I have often commented to my more marketing savvy Ham friends -- Why don't HAM magazines have ads that appeal to men, and not just Hams. After all they are men first, and Hams second. -- Therefore, I would think that ads selling shotguns, sports cars, and dare I say it cigars and chewing tobacco! This would be not too dissimilar to Popular Mechanics or Sports Illustrated ads of today?? I also wondered why Hooters and Budweiser don't sponsor the local Ham Fest or VHF Rally's? Here again, there are parallels, VHF Contest's are a manly competitive sport like football or baseball? Surely from the sponsors point of view Hams are a very similar buying demographic to any male-dominated, testosterone-driven event.
But proving there is nothing new under the sun; I recently came into a bit of good fortune. I HAM colleague of mine needed more space in his basement office and needed to find a good home his super-duper collection of 73, CQ, QST magazines dating from 1955 to 1999, lucky me!
When I got them home, I set myself to organize and catalog them as best I could. I leafed through a few and looking at building projects filled with half a century of ingenuity and craftiness that Hams are famous for. But my eye was drawn to something I had never seen since I had been following Ham mags in the early eighties.
73's editor Wayne Green was one crafty business man, he reasoned most Hams are guys, therefore they would favor a magazine with a good looking gal on the cover. It is no wonder those were the good old days, and here I foolishly thought they were talking about sun spot cycles and glowing tubes. -- Maybe the hobby has gotten older, and lost a bit of its libido and zing!? Maybe we take ourselves a bit too serious? Maybe good old "Shep" /K2ORS and Wayne Green /W2NSD were right all along to say "Never Say Die!"
-- If the hobby is going to survive, let's make it fun. Be polite and welcoming on the air to new Hams, build something, try something new, quit whining about not using the repeater tones, and then complaining about kids kur-chucking the machine for fun.
When was the last time you just turned the dial and listened, really listened to some random spot on your dial and wondered --"Where in the world is that signal from?". I too find myself on internet led missions to this net or that special event without just spinning and grinning like a kid. After all, I have often said had what make my hobby fun, is the things we don't know.
In months to come I hope to share with you my impressions of some of those great articles, and build projects from my newly acquired collection of RF and dreams.
Friday, October 2, 2009
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OK, OK I know not all Hams are men... I got a few emails from the fairer and wiser side. But I meant "generally", they are men. -- PLEASE INSERT STANDARD ANTI-SEXIST DISCLAIMER HERE --
ReplyDeleteI remember that magazine cover!
ReplyDeleteI also remember looking forward to each new situation that "Mimi" would get into in the Mechanix Illustrated magazine every month. She looked so cute in those short-short overalls...