WEBVTT 00:00:09.179 --> 00:00:12.019 Thanks for tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on 00:00:12.019 --> 00:00:29.960 the air shortly. Please stand by. Thanks for 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:32.700 tuning in. Hamtalk Live will be on the air shortly. 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:39.130 Please stand by. This episode of HamTalk Live 00:00:39.130 --> 00:00:42.750 is brought to you by Tower Electronics. For connectors, 00:00:43.130 --> 00:00:48.570 cables, and more, call 920 -435 -2973 or visit 00:00:48.570 --> 00:00:54.450 pl -259 .com. And by ICOM, heard it, worked it, 00:00:54.710 --> 00:00:59.689 logged it. Visit www .icomamerica .com slash 00:00:59.689 --> 00:01:03.570 amateur for more information about ICOM radios. 00:01:35.530 --> 00:01:38.890 Hey, good evening, everyone. It's time for HamTalk 00:01:38.890 --> 00:01:43.629 Live. It's episode number 199, The State of the 00:01:43.629 --> 00:01:48.010 Hobby Survey 2020, recorded live on Thursday, 00:01:48.549 --> 00:01:53.010 February 13th, 2020. I'm your host, Neil Rapp, 00:01:53.469 --> 00:01:57.810 WB9VPG. Thanks for tuning in to this episode 00:01:57.810 --> 00:02:02.549 of HamTalk Live. Tonight we're joined by Dustin 00:02:02.549 --> 00:02:07.280 Thomas. N8 RMA and we'll take your calls live 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:11.879 in just a few minutes. Last week we didn't have 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:16.539 a show. I had to work, I had to announce my one 00:02:16.539 --> 00:02:18.900 Thursday night basketball game of the season, 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:22.979 so there wasn't a show last week if you missed 00:02:22.979 --> 00:02:27.620 us, but the week before Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, 00:02:27.620 --> 00:02:31.629 was here to talk about news lines. Bill Pasternak's 00:02:31.629 --> 00:02:35.569 birthday bash. It was a special event. I was 00:02:35.569 --> 00:02:38.770 able to run about an hour of that and we had 00:02:38.770 --> 00:02:41.969 several people from the Newsline staff and friends 00:02:41.969 --> 00:02:45.770 of Newsline on the air last weekend. It was a 00:02:45.770 --> 00:02:49.110 lot of fun. So if you missed that show you can 00:02:49.110 --> 00:02:52.509 listen anytime at HamTalkLive .com or on your 00:02:52.509 --> 00:02:55.289 favorite podcast app or on YouTube where you 00:02:55.289 --> 00:03:01.030 can catch the rebroadcast. over on WTWW shortwave 00:03:01.030 --> 00:03:06.189 that's 5 0 8 5 a .m. on Saturday evenings at 00:03:06.189 --> 00:03:11.610 about 6 30 p .m. Eastern Time. Next week, February 00:03:11.610 --> 00:03:16.909 20th, it's episode number 200 of HamTalk Live. 00:03:16.990 --> 00:03:20.530 We'll take a look back at the first 199 episodes. 00:03:21.090 --> 00:03:24.250 Have some fun. We have a lot of fabulous prizes. 00:03:24.610 --> 00:03:28.360 ICOM sent us some swag bags to give away to our 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:33.139 electronics sent to some good prizes for including 00:03:33.139 --> 00:03:38.180 PL 259s power poles all kinds of stuff and LDG 00:03:38.180 --> 00:03:41.639 electronics is going to give away a $200 tuner 00:03:41.639 --> 00:03:46.379 in honor of the 200th episode so be sure to tune 00:03:46.379 --> 00:03:50.460 in live next week February 20th and you might 00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:55.479 just be a winner Now, tonight we do have a new 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:58.840 phone number. We're unleashing a new phone number 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:01.259 here. That's going to be our new permanent phone 00:04:01.259 --> 00:04:04.319 number. If you've been following the show for 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:07.819 a while, you know that we've gone through issues 00:04:07.819 --> 00:04:13.080 with Skype and other... systems and things work 00:04:13.080 --> 00:04:18.160 for a while and so thanks to Marty in N1C for 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:22.300 rebuilding the phone system yet again and we've 00:04:22.300 --> 00:04:24.240 got a new phone number that we're going to start 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:28.920 using and we don't have the hold music there 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:31.360 yet to where you can listen to the show while 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:35.259 you're on hold. You're just going to get some 00:04:36.189 --> 00:04:39.649 some random music when you call in but but supposedly 00:04:39.649 --> 00:04:42.649 everything and we've tested this out it's going 00:04:42.649 --> 00:04:45.029 to put everybody on hold so when you call you'll 00:04:45.029 --> 00:04:49.889 hear music and then you'll be in line and it 00:04:49.889 --> 00:04:53.709 will send everybody in first come first served 00:04:53.709 --> 00:04:58.189 on the show so we're going to try that out so 00:04:58.189 --> 00:05:00.850 we have a new phone number so let me give you 00:05:00.850 --> 00:05:03.459 the new phone number so you can Write that down 00:05:03.459 --> 00:05:14.160 and have that ready to go. It's 859 -982 -7373. 00:05:15.579 --> 00:05:24.560 859 -982 -7373. And so we're going to put that 00:05:24.560 --> 00:05:26.600 on the air tonight. We've been testing it out 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:29.339 and everything seems to be working fine. Famous 00:05:29.339 --> 00:05:34.019 last words, of course. Think we've got it all 00:05:34.019 --> 00:05:36.639 figured out except for the whole music and we're 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:42.240 gonna get that too. So 982 -7373 and the area 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:47.579 code is 859 For calling in tonight and from now 00:05:47.579 --> 00:05:52.560 on hopefully so you can also Get a hold of us 00:05:52.560 --> 00:05:57.240 on Twitter if you'd rather type It's at ham talk 00:05:57.240 --> 00:06:00.759 live on Twitter. And so we're gonna talk to Dustin 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:03.720 for a little bit and then We'll take a break 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:06.139 and then we'll come back and then we'll announce 00:06:06.139 --> 00:06:09.740 when it's time to call in and Ask your questions 00:06:09.740 --> 00:06:12.720 with Dustin So we'll be back to do that right 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.339 after this word from tower electronics right 00:06:15.339 --> 00:06:19.120 here on ham talk live Is this getting serious? 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:23.279 I think so. Well, how do you feel about it? Just 00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:27.379 imagine if you hadn't run out of PL -259s. Just 00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:29.560 imagine if your connectors weren't from Tower 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:32.439 Electronics. Consider the sophisticated quality 00:06:32.439 --> 00:06:35.180 of connectors from Tower Electronics. Their silver 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:37.860 -plated end connectors are so good, they've even 00:06:37.860 --> 00:06:40.139 been used on the International Space Station. 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:43.800 I'm not so sure why I ever used any other PL 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:47.660 -259s. Mine are better. Besides, you deserve 00:06:47.660 --> 00:06:50.670 the best. You know I love you. Don't be caught 00:06:50.670 --> 00:06:54.170 without PL259's. Visit Tower Electronics at a 00:06:54.170 --> 00:06:56.769 ham fest near you or visit them online anytime 00:06:56.769 --> 00:07:03.949 at pl -259 .com or call 920 -435 -2973. They 00:07:03.949 --> 00:07:06.649 also have ham sticks, mobile antennas, and meters 00:07:06.649 --> 00:07:10.990 too. See the whole catalog. Go to pl -259 .com 00:07:10.990 --> 00:07:13.889 Tower Electronics, the hams dime store since 00:07:13.889 --> 00:07:17.810 1978. We're not sure what's up with the fifth 00:07:17.810 --> 00:07:20.449 dentist, but four out of five dentists recommend 00:07:20.449 --> 00:07:36.769 listening to ham talk live Thanks to Scott and 00:07:36.769 --> 00:07:39.470 Jill at tower electronics for sponsoring the 00:07:39.470 --> 00:07:42.750 show tonight to help bring you ham talk live 00:07:43.370 --> 00:07:47.610 Their ham fest schedule coming up February 22nd. 00:07:47.610 --> 00:07:51.529 They'll be at the Dalton, Georgia ham fest and 00:07:51.529 --> 00:07:55.290 then March 7th. They'll be in Cave City, Kentucky 00:07:55.290 --> 00:08:00.449 and You can visit them anytime anywhere at PL 00:08:00.449 --> 00:08:08.470 -259 .com Well tonight our guest is Dustin Thomas 00:08:08.470 --> 00:08:13.470 in 8rma. He was first licensed in 2014 and upgraded 00:08:13.470 --> 00:08:16.389 to general in 2015. He's a member of several 00:08:16.389 --> 00:08:18.689 clubs, including the mall city contest group, 00:08:19.310 --> 00:08:22.170 which focuses on radio sport. And he's a member 00:08:22.170 --> 00:08:25.279 of the young amateurs radio club or yark. which 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:28.819 is a group focused on bringing up the next generation 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:32.200 of radio amateurs. He's also a member of the 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:34.539 Kalamazoo Amateur Radio Club and the Southwest 00:08:34.539 --> 00:08:38.919 Michigan Amateur Radio Team. He enjoys contesting 00:08:38.919 --> 00:08:44.440 and working DX and spent much of his youth participating 00:08:44.440 --> 00:08:47.500 in Boy Scouts. He's an Eagle Scout and a member 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:50.769 of Order of the Arrow and professionally he's 00:08:50.769 --> 00:08:55.009 a senior analyst for Stryker that specializes 00:08:55.009 --> 00:09:03.110 in enterprise architecture where you align technology 00:09:03.110 --> 00:09:08.230 with business strategy, evaluate some organizational 00:09:08.230 --> 00:09:12.149 capabilities, and identify areas for risk and 00:09:12.149 --> 00:09:15.409 growth. So that kind of rolls over to what we're 00:09:15.409 --> 00:09:19.019 talking about tonight. uh... identifying some 00:09:19.019 --> 00:09:23.679 areas for risk and for growth uh... because we're 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:27.039 going to talk about this state of the hobby survey 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:30.919 that uh... dustin has been doing for a few years 00:09:30.919 --> 00:09:35.120 now so dustin welcome to him talk live a thanks 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:37.120 for uh... thanks for having me on the show and 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:40.679 for the uh... warm introduction yeah it's been 00:09:40.679 --> 00:09:44.629 has been good to talk to you actually uh... Got 00:09:44.629 --> 00:09:47.470 around to asking you to be on the show because 00:09:47.470 --> 00:09:52.490 I needed some statistics And so we were working 00:09:52.490 --> 00:09:55.250 on some some youth on the air stuff and and I 00:09:55.250 --> 00:10:01.070 was reading Actually, it was the telegram group 00:10:01.070 --> 00:10:05.850 over in I are you region one? Where one of the 00:10:05.850 --> 00:10:09.330 young hams over there had to do a presentation. 00:10:09.350 --> 00:10:11.730 I think he was from Italy if I remember right 00:10:12.139 --> 00:10:14.379 he had to do a presentation. He got on there 00:10:14.379 --> 00:10:17.080 and said, okay, I need everybody to tell me how 00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:19.700 many young hams you have in your country. And 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:25.039 I'm going, uh, uh, uh, well, let's see, let me 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:27.539 start counting. And I'm like, wait a minute, 00:10:27.659 --> 00:10:32.399 that's not going to work. And so, um, Sterling 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:36.159 in zero SSC, it actually used some of your state 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:41.750 of the hobby survey results in, um, presentation 00:10:41.750 --> 00:10:45.269 that he and I made it at Collinsville here a 00:10:45.269 --> 00:10:47.669 couple weeks ago and I was like Maybe I better 00:10:47.669 --> 00:10:50.190 get a hold of Dustin and see if he can help out 00:10:50.190 --> 00:10:53.450 and you did you got me enough numbers that I 00:10:53.450 --> 00:10:57.610 could Kind of make an estimate on how many young 00:10:57.610 --> 00:11:00.409 hams we had and so we end up we end up kind of 00:11:00.409 --> 00:11:04.370 rounding it off about 7 ,000 It's kind of where 00:11:04.370 --> 00:11:08.049 I estimated it Yeah, and really that's a big 00:11:08.049 --> 00:11:10.549 part of why I do the surveys. I want folks to 00:11:10.549 --> 00:11:13.850 be able to use those numbers and every year as 00:11:13.850 --> 00:11:16.830 the survey grows and I have more and more respondents, 00:11:17.269 --> 00:11:20.809 I get a better overall picture of things exactly 00:11:20.809 --> 00:11:23.169 like that. Like what are the age demographics 00:11:23.169 --> 00:11:30.139 of members of the hobby? Also, the same day that 00:11:30.139 --> 00:11:33.659 you emailed me, I had Josh over at Ham Radio 00:11:33.659 --> 00:11:37.440 Crash Course email me with almost the same request. 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:41.759 His stream last week on Saturday started off 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:44.399 a conversation about keeping Ham Radio relevant 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:48.480 and he used a lot of the slides and analytics 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:53.639 that I created from 2019 for that. And I have 00:11:53.639 --> 00:11:57.000 to tell you, I couldn't be more pleased. Really, 00:11:57.740 --> 00:12:00.299 this is a fun thing that I like to do every year, 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:03.179 but really it's more rewarding for me to see 00:12:03.179 --> 00:12:07.340 other people try to use that to generate conversation 00:12:07.340 --> 00:12:12.440 and see how we can improve this hobby here in 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:15.500 our local cities and towns and globally even. 00:12:17.270 --> 00:12:20.330 Well, Josh has got some cool stuff over at ham 00:12:20.330 --> 00:12:22.750 radio crash course and if you haven't seen that 00:12:22.750 --> 00:12:25.250 you need to You need to check that one out because 00:12:25.250 --> 00:12:28.730 he's got some some cool stuff going on over there 00:12:28.730 --> 00:12:33.129 But you know, it's things like that, you know 00:12:33.129 --> 00:12:35.429 that Josh is doing and then I was working on 00:12:35.429 --> 00:12:40.049 this that when you write up a proposal and you 00:12:40.049 --> 00:12:43.029 need some statistics or you write up a presentation 00:12:43.029 --> 00:12:46.250 and and you need some numbers to throw out there, 00:12:46.789 --> 00:12:50.250 there's just not that much you can do. I mean, 00:12:50.309 --> 00:12:54.149 you can get the FCC database and you can get 00:12:54.149 --> 00:12:56.909 kind of similar things from other countries, 00:12:57.889 --> 00:13:01.870 but they don't keep track of birth date anymore. 00:13:04.060 --> 00:13:07.879 That's something that's important to get some 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:10.799 demographics on the hobby. And so you've kind 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:15.220 of stepped in and started to fill that gap with 00:13:15.220 --> 00:13:17.980 this survey. So tell us a little bit about the 00:13:17.980 --> 00:13:23.009 survey and how that all got started. Yeah, absolutely 00:13:23.009 --> 00:13:25.269 well the first thing that I always like to tell 00:13:25.269 --> 00:13:28.450 folks is that this is not a scientific survey 00:13:28.450 --> 00:13:33.309 I'm not a statistician or a data scientist You 00:13:33.309 --> 00:13:35.590 won't find this in any peer -reviewed journal 00:13:35.590 --> 00:13:39.799 or anything like that That said though, I'm asking 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:43.039 operators for their opinions and for some general 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:47.519 information on topics that matter to us and the 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:49.620 second part of that is making sure that those 00:13:49.620 --> 00:13:53.100 results are made public for the whole community 00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:57.200 to consume. And that was really critical for 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:01.139 me. So this whole venture started back in 2017. 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:05.879 I was browsing the amateur radio subreddit and 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:10.399 I noticed sort of a proliferation of these highly 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:13.240 specific short surveys that were popping up on 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:17.730 there. And I thought they were really cool. Just 00:14:17.730 --> 00:14:19.909 to give you an example, it was like, hey, if 00:14:19.909 --> 00:14:22.570 you're involved in AMSAT, take this quick survey. 00:14:23.049 --> 00:14:26.610 Or if you're a new ham under the age of 25, take 00:14:26.610 --> 00:14:30.769 the survey. And for the ones that were applicable 00:14:30.769 --> 00:14:35.110 to me, I would take the survey. But I never was 00:14:35.110 --> 00:14:37.549 able to see the results. I would give them the 00:14:37.549 --> 00:14:40.220 data and then. Often to the ether it would go 00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:44.360 so I decided just being a curious guy myself 00:14:44.360 --> 00:14:48.019 to create my own survey and and to sort of explore 00:14:48.019 --> 00:14:53.139 the state of the hobby as a whole and It was 00:14:53.139 --> 00:14:56.919 it was it was fun in 2017. It was a shorter survey. 00:14:56.919 --> 00:15:01.700 I had a lot of fun. So In 2018 I decided to do 00:15:01.700 --> 00:15:05.740 it again This time, the response rate tripled 00:15:05.740 --> 00:15:10.000 and I thought that was fantastic. That was sort 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.779 of the mark and I said I'm going to do this annually 00:15:12.779 --> 00:15:16.259 as sort of a health check. I wanted it to be 00:15:16.259 --> 00:15:19.139 independent from commercial or regulatory bodies. 00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:22.639 I didn't want this to be sponsored by a radio 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:26.919 manufacturer or from the FCC or from even our 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:29.460 advocacy groups like the ARRL, although I do 00:15:29.460 --> 00:15:32.919 appreciate when they promote the survey each 00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:38.299 year. That's sort of how it came to be. And I 00:15:38.299 --> 00:15:41.179 really want to push the results just as hard 00:15:41.179 --> 00:15:43.919 as I push for people to take the survey. I want 00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:49.259 the data to be there for people to use in conversations, 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:53.019 in club meetings, wherever they might be talking 00:15:53.019 --> 00:15:57.700 about things that pertain to our hobby. Yeah, 00:15:57.860 --> 00:16:03.120 and it's very useful. Anytime you do statistics, 00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:10.360 or as we here in Indiana say, statistics, you 00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:14.320 got to watch out for having some kind of bias. 00:16:14.460 --> 00:16:16.139 And you're always going to have some kind of 00:16:16.139 --> 00:16:20.360 bias. But, you know, like you said, if you have 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:23.460 a particular manufacturer or a particular organization 00:16:23.460 --> 00:16:28.519 or something that skews your numbers, that changes 00:16:29.230 --> 00:16:32.590 You know who participates in the survey and having 00:16:32.590 --> 00:16:35.470 it independent i think is a good move because 00:16:35.470 --> 00:16:40.490 it does reduce some of that bias. Absolutely, 00:16:40.610 --> 00:16:43.389 and I'm the first to admit that there's still 00:16:43.389 --> 00:16:46.730 bias that's contained within my survey and sort 00:16:46.730 --> 00:16:49.669 of a personal goal aside of the survey is every 00:16:49.669 --> 00:16:52.450 year I try to grow it and mature the survey and 00:16:52.450 --> 00:16:55.409 if I go back and I look at the survey I published 00:16:55.409 --> 00:16:59.350 in 2017, I almost cringe a little at some of 00:16:59.350 --> 00:17:02.769 the ways that I worded questions and I learned 00:17:02.769 --> 00:17:04.769 from that. I took a lot of feedback from people 00:17:04.769 --> 00:17:08.450 who reached out to me and said, hey, I have some 00:17:08.450 --> 00:17:11.589 suggestions for you. and I try to incorporate 00:17:11.589 --> 00:17:14.829 that and mature it each year to reduce that. 00:17:15.589 --> 00:17:18.529 But I'm also the first to admit that it's a very 00:17:18.529 --> 00:17:22.329 biased survey in terms of specific to U .S. hams. 00:17:23.210 --> 00:17:25.890 I would love for this to be sort of a global 00:17:25.890 --> 00:17:29.759 survey for radio amateurs across the globe. But 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:32.819 a lot of the questions and maybe the way that 00:17:32.819 --> 00:17:35.839 I ask them are targeted to US HAM. So you're 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:39.619 right. In anything like this, you have the concern 00:17:39.619 --> 00:17:43.240 of bias. And I try to do the best that I can. 00:17:43.779 --> 00:17:46.220 But at the end of the day, I'm just a radio operator 00:17:46.220 --> 00:17:49.140 like you, like everyone else. And I'm asking 00:17:49.140 --> 00:17:52.460 some questions that hopefully will spark some 00:17:52.460 --> 00:17:56.619 discussion amongst us. And that's really the 00:17:56.619 --> 00:18:00.630 goal. Well, and that brings me to the next question, 00:18:00.630 --> 00:18:03.009 you know, what what are you trying to accomplish 00:18:03.009 --> 00:18:07.289 with? the results and you know if you had you 00:18:07.289 --> 00:18:11.589 know Your dream of what would come out of this. 00:18:11.609 --> 00:18:15.509 What would that be? Yeah, great question. I think 00:18:15.509 --> 00:18:17.650 this is the first year where I've really sort 00:18:17.650 --> 00:18:22.150 of solidified this into what I think the survey 00:18:22.150 --> 00:18:26.089 is and what I want it to be moving forward. And 00:18:26.089 --> 00:18:28.470 to give you a little bit of backstory here, I'm 00:18:28.470 --> 00:18:30.589 a firm believer in understanding the point A 00:18:30.589 --> 00:18:33.549 to point B journey, where point A represents 00:18:33.549 --> 00:18:36.730 our current state where we are today, and point 00:18:36.730 --> 00:18:40.910 B represents progress, growth, and success. It's 00:18:40.910 --> 00:18:44.359 much easier to get to point B if you know where 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:48.819 you're at with point A. It's like trying to go 00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:51.859 on a road trip. If you're trying to get to San 00:18:51.859 --> 00:18:53.940 Francisco, but you have no earthy idea where 00:18:53.940 --> 00:18:57.140 you are, it can make it a little trickier. So 00:18:57.140 --> 00:18:59.099 really that's what the goal of the survey is, 00:18:59.099 --> 00:19:02.660 to help us better understand point A, and then 00:19:02.660 --> 00:19:05.119 maybe anticipate a little bit of our roadblocks 00:19:05.119 --> 00:19:08.000 that we're gonna have on our way to point B. 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:11.960 So to that end, we have three core tenets for 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:14.930 the survey. The first is spreading awareness 00:19:14.930 --> 00:19:19.130 in the community. So what is working in advancing 00:19:19.130 --> 00:19:22.470 our hobby? What is not working? What are some 00:19:22.470 --> 00:19:25.710 new trends that might be appearing? I'll tell 00:19:25.710 --> 00:19:31.009 you right now just as a side note I sort of anticipated 00:19:31.009 --> 00:19:34.069 the FT8 wave before it happened. You can sort 00:19:34.069 --> 00:19:37.190 of see it in 2017, a little bit in 2018, and 00:19:37.190 --> 00:19:40.390 then in 2019 it was in full bloom. So it's a 00:19:40.390 --> 00:19:43.349 great way to see some of those trends as they 00:19:43.349 --> 00:19:46.490 surface. It's a good way to see areas of concern, 00:19:46.809 --> 00:19:48.529 maybe what are some challenges that we'll have. 00:19:49.849 --> 00:19:53.230 The second tenant that we have is sparking conversation 00:19:53.230 --> 00:19:55.950 among operators. I know I've talked a lot about 00:19:55.950 --> 00:19:58.309 that already, and I really do want to beat it 00:19:58.309 --> 00:20:01.390 to death. I want operators to talk about the 00:20:01.390 --> 00:20:05.069 results. Do they agree with me? Do they disagree 00:20:05.069 --> 00:20:08.410 with me? I want clubs discussing the results 00:20:08.410 --> 00:20:12.589 to say, hey, this is what it says this year. 00:20:12.930 --> 00:20:16.269 Do we agree with it? Do we not? The things that 00:20:16.269 --> 00:20:20.269 we do agree with, how can we sort of approach 00:20:20.269 --> 00:20:23.410 that and try to improve this situation. Great 00:20:23.410 --> 00:20:26.349 example is Josh, last week on Ham Radio Crash 00:20:26.349 --> 00:20:29.470 Course, talking about ways we can keep Ham Radio 00:20:29.470 --> 00:20:32.109 relevant starting with some of the statistics 00:20:32.109 --> 00:20:35.990 that I got last year. So, great example of that. 00:20:36.829 --> 00:20:39.470 Really, the last thing is I want it to be a fun 00:20:39.470 --> 00:20:42.690 event that people look forward to. I hope people 00:20:42.690 --> 00:20:46.589 enjoy taking the survey. There's one thing that 00:20:46.589 --> 00:20:50.289 I've learned since I was licensed and that's 00:20:50.289 --> 00:20:55.779 radio amateurs are an opinionated bunch. I hope 00:20:55.779 --> 00:20:59.400 that they enjoy making those opinions heard on 00:20:59.400 --> 00:21:02.180 a yearly basis. And then I hope that once I get 00:21:02.180 --> 00:21:05.359 the results, I hope they like reading the results 00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:08.940 and find them interested. So really, those are 00:21:08.940 --> 00:21:10.460 the things that I'm trying to accomplish with 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:14.559 this. Well, speaking of the results, are there 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:17.700 any that just really surprised you? Were there 00:21:17.700 --> 00:21:22.160 any results where you're just like, wow, I just 00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:26.140 didn't think about that? I have to tell you, 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:30.119 I've never ceased to be amazed every single year. 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:33.160 There are so many of these surprising or shocking 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:35.180 results that I'm just going to start talking. 00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:38.920 Feel free to cut me off when we hit our tie here. 00:21:41.259 --> 00:21:44.039 I'll start with this. Last year, I polled those 00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:47.369 who were unlicensed but interested. in amateur 00:21:47.369 --> 00:21:51.569 radio. So really, I wanted the survey to be the 00:21:51.569 --> 00:21:53.990 state of the hobby for those of us who are licensed 00:21:53.990 --> 00:21:56.829 amateurs, but I realized I had a lot of people 00:21:56.829 --> 00:21:59.410 who were not licensed but interested who wanted 00:21:59.410 --> 00:22:02.890 to participate. So I built some logic into the 00:22:02.890 --> 00:22:05.609 survey, and if they were trying to get their 00:22:05.609 --> 00:22:07.910 license, studying or interested, I had a different 00:22:07.910 --> 00:22:13.269 survey for them. And I found that only 29 % of 00:22:13.269 --> 00:22:17.289 those people were encouraged by an Elmer or a 00:22:17.289 --> 00:22:21.250 mentor to get licensed. I mean, that to me blows 00:22:21.250 --> 00:22:24.069 my mind. Only 29 % were encouraged by somebody 00:22:24.069 --> 00:22:27.670 who's currently an amateur radio license holder. 00:22:28.910 --> 00:22:34.089 I was also surprised that most of them, 86 % 00:22:34.089 --> 00:22:37.009 of those reported not having other members in 00:22:37.009 --> 00:22:41.869 their family who were radio amateurs. Now that 00:22:41.869 --> 00:22:44.549 one's a little bit less shocking to me. My grandfather, 00:22:45.109 --> 00:22:49.650 Larry, is a licensed amateur but my father isn't. 00:22:49.690 --> 00:22:53.660 It's kind of skipped a generation. But that was, 00:22:53.660 --> 00:22:57.079 to me, I think was interesting. And I think finding 00:22:57.079 --> 00:23:01.660 out what drew these people to radio will be critical 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:04.779 in keeping the hobby moving forward. We have 00:23:04.779 --> 00:23:07.440 to figure out what was that light bulb that said, 00:23:07.500 --> 00:23:11.779 hey, I want to do this. So I think that was really 00:23:11.779 --> 00:23:18.619 interesting. It's kind of surprising in working 00:23:18.619 --> 00:23:23.259 with the young hams so much is you know a lot 00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:26.740 of Young hams get in because you know dad did 00:23:26.740 --> 00:23:29.539 it grandpa did it that kind of thing But yet 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:32.859 some of them that we're getting right now that 00:23:32.859 --> 00:23:38.319 that have really You know rose to the top That 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:41.720 they have no other connection with family and 00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:45.819 it's really surprising It is right now. My son 00:23:45.819 --> 00:23:49.039 Riley is actually taking a technician class. 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:51.269 They offer it in traditionally in the fall at 00:23:51.269 --> 00:23:55.029 the Red Cross in my town here and It's the same 00:23:55.029 --> 00:23:57.509 class that I took many years ago, and there's 00:23:57.509 --> 00:24:01.109 there's three Folks in that class under the age 00:24:01.109 --> 00:24:04.849 of 25 my son included now two of them have family 00:24:04.849 --> 00:24:07.529 members who are our radio amateurs the other 00:24:07.529 --> 00:24:10.769 one doesn't and He said that he was interested 00:24:10.769 --> 00:24:13.390 because I made sure to corner him and ask him. 00:24:13.390 --> 00:24:16.660 He said he's a pilot He's going to Western Michigan 00:24:16.660 --> 00:24:21.759 University to be a pilot and they use radio communications 00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:24.619 there and he thought it was an interesting hobby. 00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:28.759 Obviously, I think there's some work we can do 00:24:28.759 --> 00:24:35.059 in figuring out what that aha moment was. There 00:24:35.059 --> 00:24:37.799 was a question that I asked last year that I 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:40.859 have to say was sort of a guilty pleasure. You 00:24:40.859 --> 00:24:43.720 would be shocked about how many people are offended 00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:47.750 that I refer to amateur radio as a hobby. I still 00:24:47.750 --> 00:24:51.589 get emails about that today from last year. So 00:24:51.589 --> 00:24:54.170 I decided to ask, is it a survey, is it a hobby, 00:24:54.410 --> 00:24:57.990 is it an avocation, what is this thing? Now I'm 00:24:57.990 --> 00:25:01.150 happy to report that 83 % of respondents agree 00:25:01.150 --> 00:25:06.049 that it's both a hobby and a service. So a large 00:25:06.049 --> 00:25:09.789 chunk of people, I think it was 99 % say it's 00:25:09.789 --> 00:25:11.769 at least a hobby. It could also be a service, 00:25:11.789 --> 00:25:15.059 but it's a hobby. we can put that one to bed 00:25:15.059 --> 00:25:19.839 and I don't have to rename my survey. Well, you 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:25.859 know, I've been a ham for 40, jeez, now I can't 00:25:25.859 --> 00:25:34.539 even remember 44 years now. And still, when somebody 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:40.009 asked, well, ham radio, what's that? There's 00:25:40.009 --> 00:25:43.630 not a quick way to answer that. I mean, that's 00:25:43.630 --> 00:25:47.529 like an hour long discussion. And so, you know, 00:25:47.809 --> 00:25:50.289 you start talking about it being a hobby, but 00:25:50.289 --> 00:25:52.430 then you start talking about all the service 00:25:52.430 --> 00:25:57.869 and it's like, what is it? And so I think you're, 00:25:57.869 --> 00:26:01.339 you're right on the money there. that you know 00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:04.380 some people will see it as a hobby and they're 00:26:04.380 --> 00:26:07.859 just on you know to get on the air and talk to 00:26:07.859 --> 00:26:09.920 people and then there's other people who are 00:26:09.920 --> 00:26:12.500 really into the service part and want to do all 00:26:12.500 --> 00:26:16.279 the the public service events and and that kind 00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:20.200 of thing and and there's so many different ways 00:26:20.200 --> 00:26:22.799 that you can go and branches that you can go 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:25.619 out that that not everybody's going to see it 00:26:25.619 --> 00:26:30.890 that way. Absolutely. It's such a multifaceted 00:26:30.890 --> 00:26:35.390 hobby or service, whichever you prefer. However 00:26:35.390 --> 00:26:40.910 you do it is fine with me. There was another 00:26:40.910 --> 00:26:45.109 thing that I think probably the result that most 00:26:45.109 --> 00:26:47.829 surprised me was the impact of having other family 00:26:47.829 --> 00:26:51.630 members, your spouse included, who also participate. 00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:56.779 I ask folks how long they've been licensed and 00:26:56.779 --> 00:26:58.720 how long they've been active. I think it's important 00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:01.339 to understand the difference and if there's a 00:27:01.339 --> 00:27:10.160 gap, understand why. On average, you'll be licensed 00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:12.839 for two years longer than someone who doesn't, 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:15.920 and you'll be active for six years longer than 00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:19.200 their counterparts. It's definitely a driving 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:23.880 factor in keeping people active with their license. 00:27:24.740 --> 00:27:28.420 I think for the spouse, it's very similar. On 00:27:28.420 --> 00:27:32.019 average, they're licensed around the same. but 00:27:32.019 --> 00:27:34.519 they're active for five more years than their 00:27:34.519 --> 00:27:37.460 counterparts where their spouse doesn't. So I 00:27:37.460 --> 00:27:41.359 think it's important going back to where we said 00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:44.440 86 % of people who aren't licensed don't have 00:27:44.440 --> 00:27:48.339 other radio amateurs. Well, I hope that changes 00:27:48.339 --> 00:27:51.000 because the numbers show it will keep people 00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:55.180 more active in the hobby for longer. Very good. 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:00.160 Let's table that one and we may come back to 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:03.099 that after the break here and talk a little bit 00:28:03.099 --> 00:28:05.799 more about some of that. But before we go to 00:28:05.799 --> 00:28:08.220 break, we want to talk about this next one that's 00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:11.589 coming up. You've got a new one that's going 00:28:11.589 --> 00:28:16.789 to be released soon. You've got a little traveling 00:28:16.789 --> 00:28:19.230 to do and then when you get back it's going to 00:28:19.230 --> 00:28:23.069 come out. So tell us how we can participate in 00:28:23.069 --> 00:28:28.609 the survey and when and all the details. Absolutely. 00:28:29.190 --> 00:28:31.170 So typically I like to run the survey during 00:28:31.170 --> 00:28:34.839 the month of March. and the results are published 00:28:34.839 --> 00:28:37.619 mid -March. I'll be traveling towards the end 00:28:37.619 --> 00:28:41.299 of February into March this year, so the survey 00:28:41.299 --> 00:28:45.140 will run mid -March to mid -April. I don't have 00:28:45.140 --> 00:28:48.720 an exact date yet, but look for it during that 00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:51.819 time frame. There is a change to the survey this 00:28:51.819 --> 00:28:54.059 year in that it'll be completely anonymous. In 00:28:54.059 --> 00:28:57.660 years past, I've asked for a call sign. That 00:28:57.660 --> 00:29:00.259 was some feedback that I received that people 00:29:00.259 --> 00:29:03.839 didn't like providing that, so this year, no 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:05.819 call sign required. You can provide it if you'd 00:29:05.819 --> 00:29:09.039 like, but it's going to be optional. I generally 00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:13.099 post on a lot of Facebook radio groups. QRZ .com 00:29:13.099 --> 00:29:15.799 usually will put it on their news section. I 00:29:15.799 --> 00:29:18.059 get a lot of responses from them, so thank you 00:29:18.059 --> 00:29:22.410 to them. I put it on Reddit and Twitter, so be 00:29:22.410 --> 00:29:25.190 on the lookout for those. The best way, though, 00:29:25.190 --> 00:29:30.769 to connect with us is on our site. It's radiosotth 00:29:30.769 --> 00:29:37.309 .org. That site has surveys when they're released. 00:29:37.410 --> 00:29:40.390 It has links to our results and some other information. 00:29:40.450 --> 00:29:42.589 You can subscribe there so that when the survey 00:29:42.589 --> 00:29:47.819 is released, you'll get an email. everyone take 00:29:47.819 --> 00:29:51.759 it. It's an annual survey, so don't feel like 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:54.220 if you did it last year or the year before that 00:29:54.220 --> 00:29:56.339 you don't have to take it. I'd love for you to 00:29:56.339 --> 00:30:00.740 take it every single year. And thank you to those 00:30:00.740 --> 00:30:03.180 who spread the word with their podcasts and their 00:30:03.180 --> 00:30:06.220 blogs and their YouTube videos. I couldn't do 00:30:06.220 --> 00:30:11.160 it without that help. Yeah, and we can certainly 00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:15.880 announce it here too when you get ready to to 00:30:15.880 --> 00:30:19.079 release that. We can mention that here on the 00:30:19.079 --> 00:30:21.940 show so we'll do that for sure and we'll put 00:30:21.940 --> 00:30:26.279 it out on our social media as well. some valuable 00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:30.039 information and statistics coming out of this 00:30:30.039 --> 00:30:33.640 survey. So hopefully all of you can participate 00:30:33.640 --> 00:30:36.700 when that comes around. Well we're going to take 00:30:36.700 --> 00:30:39.660 a break right now and then when we come back 00:30:39.660 --> 00:30:44.140 we're going to open up the phone lines at 859 00:30:44.140 --> 00:30:49.480 -982 -7373 and we'll check the tweets and see 00:30:49.480 --> 00:30:53.319 what questions you have. for Dustin right after 00:30:53.319 --> 00:30:57.000 this word from ICOM right here on HamTalk Live. 00:30:57.619 --> 00:31:02.420 Get out and be active with ICOM's new IC705 and 00:31:02.420 --> 00:31:05.819 its optional multi -function backpack. 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Give 00:32:21.220 --> 00:32:27.480 us a call at 859 -982 -7373. Again, the number 00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:33.779 to call is 859 -982 -7373. Or if you'd rather 00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:37.519 type than talk, tweet us at HamTalk Live. Now, 00:32:37.599 --> 00:32:42.339 here's Neil Rapp with more HamTalk Live. Oh, 00:32:42.500 --> 00:32:46.839 yeah. You're talking ham radio, baby. You're 00:32:46.839 --> 00:33:07.579 listening to HamTalk Live with Neil Rapp. ICom 00:33:07.579 --> 00:33:11.200 America brings HamTalk Live your way each and 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:15.059 every week. Visit them at icomamerica .com slash 00:33:15.059 --> 00:33:18.799 amateur. HamTalk Live is on the air every Thursday 00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:22.700 night at 9 p .m. Eastern Time right here at hamtalklive 00:33:22.700 --> 00:33:25.799 .com and be sure to check us out on Facebook, 00:33:25.859 --> 00:33:30.000 Twitter and Instagram. And right now it's time 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:32.680 for your call. So if you have a question for 00:33:32.680 --> 00:33:36.380 Dustin, give us a call right now. at the new 00:33:36.380 --> 00:33:47.640 phone number it's 859 -982 -7373 again 859 -982 00:33:47.640 --> 00:33:52.859 -7373 and yeah you're going to hear music the 00:33:52.859 --> 00:33:55.259 system is going to pick up and put you on hold 00:33:55.259 --> 00:33:58.900 and then it'll forward the calls to us one at 00:33:58.900 --> 00:34:03.319 a time so if you get music you've reached the 00:34:03.319 --> 00:34:07.410 right place You can also tweet us at ham talk 00:34:07.410 --> 00:34:10.949 live and if you're listening to us on WTWW or 00:34:10.949 --> 00:34:14.409 on the podcast edition You won't be able to reach 00:34:14.409 --> 00:34:18.670 us because it's Thursday night right now and 00:34:18.670 --> 00:34:21.130 and you're not listening to us at Thursday night 00:34:21.130 --> 00:34:26.989 So we're not there. So We'll go back to Dustin 00:34:26.989 --> 00:34:31.219 we were talking about the State of the Hobby 00:34:31.219 --> 00:34:36.219 Survey with Dustin Thomas in 8RMA. And again, 00:34:36.360 --> 00:34:39.099 we want to take your questions, so give us a 00:34:39.099 --> 00:34:46.179 call 859 -982 -7373 or tweet us at HamTalkLive. 00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:50.400 And we do have a tweet from Jim K5ND, a regular 00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:55.179 for the show. And Jim says, fun comment from 00:34:55.179 --> 00:34:59.159 your guest. Radio amateurs are opinionated. Who 00:34:59.159 --> 00:35:03.719 knew? No, he says, I agree. Uh, my tongue in 00:35:03.719 --> 00:35:05.539 cheek thought is that if you don't like to hear 00:35:05.539 --> 00:35:08.599 opinions, don't take up a hobby that requires 00:35:08.599 --> 00:35:14.159 a microphone. Very true. I couldn't have said 00:35:14.159 --> 00:35:20.639 it better myself. So yes, everybody's gonna, 00:35:20.659 --> 00:35:23.619 gonna have an opinion and, and, and some of these 00:35:23.619 --> 00:35:27.139 questions, uh, definitely, uh, Definitely stir 00:35:27.139 --> 00:35:34.559 up some opinion. So You know if people are on 00:35:34.559 --> 00:35:37.679 the fence, they're not sure what to call in about 00:35:37.679 --> 00:35:40.840 I'll say Going back to what I was surprised about 00:35:40.840 --> 00:35:44.639 was how reluctant people were to put their call 00:35:44.639 --> 00:35:49.960 sign to their survey. If you want to talk about 00:35:49.960 --> 00:35:54.579 why you would be reluctant to provide this type 00:35:54.579 --> 00:35:56.800 of information with your call sign, I'd love 00:35:56.800 --> 00:36:00.019 to have a conversation. If you have an opinion 00:36:00.019 --> 00:36:02.679 on that, and I'm guessing that you do out there, 00:36:03.019 --> 00:36:07.139 call in and let me know why. Yeah, that's always 00:36:07.139 --> 00:36:10.019 that's always the trick to call -in shows is 00:36:10.019 --> 00:36:12.219 you got to come up with some controversy to get 00:36:12.219 --> 00:36:18.139 people to The call in so here we go we can come 00:36:18.139 --> 00:36:20.960 up with a bunch of them, you know We can go for 00:36:20.960 --> 00:36:24.099 the for the what was it that yours? He said was 00:36:24.099 --> 00:36:27.880 on last year's signals Yeah, the hobby or service 00:36:27.880 --> 00:36:30.239 and then is it acceptable to use cue signals 00:36:30.239 --> 00:36:36.289 on voice and yep We can really stir it up Yeah, 00:36:36.289 --> 00:36:40.329 give us a call And I love you know I I get I 00:36:40.329 --> 00:36:43.070 get so many emails from people who are are mad 00:36:43.070 --> 00:36:46.329 I get I get just as many emails from people who 00:36:46.329 --> 00:36:49.070 really enjoy it and are very complimentary, but 00:36:49.400 --> 00:36:52.800 I actually have this little chart that I made 00:36:52.800 --> 00:36:56.900 up about my level of enthusiasm around this initiative, 00:36:57.659 --> 00:37:00.500 and it's very, very high in January and February, 00:37:00.820 --> 00:37:04.059 and then March, when it releases, it plummets. 00:37:04.199 --> 00:37:09.099 It's an all -time low in April, and then it stays 00:37:09.099 --> 00:37:12.219 real low until maybe Thanksgiving, and then I 00:37:12.219 --> 00:37:14.940 suddenly get amnesia, and then it shoots right 00:37:14.940 --> 00:37:16.860 back up, and I'm ready to go for the next year. 00:37:19.090 --> 00:37:24.590 Oh, yes. Oh, yes. And trust me, being a host 00:37:24.590 --> 00:37:28.989 of a internet radio show. Yeah, that happens 00:37:28.989 --> 00:37:33.809 too. You're like, Oh my gosh, these people on 00:37:33.809 --> 00:37:36.789 QR said forums are driving me nuts. How am I 00:37:36.789 --> 00:37:39.769 ever going to live with myself? And then, Oh, 00:37:40.030 --> 00:37:43.170 well, time for another episode next week. So 00:37:43.170 --> 00:37:46.300 yeah. eight five nine nine eight two seventy 00:37:46.300 --> 00:37:52.280 three seventy three is the number and Can you 00:37:52.280 --> 00:37:57.000 give us maybe a few statistics from the survey 00:37:57.000 --> 00:38:03.579 about who is responding Yeah, yeah, so actually 00:38:03.579 --> 00:38:07.219 pull up once your survey here and so much I don't 00:38:07.219 --> 00:38:10.519 have much of it memorized here so at least in 00:38:10.519 --> 00:38:15.280 terms of of My responses from last year, a large 00:38:15.280 --> 00:38:21.179 majority of them were from qriz .com, 44%, which 00:38:21.179 --> 00:38:27.199 is a great chunk. Facebook was 19 % of the responses. 00:38:28.280 --> 00:38:32.219 Email, I was very surprised, came in at about 00:38:32.219 --> 00:38:38.219 15%. And amateur radio, sites or blogs, was 7, 00:38:38.480 --> 00:38:42.530 with Reddit being 6. That was something else 00:38:42.530 --> 00:38:47.550 that surprised me. The user base of Reddit, that 00:38:47.550 --> 00:38:51.969 community is a great age demographic that I would 00:38:51.969 --> 00:38:55.469 love to get the opinions of that group. Roughly 00:38:55.469 --> 00:38:58.269 55 % of the Reddit user base is under the age 00:38:58.269 --> 00:39:01.420 of 49. And I would love to get more responses 00:39:01.420 --> 00:39:04.699 from them. But every single year I post it, it's 00:39:04.699 --> 00:39:08.079 downvoted immediately and it's lost in obscura. 00:39:09.079 --> 00:39:11.300 And a lot of people reach out to me and say, 00:39:11.400 --> 00:39:13.460 I didn't even see it on Reddit when you posted 00:39:13.460 --> 00:39:17.059 it because it immediately goes away. So a little 00:39:17.059 --> 00:39:19.039 disappointing. So if you're listening out there 00:39:19.039 --> 00:39:21.239 and you're on Reddit, help me out this year and 00:39:21.239 --> 00:39:23.719 give me an upvote when I post it. Boost that 00:39:23.719 --> 00:39:27.960 up a bit, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, well, that's really 00:39:27.960 --> 00:39:30.340 it. That's it. And you know, I'll tell you some 00:39:30.340 --> 00:39:32.679 some other fun statistics that I found was that 00:39:32.679 --> 00:39:35.320 the the average operator owns three and a half 00:39:35.320 --> 00:39:39.000 HT's I thought that was interesting because we 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:40.980 always talk about how many we have laying around 00:39:40.980 --> 00:39:43.159 that I look I turn around and look and I have 00:39:43.159 --> 00:39:46.679 four on my desk So that's perfect, right? But 00:39:46.679 --> 00:39:51.260 I want to know how do you get the half? Belfast 00:39:51.260 --> 00:39:53.639 you take the back. Yeah, you're about to get 00:39:53.639 --> 00:39:57.079 ready to say Oh now we got to hit the bow thing 00:39:57.079 --> 00:40:02.239 button here But but yeah, you just take the bat 00:40:02.239 --> 00:40:06.380 the bat. Well the battery wouldn't be half Yeah, 00:40:06.380 --> 00:40:09.460 I don't know Let's see. I'm trying to think. 00:40:09.699 --> 00:40:15.519 Let's see. I've got one two three four Yeah, 00:40:15.699 --> 00:40:21.840 okay, I guess I'm a little over average To they 00:40:21.840 --> 00:40:23.619 sort of make up make up the difference there 00:40:23.619 --> 00:40:27.360 and Another thing that I found interesting that 00:40:27.360 --> 00:40:29.980 I learned this year was that the average operator 00:40:29.980 --> 00:40:35.400 spends 28 hours a month operating, which that's 00:40:35.400 --> 00:40:37.780 a lot, I think. I don't think I spend that much, 00:40:38.260 --> 00:40:40.500 but it was interesting. So, 28 hours a month 00:40:40.500 --> 00:40:44.719 operating, making on average 65 contacts per 00:40:44.719 --> 00:40:46.530 month. I thought that was kind of interesting 00:40:46.530 --> 00:40:49.929 to know. So where do you fit? Are you above average, 00:40:50.090 --> 00:40:53.090 below average there? Oh, I'd say I'm probably 00:40:53.090 --> 00:40:55.889 below average because I spend all my time working 00:40:55.889 --> 00:41:01.630 on, you know, shows and news line and youth. 00:41:04.469 --> 00:41:07.690 There's a bunch of us that are like, you know, 00:41:07.690 --> 00:41:09.929 I know I've heard word silver in zero AX say 00:41:09.929 --> 00:41:12.960 this. It's like, I'm never on the air because 00:41:12.960 --> 00:41:15.260 I'm spending so much time doing all this stuff 00:41:15.260 --> 00:41:18.099 to promote people being on the air and help people 00:41:18.099 --> 00:41:21.400 be on the air that I'm never on the air. And 00:41:21.400 --> 00:41:24.480 you know, and in my role, that's been kind of 00:41:24.480 --> 00:41:27.380 the case because like even at field day, it's 00:41:27.380 --> 00:41:29.780 like, can I get on the air for an hour? Can I, 00:41:29.780 --> 00:41:32.670 can I just like. Can I just like run for a while 00:41:32.670 --> 00:41:35.869 because um, you know always coaching and you 00:41:35.869 --> 00:41:38.530 know Taking care of this taking care of that 00:41:38.530 --> 00:41:40.750 and it's like, you know, I help everybody else 00:41:40.750 --> 00:41:44.190 get on and it's like I want to get on for a while 00:41:44.190 --> 00:41:48.369 I yep. I completely I completely understand that, 00:41:48.570 --> 00:41:51.150 you know, i'm i'm fortunate that the survey Takes 00:41:51.150 --> 00:41:55.150 a lot of time. It's um It's about 40 hours worth 00:41:55.150 --> 00:41:58.670 of work. It's maybe 10 hours in preparation, 00:41:58.969 --> 00:42:02.489 and then maybe 30 with the analysis. So over 00:42:02.489 --> 00:42:04.789 the course of that six weeks, I'm spending maybe 00:42:04.789 --> 00:42:08.030 40 hours on it. But then I sort of get a year 00:42:08.030 --> 00:42:13.590 to relax, or 10 months to relax. Then I can operate 00:42:13.590 --> 00:42:19.429 within that time frame. Yeah, so so is the time 00:42:19.429 --> 00:42:22.050 frame that you chose for the survey in March 00:42:22.050 --> 00:42:28.050 their strategy to that There there wasn't I think 00:42:28.050 --> 00:42:32.230 it spawned from the first survey in 2017 and 00:42:32.230 --> 00:42:34.869 it just happened to be I did that year I did 00:42:34.869 --> 00:42:39.329 two weeks in March and found that it wasn't enough 00:42:39.329 --> 00:42:43.980 and just decided Well, all right, I'm going to 00:42:43.980 --> 00:42:46.860 try this again in 2018 and might as well keep 00:42:46.860 --> 00:42:49.800 it at the same time, but I'm going to open it 00:42:49.800 --> 00:42:53.880 up to four weeks first too. And it just kind 00:42:53.880 --> 00:42:58.260 of stuck. It sort of works out too. I hear a 00:42:58.260 --> 00:43:01.860 lot of clubs during the summer aren't doing a 00:43:01.860 --> 00:43:03.659 lot until field day. It seems like field day 00:43:03.659 --> 00:43:07.340 is their summer activity. So in March leading 00:43:07.340 --> 00:43:10.320 up to April is sort of the end of their club 00:43:10.320 --> 00:43:13.710 year. So I think it works out works out fairly 00:43:13.710 --> 00:43:18.650 fairly well Yeah, you know, I think contest season 00:43:18.650 --> 00:43:22.150 is kind of kind of winding down a little bit 00:43:22.150 --> 00:43:25.809 and and you know, we got Hamvention coming up 00:43:25.809 --> 00:43:28.650 and You know, so I think it's a good time to 00:43:28.650 --> 00:43:32.989 do it Well, let's let's talk a little bit about 00:43:32.989 --> 00:43:35.409 you know the future and I don't want you to give 00:43:35.409 --> 00:43:38.090 away anything that would affect the results of 00:43:38.090 --> 00:43:43.030 the survey, but but you know, do you have anything 00:43:43.030 --> 00:43:48.210 new that's coming up this year or maybe in 2021 00:43:48.210 --> 00:43:52.670 that you're kind of thinking, you know, a direction 00:43:52.670 --> 00:43:56.630 you might head in the future with this? Yeah, 00:43:56.949 --> 00:44:01.170 so I'd So a couple things almost any new question 00:44:01.170 --> 00:44:04.349 that I've added to the survey Comes purely at 00:44:04.349 --> 00:44:07.409 the suggestion of others So this year there's 00:44:07.409 --> 00:44:09.590 going to be a field towards the end where if 00:44:09.590 --> 00:44:12.170 you have a question that you'd like to see on 00:44:12.170 --> 00:44:15.570 the survey You can throw it on there. I'll take 00:44:15.570 --> 00:44:18.389 a look at all of those You can always drop me 00:44:18.389 --> 00:44:22.130 an email as well. I'd love to hear from you And 00:44:22.130 --> 00:44:25.690 while I try to approach this holistically, like 00:44:25.690 --> 00:44:28.090 I mentioned before, the survey topics do tend 00:44:28.090 --> 00:44:31.570 to slant more towards US hams. So in the future, 00:44:31.610 --> 00:44:34.570 I'd love to partner with some hams that are outside 00:44:34.570 --> 00:44:38.230 the US and that are interested in being a part 00:44:38.230 --> 00:44:41.789 of the survey and kind of helping shape it for 00:44:41.789 --> 00:44:47.400 a more global reach. Specifically for 2020, a 00:44:47.400 --> 00:44:49.340 couple of new questions that I'll be asking, 00:44:49.500 --> 00:44:53.320 and I don't mind giving these away now. I'm asking 00:44:53.320 --> 00:44:58.800 about DVAPs and hotspots, jumble spots, whether 00:44:58.800 --> 00:45:01.519 you have one or whether you don't. I'm asking 00:45:01.519 --> 00:45:05.119 about space weather. I'm asking about vintage 00:45:05.119 --> 00:45:08.699 radios. And I'm also going to be asking about 00:45:08.699 --> 00:45:12.619 remote ham stations. And all four of those came 00:45:12.619 --> 00:45:16.099 from folks on Twitter or on the blog or email 00:45:16.099 --> 00:45:18.400 saying, hey, I'd like to know more about that. 00:45:19.380 --> 00:45:23.179 So that's sort of what's new, where I'd like 00:45:23.179 --> 00:45:28.900 to take it. I do have a Patreon open on the blog 00:45:28.900 --> 00:45:31.420 if you'd like to donate to this initiative. It's 00:45:31.420 --> 00:45:34.519 not about making money. I would like to move 00:45:34.519 --> 00:45:37.860 to a more robust survey platform. Currently, 00:45:37.880 --> 00:45:40.679 I'm using Google Survey. There's some better 00:45:40.679 --> 00:45:44.900 ones out there. But they can be quite pricey. 00:45:45.420 --> 00:45:48.760 So that's going to be new if people want to donate. 00:45:48.780 --> 00:45:51.420 And if they don't, that's fine. That's not a 00:45:51.420 --> 00:45:55.639 problem. That's not why I do it. And lastly, 00:45:55.860 --> 00:45:58.739 I'd like to see more people, more return visitors 00:45:58.739 --> 00:46:04.760 to the survey. In 2018, 7 % were returned visitors. 00:46:05.360 --> 00:46:08.659 Last year, it was 15%. I'd love for it to be 00:46:08.659 --> 00:46:13.900 closer to 50 % in 2020 and then 75 % in 2021. 00:46:14.679 --> 00:46:16.940 I'd like to get the people who previously took 00:46:16.940 --> 00:46:22.239 it back and then new folks to join in. All right, 00:46:22.320 --> 00:46:27.679 sounds like a good plan and I wish you continued 00:46:27.679 --> 00:46:32.199 success because these statistics are really important 00:46:32.199 --> 00:46:36.119 whenever we're trying to plan and promote and 00:46:36.119 --> 00:46:40.579 do things. It's really good to have the numbers 00:46:40.579 --> 00:46:44.619 to back things up. And you're really the only 00:46:44.619 --> 00:46:47.900 source of that on a large scale at this point. 00:46:48.320 --> 00:46:52.699 So we appreciate all your work on all of this. 00:46:53.559 --> 00:46:58.840 And we have come to the end of our time. So let 00:46:58.840 --> 00:47:03.099 me check the tweets here one more time and see 00:47:03.099 --> 00:47:07.260 if we have anything here. And then let me give 00:47:07.260 --> 00:47:10.889 you a chance to. Just throw out any final comments, 00:47:11.010 --> 00:47:14.570 anything we missed along the way. Feel free to 00:47:14.570 --> 00:47:19.869 do that and we'll wrap things up. Yeah, absolutely. 00:47:20.769 --> 00:47:25.510 So the thing I want folks to know is that I want 00:47:25.510 --> 00:47:27.690 this to be fun. I want this to be interesting. 00:47:28.489 --> 00:47:32.210 There's a section towards the end that has just 00:47:32.210 --> 00:47:37.460 a long text field. We call them verbatims. put 00:47:37.460 --> 00:47:39.340 your opinions in there. I love reading them. 00:47:39.500 --> 00:47:43.000 I read every single one. I read all 3 ,000 of 00:47:43.000 --> 00:47:46.659 them. I love to read what drew people to the 00:47:46.659 --> 00:47:51.960 hobby. I love to read what they want to see on 00:47:51.960 --> 00:47:57.099 future surveys. If you have a ham radio blog 00:47:57.099 --> 00:48:01.420 or Facebook group, or a club, please mention 00:48:01.420 --> 00:48:05.300 that this is coming and steer your fellow hams 00:48:05.300 --> 00:48:09.239 to that. And then, Neil, to you. Thank you for 00:48:09.239 --> 00:48:12.940 having me on. Congratulations on nearing that 00:48:12.940 --> 00:48:17.880 200 episode mark. Very impressive. And thank 00:48:17.880 --> 00:48:19.739 you for the work that you do with the Youth on 00:48:19.739 --> 00:48:23.460 the Air. I just heard about it from Sterling. 00:48:24.090 --> 00:48:28.690 this year and real excited about where that will 00:48:28.690 --> 00:48:32.889 go. So thank you for doing that. You're very 00:48:32.889 --> 00:48:35.670 welcome and thank you for helping us out with 00:48:35.670 --> 00:48:39.809 some numbers to help out our young hams over 00:48:39.809 --> 00:48:45.070 in Europe and also in planning things over here 00:48:45.070 --> 00:48:48.570 on this side of the pond. Thanks so much for 00:48:48.570 --> 00:48:51.429 all you do, and let's go through the website 00:48:51.429 --> 00:48:53.550 again one more time just to make sure everybody 00:48:53.550 --> 00:48:56.929 knows where to find this next month. Yep. It's 00:48:56.929 --> 00:49:04.409 going to be www .radiosoth. That's Radio Sierra 00:49:04.409 --> 00:49:09.730 Oscar Tango Hotel dot org. I got that from Radio 00:49:09.730 --> 00:49:14.289 State of the Hobby. You can always just go to 00:49:14.289 --> 00:49:17.170 Google. and type in radio state of the hobby 00:49:17.170 --> 00:49:20.690 you'll find it and I have a link on my QRZ profile 00:49:20.690 --> 00:49:24.869 as well. All right, well thank you so much for 00:49:24.869 --> 00:49:28.550 coming on the show and have a great time traveling 00:49:28.550 --> 00:49:31.230 and we look forward to seeing the survey coming 00:49:31.230 --> 00:49:34.630 out here in about a month. My pleasure, thank 00:49:34.630 --> 00:49:39.230 you. All right, well that is a wrap for this 00:49:39.230 --> 00:49:42.130 week's edition of HamTalk Live. Thanks to my 00:49:42.130 --> 00:49:46.429 guest Dustin Thomas, N8RMA, and everybody out 00:49:46.429 --> 00:49:49.010 there in cyberspace for listening and typing 00:49:49.010 --> 00:49:51.829 in. And I invite you back next Thursday night 00:49:51.829 --> 00:49:55.309 at 9 p .m. Eastern Time when, yes, it's episode 00:49:55.309 --> 00:49:59.110 number 200. And we're gonna give away a bunch 00:49:59.110 --> 00:50:02.730 of prizes and take a look back at the first 199 00:50:02.730 --> 00:50:07.250 episodes. So make sure you come back to HamTalkLive 00:50:07.250 --> 00:50:10.829 .com next Thursday night and we're going to take 00:50:10.829 --> 00:50:14.170 your calls. We're not going to have a guest next 00:50:14.170 --> 00:50:17.179 week. We're going to play some clips from Previous 00:50:17.179 --> 00:50:21.079 episodes and we're gonna take some calls to give 00:50:21.079 --> 00:50:23.900 away some stuff So we're gonna have a lot of 00:50:23.900 --> 00:50:27.639 fun with that next week. So be sure to tune in 00:50:27.639 --> 00:50:31.039 for that Do you want to make one final announcement 00:50:31.039 --> 00:50:35.360 here? I was emailing with Carol Perry WB to MGP 00:50:35.659 --> 00:50:39.039 And she wanted to let everybody know that she 00:50:39.039 --> 00:50:42.059 is accepting nominations now for the Young Ham 00:50:42.059 --> 00:50:46.199 Lends a Hand contest. This is an annual contest 00:50:46.199 --> 00:50:50.280 that's given away at the Dayton Hamvention Youth 00:50:50.280 --> 00:50:53.840 Forum for any young ham, and that's defined as 00:50:53.840 --> 00:50:58.280 age 19 or younger, who has demonstrated some 00:50:58.280 --> 00:51:02.809 basic tenets of service and volunteerism. So 00:51:02.809 --> 00:51:06.289 you can nominate somebody for that award. It 00:51:06.289 --> 00:51:09.170 could be somebody who helps recruit and mentor 00:51:09.170 --> 00:51:12.610 other young people, helps at local community 00:51:12.610 --> 00:51:15.250 events, or helps some way with the elderly or 00:51:15.250 --> 00:51:18.409 military personnel in the community. Anything 00:51:18.409 --> 00:51:24.710 that they do that lends a hand. And they're a 00:51:24.710 --> 00:51:27.789 ham. Those are the people that she's looking 00:51:27.789 --> 00:51:32.989 for. So all nominations can be sent to WB2MGP, 00:51:32.989 --> 00:51:37.989 that's Whiskey Bravo 2, MikeGolfPapa at gmail 00:51:37.989 --> 00:51:42.730 .com before the end of April. And the winner 00:51:42.730 --> 00:51:45.829 will be announced at her youth forum at the Dayton 00:51:45.829 --> 00:51:50.409 Hamvention. And that's a $100 prize for the young 00:51:50.409 --> 00:51:53.409 ham so Make sure you get your nominations in 00:51:53.409 --> 00:51:56.269 for that and also if you like ham talk live if 00:51:56.269 --> 00:51:58.829 you like the show here Please leave us a review 00:51:58.829 --> 00:52:02.730 that that really helps us out. So That's gonna 00:52:02.730 --> 00:52:06.409 wrap it up for tonight. So this is Neil rap WB9 00:52:06.409 --> 00:52:10.650 VPG saying seven to three Seven five and may 00:52:10.650 --> 00:52:23.099 the good DX be yours Well you came right back 00:52:23.099 --> 00:52:27.460 to my secure call Your readability five and strength 00:52:27.460 --> 00:52:32.400 nine You never once mentioned your weather at 00:52:32.400 --> 00:52:38.059 all And I didn't mention mine We talked and talked 00:52:38.059 --> 00:52:42.219 for hours and hours I completely forgot you're 00:52:42.219 --> 00:52:46.840 a ham I don't know your power or the height of 00:52:46.840 --> 00:52:52.780 your tower Frankly I don't give a damn Your 73's 00:52:52.780 --> 00:52:56.719 to you and your family I'll be seeing you further 00:52:56.719 --> 00:53:01.880 down the line Your 73's to you and your family 00:53:01.880 --> 00:53:04.519 I'll be seeing you further down the line