Ham Operators Devoting Power to Rudeness
I’ve been an Amateur Radio Operator since the mid-90s, and it’s true that I don’t devote much time to the hobby as of late. I’ve just too many things to do that I can do without being harassed by a snobbish ham operator. I entered into the ham radio ranks as a Technician in 96 and discovered that the older hams hate the younger hams. The Morse Code Requirement was abolished from the rules so the older hams who learned the code way back when believe that we younger hams that didn’t learn the code are not good enough to be on the air. I ran into this multiple times when talking on the worldwide bands, where the younger hams have been kept from unless they learn the code. So, I get it, they’re mad. BUT if they want Amateur Radio to survive, it needs new blood. If they don’t use it, they’re going to lose it.
Now I’m a Power Seller on Ebay and I’ve sold some radios over my career and just about every time I deal with a Ham Operator I get the impression that they hate everyone’s guts. Now of course there are hams that are not like this, it’s just a shame that I just happen to run into all the mad ones.
I’ve always been proud of my callsign and proud just to be a ham. Hams do a lot of good in the world and this article is not anti-ham. I think the hams should be just a little friendly, especially now when kids don’t need a ham radio to talk all over the world. A computer will do all that. The world of ham radio is more than just that. It’s the only failsafe communications backup system if our mains go down.
Scott, next month is my 30th anniversary as a Ham; I’ve seen a lot of what you’re addressing here on the air over the years. It’s an embarrassment. Such is human nature. When I hear it on the air, I QSY. If it happens to me on a call – which has beeen extremely rare – I sign and QRT. Not really much else we can do, I guess. 73 to you.