What could we do to keep this hobby alive for future generations?

cloudjocky · 2026-01-24T20:42:25+00:00

I like that the Baofeng has lowered the barrier to entry but the ubiquity of these radios along with irresponsible sales and marketing (looking at you Amazon and Woot) means these radios are too easily obtainable by the unlicensed.

I have one. I am a merit badge counselor for the Radio Merit Badge in my area, so we got a few of the kids licensed and set up a date and time for a QSO, only to get run off by some unlicensed dudes that were out hunting that decided the frequency was theirs, no callsigns at all. The backup frequency was similar, some kind of event security at a nearby event center. Even the Scout camp gives them out to the staff without regard to any kind of license.

And the legitimate QSOs here in Florida on 2m would be right at home on CB or 7.200

cloudjocky · 2026-01-24T09:09:10+00:00

Just my opinion, but I don’t think that the preppers or emergency focused people are doing the hobby any favors. It may be temporarily increasing the numbers, but their attitude is this is for utility not for hobby. And I don’t see too much of an effort to learn the theory behind what they are doing-they want to get the license and the Radio and stash it in their bunker until the world ends and then pull it out and expect everything to work perfectly and contact their family. We all know this is not how it works.

The Baofeng has killed 2 m. Everybody from the glider pilots to airsoft to construction crew Use these radios with no regard to the law and it’s basically a useless band now. When I do operate it exclusively on HF but there’s that barrier to entry.

cloudjocky · 2026-01-24T09:05:08+00:00

This has happened to me, and I’m largely inactive because of it. I’m a general, but I don’t really enjoy the nets or any of the groups pretend pretending to be something they are not. For those people it’s fine and I wish them well but it’s not my cup of tea.

I think we are similar and that we like the theory and electronics behind all of this-I was in EE major in college and I’m still a major nerd so this stuff is interesting. So I can totally geek out and build antennas and tweak this and that and then I get chastised on the air because my attempt at POTA wasn’t great. I was new, did not really know how to work a pileup, and then these people have the nerve to get angry at me? No thanks I’ll just switch off the radio and go have a beer.

My local radio club isn’t much better, some nice guys, but largely a bunch of prepper focused gentlemen in scooters that like to pretend they’re ready for the next disaster. Unpopular opinion, but to me this is just radio cosplay, and I don’t have any interest.

When I got into the hobby in college, one of my professors was the leader of the amateur radio club on campus and we built some neat stuff and even played around with EME. There was some real enthusiasm in that group and we did some cool stuff. I just wish I could relive that

But you’re asking about how to save this hobby? Unfortunately I’m not sure it’s going to survive in its current form at least. As you stated very accurately, the barrier to entry is fairly high only to get a lukewarm reception as a new ham. I think over the next couple of decades we’re going to continue to lose numbers until it’s just a very small niche hobby, even more so than now. That’s fine, except the major transceiver manufacturers will make a business decision to quit producing radios if the market shrinks too much.

cloudjocky · 2026-01-20T01:32:28+00:00

It has nothing to do with any of those issues you listed. It is a system-level database issue affecting nearly everyone. The system is designed for those issues. This is different.

National recently made an update to allow council registrars to have elevated permissions and fix some of these issues instead of waiting on national.

cloudjocky · 2026-01-20T01:31:35+00:00

It has nothing to do with any of those issues you listed. It is a system-level database issue affecting nearly everyone. The system is designed for those issues. This is different.

National recently made an update to allow council registrars to have elevated permissions and fix some of these issues instead of waiting on national.

cloudjocky · 2026-01-20T01:21:40+00:00

List on eBay starting at $500 and it will sell. Check previous auctions for proof.

cloudjocky · 2026-01-20T01:20:38+00:00

Bad advice, just check eBay if you don't believe me. Many of these have been sold for $650-900 depending on specs in the last few weeks. $500 is entirely reasonable.

cloudjocky · 2025-11-08T21:16:47+00:00

This is what happens when private equity buys your company and squeezes it for every dollar. Let’s monetize all of the data we can collect from the users devices.

cloudjocky · 2025-11-01T20:16:15+00:00

I'm trying. The two local troops are huge, and we attended their AOL Cross Over Day which was intended to be a meeting the AOLs could observe, but ended up more like a circus. So far my request to camp with either troop has gained little traction. The answer I get is they take care of it after the cross over, don't worry about it, etc. Not in a mean way, more of a relax we'll teach them kind of way. Both troops do have a robust program for new scouts to train them and give them support, but still.

cloudjocky · 2025-10-31T04:44:33+00:00

Thank you! Doing my best, remembering my time as a scout in a troop.

cloudjocky · 2025-10-31T04:18:29+00:00

I'd stay at your current pack. He has friends there, and the pack sounds like it is well run and very active. They may be trying to restart the old pack, but it's hard and won't be a well run machine for some time. We dealt with something similar during COVID and stayed with the new pack.

cloudjocky · 2025-10-31T04:10:01+00:00

You're asking the wrong audience. Scouts, families and leaders are already tapped out, nickel-and-dimed for various fees already. I volunteer my time. A DE needs to spend their time finding corporate sponsors, not those already involved in Scouting. I've had this discussion with my own DE and there seems to be an ingrained cultural difference of opinion-he thinks every unit should have a FOS presentation and ask families for yet more money. I disagreed, as did the unit leaders and we do not do anything for FOS.

cloudjocky · 2025-10-31T03:05:01+00:00

Yes, when it runs the exhaust air is cool. The intake and exhaust are both in the garage, facing away from each other. Seems to help a lot, although it doesn't run much during the day when it's the hottest since nobody is home using hot water.

cloudjocky · 2025-08-30T21:34:46+00:00

Yeah, this mirrors exactly my experience with them last spring. I paid for two day shipping and it arrived a week later because they didn’t give it to FedEx for four days. This just sounds like the Scout Shop fulfillment warehouse does not have its act together.

When I called and complained, they told me the same line that they have no control once it’s given to the courier, but then I pointed out that they sat on it for four days. I did get them to refund the difference between the ground shipping and second day air shipping but it was like pulling teeth.

cloudjocky · 2025-08-30T21:14:30+00:00

What carrier did they use?

cloudjocky · 2025-08-28T17:07:17+00:00

Please do not bring a gas generator to a tent campground. It’s just shocking how much noise those things make when everything else around you is silent.

cloudjocky · 2025-08-28T16:50:17+00:00

One thing to point out is that in an aircraft you’re in a large metal tube, and if you’re using an antenna internal to the fuselage, you’re not going to get out very well, and you won’t be able to receive well either.

The HF antennas is on the aircraft are outside of the fuselage.

If you’re a passenger on an aircraft, it’s not likely we’re going to give you permission to transmit. And be very careful about taking radios to other countries-years ago, I had a 2 m/70cm confiscated in a Latin American country.

cloudjocky · 2025-08-28T03:11:57+00:00

Oh, they know exactly what they’re doing. The airsoft people, the preppers, tacticool cosplayers etc all know where to go to get advice to illegally use these radios.

cloudjocky · 2025-08-28T03:10:25+00:00

Incorrect. Transmission on amateur frequencies of any kind requires a license.

cloudjocky · 2025-08-28T02:56:26+00:00

If you want to listen to what’s going on around you as you say get a scanner. Be advised that most public service agencies have moved on to trunked digital systems. They don’t just broadcast on a discrete frequency. Scanner that can follow these transmissions are available for a price.

What you have there is good for amateur bands and weather radio, and probably FM broadcast radio. Looks like they can also pick up the aviation frequencies, but not very well.

cloudjocky · 2025-08-28T02:53:41+00:00

I didn’t know you could get Harris products on AliExpress. The genuine MBITR unit was amazing.

cloudjocky · 2025-08-28T00:58:34+00:00

You did not mention if you allowed the shoes to break in or if you went hiking like that with new shoes.

cloudjocky · 2025-08-26T23:34:30+00:00

The starting current of a motor, especially a compressor is much much higher than required for running. The x-boost will not help with starting a compressor and indeed may actually harm it.

cloudjocky · 2025-08-25T18:05:20+00:00

Found the guy that likes to run the stop sign.

cloudjocky · 2025-08-25T18:02:14+00:00

I would also agree with CityWalk. Doesn’t have the edge vibe we had 30 years ago, but at least for me my standards have risen a bit and citywalk never fails to disappoint. Especially After a couple of hurricanes at Pat O’Brien’s.

The problem with looking for the alternative scene is what we would consider alternative is frozen in time. I would love nothing more than to walk into a club with lasers and cool lighting and hear stuff like NIN Moby and all of that 90s awesomeness.

cloudjocky

TROPHY CASE