John Smith I wrote:
wrote:
...
I make no move to dispute those figures.
I only wonder how accurate those figures are (and due to mistakes in
accounting those figures, and not yours in getting them), or how many
are not still in the living world with us.
The figures are derived directly from the FCC database. They're not
counted by hand,
eliminating that source of error.
The number who have died or who are completely inactive and will not
return to amateur
radio is completely unknown. Those folks will disappear by attrition,
which can take up to
10 years.
My purpose in posting these numbers for the past several years is to
have a record of the changes in US amateur license numbers that always
uses the same method of counting, *and* is not dependent on anything
but preservation of Usenet archives.
Happy New Year!
N2EY