Rant - The Radio Hobby Needs a Shake Up

The radio hobby needs a shake-up, plain and simple. There’s a whole generation of folks out there who *could* be excited about radio, but they’re getting ignored because the hobby refuses to adapt. The old-school thinking of “it’s always been done this way” is choking the life out of radio. If we keep gatekeeping and insisting that it’s “better” to do things the way they were done in the 1970s, we’ll lose an entire potential community. We need new blood, fresh energy, and an openness to approaches that might make the traditionalists cringe. So what if someone’s interested in SDR and not in lugging around an old ham rig? Or if they love band monitoring but don’t care about amateur frequencies?

Technology is not the enemy; it’s the bridge to bring in the next generation. Social media is the biggest tool we’ve got right now to connect with younger people. They’re not going to wander into a club meeting on a whim, but they might check out a cool Instagram reel of someone picking up signals from a foreign country or get intrigued by a TikTok explaining how radio frequencies work. These platforms can spark curiosity and make radio feel accessible again.

Band monitoring is exactly where we should be focusing. It’s thrilling, it’s evolving, and it doesn’t have to be loaded with rigid rules or tradition. Using modern tech to scan and monitor bands, whether it’s for marine frequencies, aviation chatter, or UHF communications, keeps the hobby *alive*. We’re in an age where software and hardware together make it possible to explore the airwaves in ways the old-school hobbyists never could. Embracing SDRs, computer logging, and even mobile apps doesn’t make it any less of a radio hobby. It makes it different, yes, but in a way that will keep it alive long after the nostalgia fades.

So here’s the message to the radio old guard: If you care about this hobby and want to see it continue, welcome the newcomers with open arms—even if they’re using tech that looks like black magic to you. Drop the defensiveness about the “right” way to do things and let new voices shape the future. Because if we don’t evolve, radio will eventually become a silent relic. And that’s the last thing any of us want.