I find the technical side of the hobby very interesting but the thought that it requires having a conversation with strangers and that too synchronously, is a personal deterrent.
I don't know if there are others like me.
EDIT: Glad to see that there are others around. Happy to meet you. Async acks are great. So is the joy of engaging with something intellectually challenging.
Humans can be so different, it's fascinating and awesome. I'm quite the opposite. Where I wanted to talk to people from around the world and have some interesting conversations about everything, the fact that they are mostly "Hello, I'm calling from x, using radio y, and your signal is z. 73" is a big let down for me. I somewhat like the technical sid of it, but just calling to say "Hello, x, y, z, bye." ends up feeling like a waste of time to me (in the sense that I could be using this time for other, more interesting things. I still find it somewhat interesting though). But, if you enjoy the technical aspect of it, then I think it's fine, you can focus more on cw, or the digital modes where the contacts are automated.
edit: I know there are ragchews all the time, but it's still mostly about equipment.
Oh I love meeting and knowing people from different parts of the world, have curiosity about their human stories, about how they think, what they find funny, their food, their music, their culture, their interests. Oh yes their food, music and humor.
That's one reason I love New York so much.
However my pace is much slower. I take my time.
On the technical side, the added attraction is to do some homebrewed amateur radio astronomy.
I've been licensed for a couple of years. All my QSOs are short and sweet, mostly activating and hunting POTA/SOTA contacts, where the activator prefers to have short QSOs in order to activate the park/summit. I have no interest in having a conversation with the other amateur, at most I would exchange what gear I'm using and what power I'm running. That is it.
I like building kits, QRP, CW, and building my own antennas. I only make contact with other people to be able to improve my skills and validate my gear.
My father has been licensed for nearly 50 years, he loves the technical side of the hobby, I've made more contacts over the last 2 years than he has in 15 years. There are others like you.
Oliver, M7OCL
There are dozens of us, friend. I got my license for the challenge and learning that came with. Tuned in to signals near and far but never sent my own voice over the air.
Totally the same. I got my license 7 years ago just for fun. I challenge myself to have at least one QSO per year which always takes an hour of prepping myself mentally. But I love the technical side and am always happy to join practical meetups.
I've made all of a single contact via CQ. The tech has taught me a lot and continues to teach, but listening to folks rag chew doesn't stay interesting for very long.
Yeah, I’ve got a UK Foundation licence but have never actually made a call - it was more of a “have transceiver might as well be legal to use it” thing.
(Also, HF antennas - just didn’t anticipate how difficult they were to set up properly)