Transmission1

Werthers wrote: ↑05 Nov 2019, 08:51 People are very lazy today.

Yes they are - many have cars and are overweight.

Werthers wrote: ↑05 Nov 2019, 08:51

Here are some Ham Radio videos you might want to watch that features smart young people who's minds go beyond online activities

Minds go beyond online activities ? = the footage was uploaded onto youtube.

Smart young people to an amateur = but who probably seem pretty boring to many other people the same age who are not amateur = the majority.

May be the old rear guard are getting their way?
Snide comments and talking down to people does not encourage anyone.
Cliques and 'members only' nets are the order of the day on certain bands and heaven help you if you beat a 'G' to the DX contact in the pile up!
Why would you want to enter an expensive hobby to be greeted by the team from Royston Vasey - are you local?

Amateur Radio has never been the majority like many other hobbies.

Amateur radio is no longer an expensive hobby considering you can buy radios for next to nothing.

Some say radio is dying,but if it wasn't for the many who put in the effort to keep radio going,it could be a lot worse than like it is at present.

Werthers wrote: ↑07 Nov 2019, 23:05 Amateur Radio has never been the majority like many other hobbies.

Amateur radio is no longer an expensive hobby considering you can buy radios for next to nothing.

How much is next to nothing?

36ian wrote: ↑09 Nov 2019, 21:15

Werthers wrote: ↑07 Nov 2019, 23:05 Amateur Radio has never been the majority like many other hobbies.

Amateur radio is no longer an expensive hobby considering you can buy radios for next to nothing.

How much is next to nothing?

Less than 30 quid if you know where to look. The Boafeng 888s are less than a tenner new, many other Boafeng radios are very cheap. Also top quality PMR radios like Motorola and Tait etc can be bought for less than 30 quid secondhand.

Radio gear has never been so cheap.

And that is what had wrecked ham radio. It's just too cheap for a serious hobby, so people try it and get bored where when it was expensive you needed to think, consider, research, learn and do things with it that justified the investment. Cheap entry trivialises everything. Amateur film makers have exactly the same issues. People get into it, do badly, get bored and leave blaming the hobby when it's the people! I love it when somebody buys a camera for 30 quid and complains when people don't like their poorly produced epic. One person uses a real four figure camera, four figure lenses and four figure grip kit and the person with a Chinese GoPro on a stick can't get the same result! Instantly, with no effort. YouTube is full of this rubbish!

Werthers wrote: ↑09 Nov 2019, 22:01 Less than 30 quid if you know where to look. The Boafeng 888s are less than a tenner new, many other Boafeng radios are very cheap. Also top quality PMR radios like Motorola and Tait etc can be bought for less than 30 quid secondhand.

Radio gear has never been so cheap.

Sh1te radio gear has never been so cheap you mean,a 888 handset does not have the frequencies required for hf,if you want that side of the hobby.

Something like a second-hand homebase/mobile hf set would be a better choice,rather than a vhf uhf handset,that will limit the amount of people the foundation holder can talk to,it is pretty dead up here on vhf/uhf.

And if they want to use a widebanded hf set,they can get 27MHz aswell.

A couple of decent homebrew wire dipoles up in the air is enough to get somebody working the world,but each to their own.

Werthers wrote: ↑09 Nov 2019, 22:01

36ian wrote: ↑09 Nov 2019, 21:15

Werthers wrote: ↑07 Nov 2019, 23:05 Amateur Radio has never been the majority like many other hobbies.

Amateur radio is no longer an expensive hobby considering you can buy radios for next to nothing.

How much is next to nothing?

Less than 30 quid if you know where to look. The Boafeng 888s are less than a tenner new, many other Boafeng radios are very cheap. Also top quality PMR radios like Motorola and Tait etc can be bought for less than 30 quid secondhand.

Radio gear has never been so cheap.

I have a Baofeng UV5R and yes it's cheap and yes it's just about OK for the money. When compared to a decent 2/70 RADIO it's crap.
If people are entering the hobby and having 'limited' experiences with one of these then there's no wonder they quickly find the exit door.
The post from paulears sums it up quite nicely .

36ian wrote: ↑10 Nov 2019, 09:32
I have a Baofeng UV5R and yes it's cheap and yes it's just about OK for the money. When compared to a decent 2/70 RADIO it's crap.

Thought the uv5r+ was ok until I used a TMV-71E,the rx was night and day using the same 2/70 antenna,with an adaptor on the handset for the pl259.

The Baofeng and other cheap chinese radios alike are really only good for short range two way radio communications plus the output power is a lot less and they don't take well to external antennas and often the performance is reduced rather than increased, maybe good for hill topping at best but as for mobile or homebase use something better is needed. Also there are a lot of crappy antennas out there on the likes of certain sites where a basic 1/2 dipole will outperform them by a long shot. People give up and blame it on 2/70 being crap bands, its not the bands that are crap, its the people and the crap they use.

As I've said above there's plenty of secondhand decent PMR radios going cheap that can be programmed to 2/70 and other good Ham rigs that can be bought secondhand cheaply even HF rigs can be found cheaply if you know where to look such as car boot sales, radio club sales etc etc but people choose a Baofeng or other cheap rubbish and expect it to be ideal for what they plan on using it for, then get crap results then give up.

For my twopenneth:
I was around in the seventies and got hooked on old valve sets with fascinating dx at night on the broadcast bands. There was also the newfangled transister sets to tinker with and still military surplus kit to be snapped up. High school and work got in the way of the RAE but with the changes to the licence i worked had to get my M0 and am working hard now in spare time to achieve two goals: to hear Oscar 7 and to work through a satellite.

There are competing pressures on our time and frankly easier things to play with but i think its a matter of discovering the exciting possibilities. Im excited about space and satellites so im motivated. Maybe digital modes or sstv or some other niche would catch a younger persons attention. But i suspect with facebook/facetime/ps4 etc its going to struggle to compete. Which I personally feel is a sad thing.

Things are very virtual today rather than real. I think its important to say that Amateur radio isn't social media and was always an experimental scientific hobby. Maybe the hobby could continue as that or as an old fashioned hobby like those who still like to do physical things rather than everything being virtual. There are many old fashioned hobbies that still exist today. Maybe hobbies altogether are a pastime.

HI All
Im just about to re-enter this awesome hobby. I have been in contact with Ofcom and am looking to get my G1 callsign back (issues in 1986, lapsed in 2001) And really looking forward to HF without having to take the morse test. My morse is ok but finding the time to get to a decent standard these days would be impossible.

But...

I have a scanner and a little Baofeng and am not hearing much on 2m

Is 145.5MHz still S20, the calling channel?
And what about 70cm? It was never as busy as 2m but there was some usage around the country.

Is there anyone that's been on the air since the 80s that can tell me the difference I will see today? That might just guide me to buy the right thing.. or not bother with 2m.