Traditional Ham Radio No Longer So Attractive

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IARU President Tim Ellam VE6SH/G4HUA talking at the IARU Region 1 General Conference in Landshut that traditional aspects of Amateur Radio may not be attractive to all newcomers

During his speech, Ellam, urged attendees to reflect upon what will attract the majority of young people into Amateur Radio, “and what our mutual expectations should be.” Ellam said his personal observation is that, while some younger people are interested in the more traditional aspects of Amateur Radio, many are only interested in ham radio as an adjunct to other possibly unrelated interests.

“I applaud the excellent work that has been undertaken in this region through the Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) program.” Tim said, crediting the hard work of IARU Region 1 Youth Working Group Chair Lisa Leenders, PA2LS. YOTA’s summer Amateur Radio camps have attracted young hams from around the world; this year’s was held in the UK.

“Our ambition should be to embrace these individuals in their activities and accept that some of the more traditional aspects of the hobby will hold little interest to them, and indeed may no longer be relevant,” he continued. “That is not to say that some are not enthused with what we all hold as the core of our hobby, such as contesting or operating generally. I fear, though, that we need to look at what will attract the new generations to Amateur Radio and make sure we promote Amateur Radio as meeting their needs, rather than promoting the historical view of what Amateur Radio has to offer.”

In another story, the BBC have demonstrated the lack of knowledge in young people in regards to tuning an analogue radio.

ARRL Story - http://www.arrl.org/news/iaru-president-traditional-aspects-of-ham-radio-may-not-be-attractive-to-newcomers

BBC Find Young People Can’t Tune an Analogue Radio - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-41437574/radio-1-at-50-but-where-is-it

 

RF pollution from LED bulbs in Germany

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The German Amateur Radio Club (DARC) has issued a press release identifying domestic LED light bulbs as a source of electrical interference

The increasing popularity of these light sources has led to a significant increase in reports of radio traffic disturbance, interruption of radio services and even poor DAB reception. In their opinion, the electrically noisy LED lamps are a result of a bad government policy which simply ignores regulations applicable to EMC and the generation of EMI by electrical equipment.

According to DARC, the recommendations outlined in the regulations governing electromagnetic compatibility have simply been ignored.

Some of the spectrum areas affected include

  • Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) 174 - 240 MHz
  • Marine VHF 156 - 162.025 MHz
  • Amateur Radio 2 metre band 144 - 146 MHz
  • Airband 118 - 136.975 MHz
  • FM Stereo broadcast 88 - 108 MHz
  • Baby monitors 49.30 - 49.89 MHz
  • High-frequency services, inc. long range marine & airband, Shortwave broadcasts, Amateur radio allocations, Citizens' Band radio, plus wireless devices operating on 27MHz 3 - 30 MHz

The result is that LED lamps currently on sale and in use generate considerable wideband RF interference.

Full article - https://www.elektormagazine.com/news/led-rumpus

UKQRM LED Bulb radio interference page - https://www.ukqrm.org.uk/lighting.php