Feb. 10, 2019 -- Its been since Field Day since my last entry here, and frankly, that's about the last time I gave the ARRL much thought.
Its been intersting to see how the Board of Directors have responded in the wake of the complaints and grumbling by League members about the board's actions. It was good to see that the board rescinded their earlier directive on public agreement on all board actions.
The board is kind of in a tight spot in some ways. Old Farts like me have become weary with the ARRL bullshit that's become part-and-parcel of the League. The League's steadily seeing membership decline, for a variety of reasons.
Licensed hams as a group have -- over the past 25 years -- become less technical. I know I'm not the first to mention this; I remember an early 1960s editorial by Wayne Green bemoaning the growing state of the appliance operator.
But as OFs die off, the hobby loses its technical ability. I'm shocked to find that people BUY a damn dipole antenna! Who the hell can't make a dipole??
But in retrospect, I don't think its a lack of skill with our new operators; I think it boils down to convenience. You can buy a dipole, put it up and it will play -- no muss, no fuss. Its partly why newcomers don't build kit radios; they don't want to have that hassle just trying to get on the air.
The majority of hams are not ARRL members, and those non-members are not likely to become members. The league's main source of revenue is publications, including QST, which typically chock full of ads (I'm sure many magazine publishers are quite jealous!). Without the publications, I'm not sure the ARRL could offer as many services to its members without that revenue.
For the first time in a dozen years, I have let my league membership lapse. I ask myself why I should renew, and other than helping support the only organization that's allegedly looking out for our interests, I have little reason to renew. I have a year's worth of QST magazines I've never read in a pile somewhere.
I consider myself still recovering from my ARRL SM burnout; tonight we had a local ham club meeting, and I purposely decided to avoid it at all costs. That's just me, I guess.
I'm going to consider renewing, however. If not for the benefits I receive, I'll do it for the benefits the hobby receives. There's strength in numbers.
Its been intersting to see how the Board of Directors have responded in the wake of the complaints and grumbling by League members about the board's actions. It was good to see that the board rescinded their earlier directive on public agreement on all board actions.
Licensed hams as a group have -- over the past 25 years -- become less technical. I know I'm not the first to mention this; I remember an early 1960s editorial by Wayne Green bemoaning the growing state of the appliance operator.
But as OFs die off, the hobby loses its technical ability. I'm shocked to find that people BUY a damn dipole antenna! Who the hell can't make a dipole??
But in retrospect, I don't think its a lack of skill with our new operators; I think it boils down to convenience. You can buy a dipole, put it up and it will play -- no muss, no fuss. Its partly why newcomers don't build kit radios; they don't want to have that hassle just trying to get on the air.
The majority of hams are not ARRL members, and those non-members are not likely to become members. The league's main source of revenue is publications, including QST, which typically chock full of ads (I'm sure many magazine publishers are quite jealous!). Without the publications, I'm not sure the ARRL could offer as many services to its members without that revenue.
For the first time in a dozen years, I have let my league membership lapse. I ask myself why I should renew, and other than helping support the only organization that's allegedly looking out for our interests, I have little reason to renew. I have a year's worth of QST magazines I've never read in a pile somewhere.
I consider myself still recovering from my ARRL SM burnout; tonight we had a local ham club meeting, and I purposely decided to avoid it at all costs. That's just me, I guess.
I'm going to consider renewing, however. If not for the benefits I receive, I'll do it for the benefits the hobby receives. There's strength in numbers.
