Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
The post earlier today in RRAM about the new address on the ARRL
website for AR licensees piqued my interest. I clicked -on the ARRL web page to look at the numbers. One thing led to another, and I pulled up some state population numbers of states with roughly the same populations and compared their per-capita numbers. Some quick numbers: State # of hams State population Ham/resident ratio Alaska 3466 698473 1/201 Wyoming 1696 544270 1/320 Vermont 2137 621760 1/290 Guam 487 178430 1/366 Wake Island 1 300 1/300 DC 407 599607 1/437 What I found is that there is a significant problem in Washington,DC. There seems to be a very low number of hams in DC for the size of its population, both absolutely and per capita. There are less hams per capita than any other state. Even tiny Wake Island, way out there in the Pacific Ocean, has a higher ratio. There are all sorts of people with professional degrees in DC, (lawyers, accountants,journalists,etc.)i.e. all of the chattering classes. Why do so few of the people in DC have any interest in technical matters that would cause them to be hams? This led me to look at the FCC Website and the Commissioners and their personal staffs' biographies. It seems they are all lawyers of one type or another. Not a one who has any technical or operational electronics experience. Even the Chief of Amateur Radio Enforcement does NOT have an Amateur license. Could this have been a significant factor in the BPL fiasco of the last few years? This lack of technical experience or knowledge to me is a serious problem. How can the Commissioners their staff's at the FCC ,NTIA, and other federal agencies adequately manage the nations telecommunications infrastructure if they don't have any technical experience? What is it about DC that causes a lack of interest in technical matters? What can be done about this problem? Require the FCC Commisioners to hire Engineers on their staffs like one congressman is proposing? Require FCC commissioners to have some technical experience? WHAT???? |
#2
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
I've been to DC many times (it's only 135 miles from Philly).
Here's what I've noticed about the place: 1) Many of the movers-and-shakers don't actually live in DC. They live in VA and MD, and commute. 2) Many of those who live in DC are students, foreign nationals, etc. 3) Many of those who live in DC permanently are very poor. Crime is high and conditions are terrible. 4) DC is essentially an urban area from border to border. Even in the nicer parts it's not that ham-friendly compared to suburbs, small towns and rural areas. Urban areas tend to have a lower ham population. (How many hams actually live in Manhattan or downtown SF? 5) Regulatory agencies are usually headed by political appointees. That's the nature of the game since Andrew Jackson described the "spoils system." The FAA isn't run by all pilots; the FRA isn't run by all train drivers, etc. (In fact, if the FCC were run by hams, some might claim they had a conflict of interest). 6) There are statistical variations all over the place in the license- counts table. The difference is 2 to 1 in the numbers you cited between the highest and lowest hams-per-capita areas. Look at the table other ways and you'll see other variations. For example, compute the percentage of hams in each state that are in each license class, and you'll see wide variations from state to state. Last time I looked, CT had the highest percentage of Extras, and CA had the highest percentage of Technicians. Other variations are all over the place. I agree that those who make the rules should have a background in what they are making the rules for. But that sort of thing is usually left to "staff" in my limited experience. 73 de Jim, N2EY |
#3
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
ai8o wrote:
The post earlier today in RRAM about the new address on the ARRL website for AR licensees piqued my interest. I clicked -on the ARRL web page to look at the numbers. One thing led to another, and I pulled up some state population numbers of states with roughly the same populations and compared their per-capita numbers. Some quick numbers: State # of hams State population Ham/resident ratio Alaska 3466 698473 1/201 Wyoming 1696 544270 1/320 Vermont 2137 621760 1/290 Guam 487 178430 1/366 Wake Island 1 300 1/300 DC 407 599607 1/437 What I found is that there is a significant problem in Washington,DC. There seems to be a very low number of hams in DC for the size of its population, both absolutely and per capita. There are less hams per capita than any other state. Even tiny Wake Island, way out there in the Pacific Ocean, has a higher ratio. There are all sorts of people with professional degrees in DC, (lawyers, accountants,journalists,etc.)i.e. all of the chattering classes. Why do so few of the people in DC have any interest in technical matters that would cause them to be hams? How many of the DC professionals actually live in the District? How many DC professionals interested in amateur radio choose to live in the city when it might (might!) be a lot easier to put up a decent antenna in an outlying suburb? If you ran the numbers including both the District and ZIP codes in adjoining Maryland and Virginia, would you get something similar to the other states? If you ran the numbers for not the entire state of Illinois, but just within the city limits of Chicago, would you get something similar to what you get for DC? -- Doug Smith W9WI Pleasant View, TN EM66 |
#4
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
On Apr 16, 12:18 am, wrote:
If you ran the numbers for not the entire state of Illinois, but just within the city limits of Chicago, would you get something similar to what you get for DC? Correct. While Washington DC is a district, for all intents and purposes, it is a city, just like Philadelphia or New York. And in line with what Jim had said, I'm actually surprised that there are some many hams per non-hams. I can under stand that there are relatively many hams in places like Alaska. They live a lot closer to the edge of disaster than most of us, and there's only so much infrastructure you can put in in some of the more remote areas. Wake Island might think about recruiting another Ham or two! 8^) - 73 de Mike N3LI - |
#5
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
MAJOR SNIP
5) Regulatory agencies are usually headed by political appointees. That's the nature of the game since Andrew Jackson described the "spoils system." The FAA isn't run by all pilots; the FRA isn't run by all train drivers, etc. (In fact, if the FCC were run by hams, some might claim they had a conflict of interest). SNIP I agree that those who make the rules should have a background in what they are making the rules for. But that sort of thing is usually left to "staff" in my limited experience. I don't think that all the High muckey-mucks have to be all Pilots or Train drivers, but in the FCC's case there should be one or two that have day to day operational expererience in electronics. Even the commisioners' staffs do not have practical experience according to their biographies on the FCC website. |
#6
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
On Apr 16, 10:21 am, "Michael J. Coslo" wrote:
While Washington DC is a district, for all intents and purposes, it is a city, just like Philadelphia or New York. It's even more urbanized than Philadelphia, IMHO. (I've spend considerable time in both cities). And in line with what Jim had said, I'm actually surprised that there are some many hams per non-hams. I think you meant "so many hams...". I suspect that many of them are temporary transplants (students, for example). I can under stand that there are relatively many hams in places like Alaska. They live a lot closer to the edge of disaster than most of us, and there's only so much infrastructure you can put in in some of the more remote areas. I don't think Alaskans are "much closer" to the edge of disaster than most of us. However, I bet they do have fewer restrictions on antennas. And for longer than I've been a ham, there's been the special Alaskan emergency frequency. Might be more than a few folks who got ham licenses just to use it. There are probably a lot of factors that influence the number of hams per-capita, and what they do. For example, Florida has lots of hams - and lots of retirees. 73 de Jim, N2EY |
#7
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
Michael J. Coslo wrote:
And in line with what Jim had said, I'm actually surprised that there are some many hams per non-hams. I'm not surprised to find that there are many hams in DC Many of the folks who list DC addresses are folks who have worked hard to get there, They are wise and they are interested in public service. Does this not describe ham radio operators? (Well many of us) The qualities overlap nicely |
#8
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
N2EY wrote:
5) Regulatory agencies are usually headed by political appointees. That's the nature of the game since Andrew Jackson described the "spoils system." The FAA isn't run by all pilots; the FRA isn't run by all train drivers, etc. (In fact, if the FCC were run by hams, some might claim they had a conflict of interest). Actually it is amazing the number of agencies that ARE run by hams.. Or perhaps not so amazing when you consider a few things about Hams. But the fact is many CEO's in many companies are hams.. Because the kind of dedication it takes to study, not all that long ago code, plus the law, and technical questions, these days even rocket science. The kind of dedication it takes to pass that EXTRA CLASS license test. Is the very kind of dedication that they look for when they hire a new CEO or appoint a new department head. And hams have that kind of dedication. Otherwise they'd be CBers or SWL's or... Mundanes (A term we use in another of my hobbies) Now.. I can tell you one origination you may wish to look at, IN fact I'll describe two The American Diabetes Assn, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. ADA is run mostly by Doctors, Nurses and other medical professionals.. They spend the majority of their funds on diabetes education teaching diabetics (Such as myself) how to better manage our condition. This is good work. But when Diabetes is ever cured.. They will be out of work JDRF is run by either Type 1 Diabetics or by parents of Type 1 Diabetics.. Now, when diabetes is ever cured they too are going to be out of work. But where the ADA folks will be "Woe is me, I'm out of work" the JDRF folks won't have time for Woe cause they are going to be planing and putting on the party to end all parties.. Cause the Dragon Mellitus (DM, get it) has been well and truly slain! The moral.. Some outfits are indeed run by the right people,, People who have a very strong interest in seeing the company meet it's goals. |
#9
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
On Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:23:49 EDT, ai8o wrote:
What can be done about this problem? Require the FCC Commisioners to hire Engineers on their staffs like one congressman is proposing? Require FCC commissioners to have some technical experience? WHAT???? Most professionals that work in DC live in neighboring states. Outside of the Federal buildings DC is a ghetto. |
#10
![]() |
|||
|
|||
![]()
On Thu, 15 Apr 2010 21:23:49 -0400, ai8o wrote:
The post earlier today in RRAM about the new address on the ARRL websit e for AR licensees piqued my interest. What is the page, I don't see it in the ARRL letter post -- AzzMazta's Political Institute www.xcopfly.com |
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Forum | |||
HD Radio shutdown in Wash, D.C! LMFAO! | Shortwave | |||
Eduardo - FM-HDs in Wash, D.C also have turned off IBOC | Shortwave | |||
Crosley after wash | Radio Photos | |||
Wash Your Mouth Out, Mark | Policy | |||
PING AUK OT Just How Wrong IS Ward Hardman. Not as wrong as the Doofus of Masturbation. | CB |