Avoid These Mistakes: How to RUIN Your Ham Radio Club
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- How to RUIN Your Ham Radio Club - or how to make it as unappealing as possible. Thanks to the author of this reddit post for these great ideas on how to destroy a club - watch this video and let me know what you think!
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Thanks for watching!
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I've never understand why every new licensee doesn't get flooded with welcome packets from the area clubs. Love the idea of weekly "hangouts." Wish those were more common.
No doubt. We should be all over newly licensed folks. Our hobby, like all hobbies, needs new blood to keep it going in the future. Just like the radio stuff that used to go on in schools like clubs coming and giving presentations and letting kids actually talk on a real radio. That at least got a few kids interested early.
Guess it's really the thought that counts or your being funny it is a nation under God and you just paid for a licence....... Then tattoos cash flow or standardly owning a bank account.
Agreed. I got crickets. Had to search the internet to find them, joined and only got a monthly newsletter. Not even a single email about field day prep or anything. Very disheartening.
Pretty sure Hernando county fl on 148. Something have to look up h/o 146.805 433.800(repeater)they go live at 8pm every Thursday. Heard in on 147.418 on Tuesday they were doing trivia between 8-10 pm dunno schedule I normally just listen
Picked Tennessee up from hernando county FL with just a baofeng uv-5r 8 watt others in Sacramento to had to be useing microwave etc thats a long shot
When I first got my license here in North Alabama a member of the Huntsville Amateur Radio club emailed me. They were the group doing the exams and you could fill out a paper if you were interested in being contacted. She was a board member. Something along the lines of membership director. She sent an email just giving meeting times and field day plans for that year and many other things. She laid out how the membership worked and the first year was free if newly licensed. She closed with letting me know if I needed anything or had any questions to contact her. I exchanged emails with her for days. I ended up talking to her multiple times at club meetings. She was just wonderful it really meant something to me to have someone warm and inviting that knew the ins and outs of not only the club but radio in general. Thanks Anita! lol
I used to belong to a club, but it lasted only one year. As a newly ordained amateur ham, I was looking for an Elmer or anyone willing to help a new ham. From everything I could gather, the club was well run. However, most of the older members felt if you didn't have a $15k shack, you shouldn't even bother with amateur radio. One of the members made a crystal radio in an Altoids tin, and several guys scoffed and said what a waste of time. For me, that was reason enough not to attend any more meetings.
This is a GREAT video. I used to belong to a very good (very large) club. "The business" part of the club was handled by the board at times other than during the monthly meetings. At the monthly meeting we had Elmers teaching everyone how to build antennas, fix radios, there were classes for advancing ones licenses', there were classes on Morse Code, DXing, How to build our own equipment etc etc. The club was over 100 years old and still has hundreds if members. I moved away from there about 40 years ago. Radio "clubs" should call themselves "Radio Schools" and, that is how they should be run.
The guy that wrote that article you read is spot on. Guys who are 70, been hams for 50 years, have forgotten how much they actually know and they tend to think "everyone" knows those things. But, electronics is not easy for a lot of people (neither is math). It is not intuitive. It is complex and it needs to be taught CORRECTLY or no one understands it (in depth instruction). The old guys should just meet for breakfast somewhere and let the younger "Tech savvy" kids run the place.
Kids these days have grown up with computers and electronic things. I (we older guys) did not. The club I am involved in now does not have membership fees or dues, we do not have our own call sign we did not do any of that business stuff with minutes and all of that. We just get together and do things. It is so relaxed most club members from other places would be surprised how well this works. We really have no expenses. We like it that way. We do have a repeater (donated) and we have things to talk about. Thats it. We have a small membership as our town only has a couple hundred people.
My personal pet peeve on clubs is doing everything in-person and not having virtual options. The clubs that do that also inevitably schedule everything at a time that doesn’t work for most people with jobs and/or families. That’s why everyone in them is elderly. For a hobby built around distance communication, you’d think a zoom option for meetings wouldn’t be that controversial.
YES, I READ YOUR EMAIL, IVE BEEN VERY BUSY WITH OTHER PEOPLE WHO KEEP WAISTING MY TIME ASKING IF IVE READ THEIR EMAIL!!!! Hahahahhaha
I’m the newsletter editor for my club here in North Texas. We do the monthly club meeting thing at a nice BBQ place with a great meeting room. We do Show and Tell before hand and have some sort of ham radio-related presentation every month. But the activity that gets a lot of attention is our weekly Saturday morning breakfast. We get a really good crowd every Saturday. Plus, we do group POTA outings, we fox hunt after breakfast, etc… We also have a Discord channel which IMO has really improved club communications. Wouldn’t change our club for the world. I think it’s perfect!
Which club?
if its the plano club I would take acception with perfect as a new ham I tried to go to breakfast to meet hams and get some elmering but, after being told I was in someones seat for the 3rd time Ieft and went home NEVER to return.
I literally sent out an email back in November to a local ham radio club, and never got a response. LOL!
I agree with your points. Even being new to the hobby. I joined a net and made comments inquiring learning about POTA, but didn’t get much back. Maybe it was a tough crowd!
Honestly, every single one of these points are exactly the same at my (former) club. All they do is complain that X club has so many more members, and how no one is joining. At the same time, the big idea pushed, was to go to retirement villages to do presentations to attempt to get new members joining. I rebuilt their website, set up proper emails, created email groups for the committee and others, pushed for new events, and did everything I could to make it more enjoyable. Every thing I attempted to change or update received a ton of pushback. I ended up finally giving up and leaving the club. I just couldn't handle it anymore. They don't want to change, they want to play the victim.
I've listened to the local repeaters - they're either inactive, or those using them come across over the air as general jerks. I'm in Southern Chester County PA, and I haven't found a club (That isn't RACES/ARES) that sounds like they'd be receptive or are even active (Webpages that aren't updated etc.) in either PA or New Castle County Delaware. I've been licensed for over 10 years but really am a beginner and want to get more involved. I refuse to go where I won't feel welcome or whose opinion won't be immediately disregarded because I'm a newbie.
It's frustrating. I've gotten lots of help from you, VK7HH, and Temporarily Offline but I can't always count on them.
Bring up a subject on a net or at a club meeting about something you do not know and have never done....
Thx for the video. So much truth. I think over aged clubs is the main issue in that list. My self i am 26 and our president is around 70. so yea.
73 HB3XCQ
Thanks
I used to be part of a local club and me and some others got yelled at infront of members cause we wanted to know how the money for the old equipment was spent. If your uncomfortable presenting your books then I dont need to be part of your club and funding your private parties. An the funny thing I have a local club in my city and they to this day have never reached out to the licenced people in the city and try to get them to come back or indicate that management has changed.
The biggest thing I see with
1) Talk about what happened in 1982 every single meeting.
2) Kids do not want to talk about the weather, your bunion or your prostate. If you want younger members, make your conversation interesting to them once in a while.
3) Most old hams think they know it all and there is no other way.
4) Most people are the fat kid on the team. Could care less about playing ball, they just want to wear a uniform. If you never take part in a club activity, why belong to the club.
5) Making fun of why people are interested in radio. There is a large amount of prepper types that want to learn radio. They are not interested hearing you make fun of them.
6) Not offering to help others in their endeavor.
7) Never adding anything helpful to a meeting.
8) Making meetings a bitch session.
9) No motivation what so ever.
10) No organization.
11) Never inviting anyone to a meeting.
Some of the things I have noticed.
As far as the talking on the radio everyday. Sometimes I do not have time for that or want to tell people about my life. I could live with a simple radio check and be done. But there are those that think that is rude and they deserve to hear your person details. I love POTA and FT8.
Winter field day: 15 guys sitting around, not much conversation. One HF radio going. Everyone waiting for the chili cook off. This is it? One radio?. It is a National ham radio day and nobody brought their radios? I asked one member, where is your radio? "In my truck"
I am a tech. for 6 months, I brought my ft70d and Elk antenna and caught the ISS going over. It was a new experience for everyone there, seasoned hams. A few really enjoyed seeing that. Seemed like no one else was interested in playing radio or much of anything else. Kind of disappointing. At least I contributed to the day. KO6ALP, 73
We just had 4 radios running for WFD here.
I'm a new ham. I joined the local club and everyone has been great. I was invited to be voted on to the board. They want new blood and new perspectives. I don't just have one Elmer I have like 5 😅 some have been on the air for 60 years! True great group of hams who just love radio 📻 73 de VE9WO
thats a rare thing anymore ...sad
Notes : this club in a state other than where I live , has zoom access to the meeting , personally , very hype !
The comment at 1:43 about spam being there for a reason is following the sarcastic tone of the whole message. It's saying "why would I ever look in my spam folder? If someone's mail lands there it must be for some reason (valid or not valid) and so I'll never go looking for it."
I was first licensed in 1971 (Novice). I learned lots from the other members and actively participated in Field Day. Then they moved their meeting venue, making it less convenient. I joined my college club, all they wanted to do was get drunk. Years later I joined another local club. Dominated by ex-CB’ers and run like they were still on channel 19. Field Day was an excuse to get drunk…. I am happy to NOT be a club member and will remain the same until a silent key.
Sorry that happened to you but if you find a good club, they're worth joining
@@HamRadio2 yeah, I know. I’d sure like help this Spring as I plan to raise another tower but listening on the local repeater there’s no way I’d accept the liability with those clowns…. Ham radio sure has evolved in my 50 plus years on the air. I understand it was necessary to lower the entry bar (CW) to keep the hobby alive but I wish there was some way to keep the quality standards we used to enjoy.
As an example: I was operating an event station at a local fair one year, making many QSO’s. There also was a club station nearby - we had agreed on a band plan. One of their members came by and watched me work a mini pileup. Once I took a break he asked me if I could help them, they were calling CQ on 20 meters, the band was open, but no one was calling. I went to the station, decent setup. The guy (an Extra) said he couldn’t understand my success and not his, after all his SWR was 1.0 across the band and he had 100 Watts output. I verified that…. I looked at his antenna. He had a PL259 zip tied to the top of his tent, no antenna. He couldn’t understand that he needed something to resonate, like a dipole, vertical…. I am not joking. Here is someone we let into this hobby who was clueless. His antenna tunner was all he needed, right? Lid.
I cut him a dipole, hung it up and he started making QSO’s. At the end of the event I let him have it.
Passing an exam doesn’t make you a good car driver or competent ham…. 73 OM.
From the perspective of someone living in a small town I kinda feel lucky I have a club at all (only 50 HAMS in my zip code - right in line with national percentages)
Considering the size of my town and the small number of HAMs in the area, I feel like its a reasonably active group. Considering in most groups only about 1/4 are truly 'active' and when the group is only 20-30 people, its hard to really have much in the way of activities when 5 or 6 people are ever really going to participate.
I asked an elderly ham (bought my FT1000D from him) about the local club, and he said it was full of grumpy old men. lol. And yeah he was kind of grumpy too. Then again I'm in FL. I agree on the clubs. IMHO the head of most clubs are angry boomers on a power trip. Sad but true.
There are some absolutely great clubs out there.😎. Probably some of the best operators in the world.
Agreed
I listen to a variety of ham nets on the shortwave radio, that's one way of finding out how these groups/clubs operate without having to attend a meeting. Most of them involve lengthy checks in's and standard technical talk. The private nets are a little different, once in a while some guy will rant about politics, religion, racial issues and so forth, stuff you probably won't hear on a regular net. But there always seems to be something elitist about ham nets and the good old boys club atmosphere that prevails on the air, making me think twice about getting a license let alone joining a club.
Oh, don't you dare go to a Club meeting with new Ideas!!! They will give you a thousand reasons why it can't be done. Don't forget about the Lawyer of the Club. Everything is a Law suit and everyone is going to Jail. I was going to donate a ton of new gear to the Club and was shot down because they claimed that there insurance would go up.... I never went back....
Not liking someone's tone in email, certainly a issue. However not for the reasons you think. Body language and voice inflections are a major component of tone and when both are absent tone can easily be mistaken. So it's not liking someone tone in a email it is misunderstanding the tone in a email as it is very difficult to write to and avoid misrepresenting your tone. Article was spot on and the main reason I have not joined any clubs, just didn't feel welcome. I find a more welcoming community online than local.
We have technical seminars at every club meeting
I think that you forgot that “never check your spam email” is sarcasm.
How?
My ham radio club does most of those things
All of the clubs suk wazzo I am general with 13wpm operators all suck wannabe cops unless your do CW
Several clubs in my area aren't like that at all
@@HamRadio2 I do not believe that for one second all the phone operators are the same no code wannabe radio police braodcasting your address and trying to verify your license sik bunch thinks all the hobby is about policing the bands wow
It doesn't really matter what you believe. It matters what the truth is. Sounds like you had a bad experience with one club and now you have just assumed all clubs are the same. That is a shortcoming on your part and it is simply not the case for all clubs.
@@HamRadio2 Wow You assume alot of things so you are probably one of the creeps who rips on everyone who you think is out of frewuency I have been operating a long time and with several clubs and talked with many other one so it has been a lot of them they are all lonely wannabe emergency nerds do anything for negative attention ask any real ham the only mode is cw and no clubs which I am sure you don't know one letter of cw keep pretending emrgency bub
When I first moved here, we had one club in the area that did all these things and more. A protest club was formed It was young & dynamic and all the members had a say and a stake in it. I was elected the second president. Well then one of the old farts from the other club joined (no doubt ejected there because he was annoying). He was older in the hobby than most of our members (most were newb techs). Well this old fart started making noise "we need a board of trustees to set the club agenda", "We can't just have anyone making motions. They should go through a trustee". I was VERY against this and liked that EVERYONE had an equal voice. I had to fight hi tooth and nail to keep the club in the hands of the members. Then I got called away long-term for work. I get back a year and a half later attend a meeting... He'd bullied his way through. Very few of the old members remained and it had grown into a clone of the club it was invented to provide an alternative to.
That is sad to hear...
I'll add to the list. Go to a local club 4 times in a year. Not one word ever said to me even though I stayed after for the social time. I won't say the club or call for it but they sure made me feel unwelcome. I even saved their presentation at one of the meetsings and still no one talked to me.
Yup, I can relate to your experience.. 🙁
In order to make new friends you must make yourself friendly. I hear similar things all the time. Speak up. I guarantee in a group of ten there is at least one person that is introverted and just sitting there. GO TALK TO THEM. For example, can you imagine Jason here going into any club and a saying nobody talked to me? I sat there the whole time and left and no one spoke to me????
Some of the worst communicators are Ham radio clubs. They only communicate in formats and terminology that insiders understand. I believe, inadvertently it becomes a form of gatekeeping. Not only do they have issues relating to email response as covered in this video, but their website, Facebook, and other social media accounts are devoid of current or useful information. Posts are years old. It is difficult to figure out current meeting times or locations. They are also devoid of any activities that the club might be engaged in.
IF they want to be welcoming to new hams, and I stress IF because I am not sure all clubs want new hams, they need to have a public-facing presence that is accessible to both the new ham and the experienced ham.
Yep
Bingo. I'm on the board for a once dying club and in 2022, we completely revamped the website to get rid of insider garbage, promote a single point of contact email address that forwards to all the officers and a few long term active members, clearly convey a welcoming tone, and minimize soliciting of dues.
That, and separating out as much business as possible into its own separate meeting, has turned the club around. And we don't have a super large population to draw from. Some people drive in from 60 miles away to attend the monthly general meeting.
There are many clubs out there that tell new members or potential new members to join the regular net on a local repeater to get started. I think thats a terrible idea for really new people. I don't know about everyone else but when I first started a net seemed very overwhelming to me. I couldn't hit the repeater enough to actually talk. I could open it and new me thought that would mean I could talk on it like everyone else so loud and clear. I was wrong. I eventually solved it of course with better antenna and placement but a group shouldn't assume a very green ham (no eggs) can just jump in the deep end like that lol. Don't get me started on learning how to do correct check ins and when to talk and what to say on a large net.
@BamaChad-W4CHD one option would be for the Net operator, or a participant live stream the net on the clubs TH-cam channel. This would allow a new user to "look over the shoulder " of a more experienced user to learn how to participant correctly.
Of course that wouldn't address the specific technical issues a new operator could have with equipment.
@@stevenkeller386 totally agree. That's a great idea.
I recently got my HAM license and there were about 15 examiners and 3 of us taking a test. Turns out, most of them are in the same club, they were all also ancient. They had a head "grouch" that was barking orders while the rest were scurrying around trying to appease him. Not one of them asked 3 new HAMs if we had any interest in joining. After seeing the way they conducted business, I never will.
I'm sorry that happened. But ham clubs need to improve their communications skills.
Thankfully my club and repeater has a saying "No call goes unanswered." You call you get a response, have a conversation, chat on a drive or whatever the case. And thus we probably have the most active repeater in the area. If every club and repeater instituted this I believe the repeaters would come alive again.
Great idea
Ok.. here’s one: when I was totally new to Ham Radio I was checking out different clubs by attending their monthly meetings. One I went to scared me. One of the officers had a blowout rant about the lack of participation at an event. I cringed in my seat and never went back.
I had a similar experience once and it feels so unreal and bad.
That and people arguing over who is right is a big no-no.
I saw that happen with a rug-hooking guild. The president started nagging members to do this or that, and within two years, the club was gone. When I was the president of my ham club, I tried to get people to volunteer, and was always careful not to get upset at any reasons people had for not joining the executive.
Try being a tech back in the '90s and getting sh--ed on by 75% of the old timers and clubs. We lost so many good people...
I remember those days well, and I promised myself that I would never treat new hams like we were treated.
it still happens now unfortunatly.
Been there done that I got my no code tech in 95. Never heard the end of the no morse code. Sorry I just don't have the ability I've tried to pick it up a few times.
I took the time outside of the local club to learn CW, studied for the all the remain tests for about 5 months, (this was before the question pools were available on computer), went to another club's VE session 40 miles away and passed General, Advance, Extra and CW in one session. (Already had the Tech and Novice under my belt.) Then I got a nifty vanity call.
Went back to the original club of old wankers and said my name and new call during introductions at the monthly meeting, then walked out. Just a big Foxtrot Yankee to the jerks that have been killing any new blood.
And I never used CW on the radio. All my HF contacts were SSB or digital.
The 1990s hams were a big reason I left the hobby for 20 years
You also need an 80 year old guy who sits in the back row shouting stuff at the guy next to him (thinking he’s whispering) while the meeting is going.
Ham radio in central Oklahoma is almost a loss. yes there are people out there. Yes there are nets, and sometimes you can hear people rag chewing. But for the population of central OK, it has no incentive to interest people into ham radio. The clubs around here dont seem to like each other, they dont do any events together, they dont link repeaters. Another big thing is this is a ham radio desert, there are no swap meets in OKC, there are no ham radio stores, there are no places to get antenna or radio parts. Amazon is our only choice, which makes people buy cool toys and sit at home and play by themselves. Seems to me our biggest problem around here is a weird type of competition over a hobby. IDK. Maybe its just me.
The club I’m familiar with was loaded with old know it all’s with horrible attitudes. We wanted to do projects with the public, they all became instant lawyers and scared everyone away from inviting them with a liability scare.
I've experienced this to. Everything was a law suit with these people. They complained that there insurance would go up if I had donated a bunch of gear to the Club.
I think this is a good conversation to have.
I made newer Ham and have been to one meeting and have have been to three Non-meeting events of some local clubs. At this point, I could go either way on joining a club. I think I would enjoy more in person fellowship with hams.
One thing I feel about hams is that many don’t have the best people skills, and some may be shy, introverts, or may just not have a lot to say which could be mistaken for unfriendliness. Some Hams do have great personalities, are very open, friendly and talkative. These are the type of hams to have welcome club visitors.
I went to a club (name withheld to protect innocent) where they expelled a club member while I was attending as a potential new member. I witnessed character a----ination and a lot of yelling. Not healthy. I never returned.
Well, most clubs are full of maladjusted people. They probably didn't even realize they were doing that. And there's no way of getting them to recognize it even if you tell them exactly what they did. I was a member of 2 local clubs, but I was out of both after only 3 years of getting my ham license. Bunch of friggin weirdos and creeps.
Agree on the repeater use. I remember your challenge on checking in repeater every day for 2024. I have done every day except the 8th, bad weather repeaters we're in emergency net mode. Only once has anybody came back to me.
I met your challenge and it is now a habit; I check into my local repeater every time I climb into my truck! Thanks Jason!
Regarding repeaters: I volunteered to help a club repair their repeater on top of a mountain. It was a fantastic fun day. Yet.. The guy said, “I don’t know why we are fixing this, because no one ever uses it.”
Its range is across our whole valley and yet it is rarely used! So I’m gunna try the daily challenge!!! Thanks!!!
My club you get a free membership if you pass ur test with with
Be sure to host field day events in a gated community so potential hams and guests have to register weeks ahead of time.
Be sure to do most event planning at the informal bunch at 10am on Wednesdays when only the retired members have any chance of attending.
Be sure that anything from said meeting requiring a vote should handled by... making a motion to "approve that thing we talked about", second, yay, approved, next.
Be sure that if the new guy expresses any interest in the local ARES/RACES just smile and nod despite being the director of the local ARES group.
So true...
Good points made. Interesting tidbit...one of the first things I was told when I first became licensed about 10 years ago was from an Extra class ham who said "just remember, you don't have to belong to a club to get on the air and enjoy ham radio.....I'm not telling you what to do but the best decision I made was getting out of and away from all of the club nonsense and just play radio instead." I'm a member of my local club but it's had its share of turmoil over the years so I guess that's what he was basing his advice on...
This is the best point ive seen yet !
I love ham radio but I have found like with many other societies and hobby clubs, the people who are ‘in charge’ or ‘on the committee’ are there for personal gain. They often have had no experience in man management and as a result like to throw their weight about! They like to exclude new people and treat the club like the ‘old boys network’ … Got a superduper Special Event going on? Allocate all the operation time to your doddery old friends who by now are deaf as posts and who cannot work an electronic log and talk at the same time but can show extreme contempt and resentment to other people , trying to help! I love talking to likeminded hams on my radio but mostly ‘the club thing’ just makes me feel patronised and excluded. There’s too much oneupmanship, boasting, belittling and rudeness for me, Im happy not to be a member of a club or group.
Ham radio prep is
outstanding, just got my technician license. Payed my fee to FCC. Weighting for my call sign should get it tomorrow. And I would like to thank you for the information you put out, 73.
Welcome to ham radio......I hope you have as much fun with it as I have.
Good video!! I would like to see a video on how to get a club started!! Lots of hams in my county but the ARRL listed club seems to be unreachable.
Agree. Would be interesting for me too
Unfortunately that list is true. Ive experience d this. Not very welcoming. Still enjoy the hobby
Our club is struggling with membership. We have a lot of repeaters, monthly club meetings, etc but tough to get activity. These are good suggestions. It's not just ham clubs though, other hobbies have similar issues.
Yeah, people ruin everything. People suck
Narcissist, uptight, autistic hall monitor types exist everywhere, but for some reason ham radio is like 90 to 95% lol
It's probably the grumpy old crusty hams in the club running people off because they want to feel important...
@johnf817 No that number isn't even remotely true.
We just created the position of the Public Information Officer, which I ran for and was elected to. I'm managing the website, Facebook page, and email. I'm posting club schedules to the local paper, and publishing a newsletter. All email to the club website now get answered once or twice a week. It was one of the things that bothered me about the club when I joined so I changed it.
My radio club is boring af. The weekly net is suspended until further notice. Winter Field is coming up and I have no idea what is going on. Last year, they referred me to another club. No one uses the repeater. But, in their defense, they did have nominations for new board members, however the younger (the not retired) guys can't commit to any responsibility.
I quit my club because of the lack of projects for new people. I even offered to by coax cable so the new people could make j poles, etc. NOTHING. the Emcom net is the same crap every week. Some people even talked about how much fun they had in other clubs.
No one in their right mind would post their address on the internet. So why do hams post their address on the air with callsigns for anyone to hear?
No one in their right minds think that their information isn't out there already, especially someone with a TH-cam account
11. Never share when a member goes SK. It is nobody's business outside the board members when members pass away. Post it later on your website, after the funeral, so people will feel shunned.
Our club just had board elections at the end of the year, and we reelected the guy that's been in charge of VE testing to his usual position as the VE Testing Officer (the entire board was elected as a slate for 2024 in one vote). This guy doesn't come to the meetings, he doesn't set up any VE testing sessions (our club certainly won't be popping up if you're looking for testing sessions on the ARRL website), and he doesn't reply to club members writing to him about becoming a VE (we need his endorsement with the VEC to become VEs). I couldn't even tell you what the guy looks like. Coolsies- that's a real recipe for growing the club and getting new members.
Good points as always. 73
Video didn't even drop yet
My local group is great at answering emails.
I stumbled upon them and their contact information late at night. (I'm talking about, I'm probably the only person in the city still awake.) I sent an email asking for information, not expecting an answer until morning.
Within 30 minutes I was corresponding with the president and got invited to the next meeting. I was also sent a link to the group page and public page. From there I was invited to the next hamfest and given the repeater frequencies to listen in on the nightly net.
I look forward to meeting some of the club members next month, simply because of how helpful and inviting they have been since that initial late night contact.
Thanks 👍
The biggest problem our club struggles with is getting anyone to volunteer for a position. We do good with President and Vice President, but last year I was the treasurer, secretary, communications, and webmaster. I have a full time job and a wife and kids, so I wasn't able to respond to and do as many things as I wanted with the 4 positions that I held, but I did my best.
Many years ago I was a member of my local club and I asked our committee if they would put on certain activities. The reply was no, why don't you do it yourself. When they decided to put up the club fees I did not renew my membership. 16 years later I am back at the club and everything to much better. We have 3 meetings a month plus 1 zoom. And we are doing the activities I wanted. Our committee are now very friendly and helpful. And they provide free amateur radio courses.
All the best.
That's good to hear
Fortunately the amateur radio club in my city is welcoming and active!
That's great
Running a club is an art, no matter the type. I once managed a speech club, not a HAM Radio one, and here are a few insights: 1. If you start something, see it through to the end; don’t just drop it halfway. 2. Show some heart. Don’t be cold to members and guests, and definitely avoid public call-outs that could embarrass them. Handle criticisms or feedback in private, keeping meetings more about positive suggestions and motivation. Make sure guests and members feel heard and valued. 3. Keep the vibe upbeat but not over the top; stay on track and on schedule.
Well said
I got my ticket back in 1994. Never joined a club but did do a lot of ham radio with my church. A few decades later, found a club and got back into the fun. The club was the same 10 people and one lady wanted it her way. So I never went back.
Next club, field day was coming. I went early along with others to help set up. Got told if you help set up you would get on the air. Came time to start FD, the old farts came in an monopolized the radio and wouldn't let any of us get on the air because we hadn't been a ham long enough! Never went back.
Next club was a new club started in 2016. It has been going strong since. Everyone gets involved. Many activities other than field days. During summer field days, we have a BIG potluck on Saturday. Brings out 100s of people before covid, maybe 80 since. Club is a blast to belong to. Still with them to this day and having fun!
That's great that you found one that was worth sticking with.
The approval of prior minutes is a procedure that, under normal IRS suggested 501c3 bylaws needs to happen. It doesn't necessarily need to be brought before all the members for vote and read at a club meeting, but could be just a "procedure item" after all the ppl required under the Bylaws are notified and provided a copy of the previously un-approved prior minutes. Your secretary taking minutes needs to be pretty good, cause if IRS audits, the 1st thing they will want to see is the minutes!
None of that means you have to spend the first half of your meeting talking about last month's minutes. I don't really have problems with the minutes themselves, I just think there's a better way to record and present them
We read minutes and treasurer reports and vote. Vote takes 10 seconds. I have no problem with that.
Lately Summer/Winter Field Day locations have taken some time during the old/new business. Repeater status is part of that. EMCOMM has been a recurring topic. While we have strong contacts with the County OEM and the club wants to cooperate, the club wants to be apart from ARRL structure (no ARES).
Oh, presentations come after the meeting. Digital modes are common, next month is Allstar.
We have a daily net on the 2m repeater.
Sounds like a great club
@HamRadio2 yeah, EMCOMM is being approached without help from officers or the treasurer, kicking and screaming.
Fortunately for me the town I tested in are a great bunch of guys. Yeah a lot of them are older but they seem to really want to get new people into radio. The only problem I really have is I'm outside the coverage area of their repeaters and can rarely join their net. They did open their meetings up via zoom and google meets and that has been pretty good. They've also made a public information office position who is coordinating with local news to cover events and try and get more awareness. Now, the club actually in my town seems like they don't want anyone new and it's kind of weird - they do a lot of the things mentioned in that list...
I am the past president of our ham radio club. Last year we added 20 new members. So far this year we have added 4 new members. We have just over two hundred members. We are an active club. Always something going on. This year we elected our first female President!
Why are your posts on Rumble so much later than on YT? I want to get off of YT as much as possible.
Ask Rumble. They're supposed to transfer the videos after they post to TH-cam
Joined a club after a serious health issue? The elmer and attitude was dissastrous so i just locked my equipment away and almost sold everything..
Clubs are kind of a thing of the past. What I consider a modern era club is a Discord server. You see all the TH-camrs with amazing, welcoming, and flourishing communities especially on their discord servers. As far as I’m concerned that’s what a modern club is and should look like. I love it
Good video and several good comments. I would add that everyone has different levels of commitments that they can bring to a club. The reason that the officers of the club are old is because they are retired and have time. Unfortunately, when you work long hours, have a famility and a few kids that tends to eat up radio play time. Once a month and an occasional meet up is about all there is time for... I'd like to get rid of the minutes and formality at our club. It is rarely beneficial. Personally, I really like when we occasionally have a presentation.
Agree 💯 % no rant just truth.
i key up several times a day on roughly 12 repeaters, trying to keep it alive in this area
Oh man, I've got to listen closer. I though he said "Ham radio crap" during his advertisement. Ham Radio prep is good stuff though.
Get someone involved with a ham radio shop on the board... Yea that's right, nothing better than getting someone who is financially involved in the hobby on the board if you want to put new people off.
I was a Member of the German DARC and quit Membership because their Managers, Presidents, Chairmen became "FLORIDA AMERICAS" and reporting to this to Headquarter to let them know about Things they have gotten out of Hand and which are not good for the Clubs Reputation and does not make them more Members to join the Club. I tried to bring more young People into the Club which are interested to become licenced HAM Operators. The Chairman of our Chapter did not want this to happen. Him and his old Fart Friends are fine with hanging out in the Club House and drinking Beers instead of making HAM Radio Hobby more attractive for new People to join. How sad the Headquarter seem not to care much about and they keep on playing their Games to People like "promising you Heaven and Earth before you become a Member" after you signed up your Membership nothing of what they promised is going to happen. So foxtrott them...I be better off without being a Member in any Radio Club. There is better Ways to make new Friends and find Happiness in HAM Radio. Tnx for your execellent Job Jason. Happy Weekend into the Lonestar State. 73 de Uncle Günter
Most cubs have 10% of the members doing 90% of the work. I am really thinking of not reupping for the non-ARES groups I belong to. One I am burnt out. They expect Dom to come in like the Lone Ranger and fix stuff.
Or a club has 18 or more members. You ask them to take a club net control. Like asking to drink cof liver oil. (Some have jobs, or cannot hit repeater. Those I can understand...)
Or you have members who cannot leave non ham politics at the front door. I am a free speach person, but even then manors would tell somebody tis is not the time or place.
Now, in the Houston area, a goup of hams have formed a yraining net for Radiograms. Constructing.and passing them. On Mondays on 146.94 at 6:40 PM local, and Thursdays on 147.00 at 6:30.
Some in Ft Bend County SW of Houston have a GOTA type station atva farmers market. Also hams can come and test their equipment.
I think we are going to see a lot more of these special net groups partially replace some formal ftlub structures. You get to do some hamming without the baggage.
Actually, there is an unclub which runs two reapeaters on the SH 71 corridor near LaGrange TX..
Maybe some clubs are going to have to die. Merge. Or adapt.... Including one un the State of CT.
I just watched this video and although I will differ with him on a couple comments, the list is pretty much right on. I have been a part of ham clubs and am the Affiliate Clubs Coordinator in EPA. I have talked to clubs about these and I have seen clubs do all of these.
A couple things I personally feel strongly about.
.
1) no more than 20% of the board is over 70 years old (I am 80 to clear bias on this.)
2) Do not put on the board more than ONE person who works with only one aspect of ham radio - emcomm, DX, contesting, CW, DMR, etc. The club gets unbalanced if you get let's say 3 of one item. (Unless you want the club to be that but you limit participation)
3) Do not put on the board anyone who will say, Anything but Icom (replace with any vendor) is junk.
4) Do not put anyone on the board who can feel comfortable putting down hams of any level who ask for help.
th-cam.com/video/LAfoPyelDMM/w-d-xo.html
If I visit ANY club, when the current members talk around me and over me like caffeinated ostriches, it's time to go. I tried some "ham clubs" that were excuses to get drunk at a tavern, introduce newcomers to flipping homes, or investing in gold. Our current club WANTS new members to return. We strive to find activities EVERY member wants to attend, without having to purchase new equipment.
As a club founder/president, we welcome all and don’t deal with the minutes BS. We respond to everything and everyone UNLESS they are a sad ham trying to QRM us!
Another thing that makes ham radio boring as hell is when the members/repeater users can't talk about anything besides the weather, or HAM RADIO... and its rules!!! If one more person asks me "what kind of rig I'm runnin" I'm going to lose it. I get that it's a hobby that we all share in common, but feel free to ask me something personal and get to know me a litttle. I think that's why I've gravitate to DMR these days. It allows me to find a more niche group of people whom I might share an interest with besides just ham/GMRS radio.
Another peeve of mine is the lack of standardization when it comes to linked repeaters. Unless you look it up, you usually don't know if you're on a standalone or linked repeater system. Even when I look it up, I'm not going to remember that, unless it's a system I use all the time. A standardized set of audible tones from the repeater that indicates the linking setup would be helpful. Thank you for indulging me.
Up here on the east coast of Canada, we have several clubs in the province, but only one per urban center. So there are about 5 or 6 clubs throughout the whole province. Some are fairly active, but others are just about defunct. My local club when I joined in 1993 had a membership base of about 100 to 120 members. Roughly. Now the membership is in the 40's and getting smaller. It is the oldest club in Canada even though others claim that title. But when you look at the articles of incorporation, we are the oldest. My friend was nominated to be president at about the 50ish members point, and he said yes on the condition I became his Vice president. After a bit of arguing over coffee he convinced me. We had a couple big city transplants that argued every thing we would propose. One idea one of these just said Won't work, we've tried it before. I had been a member 15 or 20 years before he ever graced us with his wisdom, and I don't ever remember when it was tried. On further pressing he admitted it was before be moved here. So the question was why because a club 200miles away tried it, why would it not work here?? Totally different province. Different people. Every thing we came up with turned into an argument. Here we were trying to bring new people to the club and He was chasing them away with the help of a few of his friends. We had managed to get the membership into the60's and the arguing resulted in a number of member just quitting. They caused all kinds of problems. I ended up quitting because it just wasn't fun anymore. I even stopped getting on 2m 70cm repeaters. Then we lost a controversial member who enjoyed stirring up the pot who would try to get them to shut up and it worked to a point. Field day became something that was done by a couple of members and I don't think they do it at all now.Thanks to 2 people. At one point no one would run for any office because they saw the crap we had to endure. Dam near caused the club to fold.Now there are a number of unused repeaters, and no other events. We wanted to invite prospective members to our Saturday breakfast. Buddy started again NO they have to pay for a club membership if they want to come. Any activity we wanted to try to get new members it was the same thing. At one tome they wanted to raise the membership to $100 a year! What the hell for! Luckily we got that one shut down. Even today the average membership in the province is between $15 and $30. In a low income province $100 is a lot of money for arguing. This is what happens when the core membership lets 1 or 2 members ruin it for everyone. We even discussed the possibility of ejecting them from the member ship but decided the backlash could make things worse. So Our club took all the right moves to destroy it's self. Now 2 of the members are paying for membership for hams that don't want to be there just to try and keep up the numbers. On the web site if you are looking to get your licence to see a club almost 2 hours away to take a course in the middle of winter!!!!
Several things. I'm a prospective new Ham. I've contacted several clubs (one in my actual town) to inquire about meetings, joining, etc. I've not heard back from one of them. Not even a "got your email". Second on the topic of meeting minutes, I've been involved with several clubs throughout my life and the bylaws dictate the reading (or possibility of waiving the reading if the minutes are distributed before a meeting). It may seem like it's a time waste, but for certain tax exempt statuses, I think you have to adhere to the bylaws or risk losing the status (not sure who would tell but .. never know)
Email can go to the spam folder for a variety of reasons. It's not always because they are spammers.
Too many of those reasons hit far too close to home for my club. We can't email each other due to federal privacy legislation (but we could easily form a gmail group or get together in social media). However, we do have a person who responds to email. The club meetings usually start on time (within 5 minutes), but the business meeting drags on too long, so I'm working with the new president to change the format and have the business last.
There are over 200 hams in my small city (several have passed away and are still listed in the federal database), but we have a dozen people at best who show up with any regularity for meetings. There is apparently a weekly breakfast gathering, but it's a fairly well-kept secret. I won't go to that restaurant, though, and haven't joined them.
The best way to keep people from joining your club ? During the day on the local rag chew repeater about how much you rock at bringing in new folks . Then , do not return any phone calls or voicemails on the daytime “club inquiry line “ . Yeah , I get it , people are busy , but do not post a daytime phone number for inquiry and not return a single voicemail . No worries though , I joined a Club that is in a different state , because , they made me feel like a human , great folks .
I've never been a club guy. We do have some regulars on simplex. Easier going. No offices to hold. Have lunches now and then. That's how I personally like it.
Oh yeah... our section manager went to a club meeting a couple of counties away and he was trying to get people to be more active on 2m. Someone told him, "I only answer people I know". Really?
I try to toss my call out on a few repeaters often and usually it's just silence. It sure isn't the 90's anymore.
I contacted a local club looking for some advice to where to get tested for my license. No reply. By chance I found out that I work with a fellow ham and that he knows the club members really well - within minutes he's 'shit stirring' them through sms. They replied to him saying that they had replied to my email and that I should check my spam folder. What ever... bunch of old superior farts.. puts me off the whole thing. The fellow I work with has had his license for over 10 years and used to be very active on CB. He reckons he's taken down his antennas and put away all the gear now, wouldn't tell me why but I could only guess..
reading minutes to account for any resolutions is always a way to run a meeting. now over reading minutes is useless. - I personally dislike almost all clubs I have checked out, they want to keep things old and in old ways and dont seam to want to move forward and update lingo. btw, I am 53, first licensed at 12, got out of it, and came back a few years ago to design and test stuff.
I think we need more CRT training and DEI assignments to the board. Next, we should have a pledge every meeting to address our white rage and white privilege. I'd recommend we include our preferred pronouns in every opening of a new conversation; this will add some burden to our CW friends and slow Emergency Response actions, but it is worth these small sacrifices to change the face of this historically non-inclusive racist organization. Finally, there should be some form of notification to the public that we will be transmitting information in the airspace above their homes and that if this makes them uncomfortable, we can make accommodations.
Initiatives in Virginia to help new and older hams get on the air and join clubs. I personally am the vp of membership. I send out letters. And the ve team has new ham packets that encourage club membership.
tHANK yOU LoL
The only clubs I now belong to are two linked repeater groups. I did try the two local clubs but gave up. The first one I belonged to had horrendous meetings. Strict Roberts Rule of Order and what was worse, one to two hours of 'Incoming and Outgoing Mail.' Torture.
Not every prospective new member is 20 years old or less. I'm in my 70s and declined to join because of attitude I observed with the local club.
I joined a local club and showed up to a meeting and not 1 person approached me to acknowledge I was there.
Just want to add my .02 cents worth. I was a new Gen Ham and try to join the local clubs, I try two and I even pa the dues. But talk about icy cold in the club meeting, at first, I thought because I am new, so I introduce myself and try to get involve but they look at you like why are you in my club? The other one doesn't even send anything since I pay the dues but have not shown up in any club meet. Try to meet over the air, but since I was a bit far from the club repeater and can't connect via the club repeater, they just say try to get closer or get a bigger antenna. LMAO
I am in a local club right now that does most of what you just said and it is sad that things can not change as time moves forward. I even told them to ask other clubs help to understand how to make our club grow and do more. 70 + hams in the club approx 26x hams in the county out of 74,000+ people.
Minutes have always been a pain. We do send them out in advance , but we do have to amend and vote on them. Our club is incorporated and a nonprofit. We are required to have monthly meetings, attendance lists and approved minutes by State and Federal law.--N2PKW
Roberts Rules of order were written for a reason.
Used a a guideline, those rules can help a new comer come up to speed, ( minutes) and can be introduced under new business.
Chaos ensues when you just wing it.
Politics, will ruin any organization, and is a death knell.
Take the time to acknowledge the new comers, hear their story, and welcome them.
Not being a snooty ass goes a long ways to getting return prospects.
Short Mountain Repeater Club.....Can't use the repeater for the son of the president of the Club buts in on everyone's conversation . Never fix the repeater, but ask for your money 💰 total sucks.