You make a good point...ham radio was once the only way citizens had
to communicate over great distances without a telephone. Post WWII
there was a crush of vets with radio skills to populate the hobby, and
the 50's were probably it's heyday. Because amateur radio had no
competition the ham community could get away with doling out certain
portions of the amateur radio spectrum to the speediest morse code
operators.

Unfortunately for the hobby the world has changed and we now have
several other less restrictive ways of communicating. First CB radio
opened the door just a crack to show what was possible at a minimal
cost. Next came PC based BBSes and dialup information services to
show we could communicate 'round the world with no antenna or license
needed. And of course there was the cell phone invasion which for
most people looks and works very much like a 2 meter HT. And now we
have all manner of ways of communicating and otherwise hearing the
world instantly via the internet. And a license is not required for
any of these amateur radio alternatives.

So the real question for the gatekeepers of the radio hobby is how to
make it interesting to all the post WWII generations. They are
proficient at designing tests that prove mastery of skills that are no
longer of much use. The ARRL and the FCC and all the other radio
gatekeepers really need to reinvent this whole testing and licensing
process. Unfortunately I think they will continue to fiddle around
the edges. I'm not encouraged when I read that they are asking for
comment on whether the morse code restriction should be modified for
certain small portions of the spectrum. It means the licensed hams
through the ARRL and the FCC are going to continue to do business as
usual and watch the age of the average ham creep up inexorably.

(Mark Keith) wrote in message . com...
(John S.) wrote in message

If the gatekeepers are going to reverse the declining trends in the
amateur radio hobby they are going to have to find new ways to attract
younger members.

It will never happen, and has nothing to do with the code tests, or
anything else. Ham radio is getting to be old hat, and fairly boring.
It will NEVER see the glory days it once did. Dropping the code tests
will not have a bit of effect on that. They sure haven't so far. You
see a quick rush at first, but most get bored and slowly fade out.
Being mainly a highly technical hobby, it was never meant to be for
everyone. And I have no problems with that. When I can do a highly
accurate simulation of flying a B737, or Lear 31a, or about anything
else you want to fly, on my computer, talking to people on radio, that
was invented 100 years ago, starts to look fairly boring. Being I've
been a licensed ham 26 years, and a SWL since I was 7, I'm about
burned out on it anyway. I built my first 40m transmitter when I was
in the 8th grade. To me, it feels like I've been a ham nearly all my
life, and I'm not 50 yet. Just flight simulation alone has greatly
diminished the amount of time I spend on amateur radio. And it's been
that way since 1992. MK