On 28 Jul 2003 20:12:07 GMT, (Michael Black) wrote:

Over the 31 years since I've been licensed, my impression is that
amateur radio has increasingly disappeared from public view.

I agree with you 100%. The reason in my opinion is that the ARRL kept the
morse code requirement for HF access and that kept a lot of my teenage friends
out of ham radio way back in 1982 and through the present day.
Today kids now have instant voice communications via the Internet and cell
phones and can even send pictures and text messages with their phones. Now that
the Internet is here and advanced digital cellphone is in every middle class
kids pocket technology has passed by ham radio.
Hams are the now the old technology brushed aside by technology advances. The
ARRL just couldn't let code die and now it is too late. IMHO.

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