In article , "Kim W5TIT"
writes:

"N2EY" wrote in message
...
In article , "Kim "
writes:

FM!!!!!????

(snipped for brevity)

That's one reason, Kim, stated in a way that makes a lot of sense.

Here's another:

Even before 1991, a considerable number of hams in this area (metro
Philly)
were friends and family members of hams who wanted a way to keep in touch
while
mobile. The most common setup was the 2-careers/kids/cars household,
where the radio was used for all sorts of "honeydew" purposes.

You and Jim (Hampton) mentioned this and I had completely forgot about that
aspect! And, it was also one of the reasons I so easily got my husband
interested--as soon as I began mentioning how neat it would be to stay in
touch better than with a mobile phone--which back then was cost prohibitive.

'zactly. And it's not a new idea, either - back when long distance phone calls
were prohibitively expensive for most people, there were *some* hams whose main
interest was keeping in touch with family members who were all over the country
- or world.

This sort of thing was particularly popular on some machines around here
because the culture in this area encourages open machines, deference to
mobiles
and HTs, and wide coverage. Plus there are so many open machines around
here that you can usally find one that's not in use.

What really drove that boom was not the dropping of the code test but the
availability of inexpensive, small, easy-to-use HTs and mobile rigs. And
the proliferation of repeaters,

I concede, now looking at it that way.

Nothing to concede, Kim. Your "FM" story is one source of new hams. My
"honeydew" story is another. I don't think any trends in amateur radio have a
single source/reason.

These folks were hams, all right, but their interest in ham radio was not
about
radio as an end in itself, but radio as a means to an end. IOW, just a
tool to do a job, not the main attraction.

Trouble is, cell phones now fill those roles.

73 de Jim, N2EY

Absolutely. Probably one of the biggest reasons we (my dear and I) haven't
been all that driven/motivated to get the equipment back into the vehicles.

Exactly. On the one hand, almost everyone sees a cell phone as a "necessity"
these days, and the calling plans and good (not great, but good) coverage make
them the comm tool of choice 99% of the time. Plus, "installation" consists of
putting the charge cord in the cigarette lighter socket.

Putting your ham gear in the truck is a whole different story unless you want
to do the lighter socket/magmount thing.

73 de Jim, N2EY