Archive for the ‘ham radio’ Category
Special Event Station PA80OV
February 8th, 2025 | 
Author: Radio Club Limburg
announces
Special Event Station
PA80OV
Next week, members of Radio Club Limburg (https://rclb.nl) in the North Limburg region of The Netherlands, will activate:
PA80OV is a special event station to commemorate Operation Veritable, celebrating 80 years of freedom. Operation Veritable, namesake of the station, and the successor of Operation Market Garden, was the northern part of an Allied pincer movement in the Second World War.
We are back in 2025 for the third consecutive time with this special event station; having added another 5 years to our callsign.
Members of Radio Club Limburg will activate the callsign PA80OV from February 13 to 28, 2025, to work as many amateur radio operators across the world as possible. If you're in the area, you can visit our station in the old town hall in the city of Gennep, The Netherlands between February14 and 16.
Whether you are an amateur radio operator, hoping to contact a new country, a new callsign, or you're a casual visitor, you're welcome to our website:
https://rclb.nl/pa80ov
We hope to hear and work you.
On behalf of the PA80OV team.
Jan, PA2P
https://rclb.nl/pa80ov
Operation Manna 80
A very special, special event station
SARC has been asked to participate in a large-scale special event late in April commemorating the relief efforts of the winter of 1944-45 to drop tons of food to the starving population of NW Holland. It is well described at: Operation Manna @ 80 and in the video https://youtu.be/0PwhYFdzY_Q. Amateur stations from the drop zones in Holland, air force bases in Britain, plus the Allied forces that provided aircraft and pilots, including the UK, Canada, The US, Poland and Australia will be represented by special event stations in those countries.
Three UK Teams, one at the International Bomber Command Centre, another at former RAF Binbrook (an Operation Manna Airfield in the UK) and another at the 100th Bomb Group Museum Thorpe Abbots representing the US operation Chowhound from a former Chowhound airfield.
The national Radio Scouting team (Plusscouts PA3EFR/J) will be operating from an Operation Manna drop zone near The Hague, The Netherlands. Read on for further details on this team and their radio station location at The Team in the Netherlands – Operation Manna @ 80
The stations will be active April 25-27 (Friday through Sunday) using variations of the xx80MAN callsign. Here in Canada, we will be applying for VE80MAN.
Children and youth activities will also be included and there will be activity on HF, DMR and VHF
https://manna80.radio/w p-content/uploads/2024/12/Award_new.jpg
There will be a full article in the next Communicator (March 1st)
SARC-SEPAR Winter Field Day
Winter FD was pretty good!
Five of us set up in three sites at Derby reach including Paul VE7VP and 3 newer hams (Carl, Barbara, and Elaine from the last class). John VE7TI and Summer School graduate Grace VA7LZT came out and Grace was able to work 20m for a while which was great. We only made around 60 or 70 contacts, but we were operating more casually. We had a fair number of visitors, both Ham and non-Ham.
A full report will follow in the next Communicator.
SARC Bi-weekly Bulletin
January 22, 2025
Issued during the first and third week of each month, it provides a quick reference for member activities, resources and links for the following weeks.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Creative Assistance Needed
Do you want to get to know the members of SARC/SEPAR better? Do you want to become a columnist with what is possibly the most widely read amateur radio newsletter in the world? Have we got a job for you! We are looking for a columnist to coordinate the bi-monthly “Member Profile” for the Radio-Active column of The Communicator. The task involves sending out a questionnaire to a prospective candidate and then creating a 500-1000 word story based on the answers, along with a couple of photos. You do not need to be an expert writer, and (if needed) the editors will help with syntax, spelling and grammar. If this appeals to you, please contact John VE7TI via [email protected].Parks-on-the-Air (POTA) Brochure Available
Those of us who do POTA are frequently approached by passers-by enquiring what we are doing. For this purpose, John VE7TI has created a SARC POTA brochure that can be given to those looking for additional information. The .pdf file is available for download at https://bit.ly/POTAbrochure.
10 GHz Beacon Featured in RAC Journal
You have heard about SARC’s 10 GHz activity on these pages previously, but now the beacon project has caught the attention of Dana Shtun VE3DS who writes the 10m and Down column for RAC's Canadian Amateur magazine. See page 10 of the January-February 2025 edition: https://www.rac.ca/digitaltca/. Update to the article: The beacon callsign is now VE7SAR/B and the power output 150 mW. More on 10 GHz below.
Thursday Get-on-the-Air (GOTA) Net On Hold
The GOTA net for new hams is on hold for now. We have several exciting initiatives underway to bring a new generation of ham radio operators into the hobby, including the Kwantlen Park ham radio summer school course, and a program to offer ham radio as a full-credit regular high school course. We expect to resume the net when we have a critical mass of newly certified graduates anxious to try out their radios and get comfortable making radio contacts.UPCOMING EVENTS
Meet the Royal Marines Event (Jan. 23)
The Royal Netherlands Army Signal Corp., callsign PA25MC, is organizing a
communications event on Jan. 23rd from 1100 Z to 2000 Z. PA25MC is organized and
supported by PI4VBD, the club\station of the Royal Army. Here's their official statement:
"PA25MC is on the air for just 1 day to introduce Marines to the world of ham radio. We try
to use as many HF-bands as possible in SSB. Marines are used to speaking English but
naturally [they will] keep their communications short." Look for PA25MC on the 10, 15
and 20m bands.ARRL Winter Field Day (Jan. 25-26)
WFD is designed to help increase your level of preparedness and operating skills for disasters in winter environments, which present unique operating conditions. It has been suggested that SARC and SEPAR members deploy the SEPAR trailer for this event. Please respond to this email if interested.BC QSO Party (Feb. 1-2)
A team has been assembled to challenge the BCQP. We plan to operate two radios, CW on one and SSB on the other, both at 1 kw. The contest runs from 8 am to 8 pm Saturday and 8 am to 4 pm Sunday. If you have never contested before, you may choose to monitor or team up with an experienced operator who will help you get started. Let's see if we can beat last year's score of 1858 Qs and 1,842,308 points which got us the Top BC Multi-Op award. Check out contest details at: Orca DX and Contest Club -- BCQP Home Page.
Winlink Coaching (Saturday mornings with Horace by prior arrangement)
In follow-up to the Winlink workshop held in December, Horace VA7XHB will be available on Saturday mornings to assist members in setting up Winlink. If interested, contact Horace at [email protected] with your name, callsign, make and model of radio and interface.Related Item… SARC now has two Winlink Gateways
One is at Surrey Firehall One using callsign VE7HME-10 on 145.710 MHz and a second is on Concord tower at 100th Ave and King George Blvd using callsign VE7ADQ-10 on 145.770 MHz. Packet 1200 Baud and VARA FM Wide capable.Every Saturday Morning (except when other scheduled events conflict)
Members, spouses and prospective members are invited to join the SARC Breakfast social every Saturday morning from 7 to 9:30 am at Denny's Restaurant 6850 King George Blvd, followed by Operations & Training Centre ("OTC") activation from 9:30 am to noon at 5756 142 St. Surrey. At the OTC you may get help with your radio issues, operate the station radios including satellite station, participate in contests, write the exam, or join in workshops and training. Or just engage in friendly discussion with your fellow hams.SARC Official Calendar
Your official reference for dates and times of events is the SARC Google Calendar, which is updated as details change, so please check the homepage on the SARC website: www.ve7sar.net.NETS & REPEATERS
Tuesday Nets
Join the SEPAR net every Tuesday at 7:30 pm and the SARC net at 8 pm on either of the repeaters: North repeater is on 147.360 MHz tone 110.9 Hz and South repeater is on 147.360 MHz tone 103.5 Hz. IRLP and Echolink are only available on the North repeater.Sunday Monthly 220 MHz Net (next one is Jan. 26)
Join the 220 MHz net taking place at 7:30 pm on the last Sunday of every month on VE7RSC repeater 223.960 MHz -1.6MHz tone 110.9 Hz, with net control, Shawn VE7BD. This is not a "chat" net – just check in, exchange signal reports, and get on with your evening.Yaesu System Fusion (YSF) repeater 443.775 MHz+ tone 110.9Hz
This repeater is connected full-time to CQ-Canada (VE1AO) room 40678 – home to the Cross Canada C4FM Weekly Net on Wednesday 6 pm PST or 0200 UTC. Located on the Concord high-rise in Surrey, it is one of the few System Fusion repeaters in BC that is WIRES-X capable (i.e. it connects to the Internet). Using your Yaesu C4FM radio, you can use this repeater to talk to the world. It is connected to the highly fault-tolerant BC WARN Internet system, which is designed to remain operational during most internet outages. Familiarity with WIRES-X on our YSF repeater can play a crucial role in emergency preparedness.Net Reminders
"Net reminders" for those running or participating in various nets are automatically sent out by AdvancedAmateur.ca. If you are forgetful like me, you may want to receive reminders by signing up at Net Reminders.PROJECTS AND AD-HOC GROUPS
Satellite Station Project
Dino VE7NX is available to coach those who wish to learn how to make satellite contacts using SARC's new satellite station. Contact Dino [email protected] or reply to this email if you would like to learn more.Innovation Dept: 50 MHz and Up
As reported earlier, SARC's 10 GHz beacon VE7SAR/B running 150 mW is in continuous operation from our repeater site on Concord tower in Surrey. Dino VE7NX has promised to help members who would like to assemble suitable equipment to monitor the beacon.We can also report that last weekend, during the ARRL VHF 6m and above contest a successful 4-way 10 GHz CW contact was made between Scott VA7SC at Crescent Beach, Dino VE7NX at Boundary Bay, Mark VE7AFZ in Burnaby and Kirk VA7RKM on the Malahat Hwy north of Victoria. This was accomplished by bouncing signals off the North Shore mountains and tall buildings in Burnaby. The longest path was about 130 km.
Members Slava VE7LWW and Les VA7OM are working to construct their own 10 GHz equipment and hope to be operating soon.
What's next? Stay tuned for announcements about a 6m beacon and 24 GHz beacon, both of which are under construction and testing by Dino VE7NX and Scott VA7SC.
Contesting Group
To participate in scheduled contests, or if you wish to operate the club station radios on your own time, please reply to [email protected]. Coaching will be provided as needed. See WA7BNM Contest Calendar: Home for a complete list of available contests. Next big one is the British Columbia QSO Party on Feb. 1-2 (see Upcoming Events above for more information).IC-7300/IC-9700 Special Interest Group
This group is hosted by John Schouten VE7TI, with the most recent update on pp 37-41 of the January-February 2025 Communicator.Do You Want to Learn CW?
Check out the Long Island CW Club, which has a comprehensive and highly-regarded on-line program for learning CW and how to get comfortable using it: https://longislandcwclub.org/#.Vancouver Area Frequency List
Reg VA7ZEB has created a Vancouver Area Frequency List, which is a vetted list of useful frequencies across several services including Amateur, EmComm, Broadcast, Weather, LADD, Regional Road, FRS/GMRS, Railway, Airband and Marine. It can be easily downloaded in Generic CSV, Chirp and RT Systems format, or you can download it in PDF format for printing.Incoming QSL Bureau
Any member wishing to receive in-coming QSL cards should send Ken VE7BC an email at [email protected] or call/text him at 604-816-5775 and the cards will be collected for local distribution by Shawn VE7BD. Or, if you are simply wondering if Ken has any cards for you, please contact him.Download the January-February Communicator in LARGE or SMALL format, or read it on-line like a magazine.
Free VE7DXE Advanced Certification Course: [email protected]
Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) Advanced Certification Course
Please contact the course instructor Dave Goodwin, VE3KG, at [email protected] for information on how to register for RAC’s Advanced course.
Link to SARC’s Basic Ham Class Overview:
Welcome to our courses.pdf - Google Drive. The current course commenced Jan. 6, 2025 with 33 students registered.
ARRL Asks Hams to Send Radiograms via the Web
In a recent issue of the National Traffic System (NTS) Letter, the ARRL encouraged amateur radio operators to utilize the Radiogram portal on the web to submit free messages to friends and family. The link takes you to a webpage where you enter the particulars for sender and recipient, select a message and operators in the NTS will send it on to the recipient. Sending Radiograms helps volunteers hone their skills in preparation for emergencies. What happens next? A volunteer, FCC-licensed Amateur Radio operator will pick up your message from this web site and then send it, by Amateur Radio, over the air to other volunteers in the National Traffic System. The message will be received by a ham who lives in or near your recipient's city. Then, the message will be delivered in person or by telephone. For more information about The National Traffic System and traffic handling visit: https://nts2.arrl.org/training/. A typical sent message reads as follows:
From: JOHN SCHOUTEN
To: FRED SMITH
1234 ANY STREET
SURREY BC V0P 1R9
604 123 1234
[email protected]
WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY. ALL THE BEST,
JOHN SCHOUTEN
WANTED OR FOR SALE BY MEMBERS
Monty VA7MMW is still looking for a female connector like the one shown for his Yaesu FT-101B. It is a CINCH JONES S-312-CCT POWER SOCKET 12PIN. If you can help Monty please contact him at [email protected].
73,
SARC on 24 GHz!
Believed the first in BC
On Jan 22, 2025 at 14:30 pm local time, two members of the Surrey Amateur Radio Communications Society completed what is believed to be the first 24 GHz terrestrial contact in BC.
Scott VA7SC was in grid CN89nb at Crescent Beach and Dino VE7NX was in CN89ic at Boundary Bay, approximately 10 km distant. Scott was transmitting just 1 mW using a mixer and local oscillator into a 24" dish with shepherd's crook. Dino was using a Wavelab module delivering 80 mW output with controller and 12" dish. SSB signals were loud and clear. Antenna orientation was critical, and with a few degrees off-target the signal was gone.
We fully acknowledge and thank Hugh VA3TO and Peter VA3ELE for their assistance in making this a reality.
There's a video at https://youtube.com/shorts/PzVmCyqCIJY
SARC Bi-weekly Bulletin
January 21, 2025
Issued during the first and third week of each month, it provides a quick reference for member activities, resources and links for the following weeks.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thursday Get-on-the-Air (GOTA) Net Temporarily Discontinued
The GOTA net is for new hams. After a short hiatus, it is expected to resume upon completion of the current basic ham class in March 2025 when newly certified graduates will be anxious to try out their radios and get comfortable making radio contacts.
Writing Help Needed
Do you want to get to know the members of SARC/SEPAR better? Do you want to become a columnist with what is possibly the most widely read amateur radio newsletter in the world? Have we got a job for you! We are looking for a columnist to coordinate the bi-monthly “Member Profile” for the Radio-Active column of The Communicator. The task involves sending out a questionnaire to a prospective candidate and then creating a 500-1000 word story based on the answers, along with a couple of photos. You do not need to be a top-notch writer, and the editors will help with spelling and grammar. If this appeals to you, please contact John VE7TI via [email protected].
Parks-on-the-Air (POTA) Brochure Available
Those of us who do POTA are frequently approached by passers-by enquiring what we are doing. With this in mind, John VE7TI has created a SARC POTA brochure that can be given to those interested in additional information. The .PDF file is available for download at https://bit.ly/POTAbrochure.
10 GHz Beacon Featured in RAC Journal
You have heard about the 10 GHz activity on these pages previously, but the beacon project has caught the attention of Dana Shtun VE3DS who writes the 10m and Down column for RAC's Canadian Amateur magazine. See p. 10 of the January-February 2025 edition: https://www.rac.ca/digitaltca/. Update to the article: The beacon callsign is now VE7SAR/B and the power output 150 mW.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Meet the Royal Marines Event (Jan. 23)
The Royal Netherlands Army Signal Corp., callsign PA25MC, is organizing a communications event on Jan. 23rd from 1100 Z to 2000 Z. PA25MC is organized and supported by PI4VBD, the club station of the Royal Army. Here's their official statement: "PA25MC is on the air for just 1 day to introduce Marines to the world of ham radio. We try to use as many HF-bands as possible in SSB. Marines are used to speaking English but naturally [they will] keep their communications short." Look for PA25MC on the 10, 15 and 20m bands.
ARRL Winter Field Day (Jan. 25-26)
WFD is designed to help increase your level of preparedness and operating skills for disasters in winter environments, as the potential for freezing temperatures, snow, ice, and other hazards present unique operating conditions. It has been suggested that SARC and SEPAR members deploy the SEPAR trailer for this event. Please respond to this email if interested.
BC QSO Party (Feb. 1-2)
A team is being assembled to challenge the BCQP. We plan to operate two radios, CW on one and SSB on the other, both at 1 kw. The contest runs from 8 am to 8 pm Saturday and 8 am to 4 pm Sunday. If you have never contested before, you may choose to monitor or team up with an experienced operator who will help you get started. Let's see if we can beat last year's score of 1858 Qs and 1,842,308 points which got us the Top BC Multi-Op award. Check out contest details at: Orca DX and Contest Club -- BCQP Home Page.
Winlink Coaching (Saturday mornings with Horace by prior arrangement)
In follow-up to the Winlink workshop held on Dec. 14, Horace VA7XHB will be available on Saturday mornings to assist members in setting up Winlink. If interested, contact Horace at [email protected] with your name, callsign, make and model of radio and interface.
Related Item… SARC now has two Winlink Gateways
One is at Surrey Firehall 1 using callsign VE7HME-10 on 145.710 MHz and a second is on Concord tower at 100th Ave and King George Blvd using callsign VE7ADQ-10 on 145.770 MHz. Packet 1200 Baud and VARA FM Wide capable.
Every Saturday Morning (except when other scheduled events conflict) Members, spouses and prospective members are invited to join the SARC Breakfast social every Saturday morning from 7 to 9:30 am at Denny's Restaurant 6850 King George Blvd, followed by Operations & Training Centre ("OTC") activation from 9:30 am to noon at 5756 142 St. Surrey. At the OTC you may get help with your radio issues, operate the station radios including satellite station, participate in contests, write the exam, or join in workshops and training. Or just engage in friendly discussion with your fellow hams.
SARC Official Calendar
Your official reference for dates and times of events is the SARC Google Calendar, which is updated as details change, so please check the homepage on the SARC website: www.ve7sar.net.
NETS & REPEATERS
Tuesday Nets
Join the SEPAR net every Tuesday at 7:30 pm and the SARC net at 8 pm on either of the repeaters: North repeater is on 147.360 MHz tone 110.9 Hz and South repeater is on 147.360 MHz tone 103.5 Hz. IRLP and Echolink are only available on the North repeater.
Sunday Monthly 220 MHz Net (next one is Jan. 26)
Join the 220 MHz net taking place at 7:30 pm on the last Sunday of every month on VE7RSC repeater 223.960 MHz -1.6MHz tone 110.9 Hz, with net control, Shawn VE7BD. This is not a "chat" net – just check in, exchange signal reports, and get on with your evening.
Yaesu System Fusion (YSF) repeater 443.775 MHz+ tone 110.9Hz
This repeater is connected full-time to CQ-Canada (VE1AO) room 40678 – home to the Cross Canada C4FM Weekly Net on Wednesday 6 pm PST or 0200 UTC. Located on the Concord high-rise in Surrey, it is one of the few System Fusion repeaters in BC that is WIRES-X capable (i.e. it connects to the Internet). Using your Yaesu C4FM radio, you can use this repeater to talk to the world. It is connected to the highly fault-tolerant BC WARN Internet system, which is designed to remain operational during most internet outages. Familiarity with WIRES-X on our YSF repeater can play a crucial role in emergency preparedness.
Net Reminders
"Net reminders" for those running or participating in various nets are automatically sent out by AdvancedAmateur.ca. If you are forgetful like me, you may want to receive reminders by signing up at Net Reminders.
PROJECTS AND AD-HOC GROUPS
Satellite Station Project
Dino VE7NX is available to coach those who wish to learn how to make satellite contacts using SARC's new satellite station. Contact Dino [email protected] or reply to this email if you would like to learn more.
Innovation on 50 MHz and Up
As reported earlier, SARC's 10 GHz beacon VE7SAR/B running 150 mW is in continuous operation from our repeater site on Concord tower in Surrey. In follow-up to this achievement, Dino VE7NX operating from Concord tower, Scott VA7SC in Langley and Kirk VA7RKM in Victoria recently made 3-way contact on 10 GHz by bouncing signals off Mt. Baker. Dino has promised to help members who would like to assemble suitable equipment to monitor the beacon.
What's next, you ask? Stay tuned for announcements about a 6m beacon and 24 GHz beacon, both of which are under construction and testing by Dino VE7NX and Scott VA7SC.
Contesting Group
To participate in scheduled contests, or if you wish to operate the club station radios on your own time, please reply to [email protected]. Coaching will be provided as needed. See WA7BNM Contest Calendar: Home for a complete list of available contests. Next big one is the British Columbia QSO Party on Feb. 1-2 (see Upcoming Events above for more information).
IC-7300/IC-9700 Special Interest Group
This group is hosted by John Schouten VE7TI, with the most recent update on pp 37-41 of the January-February 2025 Communicator.
POTPOURRI
Do You Want to Learn CW?
Check out the Long Island CW Club, which has a comprehensive and highly-regarded on-line program for learning CW and how to get comfortable using it: https://longislandcwclub.org/#.
Vancouver Area Frequency List
Reg VA7ZEB has created a Vancouver Area Frequency List, which is a vetted list of useful frequencies across several services including Amateur, EmComm, Broadcast, Weather, LADD, Regional Road, FRS/GMRS, Railway, Airband and Marine. It can be easily downloaded in Generic CSV, Chirp and RT Systems format, or you can download it in PDF format for printing.
Incoming QSL Bureau
Any member wishing to receive in-coming QSL cards should send Ken VE7BC an email at [email protected] or call/text him at 604-816-5775 and the cards will be collected for distribution by Shawn VE7BD. Or, if you are simply wondering if Ken has any cards for you, please contact him.
Download the January-February Communicator in LARGE or SMALL format, or read it on-line like a magazine.
Free VE7DXE Advanced Certification Course: [email protected]
Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) Advanced Certification Course
Please contact the course instructor Dave Goodwin, VE3KG, at [email protected] for information on how to register for RAC’s Advanced course.
Link to Basic Ham Class Overview: Welcome to our courses.pdf - Google Drive. The current course commenced Jan. 6, 2025.
ARRL Asks Hams to Send Radiograms via the Web
In a recent issue of the National Traffic System (NTS) Letter, the ARRL encouraged amateur radio operators to utilize the Radiogram portal on the web to submit free messages to friends and family. The link takes you to a webpage where you enter the particulars for sender and recipient, select a message and operators in the NTS will send it on to the recipient. Sending Radiograms helps volunteers hone their skills in preparation for emergencies. What happens next? A volunteer, FCC-licensed Amateur Radio operator will pick up your message from this web site and then send it, by Amateur Radio, over the air to other volunteers in the National Traffic System. The message will be received by a ham who lives in or near your recipient's city. Then, the message will be delivered in person or by telephone. For more information about The National Traffic System and traffic handling visit: https://nts2.arrl.org/training/. A typical sent message reads as follows:
From: JOHN SCHOUTEN
To: FRED SMITH
1234 ANY STREET
SURREY BC V0P 1R9 604 [email protected]
WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY. ALL THE BEST,
JOHN SCHOUTEN
WANTED OR FOR SALE BY MEMBERS
Monty VA7MMW is still looking for a female connector like the one shown for his Yaesu FT-101B. It is a CINCH JONES S-312CCT POWER SOCKET 12PIN. If you can help Monty please contact him at [email protected].
~73, John VA7XB [email protected]
The Case of The Shrinking Technicians
My friend and colleague Frank/K4FMH has published several recent articles on trends in amateur radio licensing and demographics. This one, The Decline in ARRL Membership and Market Share, has some interesting data and observations about licensing trends in the US. (It also comments on ARRL membership trends, but that is not the subject of this post.) This post focuses on the decline in the number of FCC amateur radio licensees in the past few years. See the chart below.
By License Class
As Frank points out, breaking this out by license class is illuminating. Unsurprisingly, the Novice and Advanced class licensees are experiencing a slow, steady decline. This probably represents the natural decline of a set of licensees when no new licenses are issued. Advanced class licensees declined 4.7% per year from 2019 to 2024. Some of these licensees may be upgrading to higher class licenses, but anecdotally, I think this is a small effect.
The Technician class is more concerning, with a 7.2% cumulative decline starting roughly in June 2021. (The data is in 6-month increments.) Being the entry-level license and representing about half of the total licenses, it is a strong indicator of ham radio licensing activity, in general. One potential factor contributing to this decline is that COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings started around March 2020. In most areas, the VE exam opportunities dropped off dramatically, which could have affected the number of new licensees. This triggered a new emphasis on offering online exams, so exam availability improved during the following years.
Fees and Dabblers
Another factor is that the FCC fee implemented a $35 application fee in April 2022. However, this came after the Technician decline started. Although the $35 fee is arguably “reasonable,” I expect it to decrease the number of licensees.
Many Technicians are only dabbling in ham radio.
Dabbler: someone who takes a slight and not very serious interest in a subject, or tries a particular activity for a short period.
These Dabblers may get their license in response to family or friends encouraging them to do it. Or they may have a work connection such as being a firefighter, law enforcement officer, or emergency medical technician. Or maybe they were curious about the hobby, but it did not quite take hold. When they get to the point of renewing their license, many Dabblers will likely decide not to spend the $35. One might argue that the Dabblers are not engaged in the amateur radio service so having them drop out may be just fine. Whatever the reason, the result is fewer licensees.
Frank points out that the General and Extra Class numbers are increasing, reflecting healthier activity in those license classes. However, the slope of those curves is pretty flat, and the General class declined slightly during the past year. From December 2019 to December 2024, the General class numbers increased by 3% and the Extra class by 4%. US population growth was about 3% during this time, so these two license classes are just keeping up with population growth. I’d argue there are fewer Dabblers in the General and Extra ranks as they have demonstrated enough interest and commitment to the hobby that they went to the trouble of earning a higher-level license. Accordingly, the $35 FCC fee would have less effect on these two license classes. (I don’t have data to support this, so it is just my own little hypothesis.)
Back in 2018, I made some comparisons between ham radio and other activities. These ratios have probably not changed much in 7 years.
In 2018, the number of amateur radio licenses in the FCC database was about 0.2% of the US population, which remains about the same today. Of course, not all those licensees are active, so this overstates ham radio activity. Birdwatching came in at 3% of the population, so it’s 10 times more popular than ham radio.
Conclusions
Technician decline is real and should be a cause for concern. I don’t think we should panic but if this trend continues, the ham radio population will wither away. I mentioned the probable impact from COVID-19, which should be a transient event that has now passed. The impact of the FCC license application fee (if any) could be long-lasting.
It is well known that the radio amateur population is skewed towards older individuals…mostly older men. Aging does cause people to leave the hobby over time, either by death or by reduced physical and mental ability. This is probably part of the picture, but why would it only affect the Technician numbers?
What do you think?
73 Bob K0NR
The post The Case of The Shrinking Technicians appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.
