Where are the Regulators?

Amateur radio is, in concept, a self-regulating service that doesn't often include heavy-handed state involvement.  That, to many, is the way it should be.

But when that self-regulation fails, what then?

I write this morning as, for the second time this week, some idiot or other is busy sending a whopping signal over the WSPR frequency, rendering that mode utterly devoid of any but the most powerful signals.

Why not shout louder?

Those keen to wipe out others' activities will say 'ah, but there is no such thing as a reserved frequency for any mode, so shut up!'  That's the attitude of the insensitive and uninterested in the genuine spirit of amateur radio.

To be fair, competitive, stamp on all others attitudes are in fact encouraged by the very societies that otherwise see it as their Very Important Duty to protect the bands.  DX awards, contests, it's all very macho, aimed at making the individual the most important thing, not the manner in which he operates or how he respected others.  Inevitably, many amateurs come to believe that they may do whatever they want to fill their logbook.

A good idea.  But is it really working?  I don't think so.

This is a very sad state of affairs, and I can't see things getting any better.  Listen to a pile-up.  Maybe record it and listen to it a few days later.  Is this what attracts youngsters to the hobby?  Listen to the digital parts of the spectrum.  Hear how everything is played over everything else, because their signal is more important than somebody else's, it seems.  Is that attractive to newcomers?

Self-evidently, the overwhelming domination of the hobby by retired white men is doing the hobby no favours at all.  In the words of the latest RSGB report "it's difficult not to conclude that, in the past ten years, our membership has aged by ten years."  That's a polite way of saying: in another 15 years, those societies are dead in the water.  The hobby would seem to be in the same boat.

The societies have a moral duty to investigate how the bands can be better policed and how enforcement can be ramped up, especially across national borders because, often, it is only from afar that you can hear those responsible.  Something akin to a radio 'Interpol' is required, and required urgently.

The future for amateur radio if we carry on like this...

So, next time you find yourself shouting down the mic in order to be heard by someone far away, just remember that you are as far away and exotic to him as he is to you.  You can make it another day.  There's probably someone more interesting a few kHz down the band. 

Be happier you didn't follow the crowd, didn't just add to the shouting mess, and that you took pride in how you operate. 

There should be an award for that.