i'm a ham for 18 months now.. walked into a local club, walked out within 30 minutes. It's the same strange behavior as on the local repeaters. I discovered i like the technical side of the hobby but i general dislike the people/vibe.
It's like everyone who kept this knowledge alive for 40 years is on the spectrum or creepy AF. Missed opportunity 4 years ago when prepping in general exploded and there were survival/disaster response interest from the general public. I need a cranky old Vietnam vet who hated his CO and the rules even if he still follows them. Mostly. Instead I found the group keeping the mail order bride industry afloat.
It's sad. I don't go to those AGM style meetings, I stop my club, volunteer to teach, and just try to help engage the younger audiences (myself for example, I don't have grey hair yet). That type of behavior is common in all technical groups, you have the elitests and the ones who only care about business. Boring.
Great video Hayden. I stopped going to my local club because they took up the first half of the meeting with all the business. I also stopped going because it wasn’t very inclusive. I’m a relatively new ham and I was looking for more experienced hams to offer up knowledge and experience so that I could learn more about this massive hobby. I sat through multiple meetings where nobody ever spoke directly to me or asked me if I wanted or needed any assistance. I felt as though I could have gotten up on the middle of the meeting and walked out and nobody would have noticed. I eventually stopped going all together. Thank you for all your videos. The amateur radio YT community is where I get most of my knowledge. 73
Great topic and bravo for having the care to bring this up. I am old but a new HAM. My first club was horrible. The politics between the past president and the newly elected president was obvious and frankly childish. I was the director (in the HOG world that is the president). When I took over my first objective was to make it clear that this kind of action was not acceptable and would not be tolerated. We requested several of the old regime not renewal if they continued to torpedo meetings, rides, etc. The chapter was on a decline in membership, activities, etc. We turned the chapter into a riding club, since that is what a majority of people were looking for. I found out that people are good and will get involved but you have to let them decide. We shortened our "business" side of the meetings from 30 minutes or more to 5 minutes. The officers would sit among the members, answer questions, guide them and encourage them. in 4 years we went from 75 members to over 800 active members. Titles were left at the door. It was "our" club not the club of a few. I find that the HAM club I was in was being run by "executive old school" techniques. I think clubs sometimes forget that the current membership, as well as new members, do not need the club as much as the club needs its membership. Bring food, coffee, have movie nights, presentations, etc. Make it fun and not an extension of their jobs. My apologies for running on and on. This was one of the best videos for HAM clubs I have seen. Amateur radio's future depends on these clubs to grow and get more people interested.
I rejoined a local club after many years of being non-active after I retired. I had introduced myself to the President as it was nice to put a face to someone on our Net. At the next meeting they asked me to be the club secretary for the next year. Not wanting to say no I took on the responsibility. It was not enjoyable as I couldn't take in the lessons as I was more worried about getting the minutes correct. At the next meeting the minutes would get torn apart because I misspelled something or had the incorrect call sign in my note. I am not a secretary! I ended up resigning and leaving the club......
BINGO...one of the biggest reasons we started a new club that as not so business related but more FUN HAM RADIO related to enjoy the hobby! Thank you for this spot-on video!!!!
When I was running a club we changed the format of the meeting. Introductions and then right into the presentation. Any business went at the end so people could choose to stay or go.
Totally agree , when I first got my license (94) I went to a couple of meetings and you would walk in and everyone would turn and look to see who I was and what was I doing there! 30 years later I retired and started going to one of the social meetings at one of the local malls, totally different bunch, we get more club members there than at the general meetings, I can read, I don't need someone reading the minutes from the last meeting! I volunteer at one of a local museums now, in the radio room, we teach guess that come by how to send there name in CW, " I am Not a CW op" but it is a blast meeting the people that come through, we also get access to the 2 museum ships docked behind the museum, which happen to be Pota parks plus they also have maritime mobile call signs which make them very popular. Helping with the radio stations in all 3 locations makes the hobby fun , which it is all about. This is just one kind of activity . VE1SK
I'm president of 2 clubs, we got by without business meetings for a long time. One of the club started to incur hard costs, and that started the business meetings, but the "flavor" was already designed and stayed well.
I couldn't agree more but we had a "go getter" become president of the club I was in. He wanted to get the repeaters working better, get everyone to think outside of the box, less business meeting atmosphere, have more demonstrations, promote digital modes etc. He lasted a month and was voted out right in front of the whole club! Me and about 20 other guys never went back.
Hayden, this was exactly my experience 30 years ago. Nothing has changed. The curmudgeons who are usually the leaders of the club set the standard. To the clubs I say, "Lead, follow or GET OUT OF THE WAY." Thank you Hayden and the rest of the outstanding content creators on YT for providing high quality discussion on this wonderful hobby. 73
Our club decided that in the 1990's to push the business of the club to the Board meeting and focus club meetings on the hobby of ham radio and people. Our topics are wide and varied of the hobby. No focus on just one area. Our attendance is around 50 with an additional 10 - 12 online. Paid membership around 166/ We do have 15 minutes of announcements regarding upcoming ham radio activities and events. We have a every other month Elmer/help night with attendance usually being the new hams needing help programming their radios. Our little club supports 9 public service events, with 3 of them recruiting over 80 radio ops each to help with, including two that require a 14 hour day. We have a ladies group who had a learn to solder activity this past year, and a youth on the air activity. We have members who are into the hobby for building things, talking on the air, emergency communications, POTA, and many other reasons. We will never be all things to all people, but the thing we try to do is build a friendly environment and are not afraid to try something new. All the clubs in state I have attended do something very similar with their meeting format. I have not attended one that spends most of the time with business.
I am a member of a great Ham Radio Club. problem is we are mostly older people (not haveing much success drawing many young people). But every other month we have what we call a Meet And Eat, Every one seams to love it
You put words to what I've been thinking. Unfortunately the people who might bring the change are usually the ones who leave after the first meeting. I am a part of two groups that meet regularly but informally. No club fees, no procedures, no obligations; just a group of people who get together and talk/play radio.
The local club was doing this. 5 of us left to form our own last month. We are still finding our way but we are more focused on having a good time with ham radio. I loved the video. My fear is if clubs don't change it will discourage people from getting into the hobby.
Good points. Also, some clubs are run by a rusted-on clique of a decade or longer in office who, over time, then consider themselves the owners and a degree of arrogance goes with that. Club constitutions should limit the terms of all positions such that they are not eligible for re-election after (say) 2 terms.
My club at Redcliffe, Qld. We meet 4 times a week, only 1 meeting a month is business. We welcome all visitors, talk to them, show them our club facilities.
Great video, and a high percentage of clubs in the UK seem to fall into this category. Since Covid, many people are taking their exams online, so tend to pass without having seen or touched a radio. UK clubs seem to have given up on training, and are missing the opportunity to step up and offer radio activities for newcomers.
I’ve recently stumbled across a new to me radio club that seems to have a decent handle on this. The first hour of the monthly meeting is the “Elmers meeting”, a very informal exploration of what members are doing in ham radio and what they would like to learn more about. The second hour is the formal club meeting: a brief welcome and review of upcoming events of interest in the area, followed a short discussion of club business (if any), then a presentation on a radio topic agreed to be of interest to club members. It’s a smaller, informal group with a good mix of seasoned and new operators. Best local club I’ve found! The club leaders must be tuned into you!
I have my GMRS license and attended one ham club meeting as I already owned 2 ham HT radios and thought getting my ham license would be fun. I was told it was against the law for me to even own those radios without a ham license and they were going to turn me in to the FCC. I said I never use them to talk, just listen and, I get the weather radio channels I programmed into them. I said I talk on my GMRS radios if I want to speak with someone. They said GMRS is stupid and they were still planning on turning me in for owning 2 ham radios without a license. (I looked it up later and they were full of crap ) I bid them good day and left. Who the heck would want to join a group like those people? I was older than most of the people in that club but only by a few years. Their youngest member was about 55 so, I am guessing that club will disappear as they were certainly not attracting any new young members, or any members for that matter.
Hi Hayden, Both the clouds I’m associated with are focused on the hobby and a variety of topics within the hobby. Yes, a very short portion is about business, but, the focus is on the hobby. I have found the members to be approachable and keen to share their knowledge with everyone and new folks looking at joining the hobby. I agree, to grow the hobby we need to focus on the hobby whilst running the club. It’s the activities that keep me engaged in the hobby. Great video, David VK2DMW
Good point ,negativity is the biggest killer for me , most of the stereotypes of a club are correct and are often to inclusive and negative those that have ideas and want to increase membership with fresh agendas are often pushed out , for this reason i don't attend my local club much, I still do my part just in the background
When I was heavily involved with my local hacker space we had business meetings and presentations and open house nights separately. It's a lot easier to do club business when you aren't holding up the presentation and open house nights are good for just showing off projects and socializing with like-minded people outside of the presentation.
Well said! My local club LADAR in Leyland and Chorley UK actually try and do this. More importantly, our members totally encourage new members., supporting them throughout their transition in licensing. In the club we trust, keep the business and politics out of the main goal; promoting and pushing radio. Thanks as always for your great videos. David G7UAY
Very new Ham here. You are absolutely right! Personally, anything that has the word "committee" in it sounds like work and commitment. Young people generally focus on fun and discovering new skills. Can a bunch of people just experiment and have fun? Clubs have lots of knowledgeable people. For people who have just started and don't know what they are doing, it would be cool to have a Zoom or Teams call (perhaps run by a club), talk to someone live, and try contact. For that, you technically do not need a club but a meeting space. Running a club is surely hard work, but club operational activities should not be part of radio/fun activities. Keep up the good work. I learned a lot from your channel. Kind regards from VK6 land.
Nail & Head! I went to a club here in Canada for the first time last week. It was a hybrid meeting of face to face and google meets with almost a round table feel. It about was an hour long of exactly and as you say, financials and repeater reports and then the meeting was over and everyone went home. I would say I was made super welcome and encouraged to join the daily nets (I'm not a Canadian) but I did think it was a little mechanical and very functional meeting. I've been licensed for 40+ yrs in my home country and I'm trying to intergrate here in Canada and have attended many clubs and now you raise the point, if this was my first introduction to a club I'd probably have not gone back. I also belong to another charity club (not radio related) and it's the same and now I can't unsee the point you have raised. p.s did you ever do the repeater signal reports after adding the phased feed on the antenna or have I missed it?
Our club meeting monthly. About two years ago, we moved to only doing four business meetings a year. All other monthly meetings are instead a presentation or group activity. We're slowly seeing attendance come back up.
I've been a licensed ham for 32 years. I moved to Australia 24 years ago. I have found aussie ham clubs to be unfriendly, cliquish, and on occasion actually aggressive. Some clubs are stuck in 1970s. They actively discourage anyone new as it interrupts their non-radio chat and coffee group. I tried to make a difference. Helped run exams and activity weekends. The more I tried the more aggressive the resistance fought back. Result I gave up radio completely 15 years ago and moved onto other hobbies. I plan to return to radio when I move back to the UK.
Great video Hayden.... Thanks for raising points that certainly are valid. Some are unfortunately very set in their ways but perhaps watch this space, you've inspired me to work with my local club to move into a new era.
The clubs around here in northern New Jersey make you jump through hoops to join their clubs and then the dues are outrageous. I haven’t even tried to join because of this.
Excellent Idea !!! THANKS for your wealth of ideas ! Our club in the mountain town of Greeneville, in eastern Tennessee, has a separate meeting time every week for electronics school and exam study for new Hams , but we still need some work on outreach to the general public .
Thanks for the video! I think a lot of the commenters are missing the point though. As a club, handle the legal stuff-whether as an LLC or whatever structure your state requires-behind the scenes. That doesn’t need to be part of the general members’ experience unless they’re on the board. As for people saying they “like radios but hate the people,” you’re missing the bigger picture. Radio is a communication tool-it’s meant for connecting with others. If you don’t want that, it’s just another gadget, and you might as well play video games or scroll TikTok. Also, I haven’t even reached 40 yet, so I’m a relatively young operator in this hobby. I find it odd that people complaining about who’s in ham radio are active on social media-where anger, vitriol, racism/reverse racism are everywhere-but somehow expect humanity to be different on the air. The only difference is you can’t block or ignore people on ham radio. This is real-life human interaction folks! If you deal with people, you get people problems. And newsflash: older people talk about their health-it’s what’s on their mind. Your aunts, uncles, and grandparents do it too, especially with friends. It’s not just ham radio. Sure, there are odd folks in the hobby, but you’ll find the same in sailing, horseback riding, or any niche interest. These hobbies attract unique personalities. Amateur radio is just a cross-section of society. Go to your supermarket, and you’ll meet just as many “weirdos” or grumps. In 2025, we’re so used to curating our interactions that real-life communication feels jarring-but that’s part of the experience. Thanks, 73 and hope to catch you on the air
Great points Hayden… You are very lucky to be in such a club and have what looks in the video like a large membership… And it’s true to some extent you can compare it to being in a sports club. I believe the issue is that for the most part amateur radio is a solo and personal activity, much moreso than common sports. Everyone has their own way of operating, and their own preferences as to what they do not like to do. This leads to many people staying in their own bubble, and in a small club environment, that can mean you have a number club members who actually have little in common relative to the hobby apart from the business of the club itself. However, if you can get a large enough membership, which you seem to have, this can be overcome as you will have more commonality, and even create separate-interest-sub-groups if there are enough members. The crux is transitioning a club from its early, quiet, low member days, to the Holy Grail that you guys have in Hobart 😊.
My club (Echelford ARS) never do this. All business is dealt with on line or via quarterly committee meetings and plans are disseminated via e-mail, online forum, weekly nets and the monthly newsletter. All fortnightly meetings are based around activities (not necessarily on-air) and we always make a point to welcome guests and visitors on their arrival.
I went to two meetings of my local club, about six months apart due to my work schedule. Each time they had interesting presentations, but they started out with "We are going to skip introductions" and went into presentations. Both times nobody bothered to introduce themselves and ask me who I was. Any interaction I had to initiate, but most people there were already engaged in conversations with each other and I didn't think it was proper to interrupt.
There is something to this but I just don't see the group in my area meeting more than once a month. We meet early before the meeting at a local restaurant for chit chat. Then go to the veteran's hall for the boring business which usually takes about 10 minutes tops. Everyone hears what's in the bank account and any upcoming expenses. If we are spending money they know. If anything is more detailed it happens off online from the meeting. Then it is more fun, the planning for activities, discussion of anyone's technical issues, repeater issues and whatnot. About half the time there is a presentation. This seems fine to me. Honestly, growing the hobby is an individual effort IMO. Talk to your family members, talk to friends. When people come to the meetings be friendly. Tell them if they get licensed there is old equipment for them to use. The biggest barriers are financial and time. If you are going to pull people into 3 or 4 activities a months they won't come. Most people have no money for $2000-3000 of radio equipment either.
I attended a couple of meetings with our local ham group. It was a pretty awful experience. Between the snooty old-timers who looked down on new hams, the out of the way location and meetings being held during the day where only retirees were likely to attend, I ended noping right out of there and haven’t tried since.
I tried joining the "patriot radio club" a while back, it was so boring. NOTHING about ham radio. Stupid meeting minutes, and i got yelled at for using the chat feature in Zoom instead of trying to talk over everyone. That was enough for me. They can shove their club where the sun don't shine.
we have two clubs my town and ive always wondered why. The one is Roberts rules of order and the other is just a hey how is everyone here's a presentation to learn from and talk and hang out after. Guess which one has more members? lol.
Our club, in SW Idaho, has a meeting once a month. Last Thursday night at the meeting, I proposed the club setup a GMRS repeater. Two reasons, to get non-Hams interested in radio, two to help the community next time we have no Internet or cell service. I believe the Ham's could answer non-Hams questions and peak their interest, at least some of them. The attitude was pretty favorable, with the exception of two hostiles. Any other club doing this?
WE formed our club but has called it a radio association since the beginning in 1994. We have new hams every month. Many of us have come back due to POTA. We have the busiest repeaters in the middle ga area
I agree, I've been thinking about how to separate the business part from the fun part. Ham Radio is supposed to be fun. Otherwise most people won't be or stay engaged. I've been thinking about how to get the guys to use Discord. It kind of reminds me of a Tanker ship, it takes a lot of effort and time to steer a large ship. I'm also relatively new to the club, so I want to understand their way of doing things better before offing any suggestions. Its a great group of guys, but we have to change some, or I'm afraid the club will go extinct.
Returned to the hobby in 2017 and approached the chairman of the local club, his opening and only statement was "you can join us on our slow morse net on Tuesday evening, if you wish, what speed do you send at?" Needless to say I did not make any further contact. My interest in the hobby rests in the 21st century not in spark gap transmitters and CW speeds. Their loss.
OMG, the AI generated pic at 0:36 onwards is scary. Look at all the fingers... Lovely video mate, thanks for all the effort you put into the hobby! 73, Jan M7HNK
Never mix business with pleasure if you want the club to survive. Seen that in more than one club, and it only takes one idiot to ruin a good thing. You probably know the type - the guy who waves Robert's Rules of Order like it was some sort of holy writ, argues incessantly about treasurer's reports, and makes a pain in the arse of himself in general. Soon, people get tired of that and stop going to meetings and renewing memberships, and the club goes tango uniform.
Am a ham this summer became a tech went to local clubs lunch and auction only 1 person out of over 15 said a word to me. Ok thought am new and a no code tech no problem so studied for and passed general. and officially joined club. Month later went to the clubs Xmas club party again only 1 person said a word to me. Have since taken down antennas and put radios in a drawer.
My club has bimonthly business meetings and training in between. I personally done classes on D-STAR, YSF and HF Digital modes. Another local club asked me to do a class on data modes and done it for them as well. What I think needs to happen is more training on different aspects of amateur radio. It's just just about contests and business meetings. Not everyone is interested in talking or cw all the time.
"Ham Radio Clubs - STOP DOING THIS!" Better yet is to start doing something else. Just stopping could end up with nothing. In an hour I'll be at a club meeting; topic is antenna analyzers with some hands-on. Actual business meeting is a once a year thing combined with elections but even on election day and business day there's still a topic with plenty of hands-on. Several times a year its Show and Tell; bring your stuff. I usually bring my little Icom IC-705 and a portable whip antenna and sit right there in the meeting with it operating. Anyone interested in playing with it is invited. It is a nearly complete miniature station.
I think my club tries, but the meetings are not terribly interesting. They put the club business in a separate Zoom meeting. They all seem to get along, but they don’t reach out during there meetings. I don’t really stick around after the meetings. Maybe they stay and talk? My club is closely associated with another club in a nearby city. Many in this club are active in that club. I may eventually go to that club’s meetings, using both clubs. And my club does occasional food meetings. I’m not big on weird buffets. That’s them trying, but I don’t know these people.
Out of the three clubs I was part of -- ONE got it right! Shout out Lansing Amateur radio Club! The others were focused primarily on Digital modes in one case and politics in two other cases. They don't really like change and unless you were born before 1960 you generally won't fit in. It seemed more like a reverie opportunity to lie back and talk about better days. I am into the retro scene myself and I was aghast at the state of things. Rather than find somebody who can bring me into the way you go on the air and tune up my vintage gear (tubes) these will become a museum exhibit instead.
There is club 5 minutes away from me, they made it VERY clear they don't want new members. The members I saw were no spring chickens. Without bringing in new blood they will quietly vanish.
Club I attend boring as watching paint dry. Fortunately at the RSL premises I attend, where the radio club has its boring meetings, they play darts, so I joined the darts club instead.
What you're really doing here is addressing the 80/20 rule.... 20% of the members do 80% of the work (and vice versa). By separating things out, you get people more engaged in the activities. Got it. Our club has done most of the same thing. It's a great thing and it did pretty much double the size of the club. But after awhile you will find that everything forces itself back to the 80/20 rule. After awhile, getting that "show-n-tell" is harder. Getting the presentation on presentation night is harder. Getting a club project to build is harder. After awhile you've done it all and getting people to volunteer for stuff gets harder (how many times is Joe gonna bring that battery box project?). So the same people keep stepping up to fill the void for next week/month. And after enough of that, you're back to the 80/20 rule. It's a tough nut to crack and it absolutely is not unique to ham radio clubs. Bottom line in any volunteer organization is "engaging participation." I had a business partner years ago who used to say "light yourself on fire and people will come watch you burn." Pump up the activities, separate it from the business part, and you will have a successful club.
Unfortunately clubs near me are more cliques than inclusive clubs. The couple I looked into did not give me warm fuzzies at all. I've learned more in the past couple of years online than at a club, although I think a club such as yours here would be a big help.
Closed door board business is just asking for abuse and corruption. I may have reasonings for the nationwide organizations, but local boards need to be operating under the presumptions that they serve the club, not command it, and that their communications about the club should be able to open to transparency and recall. The club I belong to has a private chat room for board members to discuss things without the privy of the club.
Dear Hayden. Here I go again, I've replied in detail to all your videos on this subject including the 1hr video. Please don't get me wrong I absolutely take my hat off to you & the incredible job that you are doing in promoting the hobby of Amateur radio, how I wish I lived in Tasmania & could join your club I'd be there in a heart beat. Whilst I absolutely applaud what you are doing with these videos & agree with you 100% the sad news is that the majority of clubs DO NOT CARE that's just a fact they have been doing it for so long they are the old guard & they are not going to change . I've belonged to 2 x clubs in Melbourne & have left 2 clubs in Melbourne for precisely the reasons you & other respondents to this video have pointed out. Sadly until the old guard are gone or stood aside & new young blood is allowed to join NOTHING is going to change. I know of a club where the young bloody tried to nominate for positions in a club to turn it around & they were out voted by the old guard & so left. I saw & responded to a comment on FB after your last video where someone said " were not going to change we've been doing it this way for the last 30 years & as long as the current committee is in charge that's the way that it's going to stay. So if you don't like it eitjer don't join or leave. That's just the attitude that is killing this hobby. I strongly suggest the reason that the last 1hr video had such a low response was because it was watched in part by the old guard & as soon as they saw it was about change they closed the video because they are just si unwilling to change. I'm aware of a club in Melbourne that has basically had the same committee in rotating positions for the last 40 years. I think the only way to bring about change is for dissatisfied club members to band together & start thier own club. Just keep banging on Hayden & fighting the good fight we all support you. Wayne VK3ECS.
"dissatisfied club members to band together & start thier own club." That's usually how clubs came into existence in the first place. A problem is finding people willing to start; are YOU that person? Someone starts a club usually populated with his buddies. 30 years later they now have white hair, if any hair at all, but same people.
OMG, been a ham since February 2024 and the local club does just that, discuss business and hold a raffle and that’s it. I would’ve thought the club would discuss technical aspects such as SDR, hooking up an amplifier, what gain is, how best to rig an antenna, and more. I’ve pretty much had to research this on my own though I have a friend who has helped a little though he gets frustrated with all my questions. It’s pathetic these clubs.
ham radio operators is why im not interested in getting licensed. i have never talked to a more negative group of people than my local net. compared to sideband cb radio where everyone is friendly and jokes around and no weirdos can look up my address based on my callsign.
That is too bad about the net. Our club net has an average weekly checkin of 126 people in 2024. Yes that is right. The complaint is that the net is 45 minutes long especially from the new hams who have to check in at the end. IT is a unique problem to have.
My first interaction with my local club was a room full of old guys doing nothing but bashing and making fun of CB and GMRS people. Before becoming a Ham I came from 36 plus years of CB so I was not impressed. needless to say I went off on them letting them all know that them CB and GMRS people could possibly be future hams and degrading them isn't a positive way to grow the hobby. never went back and the don't like me now. Oh well...
Ham radio clubs suck, period! I stopped all my memberships and left all the clubs I was a member of. The local one in Moncton is a horrible collection of "Certain Name Lovers." If you don't have this last name, you are treated like garbage, IMO. I am an individual who hangs out with others online or in person of a similar interest without any other garbage. If you want to learn about contesting, find a few hams interested in contesting, POTA, or anything else. You don't need a club for that.
A great start to get more people in the Hobby is to get rid of all the bullshit technical shit in the Exam that we don't need to pick up a radio & talk to people with appropriate etiquette & regulations !
Great advice,. One comment-the photo of all white older men does not seem to indicate a high level of inclusion. So I wonder what you meant by that word?
Inclusive - all members have the opportunity to be involved in all our activities and participate, i.e. not isolating them to only those who understand how something works.
Ok. The ham club is a buisnees when money is spent. We meet weekly for breakfast. Thats where th comradarie and question are discussed. We also discuss starting up fox hunts. And also emergency training for any possible incidents.
If you are treating it like a business, then it's no longer a club. The goal of a club is to provide an environment conducive to the sport/hobby in question.. If it all comes down to money then that's no longer Ham Radio.
@FreddyNietzsche. negative. The money the club can used for reaper maintenance. Ypu need atleast one meeting run by roberts rules. And money spent needs a vote. If they just want to play radio then they font need to pay dues. Our meetings are open to anyone. You done need to be a member.. our age group ranges from 12 till 90.
I find vhf and uhf so boring i dint even go there. Vhf and uhf have just become low iq communist political talking points and arenas. Its boring. Hf, dmr portable hf. Summits. So much more fun. ✌️. We need the sota and pota orgs to realize this. Those are the things that are exciting to a whole new demo. The old fudds are slowly leaving the stages.
As soon as you mentioned the word INCLUSIVE, I stopped watching. You don't need to emphasize and promote this trendy woke bullshit to big note yourself or your club. I am certain that clubs have always welcomed people from all walks of life, but never felt the need to huff and puff and brag that they were being "inclusive". Next, your club or you will be promoting DEI or LGBT+ policies!!!!
The word inclusive has a meaning. Because it has been misused does not mean we forget the original intent. Inclusive is accepting everyone, young, old, cw, digital, voice. When a stranger comes to a meeting, welcome them.
Hello, Hayden - best new year’s greetings! In our little CARC, IN S.E.Tenn., we have a scheduled business meeting monthly - and on other meetings the folks put on talks about various Ham Radio subjects or just have “radio night”. The leadership is working on increasing membership - the members are almost universally inviting and inclusive. It is not perfect, but, there is a genuine effort. I feel lucky to belong. KQ4IXD
i'm a ham for 18 months now.. walked into a local club, walked out within 30 minutes. It's the same strange behavior as on the local repeaters. I discovered i like the technical side of the hobby but i general dislike the people/vibe.
Like the radios hate the people.
It's like everyone who kept this knowledge alive for 40 years is on the spectrum or creepy AF. Missed opportunity 4 years ago when prepping in general exploded and there were survival/disaster response interest from the general public.
I need a cranky old Vietnam vet who hated his CO and the rules even if he still follows them. Mostly. Instead I found the group keeping the mail order bride industry afloat.
It's sad.
I don't go to those AGM style meetings, I stop my club, volunteer to teach, and just try to help engage the younger audiences (myself for example, I don't have grey hair yet).
That type of behavior is common in all technical groups, you have the elitests and the ones who only care about business. Boring.
Try some hf. Dmr. Portable hf. Summits. Parks. Its a diff world.
Get away from repeaters and get in HF - it’s a whole different world with modes other than just phone too.
Great video Hayden. I stopped going to my local club because they took up the first half of the meeting with all the business. I also stopped going because it wasn’t very inclusive. I’m a relatively new ham and I was looking for more experienced hams to offer up knowledge and experience so that I could learn more about this massive hobby. I sat through multiple meetings where nobody ever spoke directly to me or asked me if I wanted or needed any assistance. I felt as though I could have gotten up on the middle of the meeting and walked out and nobody would have noticed. I eventually stopped going all together. Thank you for all your videos. The amateur radio YT community is where I get most of my knowledge. 73
Thanks Jimmy, it's sad to hear about your experience with your local club. I hope it improves with time 👍
Great topic and bravo for having the care to bring this up. I am old but a new HAM. My first club was horrible. The politics between the past president and the newly elected president was obvious and frankly childish. I was the director (in the HOG world that is the president). When I took over my first objective was to make it clear that this kind of action was not acceptable and would not be tolerated. We requested several of the old regime not renewal if they continued to torpedo meetings, rides, etc. The chapter was on a decline in membership, activities, etc. We turned the chapter into a riding club, since that is what a majority of people were looking for. I found out that people are good and will get involved but you have to let them decide. We shortened our "business" side of the meetings from 30 minutes or more to 5 minutes. The officers would sit among the members, answer questions, guide them and encourage them. in 4 years we went from 75 members to over 800 active members. Titles were left at the door. It was "our" club not the club of a few. I find that the HAM club I was in was being run by "executive old school" techniques. I think clubs sometimes forget that the current membership, as well as new members, do not need the club as much as the club needs its membership. Bring food, coffee, have movie nights, presentations, etc. Make it fun and not an extension of their jobs. My apologies for running on and on. This was one of the best videos for HAM clubs I have seen. Amateur radio's future depends on these clubs to grow and get more people interested.
I think you hit the target when you wrote. . . . the clubs need the membership more than the membership needs the clubs.
I rejoined a local club after many years of being non-active after I retired. I had introduced myself to the President as it was nice to put a face to someone on our Net.
At the next meeting they asked me to be the club secretary for the next year. Not wanting to say no I took on the responsibility.
It was not enjoyable as I couldn't take in the lessons as I was more worried about getting the minutes correct. At the next meeting the minutes would get torn apart because I misspelled something or had the incorrect call sign in my note.
I am not a secretary!
I ended up resigning and leaving the club......
@tomcrowley1786 let them complain or step up it volunteer gig.
@ronpetroski7203 Thank you!
BINGO...one of the biggest reasons we started a new club that as not so business related but more FUN HAM RADIO related to enjoy the hobby! Thank you for this spot-on video!!!!
When I was running a club we changed the format of the meeting. Introductions and then right into the presentation. Any business went at the end so people could choose to stay or go.
Totally agree , when I first got my license (94) I went to a couple of meetings and you would walk in and everyone would turn and look to see who I was and what was I doing there! 30 years later I retired and started going to one of the social meetings at one of the local malls, totally different bunch, we get more club members there than at the general meetings, I can read, I don't need someone reading the minutes from the last meeting! I volunteer at one of a local museums now, in the radio room, we teach guess that come by how to send there name in CW, " I am Not a CW op" but it is a blast meeting the people that come through, we also get access to the 2 museum ships docked behind the museum, which happen to be Pota parks plus they also have maritime mobile call signs which make them very popular. Helping with the radio stations in all 3 locations makes the hobby fun , which it is all about. This is just one kind of activity . VE1SK
100% this. Regular times where people get together and just enjoy the hobby. Help others learn about it and how to enjoy it.
Thanks Hayden!
I'm president of 2 clubs, we got by without business meetings for a long time. One of the club started to incur hard costs, and that started the business meetings, but the "flavor" was already designed and stayed well.
You have presented some very valuable information. Clubs should consider your points if survival is on their agenda.
I couldn't agree more but we had a "go getter" become president of the club I was in. He wanted to get the repeaters working better, get everyone to think outside of the box, less business meeting atmosphere, have more demonstrations, promote digital modes etc. He lasted a month and was voted out right in front of the whole club! Me and about 20 other guys never went back.
Hayden, this was exactly my experience 30 years ago. Nothing has changed. The curmudgeons who are usually the leaders of the club set the standard. To the clubs I say, "Lead, follow or GET OUT OF THE WAY." Thank you Hayden and the rest of the outstanding content creators on YT for providing high quality discussion on this wonderful hobby. 73
We do the same with our Harley Owners Group, officers of the chapter have a separate meeting and we meet to ride!
Our club decided that in the 1990's to push the business of the club to the Board meeting and focus club meetings on the hobby of ham radio and people. Our topics are wide and varied of the hobby. No focus on just one area. Our attendance is around 50 with an additional 10 - 12 online. Paid membership around 166/
We do have 15 minutes of announcements regarding upcoming ham radio activities and events. We have a every other month Elmer/help night with attendance usually being the new hams needing help programming their radios.
Our little club supports 9 public service events, with 3 of them recruiting over 80 radio ops each to help with, including two that require a 14 hour day. We have a ladies group who had a learn to solder activity this past year, and a youth on the air activity.
We have members who are into the hobby for building things, talking on the air, emergency communications, POTA, and many other reasons. We will never be all things to all people, but the thing we try to do is build a friendly environment and are not afraid to try something new. All the clubs in state I have attended do something very similar with their meeting format. I have not attended one that spends most of the time with business.
I am a member of a great Ham Radio Club. problem is we are mostly older people (not haveing much success drawing many young people). But every other month we have what we call a Meet And Eat, Every one seams to love it
You put words to what I've been thinking. Unfortunately the people who might bring the change are usually the ones who leave after the first meeting. I am a part of two groups that meet regularly but informally. No club fees, no procedures, no obligations; just a group of people who get together and talk/play radio.
Happens with a lot of other types of clubs as well --- tends to dissuade membership and have existing members quit
Hayden,
I have no idea how you continue to keep my on my seat, even if the topic is so mundane.
Love it.
73
The local club was doing this. 5 of us left to form our own last month. We are still finding our way but we are more focused on having a good time with ham radio. I loved the video. My fear is if clubs don't change it will discourage people from getting into the hobby.
You’re doing great! Keep it up!
Good points.
Also, some clubs are run by a rusted-on clique of a decade or longer in office who, over time, then consider themselves the owners and a degree of arrogance goes with that. Club constitutions should limit the terms of all positions such that they are not eligible for re-election after (say) 2 terms.
My club at Redcliffe, Qld.
We meet 4 times a week, only 1 meeting a month is business.
We welcome all visitors, talk to them, show them our club facilities.
Great video, and a high percentage of clubs in the UK seem to fall into this category. Since Covid, many people are taking their exams online, so tend to pass without having seen or touched a radio. UK clubs seem to have given up on training, and are missing the opportunity to step up and offer radio activities for newcomers.
I’ve recently stumbled across a new to me radio club that seems to have a decent handle on this. The first hour of the monthly meeting is the “Elmers meeting”, a very informal exploration of what members are doing in ham radio and what they would like to learn more about. The second hour is the formal club meeting: a brief welcome and review of upcoming events of interest in the area, followed a short discussion of club business (if any), then a presentation on a radio topic agreed to be of interest to club members. It’s a smaller, informal group with a good mix of seasoned and new operators. Best local club I’ve found! The club leaders must be tuned into you!
I have my GMRS license and attended one ham club meeting as I already owned 2 ham HT radios and thought getting my ham license would be fun. I was told it was against the law for me to even own those radios without a ham license and they were going to turn me in to the FCC. I said I never use them to talk, just listen and, I get the weather radio channels I programmed into them. I said I talk on my GMRS radios if I want to speak with someone. They said GMRS is stupid and they were still planning on turning me in for owning 2 ham radios without a license. (I looked it up later and they were full of crap ) I bid them good day and left. Who the heck would want to join a group like those people? I was older than most of the people in that club but only by a few years. Their youngest member was about 55 so, I am guessing that club will disappear as they were certainly not attracting any new young members, or any members for that matter.
Hi Hayden,
Both the clouds I’m associated with are focused on the hobby and a variety of topics within the hobby. Yes, a very short portion is about business, but, the focus is on the hobby. I have found the members to be approachable and keen to share their knowledge with everyone and new folks looking at joining the hobby.
I agree, to grow the hobby we need to focus on the hobby whilst running the club. It’s the activities that keep me engaged in the hobby.
Great video,
David VK2DMW
Good point ,negativity is the biggest killer for me , most of the stereotypes of a club are correct and are often to inclusive and negative those that have ideas and want to increase membership with fresh agendas are often pushed out , for this reason i don't attend my local club much, I still do my part just in the background
When I was heavily involved with my local hacker space we had business meetings and presentations and open house nights separately. It's a lot easier to do club business when you aren't holding up the presentation and open house nights are good for just showing off projects and socializing with like-minded people outside of the presentation.
Well said! My local club LADAR in Leyland and Chorley UK actually try and do this. More importantly, our members totally encourage new members., supporting them throughout their transition in licensing. In the club we trust, keep the business and politics out of the main goal; promoting and pushing radio. Thanks as always for your great videos. David G7UAY
Thank you. This is so vital for clubs
Excellent topic. Same issue here in my small town in Ohio.
Sounds great, you have some good ideas and progress there.
Very new Ham here. You are absolutely right! Personally, anything that has the word "committee" in it sounds like work and commitment. Young people generally focus on fun and discovering new skills. Can a bunch of people just experiment and have fun? Clubs have lots of knowledgeable people. For people who have just started and don't know what they are doing, it would be cool to have a Zoom or Teams call (perhaps run by a club), talk to someone live, and try contact. For that, you technically do not need a club but a meeting space.
Running a club is surely hard work, but club operational activities should not be part of radio/fun activities.
Keep up the good work. I learned a lot from your channel.
Kind regards from VK6 land.
Nail & Head! I went to a club here in Canada for the first time last week. It was a hybrid meeting of face to face and google meets with almost a round table feel.
It about was an hour long of exactly and as you say, financials and repeater reports and then the meeting was over and everyone went home.
I would say I was made super welcome and encouraged to join the daily nets (I'm not a Canadian) but I did think it was a little mechanical and very functional meeting.
I've been licensed for 40+ yrs in my home country and I'm trying to intergrate here in Canada and have attended many clubs and now you raise the point, if this was my first introduction to a club I'd probably have not gone back.
I also belong to another charity club (not radio related) and it's the same and now I can't unsee the point you have raised.
p.s did you ever do the repeater signal reports after adding the phased feed on the antenna or have I missed it?
Our club meeting monthly. About two years ago, we moved to only doing four business meetings a year. All other monthly meetings are instead a presentation or group activity. We're slowly seeing attendance come back up.
I've been a licensed ham for 32 years. I moved to Australia 24 years ago. I have found aussie ham clubs to be unfriendly, cliquish, and on occasion actually aggressive. Some clubs are stuck in 1970s. They actively discourage anyone new as it interrupts their non-radio chat and coffee group. I tried to make a difference. Helped run exams and activity weekends. The more I tried the more aggressive the resistance fought back. Result I gave up radio completely 15 years ago and moved onto other hobbies. I plan to return to radio when I move back to the UK.
Great video Hayden....
Thanks for raising points that certainly are valid. Some are unfortunately very set in their ways but perhaps watch this space, you've inspired me to work with my local club to move into a new era.
The clubs around here in northern New Jersey make you jump through hoops to join their clubs and then the dues are outrageous. I haven’t even tried to join because of this.
Excellent Idea !!! THANKS for your wealth of ideas ! Our club in the mountain town of Greeneville, in eastern Tennessee, has a separate meeting time every week for electronics school and exam study for new Hams , but we still need some work on outreach to the general public .
Thanks, that's great to hear! I'm glad you found some useful stuff!
Thanks for the video! I think a lot of the commenters are missing the point though. As a club, handle the legal stuff-whether as an LLC or whatever structure your state requires-behind the scenes. That doesn’t need to be part of the general members’ experience unless they’re on the board.
As for people saying they “like radios but hate the people,” you’re missing the bigger picture. Radio is a communication tool-it’s meant for connecting with others. If you don’t want that, it’s just another gadget, and you might as well play video games or scroll TikTok.
Also, I haven’t even reached 40 yet, so I’m a relatively young operator in this hobby. I find it odd that people complaining about who’s in ham radio are active on social media-where anger, vitriol, racism/reverse racism are everywhere-but somehow expect humanity to be different on the air. The only difference is you can’t block or ignore people on ham radio. This is real-life human interaction folks! If you deal with people, you get people problems.
And newsflash: older people talk about their health-it’s what’s on their mind. Your aunts, uncles, and grandparents do it too, especially with friends. It’s not just ham radio.
Sure, there are odd folks in the hobby, but you’ll find the same in sailing, horseback riding, or any niche interest. These hobbies attract unique personalities. Amateur radio is just a cross-section of society. Go to your supermarket, and you’ll meet just as many “weirdos” or grumps.
In 2025, we’re so used to curating our interactions that real-life communication feels jarring-but that’s part of the experience. Thanks, 73 and hope to catch you on the air
I couldn’t agree more - thanks for sharing your thoughts!
This is awesome! This is exactly y I haven't upgraded my license. There's no fun activities.
There's tons of fun activities you don't need a Ham Club to do them. Don't give up just yet
Great points Hayden… You are very lucky to be in such a club and have what looks in the video like a large membership…
And it’s true to some extent you can compare it to being in a sports club.
I believe the issue is that for the most part amateur radio is a solo and personal activity, much moreso than common sports. Everyone has their own way of operating, and their own preferences as to what they do not like to do. This leads to many people staying in their own bubble, and in a small club environment, that can mean you have a number club members who actually have little in common relative to the hobby apart from the business of the club itself.
However, if you can get a large enough membership, which you seem to have, this can be overcome as you will have more commonality, and even create separate-interest-sub-groups if there are enough members.
The crux is transitioning a club from its early, quiet, low member days, to the Holy Grail that you guys have in Hobart 😊.
My club (Echelford ARS) never do this. All business is dealt with on line or via quarterly committee meetings and plans are disseminated via e-mail, online forum, weekly nets and the monthly newsletter. All fortnightly meetings are based around activities (not necessarily on-air) and we always make a point to welcome guests and visitors on their arrival.
Very well said Hayden.
My local club had a picnic at the local park to reach out. I haven't been to the business meetings.
Excellent advice for any special interest group.
I'm a big fan of the Wednesday Experimenters Group. Meeting starts about the time I'm getting my first cup of coffee in the morning.
That’s a good start to the day!
@@HamRadioDX Agreed!
I went to two meetings of my local club, about six months apart due to my work schedule. Each time they had interesting presentations, but they started out with "We are going to skip introductions" and went into presentations.
Both times nobody bothered to introduce themselves and ask me who I was. Any interaction I had to initiate, but most people there were already engaged in conversations with each other and I didn't think it was proper to interrupt.
There is something to this but I just don't see the group in my area meeting more than once a month. We meet early before the meeting at a local restaurant for chit chat. Then go to the veteran's hall for the boring business which usually takes about 10 minutes tops. Everyone hears what's in the bank account and any upcoming expenses. If we are spending money they know. If anything is more detailed it happens off online from the meeting. Then it is more fun, the planning for activities, discussion of anyone's technical issues, repeater issues and whatnot. About half the time there is a presentation. This seems fine to me. Honestly, growing the hobby is an individual effort IMO. Talk to your family members, talk to friends. When people come to the meetings be friendly. Tell them if they get licensed there is old equipment for them to use. The biggest barriers are financial and time. If you are going to pull people into 3 or 4 activities a months they won't come. Most people have no money for $2000-3000 of radio equipment either.
We talk money only once a year when club members vote on it. Let the board handle the business at other meetings, emails, etc.
Clubs around here do little or nothing, and complain that numbers are dropping . I have tried to start a new club, no one wants to.
Finally, someone addressing the elephant in the room. Well done Hayden.
I attended a couple of meetings with our local ham group. It was a pretty awful experience. Between the snooty old-timers who looked down on new hams, the out of the way location and meetings being held during the day where only retirees were likely to attend, I ended noping right out of there and haven’t tried since.
I tried joining the "patriot radio club" a while back, it was so boring. NOTHING about ham radio. Stupid meeting minutes, and i got yelled at for using the chat feature in Zoom instead of trying to talk over everyone. That was enough for me. They can shove their club where the sun don't shine.
I can not imagine reading minutes at a club meeting. Boring, and worthless.
If I went to a ham club meeting with old men with 6 fingers, Sitting around a table.
I would be scared too.
we have two clubs my town and ive always wondered why. The one is Roberts rules of order and the other is just a hey how is everyone here's a presentation to learn from and talk and hang out after. Guess which one has more members? lol.
Our club, in SW Idaho, has a meeting once a month. Last Thursday night at the meeting, I proposed the club setup a GMRS repeater. Two reasons, to get non-Hams interested in radio, two to help the community next time we have no Internet or cell service. I believe the Ham's could answer non-Hams questions and peak their interest, at least some of them. The attitude was pretty favorable, with the exception of two hostiles. Any other club doing this?
How we can fix it 👉 th-cam.com/video/T0_zNI4RinA/w-d-xo.html
WE formed our club but has called it a radio association since the beginning in 1994. We have new hams every month. Many of us have come back due to POTA. We have the busiest repeaters in the middle ga area
I agree, I've been thinking about how to separate the business part from the fun part. Ham Radio is supposed to be fun. Otherwise most people won't be or stay engaged. I've been thinking about how to get the guys to use Discord. It kind of reminds me of a Tanker ship, it takes a lot of effort and time to steer a large ship. I'm also relatively new to the club, so I want to understand their way of doing things better before offing any suggestions. Its a great group of guys, but we have to change some, or I'm afraid the club will go extinct.
Returned to the hobby in 2017 and approached the chairman of the local club, his opening and only statement was "you can join us on our slow morse net on Tuesday evening, if you wish, what speed do you send at?" Needless to say I did not make any further contact. My interest in the hobby rests in the 21st century not in spark gap transmitters and CW speeds. Their loss.
OMG, the AI generated pic at 0:36 onwards is scary. Look at all the fingers... Lovely video mate, thanks for all the effort you put into the hobby! 73, Jan M7HNK
Never mix business with pleasure if you want the club to survive. Seen that in more than one club, and it only takes one idiot to ruin a good thing. You probably know the type - the guy who waves Robert's Rules of Order like it was some sort of holy writ, argues incessantly about treasurer's reports, and makes a pain in the arse of himself in general. Soon, people get tired of that and stop going to meetings and renewing memberships, and the club goes tango uniform.
Am a ham this summer became a tech went to local clubs lunch and auction only 1 person out of over 15 said a word to me. Ok thought am new and a no code tech no problem so studied for and passed general. and officially joined club. Month later went to the clubs Xmas club party again only 1 person said a word to me. Have since taken down antennas and put radios in a drawer.
Thanks!
Thanks!
My club has bimonthly business meetings and training in between. I personally done classes on D-STAR, YSF and HF Digital modes. Another local club asked me to do a class on data modes and done it for them as well.
What I think needs to happen is more training on different aspects of amateur radio. It's just just about contests and business meetings. Not everyone is interested in talking or cw all the time.
"Ham Radio Clubs - STOP DOING THIS!"
Better yet is to start doing something else. Just stopping could end up with nothing. In an hour I'll be at a club meeting; topic is antenna analyzers with some hands-on. Actual business meeting is a once a year thing combined with elections but even on election day and business day there's still a topic with plenty of hands-on. Several times a year its Show and Tell; bring your stuff.
I usually bring my little Icom IC-705 and a portable whip antenna and sit right there in the meeting with it operating. Anyone interested in playing with it is invited. It is a nearly complete miniature station.
I think my club tries, but the meetings are not terribly interesting. They put the club business in a separate Zoom meeting. They all seem to get along, but they don’t reach out during there meetings. I don’t really stick around after the meetings. Maybe they stay and talk?
My club is closely associated with another club in a nearby city. Many in this club are active in that club. I may eventually go to that club’s meetings, using both clubs.
And my club does occasional food meetings. I’m not big on weird buffets. That’s them trying, but I don’t know these people.
No business meetings. This is a hobby.
I have really dropped of from radio in the last few year or so , the club politics drove me away
Wow that's bad. Treasury should be a separate event, unless there's a turning point for the club and vote of hands is needed.
Exactly
Out of the three clubs I was part of -- ONE got it right! Shout out Lansing Amateur radio Club! The others were focused primarily on Digital modes in one case and politics in two other cases. They don't really like change and unless you were born before 1960 you generally won't fit in. It seemed more like a reverie opportunity to lie back and talk about better days. I am into the retro scene myself and I was aghast at the state of things. Rather than find somebody who can bring me into the way you go on the air and tune up my vintage gear (tubes) these will become a museum exhibit instead.
There is club 5 minutes away from me, they made it VERY clear they don't want new members. The members I saw were no spring chickens. Without bringing in new blood they will quietly vanish.
Club I attend boring as watching paint dry. Fortunately at the RSL premises I attend, where the radio club has its boring meetings, they play darts, so I joined the darts club instead.
We do maybe 5min of business at the regular meeting and it’s mostly just announcements - the rest of the business is done at a separate board meeting.
What you're really doing here is addressing the 80/20 rule.... 20% of the members do 80% of the work (and vice versa). By separating things out, you get people more engaged in the activities. Got it. Our club has done most of the same thing. It's a great thing and it did pretty much double the size of the club. But after awhile you will find that everything forces itself back to the 80/20 rule.
After awhile, getting that "show-n-tell" is harder. Getting the presentation on presentation night is harder. Getting a club project to build is harder. After awhile you've done it all and getting people to volunteer for stuff gets harder (how many times is Joe gonna bring that battery box project?). So the same people keep stepping up to fill the void for next week/month. And after enough of that, you're back to the 80/20 rule.
It's a tough nut to crack and it absolutely is not unique to ham radio clubs. Bottom line in any volunteer organization is "engaging participation." I had a business partner years ago who used to say "light yourself on fire and people will come watch you burn." Pump up the activities, separate it from the business part, and you will have a successful club.
In my experience, the ratio is closer to 5% workers to 95% non-workers in Amateur Radio clubs.
As in the world, most don't want to get they hands dirty.
Unfortunately clubs near me are more cliques than inclusive clubs. The couple I looked into did not give me warm fuzzies at all. I've learned more in the past couple of years online than at a club, although I think a club such as yours here would be a big help.
Just use your radios and ignore the hams. Stay away from emergency channels and youll be fine
Closed door board business is just asking for abuse and corruption.
I may have reasonings for the nationwide organizations, but local boards need to be operating under the presumptions that they serve the club, not command it, and that their communications about the club should be able to open to transparency and recall.
The club I belong to has a private chat room for board members to discuss things without the privy of the club.
Do to Houston's traffic, snd other issues, meetings need to be open to call in, zoom, teams. And many young hams do not have cars.
Dear Hayden.
Here I go again, I've replied in detail to all your videos on this subject including the 1hr video.
Please don't get me wrong I absolutely take my hat off to you & the incredible job that you are doing in promoting the hobby of Amateur radio, how I wish I lived in Tasmania & could join your club I'd be there in a heart beat.
Whilst I absolutely applaud what you are doing with these videos & agree with you 100% the sad news is that the majority of clubs DO NOT CARE that's just a fact they have been doing it for so long they are the old guard & they are not going to change .
I've belonged to 2 x clubs in Melbourne & have left 2 clubs in Melbourne for precisely the reasons you & other respondents to this video have pointed out.
Sadly until the old guard are gone or stood aside & new young blood is allowed to join NOTHING is going to change.
I know of a club where the young bloody tried to nominate for positions in a club to turn it around & they were out voted by the old guard & so left.
I saw & responded to a comment on FB after your last video where someone said " were not going to change we've been doing it this way for the last 30 years & as long as the current committee is in charge that's the way that it's going to stay.
So if you don't like it eitjer don't join or leave.
That's just the attitude that is killing this hobby.
I strongly suggest the reason that the last 1hr video had such a low response was because it was watched in part by the old guard & as soon as they saw it was about change they closed the video because they are just si unwilling to change.
I'm aware of a club in Melbourne that has basically had the same committee in rotating positions for the last 40 years.
I think the only way to bring about change is for dissatisfied club members to band together & start thier own club.
Just keep banging on Hayden & fighting the good fight we all support you.
Wayne
VK3ECS.
"dissatisfied club members to band together & start thier own club."
That's usually how clubs came into existence in the first place. A problem is finding people willing to start; are YOU that person? Someone starts a club usually populated with his buddies. 30 years later they now have white hair, if any hair at all, but same people.
@thomasmaughan4798 I've got no problem with white haired people running a radio club it's how they run the club that is the issue here.
OMG, been a ham since February 2024 and the local club does just that, discuss business and hold a raffle and that’s it. I would’ve thought the club would discuss technical aspects such as SDR, hooking up an amplifier, what gain is, how best to rig an antenna, and more. I’ve pretty much had to research this on my own though I have a friend who has helped a little though he gets frustrated with all my questions. It’s pathetic these clubs.
ham radio operators is why im not interested in getting licensed. i have never talked to a more negative group of people than my local net. compared to sideband cb radio where everyone is friendly and jokes around and no weirdos can look up my address based on my callsign.
That is too bad about the net. Our club net has an average weekly checkin of 126 people in 2024. Yes that is right. The complaint is that the net is 45 minutes long especially from the new hams who have to check in at the end. IT is a unique problem to have.
My first interaction with my local club was a room full of old guys doing nothing but bashing and making fun of CB and GMRS people. Before becoming a Ham I came from 36 plus years of CB so I was not impressed. needless to say I went off on them letting them all know that them CB and GMRS people could possibly be future hams and degrading them isn't a positive way to grow the hobby. never went back and the don't like me now. Oh well...
Ham radio clubs suck, period! I stopped all my memberships and left all the clubs I was a member of. The local one in Moncton is a horrible collection of "Certain Name Lovers." If you don't have this last name, you are treated like garbage, IMO. I am an individual who hangs out with others online or in person of a similar interest without any other garbage. If you want to learn about contesting, find a few hams interested in contesting, POTA, or anything else. You don't need a club for that.
Yep. Find friends who aren't dicks and talk to them, that's the only way.
Err, I would not eant to get members of a cricket cub upset. Especially if they have thier bats nearby.
Have you link for your discord please
The KTOADs link is near the bottom of the description box
Having meetings at a restaurant at 8 am for breakfast kind of leaves the working people out. I am now retired and still won’t support them.
A great start to get more people in the Hobby is to get rid of all the bullshit technical shit in the Exam that we don't need to pick up a radio & talk to people with appropriate etiquette & regulations !
Great advice,. One comment-the photo of all white older men does not seem to indicate a high level of inclusion. So I wonder what you meant by that word?
Inclusive - all members have the opportunity to be involved in all our activities and participate, i.e. not isolating them to only those who understand how something works.
@@HamRadioDX The goal of inclusion is to have wider diversity of members, so are the inclusion efforts failing or are they overstated?
Same with most Masonic lodges.
Ok. The ham club is a buisnees when money is spent. We meet weekly for breakfast. Thats where th comradarie and question are discussed. We also discuss starting up fox hunts. And also emergency training for any possible incidents.
If you are treating it like a business, then it's no longer a club. The goal of a club is to provide an environment conducive to the sport/hobby in question.. If it all comes down to money then that's no longer Ham Radio.
@FreddyNietzsche. negative. The money the club can used for reaper maintenance. Ypu need atleast one meeting run by roberts rules. And money spent needs a vote. If they just want to play radio then they font need to pay dues. Our meetings are open to anyone. You done need to be a member.. our age group ranges from 12 till 90.
I find vhf and uhf so boring i dint even go there. Vhf and uhf have just become low iq communist political talking points and arenas. Its boring. Hf, dmr portable hf. Summits. So much more fun. ✌️. We need the sota and pota orgs to realize this. Those are the things that are exciting to a whole new demo. The old fudds are slowly leaving the stages.
As soon as you mentioned the word INCLUSIVE, I stopped watching. You don't need to emphasize and promote this trendy woke bullshit to big note yourself or your club. I am certain that clubs have always welcomed people from all walks of life, but never felt the need to huff and puff and brag that they were being "inclusive". Next, your club or you will be promoting DEI or LGBT+ policies!!!!
The word inclusive has a meaning. Because it has been misused does not mean we forget the original intent. Inclusive is accepting everyone, young, old, cw, digital, voice. When a stranger comes to a meeting, welcome them.
Lee you’re correct
You are a wise man Hayden Thank you for that OZ1IOM Allan in Denmark
So Very True. Our local club is a good example - Calgary Alberta Canada Dana VE6KBI.
Hello, Hayden - best new year’s greetings! In our little CARC, IN S.E.Tenn., we have a scheduled business meeting monthly - and on other meetings the folks put on talks about various Ham Radio subjects or just have “radio night”. The leadership is working on increasing membership - the members are almost universally inviting and inclusive. It is not perfect, but, there is a genuine effort. I feel lucky to belong. KQ4IXD