I love amateur radio but if your first experience of it is via the ARRL website, you will be forgiven for thinking the hobby is stuck in 1998. #hamradio#amateurradio
@ethanschoonover Yep. Not only because it is based on outdated design but also because it has lots of #accessibility barriers for disabled hams the league is also not interested in fixing. #AmateurRadio#HamRadio
I love amateur radio but if your first experience of it is via a meeting with the rwnj's and neighbourhood racists at your local club, you will be forgiven for thinking the hobby is stuck in 1958. #hamradio#amateurradio
*ftfy
@mitka@64m It’s true that ham radio clubs vary quite a bit in terms of tone and membership but I wouldn’t let that make you shy away from them. And there are non-club options that provide much of the same things clubs traditionally have: Q&A, guidance for beginners, etc. r/amateurradio, various discords, etc.
If you are looking for specific pointers I’m happy to help suggest some. Feel free to message me here if you are interested in pursuing a license.
@josephholsten@ethanschoonover I'm not into CW, but why should I be against it? If these guys do worldwide contacts with just 5W QRP trx, their ears, brain and hand ... then so be it. I hope they enjoy their corner of our hobby.
If your corner is e.g. DMR via Brandmeister, or doing 2.3 MHz links on Hamnet, or writing your own VHDL for your SDR's FPGA ... you wouldn't want some of the CWists look down on you, mumbling "not true amateurradio".
@holgerschurig@ethanschoonover I use a text editor largely unmodified from 1973. A fountain pen that’s a copy of the most popular pen from 1948. Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s remotely bad. Also, doesn’t make it new.
CW is fine. It’s great as lightweight rig for hiking. Esp good for transmitting from summits, from what I hear.
@ethanschoonover You can also get that impression from a lot of the software.
I have a theory that there's a category of hams who like that kind of software because a) it looks like software they remember from the good ole days and b) the bad/confusing UX does a form of gatekeeping. If all the ham stuff just worked, with the elegance of well-designed modern apps, it wouldn't seem "techy" enough, and it would let even more non-technical people into the hobby.
@ColonelPanic Agree. Definitely a big "it's what we've always used" factor.
I was actually looking for VOTA information on ARRL and the walls of text, ambiguous information, info scattered all over, etc. is SUCH a contrast to the overall excellent presentation of POTA info. POTA has it nailed. Two domains, one info and one the app. Clear info on a single page teaching you.
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