"AF6AY" wrote in message
ups.com...
wrote on Mon, 7 May 2007 08:12:02 EDT:

On May 6, 11:44?pm, RDWeaver wrote:

For example, back in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, we experienced a
steady stream of new hams who wanted to use the various repeater/
autopatch systems in this area for personal noncommercial
communications, particularly while mobile. Whole families would show
up at classes and VE sessions, and the repeaters were busy with their
activities. The term 'honeydo hams' entered the jargon.

I didn't know the term "honey-do ham" existed until seeing in
these newsgroups. :-) In knowing many licensed radio
amateurs in the southwestern USA, their spouses and/or
offspring got licenses for the purpose of amateur radio
participation, not for picking up dry cleaning or coordinating
soccer practice carpools. While it has been common for
some spouses to call the other spouse to pick up something
on the way home, that has been routinely done by the POTS
here from 1960 to the present time. shrug


When I licensed back in 1992, the majority of the people in the class and at
the various test sessions as I went up the ladder were these "honey-do" hams
and the family group communications types. This type of use was heavily
promoted to non-hams by hams of the day. I heard a lot of chit chat on the
repeaters, including discussions on errands etc, between family members as
they traveled around town. While there is no issue with this, the downside
was that many became inactive as they got cell phones. Only a few seemed to
carry forward into other areas of ham radio activity.

Dee, N8UZE