[aprssig] Inernet Server Challenge

[Robert Bruninga]

>>> ve7gdh at rac.ca 07/09/06 12:57 PM >>>
Bob WB4APR wrote...

>> What we need is a FREE HAM radio program that
>> runs on a PC and the internet and LOOKS like a
>> HAM radio...
>
>Let me see if I've got this straight... you're proposing a 
>video game to get young people interested in amateur 
>radio?... Sounds like a good idea and it could work. 
>I'm not sure why you think that race, gender 
>age or accent are a distraction....

I didnt exlain that very well.  Let me try this way.  Our local
radio club has a Kids club to get kids licensed.  And I have years
of experience with scouts and getting kids interested.
But even when kids do get their licenses, we rarely hear them
on the voice repeater.  And it is very simple.  They are
intimidated by joining in on a very adult kind of medium.
And when they do, sooner or later some old fud jumps in 
and scolds or fussses at them for some minor infraction 
or whatever...
 
But when that first radio contact is on CW at 5WPM or slower
in the novice band, then I dont think one ever hears a
bad attitude, and even if there was one, it is very hard
to get it across in CW at 5 WPM....  In fact, I would say
the actual intelligibiity of my novice CW contacts were
in the 20% range, but it didnt matter, the medium was
the message.  Get a call, RST and location and move on...

Again, I am not pushing CW because it is CW or because
that is the way "we did it", but simply because it seems
to have a real keen wow factor as some kind of secret
code that matches the imaginary world of dungeouns
and dragons and sorcerers for kids in the 8 to 12 year
old group (for those that have read the Harry Potter 
books)... etc...

>... but the concept sounds interesting. Anything that is 
>"fun" will attract people to the hobby. Amateur radio is a 
>lot of different things to different people. A 
>program like you are describing could get a lot of new 
>people interested, and not just young people.

Good point.  Its alomst like operating HF, but wihtout
antenna restrictions and RFI, hi hi...
Thanks
Bob, WB4APR