ARLA/CLUSTER: Onde estão e quem são os jovens radioamadores de hoje.?

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

Where have all the young hams gone ?

If you ask any old timer when they were first licensed, they'll
probably say teens or early 20's, but where are today's teen hams ?

Even those who have taken up the hobby in later life recall that their
interest in amateur radio was first sparked in their teens.

For years the average age of the hobby has been steadily increasing
and the number in their teens and twenties has been dwindling.

Since Ofcom don't publish a demographic breakdown of licensees how do
we know how many young amateurs there are in the UK ? Fortunately the
RSGB give free membership to amateurs who are under 21 or aged 21-25
and in Full Time Education. Since membership is free there is likely
to be a strong correlation between this membership category and the
total number of young radio hams.

The decline appears to have been particularly severe in recent years.
It is understood that in 2011 there were about 410 young amateurs but
by 2015 there were just 234, a dramatic slump of 43% in just 4 years.

At the end of 2014 the RSGB established a Youth Committee and their
first meeting was held on November 26. The 11 young members on the
committee make up almost 5% of all young amateurs in the UK. The Youth
Committee Chair Mike Jones 2E0MLJ was recently interviewed on the TX
Factor TV show which can be seen at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_PxaPHJY8M

It isn't that young people aren't interested these days in
experimenting with radio. There is widespread interest in building
very low power software defined radios and transmitters operating in
the UHF and Microwave license exempt bands. Youngsters aged 14 or 15
are building transmitter payloads for high altitude balloons which
generate radio signals that can be received over 800 km away.

A London Amateur Radio Group in 1976

They are building networks such as UKHASNET and developing their own
repeaters and Internet gateways.

These experimenters are exactly the type of young people Amateur Radio
needs but is failing to attract.


Looking back at pictures from amateur radio rallies of the 1960's or
1970's it is striking how much younger the attendees are compared to
today. One collection of photos can bee seen at
http://guitarwizard.smugmug.com/Hobbies/Radio-Ham-Buddies/

RSGB Youth Committee
http://rsgb.org/main/about-us/committees/youth-committee/

Youth Committee on Twitter
http://twitter.com/yota_uk