It’s a great hobby, I got into it after having to learn a lot of antenna theory for work. I rolled it into a hobby. Just as any hobby though … the high number of elitists just put a bad taste in my mouth. I’m not going to spend that kind of money to listen to guys to spout politics on local channels, fight with massive amplified signals for satellite bounces, be shamed/ignored at local meets for not buying the latest and greatest.
$500+ to get an HF radio is not enticing for a young person. You can get a gaming laptop for that, unless there is an uncommon passion for radio in that new person the hobby can’t compete. (I don’t own a PC it’s just an example)
The question was how to get people involved… I’m just adding my 2 cents on why I walked away after putting time into getting started.
So I’m not just complaining, sorry if it comes off that way. Getting away from voice is the only way to inspire and interest new people. SSTV from ISS was interesting, several guys would setup image transfer and emails(?) on the local repeater which was an interesting idea. A decentralized email system would be interesting to me but not to many that aren’t in natural disasters prone areas. Like passing traffic on 2m/70cm but instead it be data until it reaches someone with internet. Think BitTorrent type data transmission. Promote CW via software to allow for minimal power communications rather than make it a frowned upon activity. I never got a chance to really attempt packet radio but I imagine it would be similar to CW via software. One step further… Software for things like raspberry pi. Small affordable development computers that can expand the hobby, maybe that’s common now? I dunno. If it is already a thing then that’s the sort of thing that needs to be promoted. If the hobby remains the overpowered walkie-talkies/CB then it’s just going to continue to decline as the older generations pass away. Computers for communication aren’t going anywhere but are highly dependent on the ISP infrastructure. This being Lemmy I think we should all understand the potential and possibilities of decentralized uses.
This may not sound like much for someone that doesn’t know how involved a fire alarm can be but …Lightning had struck a large chain hotel and blown up the fire alarm at 5pm or so. By 11pm I had a temporary fire panel installed, temporarily wired, bare minimally programmed and communicating with a central station enough that the guests were safe for almost a week until the actual manufacturer representative could do a full repair. Parts used were a different manufacturer that shouldn’t be able to “talk” with the intelligent field devices. Most parts were used spares I had in my truck. Customer was thrilled. Most guys would have just thrown up their hands, said it’s dead, notified the fire department and went to sleep.
The fire alarm industry has provided me many days with a sense of accomplishment. It’s the best part of the job.