Ham Radio - A contact sport

In my 26+ years of ham radio, I’ve had several opportunities to explain ham radio to the general public. Sometimes, folks politely smile, nod and say something like “hmmm… playing with antennas and radios for fun?… different strokes for different folks I guess.”

I’ve found that over the years, analogies and comparisons to fishing work quite well. I have a younger brother who has no interest in ham radio, but loves to fish… big time. He has the bass boat, he enters tournaments, he is a member of several clubs…  Why don’t folks question my brother about his passion for fishing in the same way they question me about ham radio?
Since I’ve been spending some time this summer on the tower project, I’ve had the chance to talk with many non-hams about the project. As you might expect, this generates a few questions to which the fishing comparisons apply…

“What do you do with ham radio?”

I enjoy contesting (the sport of trying to see how many contacts can be made within a defined timeframe - often with a score that is calculated by multiplying by a factor such as the number of countries contacted during that time) and DXing (the hobby of trying to contact as many “countries” as possible) - among many other aspects of the hobby.

“What’s the fun in contesting? Spending a weekend trying to talk to a bunch of places on the radio doesn’t sound very fun.”

Ham radio / fishing comparison #1: Ham radio contesting can be a lot like a bass fishing contest. The contestants in a fishing tournament aren’t out there fishing to put food on the table (what many would say is the primary reason for fishing). They are competing with each other and trying to see how well they can do personally - for the sport of it.

“This DXing thing… If you want to talk to someone on the other side of the world can’t you just call or email them?”

Ham radio / fishing comparison #2: This is a lot like asking a fisherman “why bother fishing when you can simply go to the store to buy fish?” It’s more about the art and science and love of radio… With HF radio propagation (and many other factors), you never really know what you’ll find on the airwaves. That’s what makes it fun.

“Do you really need a tower if you have a radio in your car? Does the tower need to be that tall?”

Ham radio / fishing comparison #3: This question is a lot like asking a guy who competes in bass fishing tournaments if he really needs the boat. Sure, he could simply cast a line from the shoreline - but not if he wants to be competitive. Similarly a tower is more or less a requirement to compete in a ham radio contest.

As for tower height… a tall tower does several things…

• It can lower the take-off angle of a signal (allowing for longer-distance contacts)
• It can help reduce or eliminate the potential for interference with nearby electronics (the antennas are higher and further away from cordless phones, TV sets, etc.)

“Ok, but do we really need to look at that thing? Don’t your neighbors think it’s ugly?”
Thankfully, I haven’t been faced with this one yet. But here is where I might use:

Ham radio / fishing comparison #4: Just like your friendly neighborhood fisherman keeps his bass boat in his backyard, I have to keep my tower and antennas in my backyard. In the event of an emergency (let’s say it’s a flood), your neighbor with the boat might be able to assist by using the boat to transport people or property safely. Likewise, ham radio operators may be called upon to use our equipment in time of an emergency. I am involved in community and national disaster preparedness drills in which ham radio operators use their skills and equipment to handle radio messages for the sake of the public.

How do you explain ham radio to the public at large?