4 ms·

The problem is that many on the bands are miserable people. It can be discouraging. The radio is a lot of fun. (I love Morse.) But a sizable percentage of the

The problem is that many on the bands are miserable people. It can be discouraging. The radio is a lot of fun. (I love Morse.) But a sizable percentage of the radio-ers make you want to do something else.

setquk 8y ago
This is a big problem. I find CW to be populated with less annoying people.
- jimhefferon 8y ago
  Sked? I'm just 15 wpm but if you need a VT ...
  - setquk 8y ago
    Thanks for offer. Minus an antenna at the moment unfortunately due to a tree attack. Maybe in a couple of weeks :)
    - jimhefferon 8y ago
      Cool.
- resters 8y ago
  That’s a broad and inaccurate generalization. You just need to find a niche that is more socially appealing to you if you want to use it to socialize. Sounds like common sense but it’s easy to be weirded out by the “pig farmers” or by listening to a chat where one of the parties expresses conservative views. But overall hams embody the best aspects of science and engineering culture and DIY/maker culture. Most of the subgroups bave active online communities and are more focused in their on the air activities, and a bit less inclined to shoot the breeze about Fox News talking points. CW tends to be nice and some of the “rag chewing” (casual conversation) is remarkably thoughtful and there are some really interesting people. Doing conversation well on Morse is a bit of an art form.
  - setquk 8y ago
    I don't think it's inaccurate, just subjective. Yes it's the 80m and 2m local rag chew I avoid and the people spewing contests all over 40 and 20. I spend most of my time doing CW and with a soldering iron in my hand. Life is good there for me.
    - resters 8y ago
      My point was that it may be accurate about a small percentage of the ham population, but it's not accurate about the majority of the population.
- ssimpson 8y ago
  part of why i'm a fan of digital modes, short message ones like FT8 in particular. plus i've been getting lots of dx too! i really need to learn CW.
- philodough 8y ago
  This reminds me: has anyone done a survey of the relative Democrat/Republican/Other distribution of voice hams vs CW HAMS? I would be interested in the results.
  - lujim 8y ago
    In hundreds of contacts on CW I've never once talked politics with anyone. I understand that isn't your question but the bandwidth is too low to waste on useless garbage. That and CW operators are a tighter community so an opposing political opinion isn't as divisive with that much common ground.
rv-de 8y ago
More like grumpy nerds or race-war-fearing survivalists?
- resters 8y ago
  There are often old guys chatting on 75 meters in the evenings. Most of their contacts are a few dozen or a few hundred miles away at most. They typically park on the same frequency every night and shoot the breeze. This is a very small part of ham radio, but sometimes people who are new to it encounter those signals first because of how strong the signals are (3.5 MHz signals are often extremely strong after dark over a distance of a few hundred miles). If you are new to radio and you start tuning around the HF bands without much of antenna, these might be some of the only signals you are aware of, and because of this the uninitiated sometimes generalize that this is all that hams are/do. And because of the high average age of amateurs, the data point of 75 meters seems to be a case in point that all hams are old/crotchety and/or survivalist/conservative. But in reality, there are so many dimensions to the hobby that making the generalization about a few geezers is extremely off base. For some, the fun is in building the gear and then making a few contacts to test it out. For others it is radiosport contests or moonbounce, for others it's mountain tops or trail friendly setups, for others it's meteor scatter, restoring antique circuits, etc. So if it were a book and had a cover, the cover might be the 75 meter pig farmers, but there is a lot more going on that is worth exploring if one has some innate interest in the subject.
- jimhefferon 8y ago
  I don't want to give entirely the wrong impression. I'm active in the local club (have been the treasurer in the past and have dinner once a month with a bunch of the members), I've met a number of great people, and I like the tech stuff. But you often run across a lot of anger. Some of it is grumpiness-- I have other hobbies and in other hobbies it is not the case that the culture is that things are bad and sure to get worse-- but there is absolutely also an aspect of craziness. I have heard, for instance, a local ham with a UK accent being berated at length on a local repeater for being a foreigner. I don't get the anger. If you have the leisure to do something that you say you enjoy, why are you mad all the time? The most recent incident for me was that I was on voice during a Sunday morning making some calls and someone with max power starts talking over me. When I say the frequency is in use, I am told that everyone knows this is his frequency on Sundays, and then he goes back to spouting hateful stuff with what is, I presume, the same group he always spouts it with. That'll keep you off the radio for a while. One of the things I like about Morse is that I find that the people pride themselves on their manners. But there are other things also, including just that I always thought it was neat, since I was a kid.

setquk 8y ago

This is a big problem. I find CW to be populated with less annoying people.

jimhefferon 8y ago
Sked? I'm just 15 wpm but if you need a VT ...
- setquk 8y ago
  Thanks for offer. Minus an antenna at the moment unfortunately due to a tree attack. Maybe in a couple of weeks :)
  - jimhefferon 8y ago
    Cool.
resters 8y ago
That’s a broad and inaccurate generalization. You just need to find a niche that is more socially appealing to you if you want to use it to socialize. Sounds like common sense but it’s easy to be weirded out by the “pig farmers” or by listening to a chat where one of the parties expresses conservative views. But overall hams embody the best aspects of science and engineering culture and DIY/maker culture. Most of the subgroups bave active online communities and are more focused in their on the air activities, and a bit less inclined to shoot the breeze about Fox News talking points. CW tends to be nice and some of the “rag chewing” (casual conversation) is remarkably thoughtful and there are some really interesting people. Doing conversation well on Morse is a bit of an art form.
- setquk 8y ago
  I don't think it's inaccurate, just subjective. Yes it's the 80m and 2m local rag chew I avoid and the people spewing contests all over 40 and 20. I spend most of my time doing CW and with a soldering iron in my hand. Life is good there for me.
  - resters 8y ago
    My point was that it may be accurate about a small percentage of the ham population, but it's not accurate about the majority of the population.
ssimpson 8y ago
part of why i'm a fan of digital modes, short message ones like FT8 in particular. plus i've been getting lots of dx too! i really need to learn CW.
philodough 8y ago
This reminds me: has anyone done a survey of the relative Democrat/Republican/Other distribution of voice hams vs CW HAMS? I would be interested in the results.
- lujim 8y ago
  In hundreds of contacts on CW I've never once talked politics with anyone. I understand that isn't your question but the bandwidth is too low to waste on useless garbage. That and CW operators are a tighter community so an opposing political opinion isn't as divisive with that much common ground.

rv-de 8y ago

More like grumpy nerds or race-war-fearing survivalists?

resters 8y ago
There are often old guys chatting on 75 meters in the evenings. Most of their contacts are a few dozen or a few hundred miles away at most. They typically park on the same frequency every night and shoot the breeze. This is a very small part of ham radio, but sometimes people who are new to it encounter those signals first because of how strong the signals are (3.5 MHz signals are often extremely strong after dark over a distance of a few hundred miles). If you are new to radio and you start tuning around the HF bands without much of antenna, these might be some of the only signals you are aware of, and because of this the uninitiated sometimes generalize that this is all that hams are/do. And because of the high average age of amateurs, the data point of 75 meters seems to be a case in point that all hams are old/crotchety and/or survivalist/conservative. But in reality, there are so many dimensions to the hobby that making the generalization about a few geezers is extremely off base. For some, the fun is in building the gear and then making a few contacts to test it out. For others it is radiosport contests or moonbounce, for others it's mountain tops or trail friendly setups, for others it's meteor scatter, restoring antique circuits, etc. So if it were a book and had a cover, the cover might be the 75 meter pig farmers, but there is a lot more going on that is worth exploring if one has some innate interest in the subject.
jimhefferon 8y ago
I don't want to give entirely the wrong impression. I'm active in the local club (have been the treasurer in the past and have dinner once a month with a bunch of the members), I've met a number of great people, and I like the tech stuff. But you often run across a lot of anger. Some of it is grumpiness-- I have other hobbies and in other hobbies it is not the case that the culture is that things are bad and sure to get worse-- but there is absolutely also an aspect of craziness. I have heard, for instance, a local ham with a UK accent being berated at length on a local repeater for being a foreigner. I don't get the anger. If you have the leisure to do something that you say you enjoy, why are you mad all the time? The most recent incident for me was that I was on voice during a Sunday morning making some calls and someone with max power starts talking over me. When I say the frequency is in use, I am told that everyone knows this is his frequency on Sundays, and then he goes back to spouting hateful stuff with what is, I presume, the same group he always spouts it with. That'll keep you off the radio for a while. One of the things I like about Morse is that I find that the people pride themselves on their manners. But there are other things also, including just that I always thought it was neat, since I was a kid.