Ham vs. Ham as Radio Amateurs Are in Conflict with ARRL | Hacker News Reader

Ham vs. Ham as Radio Amateurs Are in Conflict with ARRL

perens.com

183 pointsrmason46 comments

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!

I just joined ARRL 10 minutes ago. New ham, or more accurately, lapsed for 44 years and ham again since July.

I fear I may be too late for a vote at this time, but can't find where I would cast it on arrl.net in any case. Any advice?

+1 I'd love to see lobbying for symbol rate limits replaced with bandwith limits for digital but it's not even on their radar.

The ARRL did petition the FCC to drop the symbol rate rules in 2013. It was met with tremendous opposition.

https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/filings?proceedings_name=RM-...

Given that there is more space at higher frequencies, how would you express it? For example: It could be 1% of a band. It could be 0.1% of the center frequency, or perhaps 0.1% of the frequency at the lower edge. Maybe it needs to be expressed in some kind of log(Hz) unit, such as milli-Bel-Hz.

I don't think this accommodates spread spectrum very well. One might want to do something like CDMA, spread across the entire band but down in the noise level from the perspective of a traditional transmission.

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.

That’s what got me into it.

I’m not particularly social so qso’s around the planet aren’t really interesting to me beyond the basic astonishment of how far 5 watts can go.

The ability to tx from a weather balloon at 20 miles up and having an emergency means to communicate are way higher on the list.

Exactly. Terse QSOs get vacuous real quick. Most onair behavior seems to be stuck in the 1950s. With all the spectrum at your disposal, personal apps like (if in FL) monitoring red algae distribution using 23cm-band FPV on drones would be more interesting and practical.

Been pining over a SDR and that (well, TFA really) got me looking into renewing my license I let expire last year, luckily there's a 2-year grace period so all's not lost.

Also been wanting to play with some 70cm transceiver chips I got a while back off ebay but never really messed with.

FWIW, here is a GNU Radio based “parallel” scanner I wrote. You can listen to the entire 2m band at once.

https://github.com/madengr/ham2mon

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?

https://www.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/ is an active community

You can also search on github for active projects, https://github.com/topics/sdr is a good place to start

I also like to browse https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Signal_Identification_Guide to get ideas for signals to look for

I personally use both rtl-sdr and a HackRF One. The HackRF makers have some pretty good videos on their site https://greatscottgadgets.com/sdr/

I've built a few basic radios from scratch as well, and the only reason is because the SDR makes it cheap to test and interface with whatever I make. Radio shack may be gone, but any component you could dream of is only a few days away via amazon, etc.

Thanks to you both!

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/

Also http://websdr.org/

I agree, as a mid 30s advanced I feel a bit out of place with the current leadership.

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.

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.

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

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

"2168731C3901ED9F01218D2FFB531EE31524EC15"

(direct URL could break HN rules)

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.

Interesting. They used to sell the whole archive of QST and QEX on CD, but I don't see that anymore, just individual years.

Failure to make their back issues available online seems like a genuine breach of faith with their authors over the years. I can only assume that if someone does upload them to archive.org, they'll send a DMCA takedown notice in a hurry.

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!

1. Might be able to use the FCC DB to look it up.

2. Hobby and EmCom. When I lived in Texas most of the clubs were HF contest based. Now I’m in the PNW and lots of the clubs are EmCom based which is interesting. Lots of neat operating modes just in Tech class. APRS, Satellite, Ham mesh networking.

3. Yes. If you want DX CW is a great way to do it.

4. Digital modes provide some new and interesting stuff these days. Using FT8 mode I can hit Japan, China, and Australia on 10-30watts.

I think radio is a great hobby. Bit expensive but still very relevant. I’ve learned a ton by practical application.

Thanks very much for the info! I was actually able to find my call sign using http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchLicense.jsp - that was a trip down memory lane, I remember my QSL cards and ones I had gotten from other hams. Fun looking into all the "new" stuff, feel a bit like Rumplestiltskin after 30+ years :)

The neat thing about all the "new" stuff is its just a layer on top of the old stuff. If you think about it, CW is just a data mode you can grok with your ear. using cw skimmer and computers to send you can operate CW without even needing to grok. makes the qrp bit harder, as you have to hulk a device with you. some of the radios have rtty and psk built in (like the elecraft kx3) so you can use a keyboard or keyer to input your messages.

Let me do my best:

1. If it hasn’t expired, the FCC callsign lookup should tell you

2. There have been developments into digital modes, as well as growth in DMR and DX competitions. But as a licensed amateur myself, I’m actually not sure what most people who get licensed these days do

3. Yep, some of the CW frequencies are fairly busy, given you can get some crazy range. And kits like the QRP labs QCX is $40-odd

4. No idea, I had a quick google and it didn’t become any more apparent, sorry!

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. )

1. You found your call sign already, but if you're interested in upgrading, the https://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/ were very helpful for me becoming a general which lets you play in the world of HF radio. There are exams in almost everywhere about once a month http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-sessi... and they're just multi-choice which aren't too difficult.

2. For me, three things. There are a variety of low-earth orbiting satellites that can be accessed with nothing but a Baofeng and a yagi built with some Romex copper elements, glue, and balsa wood (Google AMSAT FM). There's something awe-inspiring to me being able to talk to people contient wide with just a few watts and < $50s of walkie-talkie gear. Second, even though it's been possible since the 50's, it's still a rush to talk to people across the US or world over shortwave with just a long wire thrown up in the tree. I got started with the http://www.elecraft.com/KX2/kx2.htm although there are certainly more affordable entry paths. Some spare Ethernet cable, the ugly balum http://www.hamuniverse.com/balun.html and a few trees make a surprisngly effective means of communicating on 40 meters without that much power. Third, although ubiquitos cell service has lessend the usefulness, the distributed nature of being able to transmit your position and exchange txt messages with people around the world via APRS https://aprs.fi/ is still amazing to me.

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..

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.

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 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 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 - 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.

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...

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.

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

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

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

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

TLDR?

For a couple of years the ARRL has had some turmoil and toxic politics at the BOD level. BP has a list of candidates he supports in the upcoming BOD elections.

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.

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

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