Dumping My ARRL Membership – For the Time Being

This one kind of hurts to post, because the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) has done a lot of good for amateur radio over the years.  They've been our lobbying representative, have published a pretty good collection of technical books, and put out a decent monthly magazine, and many-many other things useful for ham radio operators.  There was a time when I would absolutely not been without a membership.  However, lately internal drama has taken the shine off the organization, and I am loathe to re-up.  Coughing up a million bucks in ransom to restore their antiquated database last summer didn't impress me much either.  It's not the dues money (though the fees have gone through the roof), it's more that I don't want to support the incompetent drama queens running the show.

My membership just expired at the end of last year, and in the months running up to then I was simultaneously receiving renewal notices and reading blog postings such as this one and forum discussions like this.  I kept deferring the decision, but time has run out and so has my patience.

So I'm out – for the time being.  If the ARRL can sort out their socks, I'll be back in a heartbeat.  But they seem to have been taken over by bean counters, they're not listening to members, and so the only remaining constructive thing to do is to drop out.  It's a pity that there isn't a competing organization out there.  We'll see what 2025 brings.