RadioBanter - View Single Post

October 21st 05, 11:10 PM

On 20 Oct 2005 09:40:10 -0700, wrote:

Leo wrote:
On 15 Oct 2005 14:02:03 -0700, wrote:

From: Leo on Oct 15, 9:36 am

On 14 Oct 2005 15:02:32 -0700, wrote:
Leo wrote:
On 14 Oct 2005 12:39:50 -0700, wrote:
From: on Oct 14, 9:20 am
Bill Sohl wrote:
wrote in message
wrote:
snip

When were you a kid, Leo? Ham radio is far more popular today than when
I was a kid.

About the same time as you were - I was born in 1955.

Comparing the total number of amateur licenses existing today is an
apples-to-oranges comparison, and not a true indicator of the
"popularity" of the hobby then or now.

In the '60s, morse code was a mandatory requirement for an amateur
license (up here anyway) - and at a difficult 13 words per minute, not
our easy 5. Today, there are vast numbers of amateurs who hold
licenses where no code test was required - around half of the total.
How many amateur licenses would have been issued back then if a 'no
code' license had been available? - I'd speculate that there would
have been a lot!

As far as populatity goes, I'd say that the general public back then
seemed to be far more aware of even the existence of the hobby than it
appears to be today (wonder if there's a survey available anywhere on
this anywhere.....). For example, all of my friends and I knew about
amateur radio back then - both of my teenage sons indicate that the
majority of their contemporaries have no idea at all that the hobby
even exists. Those who are aware are pretty much disinterested in the
activity - they have more fun and interesting things to do!

snip

73 de Jim, N2EY

73,Leo