KWARC Survey RESULTS for 2014/15


First of all, THANKS to those who participated:
JOHN BRINK  | LARRY VE3LGN  | MDCNBKEASLXFYUW  | NJVPPDCMV  | OPOHOYTUDRBQMZY  | VA3ATW  | VA3DAS  | VA3EZT  | VA3MRJ  | VA3NNW  | VA3PAF  | VA3PTB  | VA3YM  | VE3CD  | VE3DCC  | VE3EOS  | VE3JLC/VE3EOI JAMES (JIM) LITWILLER  | VE3MJM  | VE3NJG  | VE3NQK  | VE3OWS KENN BEXON  | VE3RKS  | VE3ST  | VE3TRQ  | VE3WFR  | VE3XM / BOB ABELL  | VE3XN  | VE3ZUP  | ZL0AHH
(7 anonymous, 3 invalid entries (all other answers will be ignored), 23 members, 4 non-members / ex-members, 37 TOTAL, with membership determined by KWARC DB / roster)

Next, a word about how the results will be shown. Most questions asked if you thought KWARC should do LESS, the SAME, or MORE of each area of our extensive hobby.
If approx 1/3rd of respondents gave each answer, the result would be shown like this:
RED represents people who voted LESS
GREEN, those who voted for MORE
WHITE represents those who voted SAME


So if most people thought we should do LESS, it might look like this:
If most people thought we should do the SAME, it might look like this:
If most people thought we should do MORE, it might look like this:
Quite interesting, or controversial, would be a "love it or hate it" question with very few "SAME":


Now because it may be interesting, we also break the red and green bars down further, to show anonymous votes in a lighter colour, and non-members in an even ligter colour, like this:
One particularly interesting possibility might be if members really liked something and wanted MORE, but non-members (and anonymous people?) wanted to see LESS. That might look like this:
I DON'T actually see this in the results below, but if it DID occur, it might indicate something important about why the non-members are non-members, or the anonymous people wanted to hide behind a cloak of anonymity!

So now, on to the results:

Public Service:
    • Emergency Comms
    • CANWARN
    • Waterloo Marathon
    • Rally / other race comms
    • Other public event comms
Comments?
An increased focus on Canwarn is needed considering KSR is a designated Canwarn repeater - Have found the activiation of Canwarn nets have decreased over the past few years during severe weather events (eg - no Canwarn net during Millbank tornado in summer of 2014 - had heard a number of hams on KSR looking for net during that event)  | Disabled, can't walk, in a wheelchair  | Don't know, Marathon is fun  | Makes Hams more visible to the community  | Perhaps market ourselves to groups; however Ride for Kids was a bit embarrasing-Summer maybe  | Respond to public requests for help.  | Seems pretty good to me  | not sure what CANWARN is.

Hamfests (attending)
Our Hamfest, are you able to help?
Comments?
Don't know  | Dont think I would be much help I am 93  | I'm able to help once I can pass the next course.  | Probably could help with some admin details, if time permits  | helps the club activities

Historical topics and activities:
    • Vintage / Boat Anchors
    • ... Restoration
    • ... Operation
    • Visits to museums and ...
    • ... other places of Amateur Radio significance
Comments?
Don't know  | Maybe we need to phrase this as a question: Can we do more historical activities?  | yearly visits to Baden Hill?

Antenna theory
Antenna building
Propagation, study of:
    • Prediction (software? other?)
    • Beacons
Comments?
Most Hams have dome abillity to build antennaes.  | and simplefide math of these

Construction:
    • Kit-building (radios)
    • Kit-building (test equipment)
    • Homebrew from scratch (rigs)
    • Homebrew from scratch (test equipment)
    • Mods
Comments?
Mobile antenna types and efficiencies  | don't know

QRP (low power, often homebrew, often tiny "altoids tin" radios)
QRO (high power)
Rag-Chewing
Nets
DXing:
    • QSLing, and Collecting QSLs
    • Awards
    • DXpeditions (see also SOTA/etc below)
Comments?
don't know

Mobile / Portable:
    • SOTA (Summits) and other "Things On The Air":
        • Lighthouses
        • (Historic) Ships
        • Castles / Stately Homes
        • Museums
        • Bridges
    • Maritime Mobile
    • Repeaters:
        • IRLP
        • Echolink
        • D-STAR
        • DMR
Comments?
Again, maybe use a question  | D-Star and DMR is too expensive  | How about "AllStar"? With it's genesis in Asterisk, it interoperates well.  | I do have a D-Star rig and D-Star/Free Star is a lot of fun and a lot less expensive and restrictive than DMR  | Repeater installation: radio equipment, antennas, location.  | these are (for me) inexpensive and fun

Internet:
    • HamSphere
    • Other VoIP
    • DX Cluster
    • eQSL
    • Who's On The Air (WOTA)
    • Other online spotting / logging / QSLing
    • Remote operation of your rig
Computer (see also Digital Modes):
    • Computer Assisted Tuning (CAT) and other software radio control
    • Computer Logging
    • SDR (Software Defined Radio)
    • DSP
    • Bandscopes
Comments?
All of these subject would help new hams, and old ones improve the use of their hobby.  | Internet, Hamsphere are a bit to general for me. Can a short descriptor be added? Use ? consistently  | Presentation on using ARRL's lotw

Contesting:
    • Field Day
    • CW Contesting
    • HF Phone contesting
    • VHF Contesting
    • VHF Contest "roving"
    • Microwave Contesting
Comments?
What is field day about, who can participate  | encourage more hams to field day

Getting Licensed:
    • Basic study / course
    • Basic exam
    • "Get On The Air" help
    • Other "after the exam" training
    • Mentors / Elmers for Newcomers
    • Advanced study
    • Advanced exam
    • Examining!
    • Politics - RAC, ITU etc
Comments?
Advertise KWARC in local media's

Modes:
    • CW (learning)
    • CW (tests)
    • CW (high-speed, HST)
    • AM
    • DSB (like AM but with suppressed carrier, or USB+LSB)
    • SSB Phone
    • FM
    • ATV
        • SSTV
    • Fax
    • Digital: (see also CW :-p )
        • RTTY
        • PSK/BPSK 31/63 etc
        • Packet (AX25):
            • TCP/IP, incl IPv6
            • DX Cluster
            • APRS - tracking
            • APRS - WX
            • APRS - other? (give details below))
        • WSPR
        • AMTOR
        • PACTOR
        • Clover
        • Hellschreiber and variants
        • MFSK
        • MT63 and variants
        • Throb
        • Other digital? (give details below)
    • Spread spectrum / Frequency-hopping
Any modes I missed?
JTxx (maybe under satellite, but is ground-based, too)  | Use of the internet  | WSJT, JT9, JT65, Opera and possibly more variants of WSJT
Comments?
D-Star and APRS go hand in hand

Space:
    • Near-space balloons
    • Satellite:
        • AMSAT
        • OSCAR
        • decoding WX satellite downlinks
    • ISS etc
    • EME "Moonbounce"
    • Auroral modes
    • Meteor trail / meteor scatter modes
    • Radio Astronomy
    • Space DX (Mars rovers, Voyager probes, etc)
Comments?

Bands:
    • VLF
    • HF
    • VHF
    • UHF
    • Microwave
    • Optical
Any I missed?
Comments?

DFing (ARDF) (EG from QTH)
"Foxhunting" (mobile DFing "find the hidden transmitter")
FRS, GMRS, CB (OK! OK! just kidding!)
SWLing
Scanning:
    • Police / Fire / Ambulance / CoastGuard / Safety
    • Aviation / ATC
Radio control
Are there any ways YOU can help the club / advice / etc?
Friends, Please get on the air, using whatever mode of operating you like or have available to you. Just get on and communicate, via ham radio...that means getting an operational station up and working on HF. There are lots of fellow hams out there for you to talk to, but you have to connect your rig to an antenna and you either have to talk, send morse with a keyer, use a keyboard/ and or computer to assist you. Just do it! Just don't talk about doing it! Just do it! Meet some new friends via your radio station... 73 Garry VE3XN PS It is up to YOU, not your club, to enjoy our hobby!  | Maybe in a year or so, when I've been operating digital modes for a bit.  | Where I left the choice in the middle, I think those are about right.  | encourage people to get up front and participate (gently)

We hope your answers will help to shape the future of KWARC.

73! -- Nick VA3NNW