New Hams Are Everywhere
In episode 220 of the Foundations of Amateur Radio podcast, Onno VK6FLAB, discusses change in the ranks of our hobby.
The hobby of amateur radio has been around for a long time. It was here before I was born and it will be here after I become a silent key. The same is true for you. While there is a recurring discussion about the death of the hobby, the reality is that our community changes continually. People come and go all the time. Reasons for change are as varied as the number of people you care to look at, from interest through to family, from money through to time, from boredom through to excitement, from life through to death.
As our community fluctuates, our skill level varies. We see new people come into the hobby, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for a new adventure, at the same time we have people who are experienced, or jaded, or both, participating in the community and finding themselves answering the same questions over and over again.
The challenge in maintaining a semblance of community coherence is to balance the needs for new and aspiring amateurs with the expectations of those already in the community. How do you answer the same questions while staying fresh and encouraging, when all you really want to do is ignore the noise and get on with the hobby?
The answer is simple … 1
