I'd like to thank everyone who weighed in on this topic. Great ideas. Many of us have tried to connect with interested parties in various ways, some more successful than others.
I learned Morse in Boy Scouts, and concurrently, was fortunate to have a couple of middle school science teachers who were very enthusiastic about radio. We had a club station with old gear that was cherished and used every day. In fact my first QSO ever was Hawaii (from San Diego) using the school's rig. I was so new to CW that when the station signed WA3<something> "/" KH6, I couldn't copy the "/". I wrote "-..-." in the log and looked it up later. 73, Wayne N6KR On Mon, Jul 28, 2025 at 5:58 AM Eric Fitzgerald via Elecraft < [email protected]> wrote: > I think this is a "leading the horse to water" conundrum. Instilling the > spark of curiosity and kindling that into the flame of full-blown > interest is a delicate thing. It is easily snuffed out with a grumpy > word or two. > > Trying to force the horse to drink doesn't work. For me the key is to > respond positively and enthusiastically whenever I am approached with a > interested question, whenever I come across that delicate spark of > interest. > > I'm a SOTA guy. My KX2 has seen well over a hundred summits so far. A > lot of people approach me on popular mountaintops and express curiosity > about what I am so cryptically and intently doing. I make it a point to > stop calling CQ or whatever I am doing and engage with them, no matter > what my mood. I try and express just how much fun I am having and how > addicting the hobby is. It's not an original idea, but I have business > cards printed up with my website and email printed on them that I hand > out liberally. I also leave a little space to write down the answers to > any specific questions they may have. > > I'm a graphic artist by trade and I've designed these cards carefully to > be uncluttered and visually engaging. You can see what the front looks > like on my QRZ page: > > https://www.qrz.com/db/KG6MZS > > If their eyes start to glaze over, I politely back off, change the > subject or merely just wish them a good hike. > > I maintain a website with a lot of pretty pictures and videos: > > https://kg6mzs.com/ > > I follow up. When people email me after visiting the website, I follow > my first rule of getting on the air: LISTEN. I don't have any agenda > about what they SHOULD do, I listen and try and figure out where their > interests lie. As we all know their are myriad ways to pursue this > hobby. Listen to what is piquing their interest. > > I know that as someone who doesn't come from a technical background, the > level of expertise of the hams I came across can be intimidating. This > formidable competence can kill any spark of interest. We are all proud > of what we have accomplished in the hobby. Resist the temptation to > show off. I was afraid of getting on the air and doing something > wrong. Mic fright is real thing for a lot of beginners. This is why I > wrote a little essay called SMOOTH OPERATOR: How to Feel Easy About > Getting On The Air: > > https://papasys.com/papa-reference/smooth-operator/ > > I think the best way to share an interest in the hobby is by example. > Exhibit your interest, enthusiasm, kindness and all-around fun. > > Another country heard from. > > 73 Eric KG6MZS > > > > Hi all, > > > > Please share any methods you've used for stirring interest in our shared > > pastime. How have you communicated the science, the camaraderie, and the > > intrigue of the radio art? Real-world examples would be inspiring to read > > about. > > > > 73, > > Wayne > > N6KR > > > > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:[email protected] > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to [email protected] -- Elecraft, Inc. ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to [email protected]
