Hams ,,, the original Do It Yourselfer

The launch of the new “Do It Yourself”, or “DIY”, video and accompanying PR campaign is a major initiative for ARRL. 

In 2006, ARRL’s Public Relations Committee began three major recurring themes aimed at the general public and inactive Hams.  There are: 1) the “Hello” campaign which describes on air fellowship, DXing and contesting, 2) “Emergency Radio” emphasizing emergency communications, and 3) “We Do That Radio” concentrating on experimentation and design.  All three have web pages on the main ARRL website and are designed to be destination web pages through search engines.  Please take a look at each after finishing this explanation posting (URLs below).

It’s no secret that the “Emergency Radio” website has been the theme with the greatest emphasis and dedicated resources following Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.  The time became ripe, however, to return to a balance by focusing again on the other two themes.  Until today, ARRL has not released a major, general purpose video since “Amateur Radio Today” hosted by the late Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD.  The DIY video is aimed at hobbyists, a segment which makes up a large portion of Hams, and reinforces the “We Do That Radio” campaign.

Accompanying the video are printed materials and PowerPoint presentations.  Please use them and encourage your fellow section officials to use them too.  Experimentation, kit building and design are a growth industry.  If you haven’t already, find a “Maker Faire” event near you and plan to attend, or better yet, host an ARRL table using DIY materials.  Maker Faires, a DIY movement, now holds dozens of “faires” which are like hamfests across the country.  The people who attend Maker Faires are prime candidates to become Hams, and these faires draw thousands.  You can find one near you at http://makerfaire.com   Also, with renewed interest among educators in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), DIY is a natural area to share with schools and colleges.

Please take advantage of the new DIY materials, and check out the three websites mentioned above at:

http://www.arrl.org/helloradio-org

http://www.arrl.org/emergency-communications

http://www.arrl.org/wedothat-radio-org

If you have any questions, please contact me or ARRL’s Media & Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP.  Thanks and Happy New Year.

73,

Bill Morine, N2COP

North Carolina Section Manager

ARRL Public Relations Committee Chairman