Foundations of Amateur Radio

Recently I was told that Amateur Radio as a hobby is dead. This isn't news. It's often repeated and the story goes like this.

The hobby is full of old dying men who when they finally shuffle off this mortal coil, or as we like to say "become a silent key", will take their hobby with them. There is anecdotal evidence to back this up. An organisation that tasked itself with the preservation of Morse Code in the tradition of Telegraphers and Seafarers is forecasting their demise due to the age of their membership.

Other comments along these same lines talk about the futility of Amateur Radio in the face of other communication tools such as the Internet, Mobile Phones and the like. Emergency Services often ignore the Amateur Radio Service because they have all the communication infrastructure they need. People point at the declining numbers of Amateurs and say: "See, I told you, the numbers don't lie!"

If you listen to this you might wonder why it is that you're fascinated by this endeavour and what it is that these tales of doom and gloom for the future of our hobby mean for you.

Let's start with the numbers. In Australia in 2005 a new class of Amateur License was introduced. It's called the Foundation License and the purpose was to attract new people into the hobby of Amateur Radio. Looking at the numbers we see a year on year increase in the number of Foundation Calls. Many of those go on to gain extra responsibilities by getting a Standard or Advanced License. Some Amateurs let their Foundation Call lapse, so the increase of people entering is actually higher than a simple count of callsigns might suggest.

So, we're getting more and more people into the hobby every year.

But the overall numbers are declining. How can that be?

Well, simple really. We don't have a problem with growth, we have a problem with retention. This means that as a community we're doing great things about getting new people into our wonderful hobby but doing a poor job at making them feel welcome and keep coming back.

Those are numbers, but there are other things happening as well. The Internet today is a connection, actually an Inter-connection of networks. You might be surprised to learn that these networks started when we figured out how to use Morse Code on wires to send messages across the globe. While the original copper is probably not being used, though that in itself would be an interesting research project, the Internet today has its roots in the Morse Code driven Telegraphy network. The very first one of those was set up over 200 years ago in 1816.

There is a long history of explaining the relationship between wire Telegraph and Radio Communication, featuring long cats, dogs and a war between Austria and Prussia. Suffice to say that Telegraphy and Radio Communications both form part of a symbiotic relationship. It still does today. The Wired Internet and the Wireless Internet are the same animal dressed up with fancy technology.

Amateur Radio is the experimental arm of Radio Communications, so as long as humans want to communicate with each other we're here to stay.

Time and again, Emergency Services need operators in the case of an actual emergency and historically they have been drawn from wherever experienced bodies could be rousted, suffice to say, the Amateur community keeps on giving.

As for the old and dying men. Sure, we have some amazing history that senior members of the Amateur community have to contribute, with many lessons to be learned for the likes of young'ns like me, but I'm getting older every day and with me the rest of the population too. At some point we'll all be older and wiser, perhaps we'll even be Amateurs. Another way of looking at this is as the global population gets older with more free time on their hands, the more opportunities exist to introduce people into our hobby.

As for the retention. As a community we really need to investigate what it is that makes people leave, since that's where the growth of our community is working against our achievements to promote and encourage new entrants.

If you're not an Amateur today, I'd like to encourage you to investigate. If you are, then I'd like to encourage you to welcome new members, tell your stories and use your experience in this amazing hobby to share your excitement and sense of wonder. Perhaps consider if there is something you can do to help new Amateurs flourish in our community.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB