Poor ham radio operators, people who don't take ham radio seriously, or maybe just curmudgeons in general, are making the hobby not fun anymore. I'd like to know what you guys think about this article. I found. A couple of weeks ago, I made a video about how TAM radio clubs can be unwelcoming and kind of clickish, and this is a subject I've talked about several times in the past. I've been on YouTube for over ten years. If you're just
joining me, welcome. My name's Jason. I'm kcfive HWE and on this channel we talk about ham radio and all kinds of off grid communications tools, things that do not require an infrastructure or a cell tower to operate. But I've talked a lot about ham radio clubs in the past, some good, some bad, just kind of raising awareness for clubs. And that video got a lot of really really good comments. That video that I put up a week or so ago got a lot of really good comments. So when
I saw this article it's shared on Medium. The title of the article caught my eye, of course, so I decided to grab it and share it with you guys. I mean, it's a public article it's not a private thing. It was shared to me via one of my email lists that I subscribe to, and the title of the email was a hard hitting but very necessary article. Okay, so this is written by Tom Buchanan, and down here he identifies his call sign as Victor Echo six Alpha
Romeo Golf. Okay, so we start out here. He says he's been a ham radio operator for fifty five years. He's seen it change over that time, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. This message is going to perhaps rankle some and joggle the mind of others, but it is being written to identify a time on our traditions that the hobby has had and a way to allow us to enjoy it. Ham radio operators today are often identified as older, somewhat conservative, white males who have usually retired to their
hobby and enjoy chatting amongst themselves on the air. Traditionally, I would say that's true. I'm not so sure that's true today, but traditionally yes, Often in the past they have built their own equipment, which, WHI is a testament to their ingenuity and technical prowess. They love to talk about things they have developed and their love of experimenting and trying something that they have crafted to become their own. They love to check in the nets and have rag
chewing sessions, roundtable discussions with other people of like kind. Now, I will say this real quick. Sometimes I've gotten the comment more than once. I've gotten the comment that says, all you guys on the radio talk about is your radios and your antennas. And I'm like, well, you know what, go to a bass fishing tournament and see how many people are talking about their fishing gear or their bass boats. Go to a gun range and see how many people
are talking about their handguns their pistols. Okay, I mean that's not unusual. We like inside of amateur radio. We like radios, we like the equipment, we like the technology. Of course we're going to talk about it. Why wouldn't we. Now, some people might just kind of not be interested in that or get tired of hearing it all the time. And that's okay, that's okay, there's nothing wrong with that. But the reason we talk about our hobby and about the equipment we use is the same reason that every
other hobby does the same exact thing. He goes on to say, however, that demographic is in my experience, changing and we are seeing more and more young people, both male and female, join the ranks. And I think a testament to that is a good testament to that is Steve Goodgame and his ablel Teachers Institute, which we supported last year during my thirty Days of Ham Radio, very good efforts to teach the teacher and have teachers take amateur radio back to their classrooms. Because of that, it
makes this message more important. These people are interested in serving the community and in technical innovation. They want to enjoy the hobby as much as the older group. They are the future of the hobby and we need to give them a good feeling about belonging and encouraging them to remain loyal and supporters of the craft. I've heard, you know, there's a joke that goes around that says DMR's ruining Ham Radio, the Internet's ruining Ham Radio, cell
phone's ruining Ham Radio. FT eight's ruining Ham Radio. Some people say that, Okay, all right, none of that's true, but it's fun to laugh about and joke about. Some people are really serious when they say those words, and I don't get it. I'll tell you what's ruining hand radio. First of all, nothing is Ham radio. Numbers have been climbing since two thousand and six. I did a video on this not too long ago, and the numbers speak
for themselves. I'm not talking about that today though, But if anything ruins SAM radio, it's going to be poor attitudes from people like you and I that have been in the hobby a long long time and are unwelcoming to outsiders or newcomers. If anything ruins the hobby, it's going to be that long before it's some technology or
internet connected something, something that you don't agree with. Ham radio has always been known for its ability to police itself in terms of basic agreed upon rules to follow to keep the participant's ability to enjoy the hobby while on the air. This has changed over the last decade, and I don't recognize much of what has been happening anymore because of it. Now, that's another topic that I'll
touch on because some people will refer to this as gatekeeping. Okay, some people refer to this as oh, well, Ham Radio, you all are a bunch of just gatekeepers who don't want anybody else to have fun. Well, let me put it to you this way. So someone's going to police amateur radio, whether it be the FCC, which I'm not in huge favor of, or whether it be ourselves. I would much rather be self policed than have a government overreach agency policing my airwaves. Okay, Well, self policing comes
with gatekeeping, depending on how you define it. Okay, when someone gets on the air and tells you you're doing something wrong, now, hopefully they're doing it in a polite way, and hopefully they're trying to educate you. Okay, And there's people that do it that way, and there's people that do it the wrong way. Also. I don't discount that. I'm not arguing against that, but I think overall of amateur radio is a very good thing. Someone comes onto the air and says, oh, we're doing this and this
and this way. You can't do that because you're oh, there's a taxi service, we're using this for business purposes. You're not really supposed to use amateur radio for business purposes. Go over to GMRS because it's fine there. It's allowed there. So self policing and gatekeeping, as it gets called sometimes, is not necessarily a bad thing. We just need to make sure we're doing it in the proper manner, with
the proper attitude. Now, I have been an amateur radio operator for just over thirty years, okay, And he writes right here, He says, when I was a young man at the time of the licensing, over fifty years ago, I remember reading the amateur's code written by Paul M. Siegel. Here it is as a reminder, I have never heard this before. I've been a hammer radio operator for thirty one years. Never heard this before, But I think I agree with just about ninety nine percent of it. Okay. One,
The amateur is considerate. He never knowingly uses the air in such a way to lessen the pleasure of others. That's right. Nobody owns the airwaves. I could name you a couple of nets, a couple of net control operators, and a couple of net supporters that do not practice this, never knowingly uses the air in such a way to lessen the pleasure of others. No one owns the frequency. Get used to it. I don't care if your net's been going for fifty years, you don't own the frequency.
Period number two, He says. The amateur is loyal. He offers his loyalty encouragement and support to his fellow radio amateurs, his local club, and the American Radio Relay League through which the Amateur radio is represented. Now, I know a lot of you don't care for that. A DOABLEL is Sometimes they do some things that I don't agree with, and it's not really a matter of agreeing with them one hundred percent of the time. It's agreeing with their
efforts and having a voice in what they do. And if you are a member, then you have a voice and you have a vote in what they do. So I encourage everyone to become members of the ada L, whether you like what they're doing or not. Number three, the amateur is progressive. He keeps his station abreast of science. It is well built and efficient. His operating practice is above reproach. Operating practice is good. I know a lot of guys who have their station that's in pieces and
shambles because they keep changing it. And that's okay. Innovation and experimentation is a good thing. So having coming out and polishing your radio every morning and dusting it off not necessarily what I think he means here, but okay,
we'll move on. Amateur radio is friendly. This is a good one, slow and patient sending when requested, sending CW morse code's talking about friendly advice and counsel to the beginner, kindly assistance, cooperation, and consideration for the interests of others. These are the marks of the amateur radio spirit. So, in other words, if someone walks into your club meeting sometime next week and you guys are talking about CW, morse code with the latest to a key of God
is or what DX station you worked last week? Okay, and someone comes in and starts asking you about DMR or system Fusion or FT eight, you don't need to scoff at him. Don't scoff at them, don't say all learn CW and come back later. No, because CW is not innovation. I love CW, I'm learning CW. I want to get more proficient at it myself. And the numbers show that once they remove the CW requirements in two thousand and six, the numbers of people learning CW and
getting license both have all continued to go up. So CW is great, but it is not new. CW has been around for longer than amateur radio has been around. It's not cutting edg. It's tried and true. It works in low power situations, it works in off grid situations. It works with a small antenna oftentimes works with very you know, with QRP stations. Great, it's very efficient, but
it's not the latest and greatest. So when someone comes into your club or your group and asks you about something that's latest and greatest in amateur radio, don't scoff at him. Don't tell them that they need to learn something and come back. Encourage their involvement in the hobby, and encourage their willingness to learn and participate in whatever you're doing. The amateur operator is balanced. Radio is a hobby. He never allows it to interfere with any of his duties.
He owes to his home, his job, or his school for community. There's that old joke that goes around that says, my job keeps getting in the way of my hobby. Yeah, okay, it's fun to joke about it. It's a funny saying. But you know, don't stay at home and playing on the radio when you've got responsibilities to do. The amateur is patriotic. His knowledge and his station are always ready
for the service of his country and his community. Any of you who participate in income, emergency communications skyworn races areas. You guys fit that bill right there, because you are assisting your maybe not your whole country, but at least your area and your community. Now, if you are set up at home assisting in times of storms, power outages, whatnot, I highly recommend setting up your shack. You want to keep your shack pristine and up to date. I recommend
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the link in the description. Low thank you Mezzimploony for supporting the channel, and you guys save a ten percent discount with that code. Just like many other maxims of social interaction, there are subjects that should be avoided. In keeping with the first rule above, it's always wise to avoid the following. Do not use foul language on the air, or language that will offend someone that you would not use in a polite company or in front of children.
I think that's good practice. Do not discuss politics on amateur radio. There's simply thousands of other subjects that can be talked about while communicating with others. I think that's good practice as well. Do not discuss religion, and I like what he says here, unless you are part of a group that has a theme they use as a religion. Some people are offended by particular religious views, and amateur
radio is not the place to preach those views. Once again, look at the rule for guidance and think through it. I know of some nets that they talk about religious views, and they talk about maybe they'll read the Bible, maybe they'll prey on the air, and they've got permissions from repeater owners or maybe net controllers to do this. If you don't like that, just avoid it, Just spin the
dial and go somewhere else. You know, I wouldn't have a huge problem with some sort of political net going on as long as people remain civil which is hard to do in this day and age. Right, everybody gets pissed off about the other side's political views. But yeah, if you don't like if it's a structured thing that's talking about religion, leave it alone. Let those guys do their thing and move on. If you don't like it. Avoid discussing other people's sexual preferences. That's always a good idea.
Avoid arguing about things on the air. If you wish to express your views on things that are controversial, do so in private. Okay. I've been here teaching amateur radio for years and always made it a habit of passing on the rules we have adopted to keep our hobby clean during those classes. However, listening to the on the airwaves lately has been an eye opener to me in terms of how things have deteriorated over the years and
make it challenge to listen to. I've heard outrageous language, terrible operating procedures, people expounding on how the opposite political sector is stupid, diluted and trying to destroy the country. I've heard people deliberately and interfering with others and trying to go to others into reaching and reacting to their bad behavior. Bad behavior is deliberate interference is one of my pet peeves. You're using some foul language, it's not going to bother me that much. If you don't understand
how to use the radio, that's one thing. If you have bad operating practices because you don't understand, then okay, be teachable. But if you understand how to use the radio and you choose to use it in a bad practice way, that's when I have a problem. I've been out on poto a lot of times and someone keys up on top of me. They either tune up. I had one guy one time say something like I want to know about my beau fang from the famous YouTuber. He never id'ed himself. I just ignored him. I kept
calling CQ poda. It took like a minute and a half and he went away because he thought I couldn't hear him. So I just kept calling CQ poda. Coming back to stay, I was working a pilot, I would recognize the station. Just ignore people like that. Their intention spans are like this. Long ignore them long enough, they'll go away because they have nothing that they'll go bug someone else because they apparently they have nothing better to do.
Towards the bottom of the paragraph, he says, let's return amateur radio to the hobby it was and intended to be a hobby that allows everyone to enjoy common interests that are absent of controversy. We all got into it to share the hobby and interests of others to increase our understanding of the wonderful world of radio communication. Since that time, many innovations have happened. Yes, many innovations have happened,
and it's good to recognize them all. And it has become even more fun to experiment and enjoy the hobby, whether it is designed and build new equipment or antennas, or join nets or share ideas with those the whole community to become part of it. Whether you are a builder a communicator, there's something for everyone. Let's keep it clean and see if we have the moxie to follow the rules and stop lessening the enjoyment of others with
self centered performance. Yeah, self certained performance is certainly a thing for those of you who like to go out there and just interfere with people because you have nothing better to do. I guess maybe your mom didn't bring you your breakfast on time. This morning. Where you're living in the basement, I don't know, but you know, get a life for crying out loud. It's a lot harder to do that as a true sign of a good amateur radio operator than it is for someone who dedicates
themselves to doing it right. Others are called lids, and rightfully so. So there's a couple more paragraphs that at the end it just kind of repeats what it's saying. But I will be happy to share this link of this article. Tom V six arg good article. Some of the stuff in here I haven't heard before. Some of the stuff is like yeah, yeah, okay, I'm good with that. I don't mind some of the stuff that you're talking against. But overall, ninety eight percent of what you said I
completely agree with. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think this is a good thing. We need to be more welcoming to new people. We need to be more welcoming to people with new and innovative ideas and people that are interested in aspects of the hobby that maybe you and I don't share interests in. That's okay. There's
a lot inside of amateur radio. It's a hobby. It's hobby is a multiple hobbies within a hobby, and don't discourage someone just because they're interested in something that you are. I like to know y'all's thoughts about this. Have you ever heard these amateur radio practices? These rules of conduct as it were. I've never heard those before, but I think they're good rules of context. I will put a link to this article in the description blow put a comment in the video. Let me know what you think
about this. And if you enjoyed this video, check these out over here. New video if you enjoyed this one, because YouTube thinks you want to watch those next seventy three guys and we'll catch you next time.