Two weeks ago, the ARRL released the 2017 Annual Report. As you might expect, it highlights the League’s work in supporting disaster relief, not only in Puerto Rico, but also California.While there was some controversy about the role that the ARRL played at the time, I think overall, it was a positive for amateur radio.
The report also reports on other accomplishments, including preparations for the World Radiocommunications Conference to be held in 2019, the amateur radio administration course held in Mexico in August 2017, and allocation of the 630 m and 2200 m bands. All three of these are solid accomplishments.
One thing that I found kind of puzzling was the coverage of activities that I’m not sure a whole lot of hams really care about. One of these was the “first-ever” AM Rally. The report notes, “Seventy-two logs were submitted, with nearly 1,500 contacts reported.” Okay-y-y-y-y. There was also a paragraph on the QST redesign. The report says the redesign “was met with widespread praise,” but personally, I’m not sure that it’s all that big a deal.
There are also reports on issues that didn’t turn out so well. There is, for example, nearly a page on the attempt to pass the Amateur Radio Parity Act. Unfortunately, that doesn’t sound like it’s going anywhere.
Membership woes
Finally, one thing that I took away from the annual report is that the ARRL’s membership problems are getting worse. In a section that’s misleadingly titled, “2017 Membership Surpasses Goals,” the report admits that membership fell by 5,000 in 2017. Not only that, it says, “membership is forecast to continue to decline in 2018 (2.0% loss is forecast).” Nor does this report expect an increase anytime soon. It goes on to say, “The decline should being to flatten out in 2019/2020.”
Aside from noting that a few test mailings were made to new hams and that “multiple tests for new ham mailings are scheduled for 2018,” there’s no mention of any kind of new member initiatives. Honestly, I’m floored by the lack of urgency here. If we’re not there already, we’ll quickly reach a point where fewer than one in five licensed radio amateurs will be ARRL members.
If you don’t think that the membership decline will have repercussions, thing again. Fewer members means a loss of credibility with the FCC and with politicians. It also means fewer dollars for programs that could really benefit amateur radio. I would even go so far as to say that membership should be the #1 priority of the League at this point.
We really need to get creative about this. And the time is NOW, not in a year or two.
Michael Johnson says
You know what I see in all this? I see an organization being managed by assets as opposed to a benevolent society operation. And I think that is what is wrong with their approach. Gawd, I’d love to take a deep dive into their operating budget.
Bob K0NR says
Dan,
In the report, the ARRL said they forecasted a decline in membership because of the recent dues increase. That’s why they were able to declare that the membership level is ahead of their goals/forecast. I read this as a calculated decision to raise dues to increase revenue, knowing that it would reduce the membership level. The report says the dues revenue is up 4.7%, so I guess it worked. Past experience with dues increases is also (apparently) being used to forecast that the member losses will stop in a year or two.
So I think that rounds out the story, BUT your point is still valid that the membership decline is a big concern. It seems like that is the #1 measure of a organization: are people joining or leaving?
73 Bob K0NR
W0MU says
If soaking the remaining members for more and more dues while membership decreases work great……..At some point the people will stop paying. Sounds similar to socialism, at some point the money runs out. It is shocking that the plan was to lose members. Amazing that any of these folks still hold a board position with that attitude. Shame on them! W0MU
KC2SST says
I would hardly call raising dues at a rate lesd than inflation to be “soaking” the membership. Sure, the increase must have been unpleasant for some, but the current board isn’t to blame. Why didn’t previous boards raise dues in small increments over a number of years?
Marlin E Thompson says
You sir are spot on….. You dont increase dues and look forward to loosing members aka budget money, and try to make up for it with the members you luckily retained and hit them with all sorts of 20.00 tactics to make up for the losses.
You reinvent the Organization, and you try to obtain more of the 750,000 licensed Hams out there. They are driving their selves to extinction and to act like they dont know any better is absurd. I too would love to look at their budget and overhead cost because to me it looks more like they are ready to siphon off any liquid Assets and split what’s left before they have to file Bankruptcy.
This is classic Mob mentality where you acquire a business run up the debt, take the product sell it all, and burn down the building because you dont really care about the business you just want the money.
Ernie Hollingsworth says
Exactly
Mike Ritz says
People leave organizations when they no longer feel they are getting value for the money. The ARRL raised the dues rate above that threshold for a LOT of members. The loss was perceived as “no big deal”, since revenue year-over-year is still higher with the higher dues rates, despite the member losses. This plays towards the ARRL thinking of themselves as being a corporation selling goods and services, where members are simply just part of the revenue stream. (Like Costco!) In a real “member organization” the goal would be to have as many members as possible, (as you mention), to give them some clout in lobbying efforts that support the hobby. The ARRL needs to figure out what it is……
Joseph Ryan n3nai says
Every year, more hams reach retirement age and begin to collect Social Security. Social Security increases have been negotiable at best, but most of on Social Security over the last 10 years are way behind because of inflation and Medicare rate hikes. And while revenue from membership is up, decline in membership will result in lower
revenue from advertising in publications when the annual publication reports made
WH6FQI says
Mike, that is a great point! In the long run increased membership should be the goal, not revenue. They exist to serve the Ham community and our interests.
William B Conner says
I think the ARRL needs to issue some nice plastic membership cards (credit card size).
If I’m a member, I want to show people I’m a member.
Bill KD5YYK says
How you gonna pay for the cards? Everyone is bitching about the dues increase. Folks there is no free lunch.
Dan KB6NU says
I understand all that, Bob. Let’s consider that revenue increase. Dues revenue went up by only 4.7%, even though they increased the dues 25% (from $40 to $50). That doesn’t seem like a good deal to me. Of course, another way to raise dues revenue by 4.7% would be to increase membership by 4.7%.
And, I still think the heading on that section, “2017 Membership Surpasses Goals,” is misleading. Was the goal really to lose members? If it was, then that’s some pretty screwy thinking, in my book.
I can’t fathom why they aren’t doing more to increase membership. That really should be the #1 priority. Without more members, the ARRL is nothing.
Josh Nass says
“Dues revenue went up by only 4.7%, even though they increased the dues 25% (from $40 to $50). That doesn’t seem like a good deal to me. Of course, another way to raise dues revenue by 4.7% would be to increase membership by 4.7%.”
That’s now how any of this works. You can’t just increase dues by 4.7% and expect to get 4.7% back in revenue.
Dale says
Open more frequency’s up. Tech you may as well have a CB radio no license or test to stress over. Open it up or go down the tube. ARRL will never get me!
Ria Jairam, N2RJ says
On the campaign trail I’ve heard several complaints. One is that people simply can’t afford $50 per year in dues. Another is that they don’t see any value for that money.
Several things have been asked for but seem to fall on deaf ears. For one, can we have a magazine-less subscription? I know QST’s costs are largely for content, not paper. But even with that, couldn’t they knock off some amount for going digital only?
And personally I think numbers are far more important than money. Money only goes so far. Strength in numbers is what will help us. All of the lobbying my opponent is doing in Washington will be for naught, because when Bill Nelson looks at the ARRL membership numbers he will proudly stand in the way of the parity act because we will not have the strength we need.
ON5ZO says
As a foreign ex-member, I am an infinitesimal small part of the membership decline.
I was an ARRL member between 2002 and 2018 but I have let my membership expire. Why?
The ARRL can’t do anything for me when it comes to QSL bureau, legislative issues etc. So that has never been a reason for me to subscribe.
When I started out on HF, a DXCC chasing nut in my local club convinced me that ARRL membership would give me a discount on the DXCC award program. I applied for that in 2004 and then lost interest in upgrading my DXCC award. Exit discount as a reason for ARRL membership.
Then there is QST. A monthly dose of fresh ham radio reading. But for the last two or three years, I wasn’t as excited as before. Most things were either not of interest to me or were old news. And the web is full of technical information. Mind you: I am not bashing the editors of QST. It is a nice magazine with useful information, even the ads. They’re trying to cater the average ham radio operator and with success. But after going through the last three issues, I decided it wasn’t making me happy anymore.
Maybe ARRL members enjoy discounts on their marvelous books too. But it costs as much as the book itself to get it delivered here so I refrain from buying those too. At least direct from the ARRL store.
The annual membership fee only has QST for me, and since I am in a very specific niche (contesting and everything related) this magazine has little to offer. So I decided I let my membership expire. I might spend the budget on NCJ (print) or random issues of CQ Magazine (digital).
I think membership numbers are a concern to most IARU member societies, no?
73 de Franki ON5ZO
WH6FQI says
I found even their sale prices for their books was no better than the price they sell them for on Amazon! I a new ham and find most of QST magazine stuff interesting, but that could change as I get more knowledge. One note is that it is as bad as womens magazines like Glamour with the ratio of adds to content. It sometimes seems more like a sales catalog than a magazine.
K1PGV says
I’ve been an ARRL member since I’ve been a ham. I still am a member. But, long ago I came to the conclusion that the ARRL is a poor organization.
QST has articles that are poorly edited and often too short and too general to have any technical depth. The online version is TERRIBLE (its tediously slow to download and cumbersome to use). The HQ staff in my experience is often about their own thing, and definitely NOT about serving the membership.
I don’t blame folks for not renewing. The ARRL hasn’t done anything I can see to encounrage folks to renew, or to increase the value of being a member.
VY 73 de K1PGV
Alex Naas KG9DUK says
I became a member in mid 2017, but I’m going to let it expire this year. I never once got a QST magazine and I know I had the right address and everything. I don’t really mind too much about QST, but I saw it as a lack of organization from ARRL. I wanted to support them since 2015 when I got my license, but I’m not so sure anymore.
Other than lobbying, I don’t really see much of a value. I passed both tests using online resources and any helpful information they have can be found in other places on the web. Not to mention I can still complain to my lawmakers on my own if it ever comes down to it.
Maybe I’ll give it a shot again at some point in the future, but for now I think I’m going to hold off.
Goody K3NG says
If ARRL was delivering sufficient value to most members, the 25% dues increase would not have had an impact on membership numbers. However, I don’t think the numbers are directly due to the magazine or services they offer. They’re not changing as an organization where we’re going with content consumption or hobbies and are targeting a demographic that is on its way out. Prior to the mainstream Internet, most of us depended on magazines and the ARRL for news. information, education, and ideas for projects. We don’t today. We Google something we’re interested in. We read blog posts. We see something new on Facebook. ARRL hasn’t made the wealth of content available in a friendly or easily accessible format that works with this new world, and has simply published QST in PDF docs. They lack much of a social media footprint, most likely because they had bad initial experiences years ago in forums in popular ham websites where trolls ran rampant and bashed ARRL continually. Last, as far as I can tell, they’re not making inroads with the Maker community. They seem to shoot for QST article and PR opportunities rather than sustained initiatives that could bring this fountain of youth to amateur radio, and subsequently ARRL membership rolls.
Dan KB6NU says
I think you hit the nail on the head when you say, “…they’re not making inroads with the Maker community. They seem to shoot for QST article and PR opportunities rather than sustained initiatives that could bring this fountain of youth to amateur radio, and subsequently ARRL membership rolls.”
They tried to show a connection to the maker community in the annual report, but when you read the section titled “ARRL Supports Ham Radio at Maker Faires,” you can see that it was individual amateur radio clubs–not the ARRL–that did the heavy lifting. The section describes the activities of three ham radio clubs at the New York Maker Faire last September. The ARRL contribution was some supplies to the Garden School Amateur Radio Club, which taught kids how to solder.
jeff says
Ham radio died with the 8 Track tape
Glenn Tracey says
No. Ham radio died with the current license and band structure. The novice should never have been deleted. Technicians should not have been given greater voice priveliges, without earning them. The bands have not been policed. And more……..
Carl G-K2GEJ says
Amen Glen!
JACK says
Typical Elmer! You are the reason no one under 40 is ever going to join…jeez, get off the cross someone needs the wood to build something better.
Frank says
Take off the blinders, Jack. The younger minds are enamoured with Plug-and-Play, not with ‘Making’ anything in the real sense. Why bother learning why and how devices work the way they do, when you can buy circuit boards mass produced (in Ch*na), pre-tested and 100% compatible with industry standards for function, fit and finish. This brand of “Making” is what my supervisor called “Mental Masterbation”! This litter of ‘Makers’ couldn’t develop, reproduce or debug a circuit to save their life. As long as they can easily mass-spam everyone with their wining and moaning, they see no need to challenge their two brain cells and LEARN something. (The licensing changes pandered to this breed.) College curriculum changes are doing the same, so don’t expect to be at the forefront of science and technology. Don’t be taken in by the STEM program, either. It’s just burying these kids deeper in the fantasy that they will be smart, productive individuals. All it’s doing is leveling the playing field . . . To the ‘Least Common Denominator’. (For you kids out there, that’s a mathematical term that you might not ever learn.)
There’s more, so much more!
Rich Struve says
No accountability to EC, AEC, that aren’t qualified. Nobody has the guts to fire people. Open some more bands, use them or lose them.
KD6VXI says
Your snipe at the Am Rally was pretty unwarranted.
I am a member of the am community, and we really appreciated the ARRL actually including Am operators, especially considering their attitude and stance towards the am community as a whole in the past. Also, since they have installed a broadcast xmitter as well as optimod and other hardware for am use, I see it as being inclusive.
Thanks for the disparaging attitude though.
–Shane
KD6VXI
Dan KB6NU says
Hi, Shane. I am all for the AM Rally, and if someone suggested that the ARRL shouldn’t hold an AM Rally, I’d tell them to take a hike. We do an incredibly diverse things in amateur radio, and they should all be celebrated. My point, however, is not that they shouldn’t have held it, but perhaps, they shouldn’t have made such a big deal about it. The ARRL is losing 14 members every day, and yet they’re touting an event in their annual report that drew perhaps 100 or 150 total participants.
Dave says
Let’s try that 3 month free membership again.
Maybe you can rise my interest a second time around.
Maybe….
Ken says
I started being a ham in the seventies. Even back then it seemed obvious to me the arrl was about keeping the arrl shack and job/ hobby paid for first and other locations a distant annoyance.
How many members lobbied for the recent commercial transmitter purchase?
Is it going to be set up to remote in from the web?
How about the same for several large population states…the left coast is just too far away for any real ham to want to use a arrl supported radio set.
As with a few other commentors, i see non affilated people providing much more relavant content on the web than what is comming out of the arrl.
They should reduce staff and become the place on the web that aggragates amature radio activity by others by activity type.
Ask those who care to donate for their museum and dues mony support the web site.
The world has changed.
Ken
KE0RNX says
I am a new ham Tech so, I hesitate to get into the remarks pretty much but, as a retired Infantry Soldier I’m all game for diving in.
I fully intended to have my General by now. Unfortunately, a family death got me on the track of cleaning up a family home in another town and has taken up more time and energy then I had in my schedule of wants.
As a new ham I realized that this is just a jumping in place. I got into this ham hobby/business because I want to still be of some service in my community and in a larger global community if I can honestly be of service.
I can only speak for myself but, ARRL is a great organization that I am a member of.
I think me and my AnyTone AT-D868UV UHF/VHF HT might go to a school board meeting to talk with them to see what I can do to get into the elementary school with this new wireless gadget. It just seems like the cutting edge of this new technology called – wireless communications.
Don’t over think it. Just do it. There’s my two cents worth.
GIL GRAY says
I agree with the suggestion, increase membership, not dues. Easier said then done. I am a life member, so don’t pay dues any more, however, I do make periodic donations to ARRL to more then make up for it.
We need to think outside the box. How about:
– Lower annual dues to attract more subscribers.
– QST, On Line Only to save shipping cost.
– Establish two membership fees depending on how you receive QST
– Free one year membership to new hams.
– Multi year subscription, ie, 5 years for the price of 4, 10 years for the price of 7, etc. With Life Membership at $1200, few will sign up.
Gil, N2GG
Fritz says
Gil
I agree with everything you wrote…….finally, some solutions !!!!!
Fritz
WD9FMB
Goody K3NG says
I went to the 2016 NYC Maker Faire and ARRL had zero presence. There was one local club that had a display that was, with all due respect, a noble effort, but fell short of what was needed in this sort of venue. I mentioned this in a blog article and the ARRL president at the time replied that ARRL was making plans for the 2017 Faire. I offered my help both publicly and privately to him. No response. But I digress. If ARRL put a fraction of the effort into Maker outreach that they do in emcomm or maintaining the League’s representative hierarchy (which I would argue is outdated, archaic, and unnecessary), it would pay huge dividends. This isn’t a traffic net, and just showing up doesn’t cut it. You need to show how they can apply amateur radio and use it in their maker activities. I can’t stress enough how ideal they are to bring into the hobby. They’re smart, creative, and they don’t care if you have old technology. “Retro” technology is actually sexy to this group. They’re doing stuff like making Nixie tube clocks and building retro 8 bit computers from junkbox Z80 chips. Show them a one tube AM transmitter and they’ll be all over it. You talk in Morse code, have computers go deedle-deedle on HF, or bounce stuff off of satellites? They’re in heaven.
Dave New, N8SBE says
What ARRL needs is a real honest-to-goodness marketing expert, and one that is well-versed in amateur radio, to boot.
Those folks are likely very rare, maybe No. 1 on the ham radio wanted list?
Without a comprehensive marketing strategy, ARRL will find new or ‘replacement’ member very elusive.
Ken Maples says
I gave up on membership this year, due to so many hams online spewing politics constantly. Plan on selling my radio, and stick to computers.
Dave New, N8SBE says
Ken,
Just curious. You don’t think you will find politics on line on your computer?
Frankly, I find ham radio a nice respite from all the on line politicking these days.
Sure you can find guys spewing politics on the ham bands, but you can easily tune elsewhere, and enjoy chatting with someone from Canada or elsewhere, that doesn’t have a dog in the hunt, so to speak.
I can understand your disinterest in the ARRL, considering all the machinations going on there, but why get off the air entirely?
I remember the first time I encountered a rude on-air operator. I was in high school, and had an newbie idealistic view of ham radio, and one day, some cur purposefully jammed the MidCars net, claiming that it was his frequency. Aside from discussions about whether or not nets can claim frequencies, in those days I had a habit of listening to MidCars for long periods of time, and even sometimes assisted and took over the net when the current net control had to leave early, etc.
On the particular occasion I’m talking about, the net had been clearly in operation for several hours before this guy showed up, so I felt that it was not his frequency to take over. The language and attitude from this operator put me off so much, that I stayed off the air and away from the radio for some time. It took a while for me to understand at that young age that there were going to be a**holes in every walk of life, and that I needed to get over it.
I’ve been licensed now almost 50 years, and I’ll say that it has been the greatest, most enjoyable hobby of my life. I’ve gone hot and cold on ham radio over the years, and I’m currently in a ‘hot spot’ so to speak.
There is so much new stuff to learn, especially digital data and voice modes, both on HF and VHF/UHF, and I’ve recently re-discovered the joy of the workbench, by building QRP radios. It’s really cool to build something on the workbench, and then put it on the air and make contacts with it.
73,
— Dave, N8SBE
George says
I am a former ARRL member. I love the ARRL, but the dues are too high. If they dropped the dues, they you might see an increase in members. KF5IAY 73
K2DSL says
What’s your price point and what membership benefits would you be willing to give up?
Do you belong to any local clubs? How much are there memberships?
Mark says
Optional $25 membership without QST. I’d take it
Josh says
I find almost no value in being an ARRL member. QST is a joke of a publication. It takes less than 10 minutes to read it since more than 50% is ads, lists of people who died, and contesting stuff.
Joe says
“Two weeks ago, the ARRL released the 2017 Annual Report. As you might expect, it highlights the League’s work in supporting disaster relief, not only in Puerto Rico, but also California.While there was some controversy about the role that the ARRL played at the time, I think overall, it was a positive for amateur radio.”
Perhaps in California, but it seems to me that PR was handled very poorly…even, pardon the pun, in an amateurish manner. A natural disaster isn’t Field Day: it isn’t equipped like Field Day…where people take their home rigs out to a park, set up some monsterous station, and participate in some non-contest contest. Rather, emergency communicators need to be able to move with their equipment.
Emergency communications is about establishing and maintaining a reliable ad hoc network that can effectively pass traffic. That network cannot rely upon a one-trick pony, but employ a layered approach to ensure if one method is not usable, another can be put to the task.
Lastly, emergency communications is only as effective as the personnel on the ground doing the work, and the command and control element providing guidance and coordinating with the served agency. The focus is the elements in the field – not the folks close to the flagpole.
Steve McCoon says
I am a new ARRL member. I have really enjoyed the magazine and all there is to learn as a new ham. I know organizations like the ARRL are always needing to prove their relevance. To me, the ARRL is very relevant and does many things very well. There is a trend away from Ham radio in general that is a more pressing concern to me.
The more people learn about how fun, interesting Ham radio communication is, the more new Hams will be interested. With more new Hams, the ARRL membership will grow. I see it as a marketing problem. People ask me what I talk about on the radio. As Hams, we need to make sure we have a good response. I tell them about all the interesting people I meet on Nets. In the age of the internet, people forget how cool it is to be able to personally bounce a signal off of the moon! Let’s do something cool.
AG7NO
Alan J Miron says
They are building a new educational website to help new prospectuve Hams get the proper training. The idea is to make it easier to attract younger members.
Ian Hickin says
Ok, #1, younger folks just memorize the 300 answers and pass the test. #2, There have been websites and apps to help folks study for many years!
ARRL is doing this now, as usual, is a decade late and a dollar short. They need to get rid of the printed mag, lower prices, and get rid of overpaid, over bloated administrations that have become completely ineffective. Reinventing the wheel won’t make the car run better.
John A. Demetrius says
I have been a member since first licensed. I am now 87 years old and am considering dropping my membership because the dues are too high. I can not get into my digital issue of QST, what values do I have left?
Thomas Durham says
YES, LOWER THE DUES!!!! de KC5BHO
Bill N8WED says
I started the amateur radio hobby with a hand-me-down Sky Buddy receiver in the 1960s and earned my Novice license in 1973. I was an ARRL member for years, but decided to drop the membership about ten years ago because I did not seem to be getting value for my money. While they’re important aspects of the hobby, emergency communications and contesting aren’t THE hobby. ARRL focuses way too much on those two aspects with its public face and not enough on makers and applications. For example, I got interested in amateur radio though my dad who became interested in amateur radio for controlling model planes he built with more capable transmitters than a class C CB radio license would afford him.
I often hear from radio friends that ARRL lobbies on our behalf, but looking at the ARRL annual reports and lobbyist watchdog groups that track lobbying money, it seems ARRL spends very modestly on lobbying. The ARRL did not prevent loss of the 220 MHz band when UPS wanted spectrum and when amateur allocation in that band was eventually restored we did not get back everything we lost. The slots on 630 and 2200 meters do not seem like a major coup.
I also have a problem with the pricey license exams of the ARRL Friends say, “hey this supports the ARRL, which is good.” I point out that by law fees are restricted to only defraying the operating costs of the VEC and the VEs. In contrast, the Laurel VEC is able to make cost free VE exams available. It may seem like small money to an adult, but the exam fee is still a bar to entry for youths that the hobby could use.
I shake my head that ARRL actually planned to lose members. If more operating revenue is needed, a useful plan could be to recruit more dues paying members. Jacking dues and hoping members dropping out is more than offset by the price increase is not a healthy plan going forward.
Ron Litt says
I am an ARRL member. Have been one since I have been licensed (1954). for me, it is not the dues. I think I get a lot more than what I pay because it is not just the magazine. However, i think the League wasted a lot of tome, effort and money trying to get the parity bill passed. After the HOA’s got through with it wasn’t worth the powder it would take to blow it to hell. Then the so-called ARRL “leadership” spent more effort trying to cram it down the members throat. I personally know of members who did not renew because they believed the ARRL board was not responsive to member’s desires. They spent a lot of money on lawyers trying to silence dissenters with their so-called “Code of Conduct”
The board needs to get out of politics. They stink at it. We should have a separate PAC for that. The ARRL needs to be reorganized to be more responsive to members. The arrogance of the old guard is what has hurt the League more than any dues increase.
73 – Ron, K5HM
Ura hater cuz u know I'm right says
Bad leadership , bad information, bad service, and bad attitudes from a bunch of grumpy old men who have failed to adapt and change with the times. It happened in the music business as it went digital and now it has happened to HAM too.
It’s that simple. Fire the current leadership and get people who represent a cross section of society and new technologies. We live in a day and age when people are being priced out of everything as the world economy shrinks. The ARRL looks, acts and feels racist, misogynistic, and xenophobic. If you’re incapable of seeing it, you’re part of the problem. If you’ve been caught saying we don’t do it that way, you’re part of the problem. If you’ve been caught besmerching people who have more common sense to buy a $60 Chinese HT instead of a $400 one made by the same damn hands in Asia, you’re part of the problem.
And all of this has ignored the internal hullabaloo of the Board being eager fascists against there own section leaders etc…
As far as I’m concerned nothing except a complete restructuring of the entire organization will be enough to get the new best and brightest involved. The same could be said of HAM radio at large in the U.S.
All empires die. If the ARRL dies it will have a sum zero effect on Americans. We are the .2% which makes us less meritorious than biker gangs and skinheads. Basically we’re already powerless and incapable of changing the outcomes of a run for City Hall let alone the decisions of a federal government agency. It’s time for anyone sincere about communications and radio to move forward, instead of trying to pump life back into a decaying corpse.
Warren Weber says
Great report
I am a member of ARRL, however wth that each year when it’s time to renew, must give this careful consideration based on cost only. A couple of thoughts: 1) New licensed hams should get automatic membership for first year. Retired folks possibly should see a break in yearly dues. 2) I agree that membership should be #1 priority. Everything cost too much from ARRL. I am currently teaching a Technician Licensing course wth 30 students. I have taught several of these and although we use the ARRL Licensing manual, with it’s included advertisements, I don’t promote joining mainly because of the costs. Not many in North Idaho are rich and most can’t afford this expense and get a good station set up.
Chris Warren says
I’ve been a ham for 35 years but an ARRL member only for the last five or so.
I’m kind of at a loss as to what should be done. The ARRL does a lot of great things, but they did not do any long-term favors to amateur radio when they dumbed down to the point that grade school kids are making Extra with a few weekends of tutoring…and the ARRL thinks it’s still too hard!
At the very least I think the Novice ticket (or some modernized no code version of it) should be brought back, with the stipulation that it cannot be renewed in perpetuity. No one should be allowed to hang around at the bottom forever. Second, there should be a “time in title” requirement for Tech and General. In other words, you cannot go from “zero to Extra” in one test sitting or in a short period of time. It should be expected that an operator gain some experience in a license class, say, six months, before they can upgrade. This would restore the legitimacy of the license classes and weed out the non-serious.
I realize none of this will boost ARRL membership nor necessarily boost the amateur ranks (it might even reduce the numbers), but we should go for quality not quantity.
Al - K6AAI says
Most hams have thousands of dollars wrapped up in their stations yet they don’t want to pay a few dollars for the one organization that is out there protecting our bands and our right to use the spectrum.
And you know what will happen? If we lose our bands these non-members will the first to blame the ARRL.
Every ham should be a member of ARRL because the Verizons, ATTs, Comcasts, and others (like Netflix, Amazon, HBO, etc.) would love to have our bands and have the dollars and the political muscle to get them, except for the push-back they get from the 23% of hams who pay the freight via the AARL to help keep them.
I’ve heard all the gripes and complaints and criticisms about ARRL. OK, the ARRL is not perfect. What organization is? Your church? Your company? Your political party? Your PTA? Your HOA? Tell me.
We are better off with an ARRL, warts and all, than without it… where we become an unorganized bunch of people whose sole power is to post to FB.
With a quick stroke of the pen, President Trump could end ham radio and assign our bands to the military in the name of “national security” and the FCC would have little legal ability to stop it. At least with AARL we have experienced people in Washington who know how the ‘machine’ works and know what levers to make a real ‘fight’ of it.
So don’t give me all of your b.s. about how you don’t like the ARRL magazine or leadership or anything else. They are the only ones who effectively have our back and who have the ability and legitimacy to save our ass. If the SHTF you can only blame yourselves.
Frank says
Amen!
Tim says
Anyone want to buy a book?
ARRL – the ham radio publishing company.
Jennifer Bond says
Hi guys… just stumbled across this blog while looking for unrelated into and fell in love with your discussion… I couldn’t agree more, especially after what the ARRL did last month and called a success. There was an article on the main page about a group of hams here in Phoenix who had fought long and hard against antenna restrictions on properties THEY OWN, the article went on as if to say that were able to come to an understanding and agreement, and the ARRL as puffing their chest about the great work everyone did… well I’ll let you all read the link below…
I immediately wrote an email to the property owner/person leading the negotiations and I CC’d the author of the article at the ARRL.
My letter to them is below…. the ARRL has become a disgrace, not good for much of anything except now trying to even give full HF privileges to no code techs so they can keep selling books as the rest of us go silent key, they’re a disgrace…. and yes, QST is a 5 minute read, at best with all those ads.
73’s
Jen
KB6JEN/VE7OTH
—below this line is the email I wrote them——–
http://www.arrl.org/news/arizona-homeowners-association-and-hams-agree-on-outdoor-antenna-guidelines
WOW!!!!! How sad….. What ever happened to men standing for what was right…
I saw the article in the ARRL email today and got excited as I’m just turning 53 and am looking for a Ham friendly place to purchase and while I don’t think we should have to give up ANY antennas on OUR property, I understand give and take, so assumed you’d come to a fair understanding with the HOA so maybe a win all around..
WRONG!!!!!
How in the hockey sticks from hell can any of you feel that a fair outcome was this!!!!
The types of antennas permitted are modest. The list includes flagpole antennas that do not exceed 16 feet, verticals that do not rise more than 5 feet above the peak of a home, and wire antennas no higher than 5 feet above the roof peak. No traps in wire antennas are allowed and towers of any type remain prohibited.
“[These] antennas should provide amateurs very adequate capabilities to work long distances on the HF bands and to be able to adequately communicate across our community on the VHF/UHF bands — as well as being able to reach most repeaters in the Phoenix area valley, including several emergency repeaters,” the newsletter article stated.
This should provide “adequate capabilities”?????? WTF?????? Is that what we’ve all strived for and invented equipment and technology etc… to be adequate….. You all should have spent the last year all moving out in one fell swoop and taking your money with you… instead they dragged you out and you got JACK SHIT in return how much are you paying them (and asking for even more of a screwing) to use the picnic tables when you all setup your QRP rigs, cus that’s all you’ll be able to use. wow… this is sad and what’s even sadder is that the ARRL thinks this is a win for Ham radio…. I know this will be the last year I subscribe.
The only hope we all had as hams to try to hold onto our hobby was by fighting for what was right, to keep our towers (for RACES etc as well as our hobby), you all who came before us younger ones paved the way for what we have the luxury of using now, SDR etc…. I sure as hell didn’t think a bunch of you would toss the future hams under the bus by accepting this horse shit deal, I’d be embarrassed to be seen by the HOA, they’re laughing their asses off at you… one more chance to keep our rights, tossed away…. But I guess you don’t need to have a tall antenna to send your friends IM’s on echo link…… As a matter of fact, you don’t need ham radio at all for that, let’s scrap it and you can just use your phone and IM… Good job ARRL, at least you’ll sell another 75 antenna’s for small spaces books… you’re becoming more and more like the NRA and less and less supportive year after year… 10 or15 years ago, all 75 of you would have been on the sidewalk with picket signs before agreeing for this raping, which you even still have to go to the board to get approval on, how much are they charging you for that screwing??? I’d like to know because as long as we all have Elmers like you leading the way for us, ham radio’s future is dead… I might as well stay down cus you just tossed a lot of people who may have wanted to live there one day and be REAL hams, not “adequate hams” under the bus… and what’s worse, you did it while appearing proud.
You better sell off all that fancy contest gear I saw on one of your pages, a FT-718 will be “adequate”…
I mean you no disrespect, and I’m sure you all may have tried hard but you should all be embarrassed for calling this a win.
73
Jen, KB6JEN/VE7OTH
Jennifer Bond says
Gentlemen…..
Continuing below, is the response I received from the ARRL author of the article, I did not get a response from the person leading the sorry ass excuse for negotiations/property owner who has to live with all his rights taken away.
I didn’t read past the first paragraph in this idiot’s email, the arrogance and lack of any type of attitude of helping the amateur community made me too disgusted, the guy sounds like he works for the HOA, not the ARRL. The ARRL are a joke and are hardly advocates for any SERIOUS issues like losing antenna rights.
73’s
Jen
KB6JEN/VE7OTH
—————below is the response I received———-
From: “Rick Lindquist WW1ME”
Subject: RE: You call this a win? It’s an pathetic you all caved.
Date: May 16, 2019 at 4:50:18 PM MST
To: “‘Jennifer Bond'” ,
Hi, Jen,
First, take a deep breath, please.
Second, as I’m sure Gordon, NW7D, who actually lives in the development that was the focus of the story we reported, may be willing to explain, this agreement was not the result an ARRL initiative, although ARRL has attempted to gain congressional approval for some sort of accommodation for hams dwelling in communities governed by homeowners’ associations (HOAs) that prohibit outdoor antennas. This was an example of how a group of hams in an antenna-restricted community cut their own deal to gain approval for certain outdoor antennas. It’s pretty unusual under the circumstances, thus newsworthy.
To cite the article (which I wrote):
“An article in the Grand Ham Newsletter by Gordon Bousman, NW7D, called it “a big win”and said the Sun City Grand community homeowners association (HOA) is believed to be the largest in the US to permit Amateur Radio antennas.”
The news story took no position on whether this represented a good or fair deal for the residents. Suggesting that it did is how rumors get started.
If I were living in Sun City Grand, I would consider this a win too, however, given that when I moved in, I would have had to agree to a total proscription on outdoor antennas. This is something, as opposed to nothing (or perhaps an ineffective indoor wire antenna of some sort), and it’s a foot in the door as it were. It is certainly a big step forward from what many thousands of other hams living in restricted communities now have or that most who rent rather than own might be permitted.
My personal opinion is that no one needs a huge tower or vast antenna farm to enjoy ham radio (or to be considered “a real ham,” for that matter, whatever that even means), and allowing the erection of modest outdoor antennas will let a lot of hams in this particular community be able to enjoy ham radio again, beyond what a VHF/UHF handheld offers. The antennas described will cover a lot of global territory, even at 100 W or less.
If you don’t want to run headlong into restrictions on outdoor antennas, don’t purchase a dwelling in an antenna-restricted community. It’s that simple. Beyond that, I don’t see how you are even impacted by this agreement involving an HOA and a group of hams living in a private community.
As an aside, I’m sure this would not be the sort of email you’d like to see show up in yourinbox.
73, Rick, WW1ME
Rick Lindquist, WW1ME
ARRL – the National Association for Amateur Radio
News Editor/Contributing Editor
NCJ Managing Editor