Hamboree 2014: Branson Here We Come!

The 3916 Hamboree for 2014 is scheduled for May 30-June 1, 2014.  This year the event moves to Branson, Missouri.   The is very excited having our event in Branson.   As you know, the Branson area is home to a wide variety of family-friendly events and entertainment, not to mention world class lakes, fishing and other outdoor attractions.  And based on preliminary feedback from 3916 members, many of you plan to attend and bring your family!

Hamboree 2014 - Branson, Missouri

We're in the process of finalizing a location for the event and will be following up with more information soon.  In the meantime, we encourage you to reserve the dates on your calendar!   You can learn more about what Branson has to offer by going to http://www.explorebranson.com  

The Hamboree is sponsored by The 3916 Nets:  The Rag Chew Crew, The Tailgaters and The Freewheelers Net!   

See you at Hamboree 2014!!

73!

The 3916 Hamboree Planning Committee

http://www.3916nets.com

Santa to Appear on 3.916 Amateur Radio Nets

(Dallas, Texas)  We just confirmed that Jolly Ol' St. Nick will be appearing on The Tailgaters & The Freewheelers again this year. And as a result of the 3.916 Hams being extra good this year, Santa's going to be checking into 3.916 SEVERAL NIGHTS before Christmas.  We'll even be talking with Santa on Christmas Eve, Monday, December 24th!!

Of course, children are welcome to check in to all the Santa Nets via 3rd party rules and regulations.

Here's the schedule for the 2012 3.916 Santa Nets (All Times are Central):

Friday, November 30, 8:30-9:00 PM
Tuesday, December 4, 8:30-9:00 PM
Thursday, December 6, 8:30-9:00 PM
Tuesday, December 11, 8:30-9:00 PM
Friday, December 14,  8:30-9:00 PM
Monday, December 17, 8:30-9:00 PM
Wednesday, December 19, 8:30-9:00 PM
Friday, December 21, 8:30-9:00 PM
Saturday, December 22, 8:30-9:00 PM
Sunday, December 23, 8:30-9:00 PM
Monday, December 24, 8:30-9:00 PM

If you have any questions, please contact Pete Thomson (KE5GGY) at KE5GGY@GMAIL.COM

73 & Merry Christmas to all from the 3916 Tailgaters & Freewheelers!!

New Year's Eve on 3.916 Mhz

Amateur radio operators are all welcomed to the 3916 Tailgaters & Freewheelers New Year's Eve Party.   The fun will start on 3.916 Mhz Saturday night, December 31st at 8:30 PM with the Tailgaters Net.  The Tailgaters is a 'Ham Radio Game of Tag' with everyone getting a chance to be 'Net Control'.    At 10PM Central, The Freewheelers take over to continue the countdown to 2012.  KC0MQS, Jimmy from Festus, Mo, will be the net control to usher in 2012! 

The 3916 Nets have always welcomed new stations to amateur radio airwaves, ever since being founded by W4FCW (sk), Ken Odom in 1998.  Over the last several years, the net has been a popular destination for young hams, including several as young as 11 years of age. 

For information on The Tailgaters or Freewheelers Nets, contact Pete Thomson, KE5GGY at ke5ggy@gmail.com

Ham Radio's Demise.....Greatly Exaggerated!!!

As I was reading a recent article about the 'decline of ham radio' the famous quote from Mark Twain came to mind.  Responding to rumors that had circulated regarding his death, Twain is said to have quipped, "The rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated."  

Read the article below and you'll get the feeling that amateur radio is on life support and that it's just a matter of time until father time unplugs a respirator.  

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110123/news/701239880/

So, fellow hams, what's it going to be....plans for a funeral or a plans to reignite the amateur radio/communications hobby?

Just for fun, let's get back to the Daily Herald article and look at the issues that the writer and even some hams are citing as the 'cause of death'.

Hamfest Attendance is Down:    It's true hamfests are not attended at the level they have been in previous years.  However, attendance declines at hamfests is not a problem unique to ham radio.  Because of audience fragmentation, a number of consumer shows across multiple industries are facing attendance challenges.   Talk to promoters of home, car, outdoor and even gun shows and you'll hear that it's becoming more difficult to attract an attendance like they could in 'the good old days'.   And even though 15%  fewer people might be attending a home show, it doesn't mean that consumers are abandoning the housing market.   What we're seeing is a hyper-competitive marketplace that is requiring promoters to embrace different strategies in order to maintain and grow attendance.   For amateur radio events, this will mean not only promoting differently but also changing the agenda of the event to draw new and younger consumers.   This will mean bringing new technology into shows as well as aggressive outreach to teens and even pre-teens.

Kids & Ham Radio:  Get 'em interested when they're young!

Kids Just Aren't Interested In Ham Radio:   First, see issue of fragmentation above.  If we want to get kids interested we better get off our collective butts and promote to this demographic. Instead of promoting a ham fest by 'word of mouth' or on-the-air, we need to embrace Twitter and other social media.  Instead of promoting ourselves as amateur radio operators, why not position the hobby as amateur and experimental communications?  And let's quit expecting kids to meet us on our turf.  We need to be in the classroom sharing the vision of where ham radio is going in the future.  And, I believe it's essential that we introduce kids to ham radio at a young age.  Instill a interest in amateur communications at a young age and we get a new ham for life.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone:   Many of us have comfort zones in the hobby...areas of operation that consume over 80%  of our time.  Personally, I love 75 meters at night and hang out on 3.916 Mhz 7 nights a week.  However, to take amateur radio 'to the streets' all of us need to make time for learning new aspects of ham radio including new technology that is more likely to be of interest to youth.  Recently, I've been active in Twitter and Facebook and am actually trying to target my blogs, tweets and other communication toward younger people.    Hats off to hams who do demonstrations in schools or are active with Boy Scouts.   More of us need to contribute on this kind of level.

It Starts with Us!   Ham radio's future, to a large degree, will be determined by the rank and file of our membership.  ARRL can lead the way in protecting the spectrum and being a champion of other initiatives, but 'selling' the future of amateur communications to the next generation is our job.   I don't know about you, but I can understand how Mark Twain must have felt when he said, 'The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated."   After making the comment, Twain went on to write some of his best works.  How will we respond?