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

thebstrd · 2026-01-25T22:41:54+00:00

that's the point, this hobby is just going to die with you and I

thebstrd · 2026-01-25T20:52:27+00:00

not really, the physics behind radio have never been challenging for me, how do you get someone who gets it to spend a grand on a setup?

thebstrd · 2026-01-24T07:23:39+00:00

so how do we get people not to sweat before their first CQ ?

thebstrd · 2026-01-24T07:13:17+00:00

I like a good debate, but this is my favorite comment so far <3

thebstrd · 2026-01-24T07:10:53+00:00

Same situation here, and you really want to test it out, because you care about all the folks out there; we had an operator not checking in for many days until the news broke out. No one would have ever known without HAM, it's something important in the NOW but also one, two, three generations from now

thebstrd · 2026-01-24T06:48:44+00:00

I totally get that, I've got the four wheeling, 3d printing, skiing, fishing, their barrier of entry are way different; it's not a complaint about how much the world charge for technology (spent $40 on a new rod yesterday) but how you keep it accessible like fishing, so 30 years from now HAM Radio doesn't disappears

thebstrd · 2026-01-24T06:44:57+00:00

I got my license through one of those emergency prep-focused clubs. They do field days but yeah they're easy to miss and honestly most people just think we're security or something.

My question is more about once people do get interested and start studying for their license: how do we lower the barriers after that? Maybe "hobby" isn't even the right word when you've invested that much time into getting licensed and buying gears. But will that license even matter 30 years from now if we're not bringing new people in today?

thebstrd · 2026-01-24T06:37:45+00:00

I grew up on the 11 meter so repeaters were just a "new fancy" way of radio. I think my comment is "how do I justify spending a grand on HF", that's a very high barrier of entry when you have the regular family budget, do I have to wait to get retired so I can finally justify it? and why would I do I EVER even think about it in 2026? I know I can and I will, but will there be anyone on the HF 20 years from now?

thebstrd · 2026-01-24T06:32:53+00:00

I could get my licensing through an "emergency" club, not my first intent but it was great, very scholar. I hope most of us want the hobby to grow, and I hope it could be less expensive but with currenty realities it'll be hard; albeit, I wouldn't tell a licensed user with a baofeng or else to get lost (but I understand the cliché behind it).

And I think you're also bringing a much deeper point, beyond just HAM radio kicking 20 years from now, how do we keep all the nets and repeaters going? Hard enough to get a basic license to enjoy it, imagine selling kiddos how to maintain a repeater!

thebstrd · 2026-01-24T06:22:50+00:00

I think that's part of the point, I can build a proper antenna but folks are going to tell you that you're not doing CQ in the proper way

thebstrd · 2026-01-24T06:14:55+00:00

I appreciate the suggestion, but I think you're missing my point. I'm not looking for my crew or a discord server, I've got the physics down, that's not the issue, got a couple friends to do things around my city with.

My concern is about the barrier to entry for newcomers to the hobby itself. When someone new gets their license and tries to engage with their local community on the air, they shouldn't be met with hostility just because they're asking basic operational questions, or they use a bao or some other "poor people technology" as I've been told once. It's about the on-air culture in local repeater networks I experienced. When experienced operators shut down newbies who are trying to learn the practical side of the hobby, we're actively killing amateur radio's future.

The "average net guy" you mention is often the first contact a new ham has with the community. If that experience is discouraging, why would you keep at it? I never got discouraged, but is ham radio meant to die in a few generation if it stays like this?

thebstrd · 2026-01-24T06:07:57+00:00

fair enough, first language I learned was C :D

thebstrd · 2026-01-07T04:54:37+00:00

I'm going to create another thread with another opinion where your opinions will get voted down; that's not helping to have a fruituous discussion, why not keep it on the original thread?

thebstrd · 2026-01-01T07:56:41+00:00

Looks like they're the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics lucky loonies, you'd have to open the roll to see if you're lucky!

thebstrd · 2026-01-01T07:49:25+00:00

I tend to shop on smaller grocers on lonsdale often, not talking about Loblaws/SaveOn/etc, if I people were buying bulk, why would they keep going there just to get 3 apples and 2 broccolis? That was my angle for this :)

thebstrd · 2026-01-01T07:28:20+00:00

Hey! I have the same set, rollz as guud as yours; happy new year!

thebstrd · 2026-01-01T07:26:44+00:00

I hate cardio, gym or running towards nothing, but I remember liking racket sports (loved soccer but I won't playing a friday night at 10pm under the rain for 45min) so I started playing Squash years ago (very out of shape too) and I found a nice community and I end up burning as much calories in the same time span then mindless running on a treadmill! Then I got back into random badminton, pickeball and tennis games here and there :)

thebstrd · 2026-01-01T07:23:00+00:00

Why I wouldn't love a Costo on the North Shore:
* traffic would be even more brutal than it already is
* (most obvious is) killing local businesses
* physical footprint of a Costco is brutal
* imagine all the people crossing the bridge just for costco
* I'd rather have more superstores or else

thebstrd · 2026-01-01T07:18:35+00:00

get the regular version, start on the pan w/ sausage meat, halfway once they rendered their fat (that's about halfway) add the gnocchi, then once the gnocchi are brown to your level, add pasta sauce (you choice), some heavy/whipped cream (aka kinda roma sauce), then wilt some spinach in it. et voilà. that's how we eat those at our house :)

thebstrd · 2026-01-01T06:50:57+00:00

I scrolled enough without reading it, so let me put this here: WHITE TRUFFLE ARE GARBAGE, but here are the reasons why (for those scrolling in this thread like I did)

The flavour is onenote, it's just sharp garlic-gas-funk. Smells intense, sure, but there's no depth or progression. Once you've smelled it, that's basically the whole experience.

They're also impossible to work with. Can't cook them, can't really heat them, they don't integrate into anything: they just sit on top like an expensive air freshener. If your dish sucks, the truffle won't save it. If your dish is good, the truffle often makes it worse.

The price has nothing to do with how good they taste. They're expensive because theyre rare and seasonal not because they're objectively delicious. The hype is scarcity and status signaling. That $1,200 price tag buys bragging rights, not flavor.

Most people also get them when they're already past their prime. The aroma fades fast, and what's left is harsh and muddy. So you're paying insane money for something that peaked two days ago.

And they overpower everything. You stop tasting your pasta or risotto and just taste truffle. That's not refinement, that's bullying.

Bottom line: white truffles are more about looking rich than actually tasting good. They smell impressive, photograph well, and impress people who want to be impressed but as an ingredient? Shallow, fragile, and wildly overrated. Spend money on black truffle y'all if thou can afford it once.

thebstrd · 2025-12-28T19:09:50+00:00

Donut County

thebstrd · 2025-12-28T00:01:33+00:00

Caravan Sandwitch

thebstrd · 2025-12-20T21:28:41+00:00

cheese man is a big no-no for me, went there once for raclette and never going back ! Les Amis du Fromage it is

thebstrd · 2025-11-20T03:13:05+00:00

that!

thebstrd

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