context: Kyle AA0Z invited me to a roundtable discussion on his youtube channel] this evening, and it stirred up some discord and stoked the ongoing controversy grinding old-school contesters’ gears since his W1DED interview, the K5ZD N6MJ KL9A contester panel followup, his reaction, and the 2024 hamvention contesting forum call-out by K1AR. I wrote this to try to help clear some murky air, and posted to the Ham Radio Crash Course discord #radiosport-contesting channel where the fun was taking place. To a regular reader, this might seem out of place, so sorry about that. I hope you can read through that, and gather some ideas and discourse on the subject of contest modernization i.e. RadioSport2.0.

also long time no see lol

***

ok i got fired up and started typing and wrote a bunch so sorry, but #offmychest…

I wasn’t a big fan of the 1984ing on the stream bc i wanna hear out and debate the hot takes. During the stream I was typing that whole time with @QROdaddy (W4IPC) because he got quieted and I wanted to hear the discord (haha pun). I really don’t like echo chambers, and I really don’t like stuff that doesn’t take holistic perspectives from all points of view, so I think we, the radiosport2.0 community need to take some better care hearing it out. Whether it’s from current youth, young and old, seasoned or noob contesters, non-contesters, or QRZ lol. With that being said, here’s my dissertation on the whole radiosport thing that’s been bouncing in my head since 2011 (https://www.arrl.org/news/youth-hamradio-fun-what-is-radiosport-and-why-do-we-do-it) and opined since 2016 (https://n0ssc.com/posts/320-contest-modernization also rip cqcontest.net but today’s is https://contestonlinescore.com)

I think we want the same thing – we contesters all want to contest, and for there to be people to contest with well into the future. I think the ideas we’re tossing around formulates an inviting, fertile ground for new contesters just coming into ham radio and contesting for the first time. Out of this, I hope we discover and create novel in-roads for normies to get into the next level. Current young contesters may think it’s great right now, because it is, but you are a lucky few who had some kind of magical unmatched personal dedication, brilliant elmering, ham family, or just ADHD hyperfocus (it me) to get hooked for life. And i’m v proud of that. But without pushing for some kind of modern, mainstream aligned ideas, environments, activities, overlays, categories, and just straight up new stuff, radiosport will stagnate as the VAST BULK of contesters pass away, out leaving behind a fraction of today’s young contesters for tomorrow. That’s facts based on statistical projections based on numerous demographic surveys and data, and you can see it plainly in Craig’s K9CT interview. So as content creators, visionaries, and rabblerousers, we’re gonna go in hot and heavy, get complainy, and poke at the hornet’s nest to bring this to the light throughout the ham community to find people interested in making it a thing, only to see if it’s a thing. Might want to work on the delivery, but the point stands.

I also think we are miscommunicating the intent of radiosport2.0 becasuse of all the “reeeeee your killing my contests get off my lawnnnn nothing is wrong why do this nooo reeee” type comments . and I don’t disagree there might be some misinformation, or really just ignorance and misremembering on our (my lol) part. There’s also the weirdness of the K9CT folks, ARRL/CAC people, and log developers keeping their radio sport 2.0 plans close to their chest (compared to us who are baring it all and at least showing somebody is out there thinking “it would be cool if…”in hopes we can garner some grassroots perturbations in the community and do something cool for the sake of the fun of it, and maybe for the sake of the hobby). But imagine things like saving the contest committee 100 hours out of their thousands to check logs by, i dunno, posting every log submission and qsordr capture carte blanche to an academic database and letting the database wizards poke at it to see how close their solutions come to the traditional methods? Or giving those connected to the internet an opt-in option to cryptographically sign their QSOs that get posted to a blockchain ledger as a smart contract for realtime, verifiable adjudication (and figure it’s vulnerabilities to nefarious players? Or let there be a new button in their log’s score reporting menu that says “send to realtime ledger” or “report [entire QSO/band-mode/freq/rotator] data to blahblahblah db/server” for beta testers and early adopters to futz with while also not ruining or even remotely changing their experience as a contester doing a contest – they’ll still be valid (depending on what they’re opting in to send they might need to change to a different category e.g. CQWW Explorer), they’ll still submit a cabrillo, they’ll get a real score in whenever time, meanwhile 99% of people probably won’t notice that button until HRCC hosts a livestream of a radiosport tournament battle royale with your hosts Kyle AA0Z and Sterling N0SSC, backed up by your experts in the field N0AX and N6MJ – all enabled by that button, only just now realizing they too can get in on that action ALL THE WHILE on the air it just sounds like regular contesters contesting; just with more of them doing this goofy livestreamed tournament thing.

And I’m not a “*real*” contester. I don’t put up high scores on 3830 because I cannot do a 24/36/48 hr contest. I go to N0AX/W0ECC/W0EEE, sit down for 2 hours, do my 200-300Q/hr rate, let the pile die, and give up for a while with a beer and a chat with the other’s on the bench, and come back at 4am when the grey line is approaching to listen to the world turn from 160m and 10m because that shit is cool. I don’t even have HF at home, and I don’t have the time to set up remote stations and be a basement dweller for a whole weekend. And I have gone a loooong time since I had my butt in a chair for more than a few hours that wasn’t at my day job. But I’ve worked at least 2 or 3 big contests every year since I was 15 years old, I’ve won plaques and paper as a sad teenage G5RV owner in nowhere Missouri, i’ve played in sweeps every year except one (not under my own callsign typically – usually under N0AX, W0ECC, and W0EEE), I drop in at random field day sites and fire through 100 QSOs in half an hour and disappear, and I had elmers like N0AX, Ed K0KL (SK), K0ZT (SK) K0ZH and the WA0FYA Zerobeaters ARC, W0EEE alumni, and K3LR and the Contest University crew who let me in free for like 3 years straight because I was the only one without gray hair. I really love contesting – it’s my favorite part of ham radio. And now as a 32 year old geezer, I do want something I can do in my tidbits of free time, that is just a bit different than a CWT or WWSAC, that isn’t just a 2 hour stint on a major contest – i want to be competitive and be ranked and scored with a pool of other contesters. I want team deathmatch, CTF, in-game perks/power-ups/items, and matchmaking lobbies. I think there’s an untapped reserve of potential new hams that would also be into that kind of radiosport. I don’t want the existing contests or methodologies to die or change, but as they stand now – as they have forever ago and forever on — are excellent grounds for trying out these new ideas unbeknownst to guys like VP5M with barely enough bandwidth for the cluster [thanks connor], the off-grid pacific islanders, africans, antarctic researchers, nordic polar bears all who make CQWW/WPX & IARUHF so much fun, or folks who just don’t do the internet and log with paper. Coexistance is a requirement, and so is the longevity of our hobby.

Tldr I want to play ham radio when I’m retired (25-30 years from now lol) so I have some ideas.

***

a few edits were made for profanity, clarification, correction to K0ZH’s call.

thanks W4IPC and KG5XR for inspo and AA0Z for sticking his neck out to get these ideas on the cutting room floor

73

In response to a The Future of Amateur Radio is with our youth . . . not! by Joe Cupano, NE2Z (because his wordpress doesn’t allow comments, unless you’re logged in as admin to his site, lol.

To that headline, I say, the Future of Amateur Radio IS with our youth!

But youth is relative. Sure, there is a definition of youth, but I argue that youth in ham radio must take it’s aged demographic into consideration. The average ham (according to ARRL/NCJ and OFCOM data) is…old. The UK its over 71, the ARRL/NCJ is 70. So what is youth relative to 70 years old? What would at 70 year old tell you?

They would say to almost everyone younger than then, even a 50 year old, that they’re still young!

But that begs the question: what is old? Unfortunately, “old” has a very negative connotation (cranky, curmudgeonly, stinky, mean, burdensome, stubborn, and tech illiterate) while the positives (wise, elder, experienced, aged (like a fine wine or whisky), and virtuous) are often ignored.

Simply put, old is not young. And based on our relativity to ham radio, and removing as much connotation and subjectivity as possible, old is aged beyond that of the average ham radio licensee, which is about 70.

Lets actually read the post and not jump to conclusions about the title (can’t begin to tell you how much that happens on my blog. If you’re a reader of n0ssc.com I probably don’t have to remind you that Millennials Are Killing Ham Radio, but maybe I should have put a “…NOT” in that headline).

Joe asks,

How many times have you seen the messaging in Amateur Radio that it’s future is with the youth and how the Amateur Radio community should engage them in teaching or demonstrating technology to them?

It’s bullshit!

It’s bullshit because he believes there is a double standard (I guess) where youth are failing to show hams how to use modern technology like cellphones, social media, maker tech, and videoconferencing, and that youth have surpassed the ham radio community in technology engagement.

I’ve mulled that one over.

It must be a symptom of his tunnel vision, or something, but I fail to see both the double standard, and the fact that young people aren’t teaching old people (and in Joe’s case, specifically hams) how to use tech. This, I think, is bullshit, because old folks are using tech, and using it well enough to present themselves on Zoom meetings, create and comment on Facebook posts, make YouTube videos of their ham radio fun (some pretty great!) and even make 3D printed thingies – THANKS ENTIRELY to…

Gotcha! You thought I was gonna say youth there, didn’t you?

First of all, the fact that old people still, in fact, have a brain and can still learn, often by themselves, nullifies Joe’s premise, but secondly, people who have either helped them learn (I currently don’t know a young ham who isn’t tech support for their grandma), or have made tech generally as accessible as possible for people of all ages and levels of technology literacy in the first place. And some of those helpful people happen to be young. Some are old, too. But what’s your point, Joe?

Joe mentions the overlooked “middle child” of generations – Millennials and GenXers (did I tell you Millennials Are Killing Ham Radio?) but I feel he left his point hanging there, but contextually, I assume he believes the reins of ham radio is in their hands but doesn’t consider those people “young.” I believe this to be true, but it’s just as important to bring ham radio into the minds and hands of GenX and Millennials as it is for GenZ, and those after that when they come of age, for the same reason why it’s of paramount importance (not to mention highly desirable) to have diversity in any community of peoples.

But maybe, ham radio has always been an old person’s hobby, and that’s just the way it is. Hiram Percy Maxim apparently stated that the age of hams was a problem…in 1900s (citation needed…someone told this to me at W4DXCC and I’ve not found a source, but I believe it!)

Even if that’s the case, imagine my disappointment when the old guard dies away without doing anything to bring new blood into ham radio, resulting in international amateur radio spectrum reallocation, resulting in no ham radio for me when I get to be old. That would suck, and that’s why I am the IARU R2 Liasion for Youth and a co-founder of Youth on the Air, and a die-hard evangelist for this hobby. I don’t have the time in my 20s and 30s to operate every day, go on mega DXpeditions, contest for 48 hours straight for 12 weekends out of the year and more, and win WRTC, because I’m working over full time while still having a life with my wife, dog and two cats, friends, and family, with the world to still see. I want ham radio to still exist when I retire, dammit!

(and also to give back to the community by making ham radio a valuable STEM sandbox for young people, as it did for me!)

So I will blog during my lunch hours, I’ll travel to a hamfest to give a talk a few times a year, and I’ll join a club’s zoom to help promote youth in ham radio. What are you doing to keep ham radio existing in perpetuity?

If anything, just get on the air!

Author's note: I use - and  this is a real quote from an angry reader - the language of the devil that I should be ashamed of using - in this post. Steer clear if you're offended by profanity. If you don't, and you message me about it, I'm just going to ignore it like I've ignored the other 12 messages I've gotten since publishing...smh. 

I…uh…haven’t blogged in a long time.

How have you all been?

I have been very busy. I’m on a plane so I found time to write a thing I’ve been thinking about.

I was watching YouTube (I watch a lot of YouTube) and I scrolled past a video with hardly any views, a creator with not many subs, and a title and thumbnail that wasn’t very attention-getting. However, something in my head just said give it a chance.

Update: unfortunately, the video that was posted here was removed by its creator. I assume he received a lot of backlash from it and subsequent critical videos he made and removed his videos from the internet. The video highlighted ham radio "poseurs" who post videos on YouTube in order to gain an audience and views, ONLY to gain an audience and views. In other words, their motivations are selfish, wherein the creator seeks attention with drama and unsubstantiated clickbait, rather than altruistic (seeking to share knowledge or a worthwhile experience) or generally neutral.

First of all, poseurs isn’t a misspelling; I thought it was, but turns out it’s just another way to spell posers. In my middle and high school, posers were people who posed as people who they weren’t. Everyone was one at some point, unless you were popular. I was a goth poser, an emo poser, a nerd poser…point was that I didn’t really fit in for a while. I struggled to find my friends until I hit a wall, got depressed, and…joined the high school marching band lol. And at some point I became a ham, and the rest was history.

Randon, KN4YRM, actually had a good point in the video. There is a new kind of poser in the ham radio YouTube space, and it’s causing problems for seekers of amateur radio knowledge on the platform and, in my opinion, ham radio in general.

As we may or may not be aware, ham radio, in general, has a significant demographic cliff ahead of itself. And if nothing is done to address that cliff, the hobby (and service) will die. One of the best “boots on the ground” are the growing body of Ham Radio YouTube Creators (a.k.a. HamTubers). They are bringing amateur radio to a whole brand new audience and generation of hams right into their phones and devices.

More generally, YouTube posers (I like to call them douchetubers) are very common on the platform. These aren’t the kind of poser I remember in middle school. Instead of being a wayward teen looking for their place in the world, the YouTube posers he’s referring to are a sort of morally bankrupt opportunistic fame chaser, and in this case, they’ve coalesced upon ham radio. Maybe they really are wayward souls, and deep down are desperate to find a hobby or an ingroup to call home, but I’m not so sure after knowing and talking with some over the last few years.

Douchetubers are sort of an indicator species. They are proof that the OG YouTubers are doing something right insofar that they have made their topic become so mainstream that it is now profitable for the douchetubers to swoop in, make effortless superficial unboxing videos, paid reviews of cool gear and services they didn’t buy or even use, without ever actually participating in the vocation that supports the wares they are peddling, while utilizing skills and techniques that are optimized for The Algorithm – high-energy thumbnails, click-bait titles, precise ad placement, belaboring the point (or never even getting to it) to increase watch time, consistent scheduling, optimized viewer retention and engagement, and the oh so beloved “LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE” call outs.

And if that wasn’t enough, they will even start pointless drama and consternation (sometimes conspiratorially coordinated) with other douchetubers and OGs just to pump up activity and engagement so that the YouTube algorithm catches on – and that is a tried and true tool used by douchetubers the world around. KSI, Logan Paul, Pewdiepie, GradeAunderA are a few that come to mind that all bickered about each other while they all enjoyed the gains due to polarization.

In ham radio world, these are the youtubers who make videos just for the clout, influence, or revenue – without ever hitting a PTT button, melting a single blob of solder, or sharing a conversation with experienced hams and elmers – essentially doing nothing to show or share their true passion for the hobby, because they really have none, or, what passion they did have became usurped by the chase for clout (views, likes, and influencing power) and perhaps advertising revenue (but as someone who receives advertising revenue and knows people in the ham radio YouTube space that do, it isn’t very much).

This is especially becoming apparent in the preparedness realm. PrepTube is chock full of douchetubers who have capitalized on right-wing FUD, civil distress, and the deluge of climate change induced disasters by performing paid gear reviews of things like cheap Chinese ham radios to use when SHTF, and making ill-informed recommendations to their audience that we hams scoff at. Buy a Baofeng and put it in an ammo box? Do you even know how to program those things?

But, good for ham radio! Right? Well, yes and no.

Yes, because douchetubers have an incredible talent at putting information in front of lots and lots of eyeballs. Because ham radio is on a demographic cliff, the exposure they are helping create by making YouTube videos that are highly optimized to attract larger audiences and make revenue is a net good thing for ham radio since YouTube is a perpetual audience of billions and billions of people, especially youth.

On the other hand, it’s bad for a few reasons:

1. They are really bad at sharing their passion for amateur radio, such that they encourage their audience to watch more of them on YouTube, instead of play more radio themselves.
2. They are really bad at promoting the hobby (either as a hobby or a service) to the public in general. Their superficial view of it to the masses are…
3. …diluting the technical breadth and depth of amateur radio (in other words, they are promoting unskilled and untrained appliance operators, especially in preparedness communities.
4. Randon’s point – it saturates the YouTube ham radio space making it way harder for hams and hams-to-be to find useful, helpful information, and to support legit non-douche YouTube elmers.

What it means for the OG youtubers is that they need to step up their game to compete for views. This brings the playing field back into their favor, at the expense of sounding like a douchetuber themself. “SMASH THAT LIKE BUTTON” is a common phrase among all of us now, because non-DoucheTubers still need to inform their audience that if they don’t like and subscribe, then videos made by douchtubers of low quality and high viewing rates will eventually overpower even the best creations from the most morally enriched and didactic creators – people like Dave Casler KE0OG, Ham Radio Crash Course, Mr. Carlson’s Lab, KM4ACK, Ham Radio 2.0, K8MRD, K6ARK, Signal Path Blog, K5ATA, TheSmokinApe, W2AEW, just to name a few…they all have to compete with the scum of the YouTube earth with the same techniques they do.

Great content does not automatically mean more viewers. Just ask how many times I’ve given presentations on youth in ham radio to near-empty rooms and worked my butt off on videos for all of a few hundred views (while 5 of my top ten videos are awful, unscripted, seat of the pants reviews of popular gear…seriously I still think my Solar Eclipse QSO party video was the moment when I proved to myself I could tell a Neistat-style story through video, but it’s only got 200 or so views despite it being one of my hardest videos to make.)

And the same is true for many hobbies; I’ve seen it happen with flying quadcopters over the last 7 years, and I’ve seen it happen with disc golf over the last year, where douchetubers will review a disc or gear sent to them from Chinese companies without even knowing what the ratings on it mean, never admitting to never having actually thrown a disc in their life, just because so many eyeballs are looking for that information out there, and they have a matching charismatic ability to disseminate useless information while maintaining an audience of people willing to give them their attention.

I would like to add, that while douche-HamTubers are starting to oversaturate the YouTube ham radio space with bad content, that there is no shortage of brilliant didactic (I love that word) ham creators making excellent videos and actually engaging with their passions and audiences while sharing knowledge in a fruitful manner that is well in alignment with the spirit of amateur radio. I wish that wasn’t discouraging to anybody wishing to make videos on YouTube (I had just given a talk to W4DXCC to promote everyone with a smartphone to give it a shot!), but I know that to be true as well.

Randon’s advice to spin the dial works here just as well as it works on the bands. Just spin the dial, and give your attention to those who really deserve it.

Here’s a looooong list of ham radio YouTubers curated by Kyle AA0Z. Do you see any douchetubers on this list? Or is there anyone missing that should be on here? Let us know!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BiqqCvRnzNx-iuH9R5ghyfRFomOWkh59zuZ6OrWy7Is/edit?usp=sharing

Press Release by the Intrepid-DX Group
Wednesday, July 1, 2020

First Annual “Dream Rig” Youth Essay Contest.

The Intrepid-DX Group is a US based 501 C(3) nonprofit organization that promotes Amateur Radio activities in developing countries.

Announcing our first annual Youth Essay Contest-Prize is a Dream Rig!

The Intrepid-DX Group recognizes the importance of including Youth in our great hobby because they are our future!  We are establishing an annual Dream Rig Youth Essay Contest to learn the suggestions of young people for attracting other young operators to Amateur Radio.

What is the Prize?

The prize is a factory fresh ICOM IC-7300!  See the features here:

https://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/hf/7300/default.aspx

Contest Rules:

1)    Two-page Essay answering these questions: A) What are your amateur radio goals? B) What can we do to attract more youth to amateur radio?

2)    USA Amateur Radio License Holders Age 19 or younger.

3)    Promise to keep the radio for one year, not flip it, trade it or sell it, and to use it on the air.

4)    Send essay in text or MS Word attachment to intrepiddxgroup@gmail.com by July 31, 2020.

5)    You may alternatively mail it to: The Intrepid-DX Group, 3052 Wetmore Dr, San Jose, CA 95148, USA.. Must be post marked by July 31, 2020.

6) The winner of the Essay Contest will be announced on our Website and Facebook page on August 10, 2020.

All submissions become the property of the Intrepid-DX Group and may be published.

Questions: Send an email to pauln6pse@gmail.com

Follow us on our homepage www.Intrepid-DX.com and/or our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/The-Intrepid-DX-Group-180857615282553

I curated a YouTube playlist that contains over 130 videos of ARRL Field Day action. Check it out here, or in the convenient embedded player below.

It’s surprising how many videos have popped up already; just a little fewer videos than last year, despite COVID-19 concerns. Many were single or few-op, but I did see a few larger operations, but I was sad to see a lot of multi-operator stations where not everyone was wearing face coverings and not distancing themselves.

Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG8UQxewXrtaflA-FeM7kEXnv030APAvh

Here’s something to help alleviate your post-partum ham radio convention funk.

The YouTuber’s Hamfest features a whole bunch of the biggest YouTubers in Ham Radio with some of your favorite names in amateur radio, LIVE!

And you don’t even have to drive halfway across the country to see it – it’s all hosted on YouTube for you, for free.

The YouTuber’s HamFest starts May 23 at 8am Eastern time. It starts off with an introduction and instructions on following the action with Jason from Ham Radio 2.0, right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiylTCUA33c

He will finish his stream with Flexradio, AREDN, and Ham Radio Deluxe and pass it off to K5ATA’s YouTube channel to talk with Becky Schoenfeld W1BXY and Kris Bickell K1BIC from the ARRL. Then he’ll hand it off to me, and so on and so forth.

If you start late, or you get lost (it’s kinda like the real thing, isn’t it?) no big deal. Just catch the YTHF schedule here: http://youtubershamfest.com/

You can also follow a YouTube playlist here with all of the pre-planned livestreams listed: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG8UQxewXrtYykTpyQL3iPxKzdBrp-MW2

The playlist and links in the schedule will work even after the YouTuber’s HamFest is over. All presentations are recorded and will stay up indefinitely for your later viewing pleasure.

You don’t need a YouTube account (which is the same as a Google account) to view, but you will need one if you want to participate in the real-time chat to interact and ask questions with vendors and representatives from Icom, FlexRadio, Packtenna, Bioenno, ARRL, MFJ, and much, much more.

And to, of course, Like, Comment, Subscribe, and hit the bell on everyone’s YouTube channel!

I’ll be bringing you news from Youth on the Air with Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, talk about a new Youth initiative from Remote Ham Radio, and chat with Dustin N8RMA who runs the State of the Hobby ham radio survey.

See you Saturday, bright and early at the YouTuber’s HamFest!

I love dark mode. It’s easier on the eyes, especially when you’re up at 2am for no good reason but to change your website’s colors.

If you don’t like this, if anything looks broken or amiss, or you just want to chat, leave a comment or send me a message: https://n0ssc.com/contact.

The pastime of Learning Morse code has been on a huge upswing these last few months. Reddit posts have increased, LCWO usage is at an all-time high, and Google trends are showing an obvious bump in interest in “morse code” during the last 6 months. It seems that people have taken a liking to learning or getting better at Morse code. It might have to do with renewed interest in ham radio, COVID-19 stay-at-home impacts, or just people looking for something fun and interesting to do.

It’s definitely translated into quite a bit of on-air activity, but what I’m more impressed with are people across the Internet asking for advice learning the code.

I for one am glad to be a part of what seems to be a Modern Morse Code Renaissance.

---

I’ve neglected to write about my progress on becoming proficient in Morse code, but thankfully that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped practicing. I’m too busy trying to get good to write about it!

Some background for new readers – Back at the start of the 2020 (before it turned into the worst year ever), I embarked on a journey to practice Morse daily. I streamed every session to Twitch.tv and YouTube (you can see some goofy highlights and bloopers here).

It’s been several weeks since then, and mostly thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak, I’ve been able to find the time to not only stay (somewhat) consistent with practice, but to also commit my Monday and Friday evenings to CW Academy. I’m in the basic class with Dave W8OV, who has been an excellent instructor, with a group of hams that are right there with me trying to improve our ability to translate Morse code in our head, without writing, instantly.

I have definitely seen a massive improvement in my proficiency. I’ve completed all of the letters, numbers, and symbols. But still, I learned last night that I still have a long way to go before I have a FB QSO at 20-25WPM, but I can hold my own at an effective WPM (a.k.a. Farnsworth speed) of around 10 WPM. Not bad. But a ways to go.

Now I just need to get on the air.

True Morse code proficiency comes from on-air practice, not from LCWO drills or even classes like CW Academy or Long Island CW Club. It comes from the grueling embarrassment of flubbing your first QSO and getting better with every QSO after that. Absolutely nobody will disagree with that (unless you’re one of those super-human High Speed CW wizards like Fabian DJ1YFK).

I wonder who is going to be the lucky ham on the end of my first real CW QSO? If you’re reading this, sorry in advance for my awful copy.

-.-. ..- 
--- -.   
- .... . 
.- .. .-. ..--.. 
--... ...--

dit dit

Join the YARC Discord here: https://discord.gg/MpQJadu

Suffice it to say, the Young Amateurs Radio Club experienced a split. From my experience, every ham radio club will experience a split in it’s lifetime. It seems to be the natural order of things.

The original YARC board met with the former YARC president (who owned the server and banned key members of the board) for several weeks of mediation and reconciliation, but ultimately no compromise could be met.

From out of the ashes, a phoenix shall rise.

The original YARC board regathered, lost interest in saving the old server, and created a new server. The old server still exists, but it’s down to a fraction of it’s activity and is being ran by the former YARC president has been deleted by the former YARC president.

The new YARC Discord server is now active, it’s just as busy as before, and it’s members are coming up with new activities to get back into the swing of things before the ‘event.’ It is open, friendly, inclusive, and has no tolerance for bullying and harmful trolling.

I left a parting message on the old server that read as follows:

Hello.

This message will probably get deleted and I will probably get banned in record time, but it doesn’t hurt to try to get a message out. 

This server is a husk of its former glory that’s lost it’s vision, it’s leadership, and it’s heart. You may have noticed a lot of people have gotten banned, kicked, and had their messages deleted due to disparaging this server or linking to the new YARC server. This is because the server owner has been lurking trying to control the exodus of members while forming it into his own brand after the banning and de-perming of the YARC Board members. 

 I couldn’t be happier if it was to blossom into a vibrant young ham community. But at the end of the day, this isn’t YARC. 

But given it’s an inactive server being led by questionable ethics and obscurity, I recommend the new YARC server that is being ran by the OG YARC founders, board and members. Go to https://discord.gg/MpQJadu if you want a healthy, active, inclusive, and lively server ran by fellow young hams who truly have your best interests at heart. 

To avoid confusion of newcomers looking for the YARC server, I deleted several invite links to draw in new members from across the internet. Since the server has changed in many ways, those invite links aren’t valid anymore. I can’t tell which links were created after the change in leadership, and what version of the server went to which invite link, so I removed all but the owner’s personal invite link.

I would still like to serve as liaison between Young Hams and the rest of the amateur radio world (as I’ve always done) and a mediator between our two communities. 

message edited to redact names

73, N0SSC

PS: To KZØP- Jesten and I are forever grateful for the Reese’s pumpkins, but I ran out but thankfully it’s Easter so Reeses Eggs have flooded the market

First remote exam due to COVID-19 complete. 94% on my Extra. Thanks to Anchorage VEC! from amateurradio

Good news! Remote VE Testing is happening and people are getting licensed and upgraded! Woohoo!

I spoke with Brandin Hess, AL6I, Anchorage ARC VEC chairman on the phone shortly after this test session was complete. He told me that remote testing is well underway. At the current rate, they can handle between 5 and 10 candidates a day, possibly up to 20 if everyone was operating at full tilt. Only 40 applications are in process right now (and many more are sure to come). Several applications have been rejected, in part due to the an in-person proctor not being available because of shelter-in-place requirements.

I want to publicly thank Brandin and the Anchorage VEC for their efforts. He says it’s using up 110% of his time, and taking an impact on his health, but if he wasn’t working on it, ham radio licensing would come to a screeching halt.

The process at Anchorage still requires an in-person proctor, who is essentially a trusted individual, to verify that the test taker is following all the rules and not cheating, and to – without a shadow of a doubt – validate the integrity of the test session per Part 97 regulations.

But what if it’s okay to perform testing entirely online? A working group is currently underway solving that problem.

In the last few hours a group of about 30 people has coalesced from across the country, all working towards defining specific goals and requirements for 100% online amateur radio examinations, performing proofs of concept, and creating a standard operating procedure that any VEC can adopt and modify for their needs. No software is being written, yet, as it may very well be possible this can be done with off-the-shelf components like video conferencing, Docusign, ExamTools, and even mirrors!

The effort got quite a massive signal boost with the help of Sam Hulick, renowned composer and software developer, and verified “blue checkmark” Twitter user, sent a tweet to Ajit Pai, FCC Chairman. Yes. The Ajit Pai. And he responded:

Thanks for the suggestion. Let me look into this—stay tuned.

— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) March 15, 2020

I eagerly await to see the results of this tweet, but at the end of the day, there’s no need for any FCC action, besides maybe a and a vote of confidence that VECs can reliably perform 100% remote testing.

This clearly isn’t an effort that will result in immediate adoption (although theoretically the capability is already available), but it will – within the next few months or less – result in a framework and/or set of tools that VECs and their VE teams can use to perform remote testing reliably and be confident that it is FCC compliant.

But is it really FCC compliant? By that I mean, does a 100% online synchronous exam with several angles of surveillance of the test taker by 3 or more VEs meet all subparts of Part 97.509? I think so. What do you think?

I will keep the updates flowing and those interested informed as progress is made. If you want to be added to the conversation, reach out to me.

TL;DR: There’s little to no hope that amateur radio license testing will go fully remote and online to meet demand from candidates displaced by cancelled VE sessions due to COVID-19. That may or may not be a big deal for ham radio, but if you’re a VEC looking to rapidly and responsibly bring your teams up to a modern remote, online-only testing capability to meet this new demand for prospective hams, let me know immediately.

After posting my PSA regarding Anchorage ARC’s remote testing, I have learned a lot of new information in the past few days.

In a nutshell, besides Anchorage, there is zero interest, or even anti-interest in remote VE testing.

First of all, I sent an email to the NCVEC, and all VECs a few days ago. I’ve had one reply so far.

To all VECs.

It is my intention over the course of my enjoyment of amateur radio to generate, develop, proliferate, and execute ideas which will modernize amateur radio, including VE testing, but with the COVID-19 epidemic it has rapidly become a necessity to continue the testing issuance of amateur radio licenses.

I am more than certain that at least a few of you have fielded questions regarding the continuity of VEC testing throughout the COVID-19 epidemic. I’m also sure I’m not the first one to ask this question: are any VECs (besides the Anchorage VEC) addressing the closure of numerous, if not ALL in-person VE test sessions during COVID-19 by performing remote testing?

I am aware and working with Anchorage VEC to explore the possibility of rapidly expanding their remote testing capabilities. As far as I can tell, they are the only VEC who regularly performs remote testing. Based on comments from them and other VECs, some VECs are in fact quite adamant against remote testing despite it’s approval per Part 97.509(c) and explanation in FCC R&O 14-74. This is certainly a time of extraordinary circumstances where social isolation presents a verifiable hardship for all prospective test candidates, and remote, online-only testing is the only solution that meets the need.

I’m not sure of the impact to amateur radio without the proliferation of remote testing during the pandemic; after all it’s a relatively insignificant concern compared to the pandemic itself. I’m also not certain of FCC processing during levels of low staffing. However, I do think this is a good opportunity to discover new norms, improve the image of amateur radio, continue testing and issuance of amateur radio licenses, and bring a new hobby to people in a time where solitary hobbies are in high demand.

I have addressed this email to the NCVEC but no response has been received, so I am reaching out to all VECs for answers.
Thank you for your consideration,

Sterling Mann, N0SSC

My email to the NCVEC and VECs

Meanwhile, the current ARRL CEO Barry Shelley, along with Maria Somma (ARRL’s VEC Chair) had nothing to say regarding remote testing.

The ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) has been dealing with a higher-than-normal volume of emails and phone calls and is asking for members’ patience as they attempt to answer everyone’s questions as promptly as possible. “There has been some significant disruption to VE exam session schedules, given the restrictions imposed on gatherings in many locales,” Shelley pointed out. “As with our employees, the health and safety of our Volunteer Examiners is a top priority, and we have informed our VEs that they need to follow their local community’s guidelines and then use their best judgement when deciding whether to conduct, postpone, or cancel an exam session.”

http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-headquarters-remains-in-operation-many-staffers-working-remotely

Meanwhile, many are asking for remote testing.

Who wants to be my proctor from HamRadio

Anywhere doing remote exams? from amateurradio

Online testing? from amateurradio

PSA: COVID-19 halts in-person amateur radio VE testing; Anchorage ARC is performing limited testing remotely. from amateurradio

Any way to get a license online, due to COVID-19? from amateurradio

Meanwhile, the answers are either me, either a resounding “no,” or a wholly negative response, often rationalizing that a ham radio license exam rivals that of lawyers, doctors, and other professionals.

https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/anchorage-arc-vec-ramps-up-remote-testing-to-meet-covid-19-challenges.697249/

It was a BIG surprise to me to see Laurel VEC’s response. Laurel is commonly touted as the “best VEC” due to their free testing and extremely fast turnaround compared to most VEC’s $15 fees and 2-week or greater processing delays.

These screenshots represent a tiny fraction of the online debate going on regarding remote testing. The opposition seems to be blissfully ignorant of the advances in remote testing software, and very anxious over various ways of circumventing, exploiting, and generally cheating on remote amateur radio exams. Numerous opponents are quick to take a “back in my day” approach, referring to their own personal experiences of driving several hundreds of miles to get to a FCC field office, meeting ominous G-men, and nervously taking a far more difficult exam with those scary men breathing down their neck.

Proponents are quick to address claims of cheating and weakening of the technical base of radio amateurs, but it’s futile. It’s not going to help. It might be fun to debate, but it won’t fix the problem.

The problem is that no VECs are giving license exams, or they are doing it at an extremely reduced pace. There’s a big demand for exams, and the legal framework allows online testing. We still need 3 VEs to monitor the test takers, and to ensure the integrity of the test session. So here’s what needs to happen:

1. Adopt an existing VEC or create a new VEC to lead a remote testing effort. Ideally leverage their current work and processes, and current VE teams to perform remote testing. The latter has been attempted, but I have it on good faith that it’s not easy to start a new VEC, along with the fact that the FCC is probably very reluctant to do this. However, any VEC can perform remote testing and remain compliant per Part 97.509(c).
2. Research and select exam taking software. A list of well over a hundred exam software systems is here: https://www.capterra.com/exam-software/.
3. Use Examtools to perform VE administration, test generation, etc. Here it is in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSH4baDNs48
4. Create a list of requirements for a candidate: webcam requirements, preferably two video sources (or the use of a smartphone to be used as a second vantage point), PC software requirements, bandwidth requirements
5. Create rules during the exam process: what happens if connection drops, what happens if your view looks away from the test screen, calculator, or scratch pad, what happens if there’s a fault in the monitoring software, proper VE/proctor to test taker ratio, etc.
6. Recruit and train new VEs to bolster current VE ranks to monitor and perform test administration using conferencing/screenshare software such as Zoom. More VEs means a higher likelyhood of finding 3 VEs at any given moment, and offers flexibility to both VEs and applicants with busy schedules and interruptions.
7. Perform a few mock exams, thinking of ways to, and ways of mitigating cheating.
8. Keep detailed logs and records of actions that prove all sections of Part 97.509 are being met.
9. Publish application process, screen applicants, run exams, submit electronic paperwork, and follow up with new licensees as usual.

That’s it! If this was my VEC, we’d have been already giving out tests. In fact, I attempted to send Anchorage VEC a list of extra-class licensees, and he even got many of them accredited with Anchorage in a matter of hours! Because – SURPRISE – the VE Accrediation exam is online, and open-book. Imagine that.

Despite this, it turns out the process of training and approving remote VEs is not in Anchorage’s capabilities at this time. The only problem I have with that, is that the team I put together are extraordinarily savvy with modern software technologies. It would not take very much effort for them at all.

If you’re a VEC looking to rapidly bring yourself up to online testing capability, let me know immediately.

Overall, I think we’re going to be dealing with a lull in new and upgraded Amateur Radio licenses. The impact will probably be small. Still, it just disappoints me that this is the course we hams must sail.

It doesn’t have to be that way, so I’m blowing as much air into these sails as I can!