Amateur radio needs more young folks.

[TNFrank]

I was watching a video on YouTube of a Hamfest and the vast majority of people there were 60+ year old guys. If this hobbies is going to survive we need to bring more young folks in and show them just how much fun it can be to talk to someone on a radio. 

I remember the Pre-Cellphone days(yep, I'm old, lol)and all my buddies in High School has CB radios and we do our best to keep in touch with them. 

I helped a few folks out with helping them program their radios and trying to show them how practical they can be. GMRS is a good place for new radio users to get their feet wet since it only requires a $35 fee to get the license.  After that they can work on studying for their HAM license and really open up things. 

If you can talk to some young folks about radio and maybe help them to pick up one and give it a try. We really need some young folks to get involved if we want radio in the future.

[SteveShannon]

2 minutes ago, TNFrank said:

I was watching a video on YouTube of a Hamfest and the vast majority of people there were 60+ year old guys. If this hobbies is going to survive we need to bring more young folks in and show them just how much fun it can be to talk to someone on a radio. 

I remember the Pre-Cellphone days(yep, I'm old, lol)and all my buddies in High School has CB radios and we do our best to keep in touch with them. 

I helped a few folks out with helping them program their radios and trying to show them how practical they can be. GMRS is a good place for new radio users to get their feet wet since it only requires a $35 fee to get the license.  After that they can work on studying for their HAM license and really open up things. 

If you can talk to some young folks about radio and maybe help them to pick up one and give it a try. We really need some young folks to get involved if we want radio in the future.

Well said!

[Destro]

I recently went to and joined a brand new HAM club in my area. I'm 49 (but look a lot younger), and covered in tattoos. Everyone there was in there 70's, and they all just stopped and stared at me when I walked in. I'm sure they all thought I was in the wrong place.

They're all super nice and very helpful. But it was just funny to see the look on their faces when I walked in.

[marcspaz]

I think the inventions of cell phone and the internet have made things like Amateur Radio something for the history books, in the minds of people 40 and younger. They only real draw for many of them would be the EMCOMM aspect or if they are an electronics enthusiast... but there aren't many of either these days.

Still, I do what I can to get as many people as possible involved. I love playing show n tell and doing demos. 

[dosw]

A thing for the history books... Only if Amateur radio is held back from evolving with technology by either resistance to change or higher barriers to entry into more technically advanced niches. But remember the barriers to entry into legacy niches such as traditional atmospheric propagation in HF bands are also rather high. So I lean towards the aging base clinging to the romantic love of past technologies.

But they're also not in the wrong. Working on a 1960s muscle car, restoring to stock perfection is an exercise in nostalgia even for people too young to have lived through the original era. It can be addictive and fun. But nobody is claiming their backyard project is producing something that gets better mileage, and more power, and better safety than a modern day equivalent. I have a '95 Bronco, and a '14 F150. The 11 year old vehicle, despite being a little heavier and having a higher displacement engine gets better fuel economy. It has nearly double the HP per pound of engine, a lot more power per CI of displacement, half again more torque. But I still find the Bronco to be a really fun project vehicle, and driving it feels awesome despite the squeaks and rattles.

Many aspects of Amateur radio have been replaced by alternatives that are more reliable, more High Availability redundant, better sounding, and more feature laden. But it still has both charm and technical ingenuity that can be explored and appreciated. 

On the other hand, amateur can also be a means of innovating new technology. Many technologies the general public uses every day were either first experimented with by amateurs, or made better by amateur radio techniques. The first voice communication through a satellite were done by amateurs finding interesting ways to piggyback on space technology. There can be a synergy that is improved by the existence and curiosity of amateurs.

Per capita there may be a decline in amateur radio (though I don't know that to be the case). But total number of licenses does seem to trend upwards, though not in a straight upward line.

[WSEZ864]

The Boy Scouts loosely encourages amateur radio use, and our amateur radio club does what we can to encourage them. The Scouts have an 'Electronics' merit badge that can include radio work. We schedule ourselves to be on the air when they do an exercise, in order to provide them with additional opportunities to make contacts.

Some of our club members/licensed amateurs have kids that develop an interest via osmosis, and those kids sometimes/rarely have friends get involved with them.

When we do the Field Day exercises, we often have school-age kids stop by and check things out, sometimes operating under the supervision of licensed operators. More than once, these experiences have sparked an interest that leads to licensing.

Otherwise, it seems very hard to involve today's kids in almost anything that doesn't involve a phone or computer screen in front of their faces and very few of our candidates at the licensing exams are under 30 years old. Oddly enough, the younger ones that do take the exams are generally successful.

In addition to the proliferation of cell phone use in daily life, one thing that inhibits radio use among younger people is the idea that the infrastructure is bulletproof and a permanent fixture in life. Most younger folks cannot even imagine the phones and/or internet being out of service. Even the Boy Scouts 'Emergency Preparedness' merit badge brochure suggests having emergency phone numbers written down (LOL) and their only mention of radio seems to be an AM/FM monitoring setup to hear local commercial broadcasts. Even those writing the doctrine seem short-sighted in that regard.

[marcspaz]

5 hours ago, dosw said:

Many aspects of Amateur radio have been replaced by alternatives that are more reliable,

 

I don't believe this to be true. In every instance of an event that lead to a communications infrastructure failure I have seen, including this year, Amateur radio still worked with zero impact. In most cases I'm aware of, Amateur Radio operators were put in place by the government to help with logistics. 

As long as the Sun still burns and we have an atmosphere on earth, nothing will be more reliable than a simple Ham radio on each end of the conversation, anywhere on earth. 

You have to remember, the more complicated the machine, the more likely to fail. Think about commercial power, commercial networks, commercial internet, services providers, and the millions of miles of cable and satellites that can fail in that chain, anywhere along the path. And contrary to advertising and common belief, cellular services only covers populated areas. Companies like ATT and Verizon only cover about 29% of the United States land mass with their current coverage.

Now, that said, it's way more convenient and easy to pick up a cellphone or tablet and just start using it, as long as your not somewhere in the 70% of the US it doesn't work.

[LeoG]

9 hours ago, marcspaz said:

I think the inventions of cell phone and the internet have made things like Amateur Radio something for the history books, in the minds of people 40 and younger. They only real draw for many of them would be the EMCOMM aspect or if they are an electronics enthusiast... but there aren't many of either these days.

Still, I do what I can to get as many people as possible involved. I love playing show n tell and doing demos. 

^^^ This ^^^

With instantaneous communication around the world at your fingertips almost anywhere you are radio communication isn't even a blip on their radar.

[WRXB215]

3 hours ago, LeoG said:

With instantaneous communication around the world at your fingertips almost anywhere you are radio communication isn't even a blip on their radar.

Yes, exactly. Then the hurricane hits and these same people start having trouble breathing because they can't get a signal.

[LeoG]

It's why I got a radio to each member of my family.  They have access to the 2 main repeaters in my area and mine when I finally get the antenna up high enough to reach them.

[TNFrank]

I really miss my '72 Cutlass. It was so easy to work on. Many never think of this "old technology" until their new stuff fails them and then it's too late. 

I like the idea of being able to hit a repeater and talk valley wide to people without the need for a cell phone but them I'm just old I guess.

[hxpx]

4 hours ago, TNFrank said:

I really miss my '72 Cutlass. It was so easy to work on. Many never think of this "old technology" until their new stuff fails them and then it's too late. 

I like the idea of being able to hit a repeater and talk valley wide to people without the need for a cell phone but them I'm just old I guess.

I've owned carbureted and EFI motorcycles and I much prefer plugging in a $15 OBDII tool than fiddling with carbs or tracing wires to figure out what's going on. Maybe that's like using a fancy SDR hunting for HF contacts - old concepts, modern technology.

On the other hand, I would like to fight whatever Chevrolet engineer decided you needed to jack up the engine and remove an engine bracket to replace the serpentine belt in my old Cruze. I'm not making a ham radio analogy with that, I'm just mad I had to do it twice.

[WRXB215]

4 hours ago, TNFrank said:

I really miss my '72 Cutlass.

Yep, and most likely it would survive an EMP.

[WRXB215]

20 minutes ago, hxpx said:

On the other hand, I would like to fight whatever Chevrolet engineer decided you needed to jack up the engine and remove an engine bracket to replace the serpentine belt in my old Cruze. I'm not making a ham radio analogy with that, I'm just mad I had to do it twice.

Don't get me started.

[TNFrank]

You NEED a Scan Tool for the new EFI motors just to see which of the Bazillian Sensors is throwing a code. With the old Carb motors it's Fuel, Spark and it either runs or it doesn't. No CAT to worry about, No Smog stuff, Easy/Peasy to work on. Worst comes to worst you buy a new Carb and slap it on and it'll probably run.  I had a '96 S-10 that someone put a Vortec 350 in with a Carb and HEI ignition and I could adjust the timing to my liking and tweak the Carb to make it run just right and it was BALLS FAST too. 

Don't get me wrong, I really like my '04 Dodge Ram Hemi but I'm afraid to change the spark plugs in it because it has aluminum heads and 16 plugs and if the last person to own it didn't put anti-seize on the plugs then you can almost count on stripping the threads out when you remove the plug and that's an expense I don't need.  Until it throws a missfire code I'm not touching it. 

[AdmiralCochrane]

21 hours ago, hxpx said:

I've owned carbureted and EFI motorcycles and I much prefer plugging in a $15 OBDII tool than fiddling with carbs or tracing wires to figure out what's going on. Maybe that's like using a fancy SDR hunting for HF contacts - old concepts, modern technology.

On the other hand, I would like to fight whatever Chevrolet engineer decided you needed to jack up the engine and remove an engine bracket to replace the serpentine belt in my old Cruze. I'm not making a ham radio analogy with that, I'm just mad I had to do it twice.

His grandfather designed the '58 Chevy V-8 where you had to jack up the motor so one of the spark plugs cleared the steering column.  Back then spark plugs needed to be changed several times a year.

[amaff]

Just plugging in my screwdriver...

 

 

[WRYZ926]

We recently did a survey of members ages in the local radio club. We got 21 of the 27 members to respond. Half of the membership is between 38 and 55 and the other half is between 66 and 83. The biggest majority is between 66 and 72 (6 members) with the next largest groups being between 49 and 55 (4 members) and  between 72 and 77 (4 members)

New vehicles are definitely harder to work on compared to the old vehicles. Even my 1997 Ford F150 with the 4.6L V8 was a royal pain to change the two rear spark plugs as they were under the firewall. I ended up using a motorcycle spark plug tool and a wrench to get those out.

Plus all of the computer modules are going to be RF noisy. That is why it is highly recommended to connect two way radios to the battery positive and a good chassis ground. I had enough fun chasing down RF noise when I installed my GMRS and 2m/70cm radios in my 2023 Ford Escape that I do not want to even try installing a HF radio. I know a few guys with new Chevy and Ford trucks that have had to bond all body parts and even the exhaust systems along with putting toroids and clamp on ferrite beads everywhere and they still fight RF with their HF radios.

[RogerSpendlove]

I got into GMRS last year after an expert HAM (and other radio technologies) guy taught a couple sessions to my Trail Life USA troop of boys for our Communications Technology badge. As Troopmaster, I got excited to learn more, and possibly encourage our young men (and dads) to also pursue HAM licenses. I purchased the ARRL manual and read it cover-to-cover, studied on HamStudy.org for hours, and got to the point where I felt confident I could pass the test (even though all the science and math questions were still a bit beyond my true comprehension).

I eventually punted on the notion of HAM license, because the barrier to entry for what should be a BASIC/BEGINNER seemed way too hard! Why does a beginner need to know all that science and math? -- that should be for the intermediate and advanced users! I can encourage my Trailmen to pursue HAM only if they already have a science/math/technology bent; but all the others, I can't make a case for why they should pursue it! If Amateur Radio wants to survive, it needs to recognize that not all of us are science/wizards.

We lived through Hurricane Helene in the Appalachians of western North Carolina; participating in emergency communications would have been an awesome service we could have done--but not when the barrier to entry is so technically high.

I decided that GMRS is perfect for me, and my troop. I'm encouraging all the dads in my troop also--because we can simply use the radios for what we need -- communications while on the road to a campout or during an activity.

I wish there was some sort of Emergency Coms network we could learn and join, but apparently GMRS doesn't have anything like that.

[Lscott]

On 9/14/2025 at 9:20 AM, dosw said:

Many aspects of Amateur radio have been replaced by alternatives that are more reliable, more High Availability redundant, better sounding, and more feature laden.

… and a $100 to $200 per month bill for the convenience.

[SteveShannon]

1 hour ago, RogerSpendlove said:

 

I got into GMRS last year after an expert HAM (and other radio technologies) guy taught a couple sessions to my Trail Life USA troop of boys for our Communications Technology badge. As Troopmaster, I got excited to learn more, and possibly encourage our young men (and dads) to also pursue HAM licenses. I purchased the ARRL manual and read it cover-to-cover, studied on HamStudy.org for hours, and got to the point where I felt confident I could pass the test (even though all the science and math questions were still a bit beyond my true comprehension).

I eventually punted on the notion of HAM license, because the barrier to entry for what should be a BASIC/BEGINNER seemed way too hard! Why does a beginner need to know all that science and math? -- that should be for the intermediate and advanced users! I can encourage my Trailmen to pursue HAM only if they already have a science/math/technology bent; but all the others, I can't make a case for why they should pursue it! If Amateur Radio wants to survive, it needs to recognize that not all of us are science/wizards.

 

Instead of viewing the math and science questions as a barrier you might consider this as an opportunity to learn those skills. None of the math in the technician test exceeds grade school multiplication and division. Of course learning the various permutations of Ohm’s Law can be intimidating but perhaps enlisting a local science teacher would help with that learning. And as you’ve mentioned it can all be learned via tools like Ham Study. The introduction of these subjects to your Scouts might just result in them becoming more confident in their ability to learn such topics. 
In any case good job introducing your scouts to radio!

[hxpx]

39 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

Of course learning the various permutations of Ohm’s Law can be intimidating but perhaps enlisting a local science teacher would help with that learning.

IIRC, everything in the Technician license is covered in high school physics (Ohm's law and resistor math) or is wavelength (m) = 300/frequency (MHz). I don't remember doing the capacitance/inductance math in high school or college, but a) that was like 20 years ago, and b) given my college physics grades, that's not saying a lot. Probably slept through it.

Also, one of the exam prep guides I followed said you could get all the math questions wrong and still pass the Extra exam, so that's probably the case for the Technician. If they're struggling, focus on the concepts and then learn enough of the math (or just memorize the answers) to pass. They'll get to it eventually.

[marcspaz]

2 hours ago, RogerSpendlove said:

I got into GMRS last year after an expert HAM (and other radio technologies) guy taught a couple sessions to my Trail Life USA troop of boys for our Communications Technology badge. As Troopmaster, I got excited to learn more, and possibly encourage our young men (and dads) to also pursue HAM licenses. I purchased the ARRL manual and read it cover-to-cover, studied on HamStudy.org for hours, and got to the point where I felt confident I could pass the test (even though all the science and math questions were still a bit beyond my true comprehension).

I eventually punted on the notion of HAM license, because the barrier to entry for what should be a BASIC/BEGINNER seemed way too hard! Why does a beginner need to know all that science and math? -- that should be for the intermediate and advanced users! I can encourage my Trailmen to pursue HAM only if they already have a science/math/technology bent; but all the others, I can't make a case for why they should pursue it! If Amateur Radio wants to survive, it needs to recognize that not all of us are science/wizards.

We lived through Hurricane Helene in the Appalachians of western North Carolina; participating in emergency communications would have been an awesome service we could have done--but not when the barrier to entry is so technically high.

I decided that GMRS is perfect for me, and my troop. I'm encouraging all the dads in my troop also--because we can simply use the radios for what we need -- communications while on the road to a campout or during an activity.

I wish there was some sort of Emergency Coms network we could learn and join, but apparently GMRS doesn't have anything like that.

 

I have no idea what you're looking at, but it can't be the entry-level Technician class license. My wife get her license when she was 12 years old. Several friends of mine have grandkids that are between 7 and 9 who recently got their licenses. The entry test is almost 100% about the rules with very little about technology. AND, 100% of the questions and the correct answers are published, for free, on the internet, by the organization that designed and administers the tests. Then, there are many free practice test online.

All you (or anyone) need to do is spend a few hours of your spare time memorizing the answers. There is almost zero barrier to entry. 

 

The little bit of tech in the entry license is using basic math to understand the most simple of items, like if you bought the proper antenna for the radio and service you want to use.

 

Yes, Amateur Radio is an experimental class of radio, but the second and third licenses lean in that direction.  Absolutely not the first license. 

[WSEZ864]

I agree the math is not a big deal and we've had kids as young as 9 years old pass the exams we administer monthly. It might help to know that we 'volunteer examiners' that administer the exams really do want you to pass and will do as much as we can to make you comfortable and to help. There is no time limit on the exam, but most Technician candidates finish up in 30-45 minutes.

There are 35 questions on the Technician exam and the candidate must get 26 correct to pass. FWIW, math questions are only a very small portion of the exam contents and in reality, if a candidate got all of the other questions correct, they could completely blow the math and still pass. This means it doesn't make sense to let the math scare you off, and it IS an opportunity to learn as Steve points out above.

As Marc said, there are a large number of study aids available online and the question pool is openly published. My favorite of the study sites is linked below, and I especially recommend the 'flash card' method, which provides instant feed back with the correct answers.

https://www.hamexam.org/

 

[LeoG]

Those youngsters still have those math lessons fresh in their heads.  Us old fogies might have 40-50 years between looking at the books.

It should be still easy enough for a lot of folks other than Ohm's Law stuff.  I'm still shocked to see cashiers shocked that I have the change all sorted out for them before they tell me the price.  Or when I tell them what change I should be getting back.  My gawd, it's 4th grade math.