About this episode
Foundations of Amateur Radio
In the community of radio amateurs scattered around the planet we have a habit of getting together with others to have fun in whatever shape that takes. The obvious ones are HAMfests, car boot sales, raffles and other amateur adjacent pursuits, but we also do things like licence training, weekly on-air nets, contesting, portable activations, climbing mountains, or hills, setting-up in parks, or lighthouses, we set-up on a field day, just for fun, and find excuses, sorry, reasons, for any number of other activities.
Some of these are solitary affairs, but many are best enjoyed shared with multiple friends, both old and new ones. Having been a member of this community since 2010 I've come to observe an aspect of this community that is odd, to say the least.
We organise all these events, but rarely promote it beyond a single email to three people, if that. It's almost as-if the average organiser thinks that their event permeates the community by magic osmosis.
Even if there is any form of promotion, there's sometimes a date and time, but hardly ever does it show that time in UTC, even if it's a radio event, it's like we've forgotten that radio waves pass through time zones, or there is a misconception that everyone on the planet knows what your local timezone is, let alone if it's summer or winter time at the time of the event.
So, what does promoting your event look like if you actually want people to know about it?
For starters, you should consider who you want to have as a participant. A local HAMfest is unlikely to attract people from around the globe, but Friedrichshafen and Dayton are examples that contradict that notion. A VHF-only event might be intended for local amateurs, but what if it allows for satellite or digital contacts, like say via Allstar, IRLP or Echolink? Similarly, you might run a weekly on-air net, but have visitors from around the planet.
The point being, that your audience might not be exactly what you initially think. In other words, there might be people playing from further afield. Consider that when you announce what time the event starts, and finishes. Speaking of finishing, adding an expected closing time is helpful for participants where only one member of the family lives and breathes amateur radio and the rest just want to get on with their respective lives, so consideration is welcome.
Aside from telling your audience when and for how long the event goes, adding a location is not optional. You'd be surprised how many events say things like: "it's again in the usual location", or "we're at the community hall" without ever publishing an address. I can tell you, it's fun discovering that the name of the hall isn't unique.
Now, for the big one. After putting the information together about the event itself, where and how do you announce it?
For starters, on your own website, in whatever form that takes. It serves two purposes, announcing to the world
