So, while I have only been an amateur radio operator for 18 months (I hate the term ham, I am not a pork chop or lackadaisical). I have been a short wave listener since my teens and have been a UHF/VHF and other bands listener for about 5 years via SDR and Web SDR before that. I have witnessed many types of radio operator and many different attitudes of those people. That is human nature and is fine, until it degrades the essence of the hobby and reduces the newcomers to it.
One of the things that tipped me (like so many others) to get licensed after waiting about 40 years was Covid-19 lockdown and furloughing. Yes, many of us ended up stuck at home in the UK and ordered SDR, PMR or some other comms device and set about the amateur bands as a listener. Those with licences fired up and overhauled and fired up their radio stations. (I love that description of what we do, it seems some have almost forgotten the privilege that we have for our efforts).
The following is liberally spray painted with sarcasm, it is my personal opinion alone and of course your experiences will be different, I hope. It also has a lot to do with living in post industrial Lancashire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, which is not where I was brought up.
Amateur Radio is still a predominantly a male oriented hobby. Thankfully we do have a small minority of female and under 18 operators, the youngest to contact the ISS was only 6 years old, truly an amazing accomplishment to get a licence and operate with those skills so young. Sadly many of the Facebook groups still post the stereotypical 60’s postcards of “Well she said it was me or the radio, so I helped her pack”. Sadly the same still occurs on Motorcycling groups too, but I digress. We are all entitled to our personal opinions and free speech, but not if that is going to drive people away, then it is not in the spirit of the pastime.
I will give some typical examples, and yes this is the old, “We’ll it is only banter”, but it is on a very public broadcasting system that is heard by many more people than use it to transmit. It is also an advert for our hobby to all.
The beepers, typically Saturday mornings until 3pm, usually on 2m and 70cm. They will open the local repeaters to check it still exists, maybe several times. Then they will sit there, not call CQ or just listening in on GBxxxx. All we here is the morse ID of the repeater, then silence for hours.
Testing, and opening the channel. There are similar operators on Digital Talk Groups, sure they have to key once to prime the talk group, though they should really be in promiscuous mode to see if it is in use first. They click to open it, then click again to make sure they have the right time code etc. with little regard for the current QSO in progress.
I found a slot! The same thing happens on FT8 and other digital modes, we all share an RF frequency (technically we don’t but. You pick 800Hz after checking what is in use before TXing. Then after a few cycles along comes the guy running 100 watts, over modulating and on 837hz, so they are blocking two or more 50Hz slots. YES, we are supposed to sit in 50Hz whole multiples and ideally leave a gap,, so that is 100Hz! Arrrghhhh!
Contesters. Most weekends we get the contests, usually on 20m and 40m. Now I can grasp the technicality of wanting as many Cambridges squares, countries and callsign prefixes as possible. But the best practices seem to be forgotten about. Some QRP QSO will be underway and then along comes ‘our guy’ 1Kw or more tramples right on top of someone who has been practising their skills for an hour or two and wastes him out of existence. Same as on the roads I guess. I am looking at you Ford RS drivers.
A typical weekday QSO or Net is a good opportunity to discuss the finer points of the hobby. But even then, you may welcome in the new guy and he comes back with “Yeah, you are 5-9, 5 and 9, I am running 200 watts, wow you really need more than 5w mate and a decent antenna, best 73s” and proceeds to call CQ on ‘your’ frequency.
Thankfully, but very sadly in my humble opinion the finished numbers of hobbyist operators who seek to share knowledge, welcome M7s (beginners) and improve the 2E0 and 2E1 have gone back into reclusivity. When I was doing my exams in 2020 I was assisted by many who believe “There are no dumb questions, only dumb answers” and only one who laughed at me mobile attempts with a Baofeng UV-S9,, ⅝ mag mount whip and 5 watts.(Or is it 200 watts now on Baofeng UV5Rs?) Many took the time to chat and induce me into the hobby and the knowledge and practices of it all. When you pass M7, it is a big jump into the big deep pool of radio and is pretty scary even for an old radio addict like me (Since 13).
Unfortunately the numbers of these lovely people has declined, the Facebook groups are now full of people who insist that SDR users must have an AirSpy, Hack RF One or SDRPlay RSPxx.Transcievers must be Yaesu 991s or Elecraft, never mind if you can’t afford it, remortgage the cat, wife etc. Just like photographers who change their kit every year because they must take better photographs, right? Never mind the QRP (under 20watts and down to 20mW, yes 20mW) operators who can cross the Atlantic and get 200 QSOs in a few hours. Keyboard warriors prevail, thankfully they are, and represent only a minority and there are some lovely people in ‘the hobby’.
Overall the Amateur Radio hobby is easier to enter than ever, you can do your exams remotely, as I did during lockdown. Kit is cheaper and more plentiful than ever £25 gets you UHF/VHF FM Baofengs or a little more a Retevis or other Chinese product that will work simplex and repeaters. £130 gets you into digital modes like DMR and working the world via repeaters and networks. Don’t believe those who say it isn’t proper radio, it is rare for radio not to be part of the connection. Or, you can play with Zello, a purely digital internet radio that has great chat groups for beginners. You do not need thousands of pounds or dollars to get into the hobby and work the world. Even Satellite comms are possible for a few hundreds and some DIY with an old Satellite dish and LNB and glue and wood cut offs. You can work the ISS with a Baofeng, some old electrical cable and wood, really, you can!
The best resources are your local amateur radio club, either in person or via their websites and Facebook pages and best of all, YouTube. Many channels are aimed at beginners, EssexHam will help you get your licence and guys like me https://www.youtube.com/@tekmakeruk and
Kevin Loughin https://www.youtube.com/@loughkb
Digital Analog Ham https://www.youtube.com/@digitalanalogueham
https://www.youtube.com/@watersstanton Waters and Stanton
have instructional videos for all abilities.
Useful links to suppliers (not sponsored and in random order)
Martyn Lynch and Sons https://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio
Nevada Radio https://www.nevadaradio.co.uk/category/amateur-radio/
Radio World https://www.radioworld.co.uk/used_ham_radio_equipment
Waters and Stanton https://www.hamradiostore.co.uk/category/amateur-radio/
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