As we look to the growing community of Makers and other DIY-interested folk to become hams, we should not forget the cadre of new operators coming to us via emergency communications. Many of the comments of those who do not renew their ARRL memberships seem likely to come from this group. They find QST too technical and yearly membership too expensive. Some will be "converted" to long-term hams, but we don't offer much to entice those who enter with a pure emcomm focus. These people are already hams, so the hardest part of getting them to be long-term members is already accomplished. We must offer them something to make them stay--things like lower-cost membership and an emcomm-focused journal--that the comments of non-renewers already tell us we need. Hardcore, longterm hams will decry "pandering" or the dumbing-down of ham radio, but we definitely need some bridge to ensure "emcomm-only" licensees become a permanent part of ham radio, and ARRL73,
Greg, K0GW