
Ham vs. Ham as Radio Amateurs Are in Conflict with ARRL - rmason
https://perens.com/static/ARRL/TransparencyOctober2018.html
======
slr555
I just submitted my vote for N2RJ. ARRL leadership has seemed out of touch for
quite some time. They seem more interested in selling wildly over priced books
than advancing the interests of the Ham community. Amateur radio may seem like
a quaint hobby for old timers but there are a number of newer hybrid operating
modes that play nicely with the digital world. Ham's need a strong advocacy
voice so that relevant policy decisions don't overlook the needs of amateur
operators. Amateur radio is a great way to learn physics and electronics. I
was a liberal arts major and now have my Extra class license. What I learned
getting there is so much more valuable than the rag chews and 73s. Keep Ham
strong!

~~~
newman8r
I got back into the hobby after letting my license expire years ago. SDR and
GNU radio are what pulled me back in. I feel like it's a renaissance for
amateur radio.

~~~
8bitsrule
I sorely missed the experimental side of the hobby (and the Shack's easy parts
access)- always a big kick - after that dropped away.

What's the best place online to plug into what's going on in SDR?

~~~
shermozle
As mentioned the RTL-SDR group on Reddit is good. You can also play without
any hardware (and with better antennas) using online SDRs:
[http://rx.linkfanel.net/](http://rx.linkfanel.net/)

~~~
jcims
Also [http://websdr.org/](http://websdr.org/)

------
rmason
Note that the author of this piece, Bruce Perens, is the founder of the open
source initiative with Eric Raymond.

Sadly none of this stuff with the ARRL is new. One ham activity is contests
where hams compete to talk to as many people as they can in a weekend or over
multiple weekends. There are clubs consisting of multiple members who compete
for the prize of top club. In the early seventies they changed the rules so
that you could be a member if you lived within 175 miles of the clubs
location.

I helped formed a Midwest club, the Mad River Radio Club that was based in
Ohio but had members in four states. We entered and won the competition. Then
after the event was finished the ARRL rewrote the rules posthumously and all
of a sudden we'd been disqualified.

~~~
madengr
I let my ARRL membership drop last year. QEX was worth it, but they refuse to
provide access to back issues, so I said to hell with it.

~~~
toomuchtodo
If someone has copies of back issues, I’d be interesting in coordinating
getting them into the Internet Archive.

~~~
escherplex
That would be a worthwhile activity :) If successful, post URL on HN.

~~~
squarefoot
"2168731C3901ED9F01218D2FFB531EE31524EC15"

(direct URL could break HN rules)

~~~
escherplex
QEX 1981-2016 (1.85GB) - thanks for the magnet :) ... torr download via VPN =
7kB/s (2 days); via Furk = 35 kB/s. The Furks have it.

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hn_throwaway_99
Somewhat off topic, but I was a Ham radio operator in my pre-teen years and
had a technician license (this was decades ago when there was the Novice class
and you had to pass a Morse code test). I remember the used radio well that I
bought when I was around 12 I think (it had vacuum tubes!)

Being out of amateur radio for so long:

1\. I honestly don't even remember what my call sign was. Does anyone know if
there is some way I can look that up? This was literally decades ago.

2\. This may come across as a dumb question, but what is Ham radio primarily
_used_ for today? I mean, when I was a kid I remember being thrilled being
able to talk to (or at least listen in on) conversations from around the
globe. This was all in pre-internet days, nevermind pre-chatroom and social
network days. What is ham radio's "niche" now that the internet has taken over
the world?

3\. Does anyone use Morse code anymore?

4\. What are the new "hybrid operating modes" that exist?

Thanks!

~~~
dbcurtis
1\. yes. it might be in the fcc database still. search at the fcc web site.
also, qrz.com might have old database info from old callbooks.

2\. many things. i like radiosport competitions. there are many sub-hobbies.
experimenting with high coding-gain codes is also interesting.

3\. yes. i use it for radiosport. go listen at the low end of 40m right now
for the California QSO Party. many dits. (asking if morse code is still used
by anybody is like asking if people still use sailboats. yes, but not for
commercial purposes. )

------
Simulacra
Both my husband and I let our ARRL memberships lapse. We had some connections
that could've helped the HOA issue but were given a stern no thanks by the
legislative team. Communications with them always went south and they just
didn't seem to want to think outside the box, or accept any help. Not even to
hear us out. An organization that won't give its members the time of day and
listen to new ideas is stale, and should be upended..

------
resters
I think it's important to support the ARRL. The publications, event-
management, and advocacy are extremely valuable to amateur radio.

But a vote for new leadership is one way of supporting the ARRL, and a far
better decision than simply cancelling one's membership.

I know most of the signatories of the letter and they are all bright and
thoughtful people. It's also cool to have Perens involved, since he's a
celebrity outside amateur radio. I believe he has a quad antenna visible on
his rooftop in the Berkeley hills.

------
member30years
My needs are simple. Keep the frequency allocations for my transmission, and
help stop my neighborhood from filling with devices that emit stray RF and
block my reception. My two issues are, almost certainly, the primary issues
for many other people.

Perens has
[http://perens.com/static/ARRL/TransparencyOctober2018.html](http://perens.com/static/ARRL/TransparencyOctober2018.html)
about new people for five director slots. Going through them, I first see that
the Valerie Hotzfeld website is "very worried" about 160,000 members versus
170,000. Seems like a minor concern to me.

The Ria Jairam website says she'll oppose any proposal to the FCC unless
there's open debate by membership. I believe that the correct ARRL position,
when the FCC may be considering a change relevant to my two issues, is
sometimes COMPLETELY OBVIOUS and what we actually need is the fastest possible
action by ARRL.

The Fred Hopengarten website mentions "A low cost basic membership: one idea -
no QSL bureau (inbound or outbound)." But inbound QSLs (see the
[https://www.arrl.org/incoming-qsl-service](https://www.arrl.org/incoming-qsl-
service) page) don't require membership at all! I'm not sure why a prospective
member would pay a "low cost" to reduce their current service level.

The Michael Ritz website talks about "addition of Kosovo, Z6, to the DXCC
Approved Country list." Hello? I'm a maker, not an international diplomat.

The George Hippisley website has a tantalizing mention of "Frequency Spectrum"
at
[http://www.w2ru.net/whatFrequencySpectrum.html](http://www.w2ru.net/whatFrequencySpectrum.html)
\- but it's BLANK!

Five candidates' websites, and I can't find any discussion of what I need from
ARRL. And yet, my incumbent director, who apparently has no website at all,
has a mailed statement to our entire division saying he'll emphasize my two
issues.

------
upofadown
Generally there is no problem with a board of directors making their in
meeting discussions private just as long as they clearly communicate the
results of those discussion to the membership. The problem here seems to be a
section (8) in the new code of conduct which compels a director to politically
support board decisions outside of meetings. Section 8 is now proceeded by the
following message on the web site: "NOTE: ALL OF SECTION 8 HAS BEEN SUSPENDED
BY ACTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS PENDING FURTHER STUDY AND REVIEW." That
seems problematic as it does not refer to a particular motion at a particular
board meeting. It is thus not clear that the section has actually been
suspended.

This whole thing strikes me as sloppy politics that eventually led to
pointless infighting...

------
dpflug
I didn't sign up when I got my ticket because of issues like this or related
to this. It's really a pity. The hobby has some interesting directions it
could grow currently.

The other side of the hobby I dislike is the proliferation of proprietary
protocols, but that's another topic altogether.

------
brian_herman
:( as a ham this makes me sad.... My callsign is W9BJH..... I wish we could
resolve things IRL faster but drama creates unhappiness....

~~~
escherplex
The wisdom of posting call letters online is questionable given it allows
ready access to personal information

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alins
Is it too late, for a new member (as of today), to vote? Where and how?

~~~
azdle
Based on [http://www.w2ru.net/](http://www.w2ru.net/), it sounds like you
needed to have been a member as of Sept. 10th to be able to vote.

------
ListenLinda
TLDR?

~~~
nhf
The society which represents U.S. amateur radio operators voted to have their
board be much less transparent and members were not told about this. There is
now a campaign to elect board members who are running on a transparency
platform.

------
AnonymousRider
Something strange about those names. Can’t put my finger on it...

