Yet another successful Tech Class Session

[electricflyer]

We finished the second Tech class today, this is the second class so far this year. We had a good class in March also. We had 28 take a test today, 20 are now new Tech license ham radio enthusiasts. We had at least 8 of them were YL's, actually I think they were XYL's. 2 more people are now new General license holders and we had one person came in to upgrade to General. So out of 28 that took the test we had 23 that passed. Most that failed were young boy scouts who may retest at a later date but they still got a radio merit badge for being in the class.

ARRL is planning to have direct online entry for VE's sometime late this fall so we will look forward to that. Right now it's running 10-14 days before any one is put in the FCC database. Our group will be a beta tester. I didn't realize it but ARRL says our VE group is one of the top exam units on the east coast. Who'd have thunk it. We have a good time and always delight into getting new hams in the family.
Marv
KT4W

[Radio]

Originally Posted by electricflyer

We have a good time and always delight into getting new hams in the family.

Yeah that's kind of the point of going to all that trouble.

Putting on a class (or 5 or 6) was by far the most rewarding thing our club has ever done. After a while we were really good at it. We had a one day tech class on a Saturday and followed with a testing session the next Saturday. Our success rate was about 75% of those taking the test.

Our hobby needs dedicated folks doing what you do to make not only new hams but also new GOOD hams.

[electricflyer]

I don't teach the class, I leave that up to Elden (N1MN) who is a certified ARRL instructor and also a BSA merit badge instructor. I just help field questions and get things set up. We will probably do a General license (most likely 4 sessions) class this summer and if we really want a challenge we may do an Amateur Extra class but that will probably take about 10 Saturdays at 6 hours each (plus lunch). We tell people, "have test booklets, will travel".

[NN5I]

Good work, Flyer. Although I don't particularly think we need more hams -- yeah, I know that's sacrilege to some -- I definitely think we need many more youthful hams -- kids, teens, young adults. The more the better, partly because if the ones we have don't have peers to talk to they'll drift away. They won't want to spend all their time talking to old farts like me.

Thus I'm always curious to know the age distribution in classes and in test sessions. Any insight to offer on that?

[Radio]

Be sure to post your info about the General class. Some folks from over here may want to go.

[solar.gumby]

Why is it that you think that fewer hams is better?
I disagree.

Originally Posted by NN5I

Good work, Flyer. Although I don't particularly think we need more hams -- yeah, I know that's sacrilege to some -- I definitely think we need many more youthful hams -- kids, teens, young adults. The more the better, partly because if the ones we have don't have peers to talk to they'll drift away. They won't want to spend all their time talking to old farts like me.

Thus I'm always curious to know the age distribution in classes and in test sessions. Any insight to offer on that?

[NN5I]

Originally Posted by solar.gumby

Why is it that you think that fewer hams is better?
I disagree.

That's not what I said, not even approximately. Nor could a moderately careful reader infer it.

What I did say could be paraphrased as I don't think more hams is better.

To amplify, I think we would be as well off with many fewer hams, or many more hams. Fewer hams would be just as good, and more is just as good too, but not particularly better. Who cares how many hams there are? There were enough 59 years ago when I entered the hobby, and the many more we have now are not too many.

I have grown to be glad when someone disagrees with something I actually said, especially if he gives intelligent reasons why he disagrees -- because I never yet found that I could learn much from people who agree with me. But when people impute to me something I never came near saying and would myself question if said by someone else, I guess I'm not quite so glad.

Cheers! If I had said that, why would you disagree? Who knows -- you may have thought about it more than I have.

[solar.gumby]

[QUOTE=NN5I;14953]That's not what I said, not even approximately. Nor could a moderately careful reader infer it.

Actually there are only a couple of ways that what you said could be interpreted, if you read what you wrote.
"Although I don't particularly think we need more hams "
Either you think the number of hams should stay the same (unlikely), or you think there should be fewer hams.
I am a moderately careful reader, and I am now taking offence at your response.

It is not the case where the amateur radio community can pick and choose those who take the interest to become licensed operators, so to improve the ranks, or continue the interest and promote the hobby, we need to encourage all who show an interest to become hams. Only then will the hobby continue to have enough active members to sustain and grow interest for others through exposure and innovation. As we all know, a great many who join the hobby either loose interest rapidly, or even over time, not to mention losses through SKs or license lapses.
So in order to sustain the hobby, we need volume, as we can't choose quality, and only through demonstration can we maintain the involvement and privileges that the hobby has fought for.

So yes, I believe that it is in the best interest of the hobby to increase the numbers of licensed operators, regardless of their ages or abilities or interests.

[NN5I]

No; saying I don't think we need more doesn't imply that we need fewer, doesn't imply that we need any change or no change; and doesn't imply any objection to more -- only a lack of desire for more. Sorry you took offense, or offence, but you saw what you chose to see, not what I said. Words have meanings, and using them with precision is something I'm very good at.

But we have now hijacked this thread, and it's my fault. If we continue, we ought to do it over pizza and root beer. I think we'll get along better that way. I'll buy.

[electricflyer]

As requested there will be a General License Class starting July 16th and for 2 more Saturday sessions (23rd, 30th) at the American Legion Post 294 in Powder Springs, GA. Sessions start at 8:00am and end approximately at 3:00pm with a 1 hour lunch break. You must have a General License manual from either ARRL or Gordon West. There will be an exam given after the last class session and there is a $15 fee for the exam. The class is free. For more information contact Elden Morris, N1MN at [email protected]. Elden will post the information on the ARRL web site under "Classes" and just search "Georgia" for the details. He has not posted it as yet (5/1/16) but it should be there soon.
I will miss the 2 last class sessions as I will be 1000+ miles away. Good luck to all interested parties. Note - tech class license holders will also need to bring a non-returnable copy of their present license for the exam.
Marv
KT4W

[electricflyer]

Originally Posted by NN5I

GThus I'm always curious to know the age distribution in classes and in test sessions. Any insight to offer on that?

The age span starts at about 11yo and goes beyond old. The instructor teaches classes to the Boy Scouts and offers merit badges to them for class completion. We had about 8 young lads in our last tech class. I don't know how many achieved a license but a guess would be at least 4 of them. We have an occasional young person (m/f) at our regular test sessions. In a years time we probably have close to 20 young people (7-16) get licensed. Elden (N1MN) works very hard at Boy Scouts to get them interested.

[NN5I]

Sounds like you're doing exactly what I think Amateur Radio most needs. Bravo!

[ke0me]

Glad to see that scouts are involved, I studied lots of topics when I was in scouts that I never would have encountered otherwise. Geology, Forestry, Life Saving, and quite a few more.

PS- any old scouts out there? We used to have to pass a Morse Code test to earn first class rank. Since I was the only ham in the troop, I usually taught the class.

Now I'm showing my age again.

[NN5I]

Originally Posted by ke0me

Now I'm showing my age again.

Don't worry, Dick. It shows, regardless.