When I started communicating locally, my thrill was squashed by uninterested complaining old men who thought my equipment was not expensive enough.
But radio theory and engineering, that's great stuff worth learning.
The amateurradio subreddit seems like a pretty cool place to find like-minded people. Seems like cheating but you can get on there and ask people far away if they can hear you on certain frequencies, etc.
The emergency preparedness element seems cool too but that's naturally populated by some personalities too. I guess that's humanity for ya.
Sounds like web development today.
Electromagnetism is indeed fascinating.
that said .. I've found just as many if not more of the opposite - welcoming people who are genuinely happy others are joining "the club" and taking part in a shared interest.
The old man image is going to be hard for the hobby to shake off whilst this remains true.
I don’t find that to be a positive trend, but I don’t see any easy escape.
If you are in Seattle, it happens every month (I know it still goes on as I’m occasionally one of the examiners).