It’s a story as old as time. The stress, the studying, the pressure is finally over. The long awaited update to the database. The printed certificate in hand. Finally, you are a ham. The world is your oyster. After a quick charge of your newly purchased Amazon special, you relentlessly search repeaterbook and find the local frequency. Next comes the daunting hour of programing offsets, PL tones, and the necessary values to explore the new world that the FCC has granted you. The time has come and you push that PTT button and hear the click and kerchunk of the tower signal coming back to you with its confusing yet exciting morse code tones. You have no idea what the beeps are saying, but you know one thing for sure, you’re in!!!!!
You set back with excitement and anticipation and finally hit the PTT and speak in a tremble voice “{Callsign} Monitoring!”………….
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Hmmmmm. Maybe I did something wrong. You key up again, “{Callsign} Monitoring.”………….
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Does this sound familiar? To each new ham it probably does. Most of us have made a call without a reply. Every meeting I have ever been to that revolves around ham radio centers on one thing, one goal, one ambition. Get more people involved!. Sure, we discuss repeaters, ARES events, new projects, and club outings. But the main goal of every ham is to get more people involved in our great hobby. However, the situation above has become the norm on nearly every one of the 6,000 2-meter band repeaters found in the United States. If we add in the 70cm band, that includes over 10,000 repeaters that have fallen silent. How are we ever going to get more people involved when this is the situation we present to new hams?
THE MAGIC OF 2-METER
It is common thought that life really opens up when you get your HF privileges. Not one ham disagrees with that, however, there is much more magic on these simple bands, than we give them credit for. Is it fun to chase down that rare DX, sure. Is is exciting to make contacts around the world with the power of a few watts or less, sure. Its even great to build your first real dipole and watch it carry your voice across this great nation. But that doesn’t mean the 2-meter and 70cm bands don’t have their excitement as well. These options offer qualities that HF could never produce. Local conversations with people you now that isn’t subjected to propagation and large antennas!
RELIABLE, LOCAL, COMMUNICATIONS WHEN USED
A major portion of Ham radio’s draw is the communication of like minded people. Simply enjoying the hobby together. And though some operators might be a little less social than others, many of us belong to local clubs with these like minded people desiring to converse, fellowship, explore our hobby together. However, other than the weekly nets that many clubs offer consisting of a check in without much more conversation, the airwaves of these systems, costing thousands of dollars in equipment and rent, are mostly dead air and setting idle. 2 Meter radios are cheap, reliable, easy to use. They offer consistent and reliable communication even at the worst of times. This is why many groups use them as a basis for their emergency communication plans. But we are doing a disservice to the availability of these systems, and our fellow hams, when these units set idle and unused when the skies are clear.
THE REAL PROBLEM
VHF/UHF bands also serve as the gateway into more extreme usage of radio as well. It is no surprise that Technician licensing in the United States continues to increase. Our hobby is plain fun. But when looking at the overall licensing data there are glaring issues. As of the writing of this article, there are over 800,000 FCC licensed hams in the United States. Over half of those licensed are technicians. They simply never go higher or expand their learning more than that initial license. It is difficult to say whether this is a loss of interest, motivation, desire, or other factors. But I believe a majority of it is because many, if not all, new licensees experience the above scenario. They spend the time to get their tech, acquire a radio, figure out how to use it, and then find nothing useful in their new hobby. There is no one to talk to, there’s no engagement. If we want to protect the privileges we have and truly grown the population of our hobby, we have to bring this vital part of ham radio back. It is true what they say, “If you don’t use it, you loose it!”
SO WHATS NEXT
The solution is simple…….Do what we love to do. Carry a cheap radio. Keep it in your bag, your car, the corner of your desk. And then, acctually key it up every now and then. Start a net. Yes! You can start a net! Spend Saturday on the repeaters. Start a roundtable on the way to work every day. It doesn’t matter what it is, just key the transmitter and talk on the radio….often. Encourage new hams by being the contact they are looking for. Put down the cell phone, turn off the TV, ditch the wires, the rotator, the yagis, and even the amplifier, and explore the long lost part of the hobby that we all got started with. Its really that simple. And each of us can do it today! Let’s bring the excitement back to the simple bands.
If you are interested in becoming a ham, don’t let this article steer you away. That is not our intention. Keep calling, keep talking. The technician class is a wonderful license full of opportunity and fun. It is reliable, efficient, cheap, and offers the same fun of building antennas, exploring interest, meeting people, and comes with the added advantage of portability that a true HF rig could never offer. If you are looking to get started, check out some of our favorite VHF/UHF rigs below and feel free to contact us about getting tested. I for one, will be waiting to answer your call!
Most Cost Effective HT on the Market
Good Reliable Dual Band FT-60R
Anytone 878 Digital/Analog 2m/70cm w/DMR
Check out our 2m JoplinARC Antenna Kit HERE!!!
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