions to this thread. I was first licenced in the mid-sixties and for VHF and UHF at that time it was build it yourself or not operate on those bands. 100 watts of AM and a 14 ele parabeam on 2m did the trick! For 70cm I used something quite new in those days, a varactor tripler. You could feed it with 10 watts of AM at 2m and obtain about 5 watts of AM at 70cm and which required no power except the RF in. I think that there is still an interest in homebrewing, especially at 23cm and above but for HF I guess it's simpler to buy and operate a black box. As far as experimenting is concerned there are still those out there interested in modes which give very weak signal reception possibilities using Olivia and meteor scatter modes but they are in the minority.

Next bit OT I think!

Sean, If you are interested in Moonbounce, you would be interested in my latest project, 400 watts of CW or SSB on 23cm from a water cooled GS15B cavity pictured below.

[Skywave]

Originally Posted by dseymo1

. . . but as I understand it, the licence is primarily granted to allow individuals to take part in research and development work related to wireless. I wonder how much scope exists in practice for the average hobbyist to do so these days...?

Aside from the purposes of granting a Licence, the "amount of scope for the amateur hobbyist to do R & D" is surely dictated by said hobbyist's interest in discovering things for himself - otherwise, it isn't "amateur" Radio.

There still remains all sorts of things that a typical hobbyist can get involved in within an Amateur Radio context, e.g. aerials & propogation; building accessories - such as SWR meters; simple bits of test gear - even a home-brew single-band ssb transmitter. Plus QRP & simple morse-only rigs.

As I said before, its all a question of a given individual's natural curiosity & creativity.

Al / Skywave.

[Sean Williams]

Originally Posted by Hermit6345

Next bit OT I think!

Sean, If you are interested in Moonbounce, you would be interested in my latest project, 400 watts of CW or SSB on 23cm from a water cooled GS15B cavity pictured below.

Very Nice - the spirit of AR is still alive and well amongst the VHF-Microwave enthusiasts!

Im Just playing with a GS35b for 50 Mhz.......