Comments on: Ham Twits and leveraging the Social Web into Amateur Radio http://www.innismir.net/article/38 Pointless, vapid ramblings of a surly information security engineer Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:05:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Stephen - K1LNX http://www.innismir.net/article/38/comment-page-1#comment-33 Stephen - K1LNX Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-33 ....but their stability sucks as we all know. In the end, Ben I have to give you a thumbs up for what you were trying to accomplish. I was totally supportive of the idea, and was hoping it would spawn into something useful and fun as well. Twitter has connected me to many like minded hams (incuding you!) however, so I can't say it was a total failure. You are correct when you say some of the ham radio community is lagging behind with computer technology today. I think some hams are just dead set in their way, and some get down right evil when you even mention the internet (so has been my experience anyhow) Ham radio as a hobby still holds massive potential, and the technology we have today can only make it better. When I hear the old timers talk about the things I am doing and how "it's not ham radio", I simply remind them that is, and in it's newest form! 73 Stephen K1LNX ….but their stability sucks as we all know.

In the end, Ben I have to give you a thumbs up for what you were trying to accomplish. I was totally supportive of the idea, and was hoping it would spawn into something useful and fun as well. Twitter has connected me to many like minded hams (incuding you!) however, so I can’t say it was a total failure.

You are correct when you say some of the ham radio community is lagging behind with computer technology today. I think some hams are just dead set in their way, and some get down right evil when you even mention the internet (so has been my experience anyhow)

Ham radio as a hobby still holds massive potential, and the technology we have today can only make it better. When I hear the old timers talk about the things I am doing and how “it’s not ham radio”, I simply remind them that is, and in it’s newest form!

73
Stephen
K1LNX

]]> By: Corey KB9JHU http://www.innismir.net/article/38/comment-page-1#comment-35 Corey KB9JHU Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-35 I think there is a strong contrasting difference in the "old" and "new" generation of hams.. The new generation is doing their ragchewing online (like here) while the old generation setup those static club pages long ago and haven't touched them since sending them off to pasture. Most ham clubs in general are left for the older generation in my opinion. Our local club here is very active with their monthly meetings but those meetings tend to consist of an hours worth of deliberation on how people aren't operating properly during the latest skywarn net (instruction that is promptly forgotten as they leave the door), and then an hour of presentation that is a relapse of the same thing given a year earlier. My ham time is short and valuable as I have work, family, and church obligations that take my time, so I don't see that club as valuable in attendance or membership. Thankfully we are working hard at reviving the university club. Most of us involved right now are staff and faculty, but we tend to pick up a couple new students every fall (already grabbed one over field day!). A new web site with a focus on dynamic content and meetings that are fresh, relevant to what we want, and focus on inviting non-hams on campus who have cross-interests in the presentation are what we work on. Whether it works or not, well, we'll see. But you're points are 100% valid. Let's embrace the social nature of the internet, keep the rag chew alive here, and bring more people along for the ride!! 73 de KB9JHU (club mentioned is <a href="http://www.indiana.edu/~k9iu">http://www.indiana.edu/~k9iu</a>) I think there is a strong contrasting difference in the “old” and “new” generation of hams.. The new generation is doing their ragchewing online (like here) while the old generation setup those static club pages long ago and haven’t touched them since sending them off to pasture. Most ham clubs in general are left for the older generation in my opinion. Our local club here is very active with their monthly meetings but those meetings tend to consist of an hours worth of deliberation on how people aren’t operating properly during the latest skywarn net (instruction that is promptly forgotten as they leave the door), and then an hour of presentation that is a relapse of the same thing given a year earlier. My ham time is short and valuable as I have work, family, and church obligations that take my time, so I don’t see that club as valuable in attendance or membership.

Thankfully we are working hard at reviving the university club. Most of us involved right now are staff and faculty, but we tend to pick up a couple new students every fall (already grabbed one over field day!). A new web site with a focus on dynamic content and meetings that are fresh, relevant to what we want, and focus on inviting non-hams on campus who have cross-interests in the presentation are what we work on.

Whether it works or not, well, we’ll see. But you’re points are 100% valid. Let’s embrace the social nature of the internet, keep the rag chew alive here, and bring more people along for the ride!!

73 de KB9JHU

(club mentioned is http://www.indiana.edu/~k9iu)

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