RI ARRL (American Radio Relay League)

Exploring a data-driven approach to discover opportunities and help set priorities for the RI Section in 2024

The Rhode Island Section within the New England Division

I wrongly assumed Rhode Island was the smallest of the six states that make up the ARRL New England Division in terms of these three categories: geographic size, population, and also number of licensed amateur radio operators. 

Yes, Rhode Island geographically is the smallest state in the United States, covering an area of 1,214 square miles, with distances North to South at 48 miles and East to West 37 miles. 

Yes, Rhode Island has the fewest number of FCC licensed amateurs in New England. But no, Vermont’s population is smaller. Who knew?

Surprisingly, Rhode Island is both the most densely populated New England state, and yet has among the fewest per capita hams in not only New England, but also in the United States. Rhode Island’s ham per capita ranking is down there with Puerto Rico and Louisiana – places where one might expect the value of hard lessons learnt about resilient communication to inspire folks to join our community. What is that about? 

On the other hand, it was a delightful surprise to discover that the Rhode Island Section currently ranks second in the New England Division for ARRL membership per licensed amateurs.  Congrats on that! 

So, Rhode Island may have far fewer hams per capita than its neighbors, but these hams are more likely to belong to the ARRL. 

Add this in: only a fraction of Rhode Island radio amateurs belong to a club. Despite the strong club options at hand. Why is this? Are they mostly inactive hams who got licensed but lost interest? That explanation only gets us so far.

Surprisingly (to me), Rhode Island’s almost 1900 licensed hams include many many loyal and dedicated ARRL members who do not participate in RI club life at all. Many more Rhode Island hams belong to ARRL than belong to a club. (Although, by definition, ARRL-affiliated clubs have more than half their voting membership belonging to ARRL.)  Is this about raising awareness of what the strong existing clubs are doing and have to offer, each in their own way? Perhaps it involves promoting how most RI clubs now have established remote/hybrid options for club meetings? 

Maybe this means getting better at identifying Section-wide opportunities to meet other RI hams informally and get involved. From Parks on the Air Meet & Greets to a revitalized ARES hub of connecting to RI SME talks, tours or profiles on say advanced topics in emerging radio technologies. How can the Section better meet this group’s needs and celebrate their enthusiasm and contributions? 

In the September RI Section Newsletter I shared the six-month data on new RI hams and upgrades. Here’s an update: from April 5, 2023 to December 5, 2023 the Rhode Island amateur radio community welcomed 37 new hams and congratulated 37 license upgrades. Congrats again, and welcome! Thank you to everyone involved in mentoring to make this happen and keep the journey going forward. (See below for aligned January calendar events.) 

How might this data dive help inform our Rhode Island Section radio amateur strategy in 2024 and help strengthen our state? Are we communicating the right message about why amateur radio? Why both join and join in? It seems ever clearer to me that participating locally, regionally and nationally in support of the ARRL is foundational for the continued success of amateur radio, now and into the future of our endlessly fascinating gateway hobby of a lifetime. 

Here’s the data

FCC licensed amateurs in the six New England Division states as of December 30, 2023:

MA 13,300 | CT 7176 | NH 5695 | Maine 4467 |VT 2095 | RI 1896 source: https://www.arrl.org/fcc-license-counts

New England population census data as of July 1, 2023: MA 7,001,399 | CT 3,617,176 | NH 1,402,054 | Maine 1,395,722 | RI 1,095,962 | VT 647,464 source: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/VT,RI,NH,ME,MA,CT/PST045222

estimate of Hams per Capita as of Dec 30, 2023: NH .406% | VT .324% | ME .320% | CT .198%  | MA .190% | RI .173%

This might suggest that in each of the six New England states, population has increased faster than licensing new amateurs per this 2021 comparison of US States and territories hams/capita: #6: NH  0.416% | #11: ME  0.342% | #12: VT 0.335% | #32: CT 0.211% | #38: MA 0.196% | #45: RI 0.181%  source for 2021 data – hams per capita: https://k8vsy.radio/2021/09/ham-radio-licenses-us-states-per-capita.html

But wait: population decreased in RI and MA. So either hams relocated, dropped away or became Silent Keys. In any event, there remains an elusive replacement benchmark everyone seems to be trying different tactics to achieve. Note that the RI population over 65 is roughly equal to that 18 and under. (18.9% to 18.6%, leaving 62.5% of the RI population ages 19-64. And, yes, almost 51% are female.) So, lots of opportunities to connect with the right message and messenger at the right time. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/VT,RI,NH,ME,MA,CT/PST045222

Insights for 2024

How to scale engagement? We definitely have a capacity issue and a top priority remains to identify and recruit new talent and empower them with inclusive leadership opportunities to take on a project and see it through to benefit the whole Section. Great to see unfolding plans happening with ARES, Skywarn, NTS, POTA, and the New England mesh infrastructure collaboration. 

Another recommended priority program focus is on revitalizing now-inactive clubs at Rhode Island superb colleges and universities. The ARRL’s Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, Director of Marketing and Innovation, is doing remarkable things in this space, and we welcome opportunities to collaborate (- And we have the teams identified and ready to take action.) Future postings will share more about the ARRL’s CARP initiative. “Since the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Program (CARP) was established in 2017, we’ve been growing our community of participating students and ham radio clubs at colleges and universities. CARP holds monthly Zoom meetups and makes connections through our CARP Facebook group and Discord.” See for example: https://www.hamcation.com/forums-speaker-info?event=71 and https://www.arrl.org/collegiate-amateur-radio 

Another plan for reaching more hams is to revisit RI’s many companies in the electronics, wireless, tech, defense contractors, and now blue economy sector that might have once hosted small ham clubs on site, but have not made this a thing post-pandemic. Company “Ham Communities of Interest” or small clubs are not a new idea, but maybe it’s time to explore what this might look like in 2024. What do people think? It would further validate radio literacy as part of a successful career path and reach/support the young 20s-50s professional demographic during a busy time of work/life. 

Yes, 2024 will be a time of challenge, opportunity, and change. I would like to thank the Rhode Island Section for the support I’ve received in my first six-months as your new Section Manager. Let’s make the most of the year ahead, and look back in twelve months and know we did the best we could to come together as a growing, vital amateur radio community. 

January 2024 Section Calendar Invites to GOTA, Skill Build, and/or Meet & Greet other RI hams

January 1-7: POTA national New Year’s Week GOTA https://parksontheair.com/  Click on POTA Spots and then sort by Region to contact RI operators

January 3: Join our RI ARES Zoom call, 7:30-8:30pm and get involved as RI SEC Jeremy Taylor, K1JST offers another skill building challenge.

• Details on the RI ARES website calendar https://riares.org/
• Learn more about participating in a FEMA Region 1 Winlink test to be conducted in January without announcement.

January 8: The Consortium –  “All About Vertical Antennas” 

• 7-9pm in person at 250 High St., Manville RI. Check the BVARC website for details. 
• All are welcome. 

January 20-21: RI POTA Meet & Greet NW & SE & maybe even in-between?  

• Yes, its POTA – Support Your Parks weekend and a great chance to welcome all
• RI POTA mapping representative Jim Garman, KC1QDZ is bringing the community together for a Meet & Greet. Stay tuned for location details. All are welcome. Likely Southern location Sunday at new Gull Cove Park k-19541 with its wild dx possibilities. https://pota.app/#/park/K-10541
• Dave, W3DRE of the Providence Radio Association has already announced plans for a PRA club activation up North on Saturday, Jan 20, 2024, 9am-Noon, at K-7508, Pulaski Park, West Glocester, RI. Great opportunity for new connecting and mentoring. Stay tuned!
• Are you or your club interested in spreading the POTA spirit this weekend? Share your plans with Jim, KC1QDZ via email at KC1QDZ at gmail.com

January 27-28: Winter Field Day 2024 https://winterfieldday.org/

• Please register your planned WFD activation location to the WFD map and let people know if you are open for visitors: https://winterfieldday.org/register-location.php
• WFD Simplex Option for Solo or Field Operators: Using my own call sign, my plan is to again offer to operate from my QTH as a 2m/70cm Simplex for anyone interested in using WFD as even a basic chance to test their local HT Simplex capabilities. I and hopefully others will be monitoring the RI-ARES Simplex frequency for set periods, likely Saturday 2-4pm and Sunday Noon-2pm.  
  • RI-ARES VHF Simplex frequency: 147.420 MHz. 
  • Get a band multiplier by also making a UFH contact on or near the 70 cm National Calling frequency of 446 (+/-25kHz). [ie. 446.025, 446.050, 446.075 but likely 446.1] Confirm you can program your HT for Simplex? 
• Take on a right-size radio challenge for you this January 2024. 

Get licensed! Upgrade? Upcoming RI In-person VE Sessions 

Many thanks to these RI Clubs offering in-person VE sessions during Q1 2024 (walk-ins welcome). https://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session

• W1AQ (Associated Radio Amateurs of Southern New England) on Saturdays at 9:30am on January 6, 2024,  February 3, 2024, March 2, 2024 (Rumford, RI)
• Blackstone Valley ARC (BVARC) on Saturdays at 9am January 13, 2024 and March 9, 2024 (Woonsocket, RI)

License Exam Prep via HamStudy.org. License prep has never been easier than with this transformational learning platform offering self-paced study and practice tests. Available on demand, for free. 

Prefer to study with a class? Check out the ARRL listing for classes here, and check back often as 2024 classes get posted: https://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-class

Clubs & Upcoming Club Anniversaries in 2024 

TWO of the Rhode Island Section’s eleven ARRL Affiliated Clubs have anniversaries in 2024. NCRC celebrates its 75th and NB1RI celebrates its 20th!

Let’s help them celebrate and support all our Section clubs. (Don’t forget the ARRL Club Foundation major Club Revitalization Funding opportunity that will be open for application in Spring 2024.) 

For your review, here are the 11 RI Section clubs (and club call sign) by date of ARRL affiliation

1. THE PROVIDENCE RADIO ASSN, INC. (W1OP) Affiliation Date: 1921 > 103 yrs!!!
2. ARA OF S NEW ENGLAND (W1AQ) Affiliation Date: 1931 > 93 yrs
3. NEWPORT COUNTY Radio Club (W1SYE)  Affiliation Date: 1949-07-18 =75 yrs in 2024! Congrats!
4. Blackstone Valley Amateur Radio Club (W1DDD) Affiliation Date: 1956 > 68 yrs
5. Fidelity Amateur Radio Club (K1NQG) Affiliation Date: 1966 > 58 yrs
6. Brown Univ Radio Club (K1AD) 1975-05-14 = 49 in 2024 UPCOMING 50th in 2025!
7. Ocean State AR Group Inc (K1OS) Affiliation Date: 1988 > 36 yrs
8. Connecticut Rhode Island Contest Group (KE1S) Affiliation Date: 1996 > 28 yrs
9. Narragansett Bay Amateur Radio Club (NB1RI) Affiliation Date: 2004-07-30 = 20 yrs in 2024! Congrats
10. PEMA RACES (KK1PMA) Affiliation Date: 2015-02-13 =9 yrs in 2024 UPCOMING 10th in 2025!
11. RICOMU (WA1USA) Affiliation Date: 2022  > 2 yrs

VOTA wraps

Many thanks to Mike Corey, KI1U for leading the VOTA RI effort for 2023!

Special thanks to all the clubs and operators who participated in this team contest. Stay tuned for the final results.  

Currently W1AW/1 is in 7th place OVERALL on the Leaderboard.

https://vota.arrl.org/leaderboard.php

Congrats also to these top 20 RI VOTA Leaders as of December 31, 2023 shown below.
source: https://vota.arrl.org/leaderboard.php?state=RI&submit=Filter+by+State

Experimental Radio News 10: HF Trading updates, Crypto & new satellite experiments, the Rockettes embrace drones

Highly recommend the latest issue of Experimental Radio News.  Check this out here. (Free to subscribe.) https://www.experimentalradio.news/experimental-radio-news-10/?ref=experimental-radio-news-newsletter

Here’s to embracing change: “New York City’s famous Rockettes dancers received WW9XDQ for sophisticated drones used in shows at Radio City Music Hall.”

Who knew?

https://gizmodo.com/how-a-swarm-of-blinking-drones-ended-up-in-the-rockette-1830738603

“If you haven’t seen the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes, you can probably picture the iconic line of dancers kicking in unison, like a salute to American entertainment from a century ago. Well, this year the show got a surprising update: drones.

Dozens of tiny autonomous quadcopters built by Intel float over the Rockettes during the finale of the new show, and the effect is almost magical. Each little drone is essentially an airborne LED light that, from the audience’s perspective, seems to blend in with the set before bursting out over the dancers. In the final minutes of the near century-old show in Radio City Music Hall, the stage seems to come alive with flying robots. 

This sort of thing would have melted the brains of the folks who saw the first holiday show with the Rockettes back in 1933. 

Yet, here we are.”

BEST WISHES & HAPPY 2024 NEW YEAR

73, Nancy Austin KC1NEK – RI Section Manager 

 https://ri-arrl.org/2023-12-ri-section-newsletter/ ‎

Here’s my riffs and rabbit hole research over the month on the sound byte going around about the average ham being aged 75.

It’s an arresting data point, but what do we really know when we know that? Are we asking the right questions to get to our shared goal? 

Let’s look first at the six generations alive today:

• “The Silent Generation”, born 1925-1945 and in 2023 ages 98-78;
• “Boomers”, born 1946-1964 and in 2023 ages 77-59;
• “Gen X”, born 1965-1980 and in 2023 ages 58-43;
• “Millennials / Gen Y”, born 1981-1996 and in 2023 ages 42-27;
• “Gen Z” – digital natives, born 1997-2012 and in 2023 ages 26-11;
• “Alphas” – all born in the 21st c to (mostly) Millennial parents and will be the largest generation in human history, born 2013-c.2025. Tech-savvy, diverse, screen-age natives. 

So, for context, this means a 75-year old ham is an older “Baby Boomer”.  

The math means there is a gap of three generations, or over 50 years (a half-century) between our average 75-year old ham and a High School student, aged 14-18. 

The good news is that if a general goal is to bring young people into the hobby, then the audience is vast. …Although we might want to clarify: younger than who? 

The request could be said to cover all generations. 

Notably including: 

• families of digital-native Alphas & Gen Zs, and their tech-savvy Millennial parents; 
• the 30% of American households now headed by solo adults, aged 20s to 90s; 
• hobbyist social identity groupings untethered to age

As a call to action, “young people” feels incredibly imprecise. What is the problem we are trying to solve? Who is the “we”? Should each generation be tasked with mentoring the next one?

Interestingly, I think I heard that the average age of a newly licensed ham was now 50!?

If true, this would suggest that Boomers are indeed mentoring the next generation, as requested. Just as the Silent Generation mentored them. 

Or maybe we should just all be coaching everyone we can, regardless of age? Co-creating that give & take space of risk and slow but steady learning? How would you say the amateur radio community is doing to invite everyone to jump in, give learning something new a try, and keep at it until they can contribute and eventually lead?

Right now, I’m listening in on how to become an NTS Traffic handler on the nightly MA-RI phone net. It’s a great daily reminder of what’s involved to put yourself out there doing something you know very little about. Starting and stumbling with hands-on practice to get better in another one of radio’s many many skill building challenges. As they say, every journey starts with an intention and the first tentative steps. I want to send a huge thank you to the net controls for letting me learn in my own way and pace. A year ago, I sent a one-off Radiogram for an EMA SET. Now, a year later, I’m taking the measure of what it would mean to really get better at traffic handling, and the commitment I would need to make. Radio is such a big tent, and the opportunities are there for hams to give things a trial run before you set your priorities. Beta test if the mentoring safety net you will likely need is there for you. But again, the first steps you risk in just showing up to try can ofen be the hardest. I encourage you: give it a try, anyhow.  (And, FYI, the age of the net participants never comes up.)

Reddit is an online discussion forum with 130K members in the r/amateurradio community. LOTS of candid perspectives are posted there on the “younger people” question. For example, there was an informative thread on the question the community posed: 

Is Amateur Radio Facing a Demographic Cliff?

https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/yhm5nf/is_amateur_radio_facing_a_demographic_cliff/

It was humorous to see this reply:  “I remember seeing someone had posted an article in this sub about like pre-1950s saying ssb rag chewing is going to kill the hobby lol. Edit: Here’s the link. https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/iri3ab/from_2020_nope_this_is_the_june_1927_issue_of_qst/“

[Headline: From 2020? Nope, this is the June 1927 issue of QST, when old-timers were already saying amateur radio was doomed and this new-fangled “rag-chewing” was destroying the hobby.]

Another reddit comment shared:

“For many years, 12-18k new licenses were issued each year, except in 2007 when 24k new licenses were issued.

• In 2020, thirty three thousand new licenses were issued.
• In 2021, it was thirty five thousand.
• 2022 is on track to meet or exceed 2021.”

So: maybe the data point about the average age of a ham being 75 is meant to drive home a change-is-coming message that is driven by the financial realities of a changing market? If so, then what is the time frame to relaunch a new message? And who is the intended audience capable of funding this in the timeline given?  We are all here to help reach the shared goal of a vital Amateur Radio community thriving into the next century. Let’s talk with one another.

As your new RI Section Manager, I have heard A LOT of push-back about messaging that many felt focused too exclusively on “young people”.  

Here’s my suggestion towards a shared definition of an inclusive, age-blind ham community culture. Definitely an ongoing conversation with lots of listening needed all around. 

• An amateur radio operator walks the talk of a growth-mindset spirit that transcends age. Mentoring is a given. There is a bias toward being a Maker / Hacker, curious and experimental. (Are you surprised to hear that many pioneers of AI neural networks began as radio tinkerers?) 
• Amateur radio is the hobby of a lifetime because it is a big tent with endless areas to explore. Priorities and perspectives mentioned on tech-oriented discussion forums include:
  • “Do NOT lead with “you can talk all over the world”. No one cares about that. The internet is the penultimate wide reaching network to anyone born after 1980. It’s the tech that they want. SDR’s, coding, IP, digital modes, bridging the internet to ham radio…” “computer hobbyists – local robotics, long range drone, linux user groups, things like that.”
  • “Focus on competitive and field elements of the hobby like SOTA & POTA, especially travel light modes like FT8 and CW.”
  • “POTA, because it feels like an EmCom drill every time, hike out to a remote location, set up antennas and power, try to make contacts. It’s been fun, learning and experimenting..” 
  • “ham radio is a wireless technology and radio science sandbox that is not only a really fun ultra-multifaceted hobby, but it’s also a prime extracurricular opportunity for young people (relative to the average amateur radio operator – a 55 year old white American).” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28803690
• Getting started can be hard. Ideally, Amateur Radio offers right-size challenges for hands-on experiential  learning in a welcoming community that wants every ham to succeed. The right attitude helps here, all around. With best intentions hoped for. 

Please welcome our SIX new RI Hams & License Class Upgrades Oct 6- Nov 6, 2023

NEW Technicians

• Maggie Heaney, KC1TOQ – Chepachet 
• Nicholas Rodrigues, N1RRW – Lincoln 

NEW + Upgrade (1 General, 1 Extra)

• Sean M Foley, KC1TNA – Woonsocket (Technician 10-3-2023 > General 10-24-2023)
• Mark S Barabas, N2IRY – Saunderstown (Technician 10-2023 > Extra 11-2023) 

Upgrade

• George R Archambault, WA1IWJ – North Smithfield (Technician > General )
• Luis M Lopes, AJ1NL – Riverside (General > Extra )

Volunteers on the Air: W1AW/1

Do you want to get on the air and operate the iconic call sign W1AW/1?

Rhode Island is the host state operating the call sign for Volunteers on the Air from November 29th to December 6th. For information on how to sign up as a RI operator, please email Mike Corey, KI1U at [email protected]

Here’s the top 25 on the VOTA Leaderboard as of 30 November 2023.  https://vota.arrl.org/leaderboard.php?state=RI&submit=Filter+by+State

Congrats to all, with a special shout out to the Providence Radio Association, W1OP, for ongoing strong club commitment to VOTA 2023. Thank you!

Mesh Networking Infrastructure Collaboration Across New England 

Please consider joining the [email protected] and attending the lively, technically informative monthly gatherings of SMEs across New England (and the US) currently collaborating on building out an interconnected mesh network across New England. 

Use cases include:

1. NTS traffic and EmComm with multi-media and work tool integration.
2. Use of mobile mesh nodes to supplement coverage needed regardless of location.
3. Remote video and spectral monitoring of repeater and network node sites including fire towers.
4. Better integration with Government and Served Agency internet and office work tool partner processes.
5. Independence from commercial power-dependent internet connectivity (with nodes equipped for extended operation following commercial power interruption.)

For more information, contact Rob Leiden, K1UI – the ARRL Assistant Director for Spectrum Protection & Utilization. https://nediv.arrl.org/spectrum-protection-utilization/

Slow Scan TV apps at next RI ARES meeting, December 6th at 7:30pm

Jeremy Taylor, K1JST (RI-SEC) will convene the next monthly RI ARES meeting on December 6, 2023 via Zoom to talk about Slow Scan TV apps and why he considers this a basic ham skill to add to your toolkit. 

If you are interested in learning more about RI ARES, please fill out this form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfy-vr-MtgU6kbqcjailbvXVsmJhWoMUpY-vnp3aaF5NTurtg/viewform