[amsat-bb] Re: D STAR is here to stay

[Greg D]

B J wrote:
> On 11/13/13, Joe<nss at mwt.net>  wrote:
>> I agree on that also.
>>
>> Now I'm not picking on them here. But I am a member of Four local
>> Amateur Radio Clubs. And have been an Amateur since 1975 and have seen
>> this "Hobby" change a lot through the years. And in all four clubs 90%
>> of the newly licensed get into this Hobby now, through the Public
>> service aspect of the hobby. IE: Skywarn, communications during
>> disasters,  support like in parades etc. While there is nothing wrong
>> with this. But these newcomers do not seem to get the thrill of just
>> getting on the air, and throw out a CQ just to see who comes back. Just
>> for the thrill of the unknown. And that is sad.
>>
>> I feel that Amateur Radio is more to them as the Service part of the
>> Amateur Radio Service. Not the experimenting and exploring part.
> I often get a similar reaction when I talk about amateur radio,
> particularly from younger people.  They can't quite grasp why I'd want
> to put together a station and, perhaps, talk with someone when there
> are easier ways of doing that.  Even if I don't have any contacts, I
> like to find out just what the hardware can do and how far my signal
> can go.  It's fun to know that I can reach a satellite that's, say,
> somewhere over the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia putting only 5 W into
> my Arrow yagi.

Don't give up hope.  Not all of the next generation is a lost cause.

I just got back from the 38th anniversary reunion of the original 
Homebrew Computer Club, a group from the '70's and '80's with similar 
objectives focused on learning, experimentation, and mentoring.  The 
group was formed in 1975, and by a show of hands, the vast majority of 
those attending the sold out event weren't even born yet.  But they were 
there, engaged, excited, and wanting to pick up the torch being 
symbolically passed to them.  "Cool" to them has a lot in common with 
what it is to us - accomplishing something with skills and random parts 
in ways nobody thought possible.

To me (an early member of the club), there's still nothing more amazing 
than being able to stand in the middle of nowhere with my TH-D7, and 
bounce a packet off the International Space Station as it zips by at 
18,000 miles per hour, resulting in a PC elsewhere on the planet "ding" 
with a new bit of email.  Then talking to a (younger) co-worker, as I 
did last week, explaining how I did that, and getting a genuine "wow" in 
reply.

Hang in there.  Initiatives such as what the FunCube team is doing will 
help get the word out, and the awareness up.  And a new generation of 
"Wows" will be inspired.

Greg  KO6TH