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Is Ham Radio Dying Out ?
Not according to the IARU page at URL:
http://www.iaru.org/statsum00.html Sez In 1960 there were 399,000 Amateur stations world wide In 2000 there were 2,789,720 Amateur stations world wide I suspect the figures have increased since 2000 -- Caveat Lector |
In 1960 there were 399,000 Amateur stations world wide
In 2000 there were 2,789,720 Amateur stations world wide How you interpret these numbers depends on how you define a station, in part. Does it weigh less than 1 lb or not? Station licenses are not the same as stations, anyway - I have a license but no station unless you count the halogen lamps at home. But nobody asked me whether I have a station. And I won't get into quantity vs quality (feel free to do so). Derek aa5bt, g3nmx |
I gave you the URL for the source - The IARU Why not ask them ?? -- Caveat Lector -- (Reader Beware) "Derek Wills" wrote in message ... In 1960 there were 399,000 Amateur stations world wide In 2000 there were 2,789,720 Amateur stations world wide How you interpret these numbers depends on how you define a station, in part. Does it weigh less than 1 lb or not? Station licenses are not the same as stations, anyway - I have a license but no station unless you count the halogen lamps at home. But nobody asked me whether I have a station. And I won't get into quantity vs quality (feel free to do so). Derek aa5bt, g3nmx |
Although these raw figures show growth up until 2000, they produce a false
sense of a ham radio as a "healthy hobby". First - it is not fair to consider 1960 to 2000 - 40 years!! Several generations of technology have come and gone in that span - hardly an accurate interval for measuring whether the hobby is "growing" or not. Let's limit our scope to {roughly} the last decade: 1995 to 2005. These are the years in which competing technologies - cell phones, computers and the Internet - have grown by substantial double-digit margins every year while ham radio remained comparatively stagnant. - when compared to the global population counts, the percentage licensed hams in the world versus population has declined. - looking at the US figures (http://ah0a.org/FCC/Licenses.html) you will see that US license counts peaked in April of 2003, and are now at a level lower than they were in June 1997. - consider the average age of licensed hams ( http://users.crosspaths.net/~wallio/LICENSE.html US figures are available for comparison... we'll have to extrapolate that other nations are experiencing a similar trend) the hobby could be seen as being terminally ill, with very little fresh blood being infused by young hams. I wish the statistics proved otherwise, but I think your celebration of the IARU charts is a bit mis-guided. -- -larry K8UT "Caveat Lector" wrote in message news:BztLd.25649$xt.7545@fed1read07... Not according to the IARU page at URL: http://www.iaru.org/statsum00.html Sez In 1960 there were 399,000 Amateur stations world wide In 2000 there were 2,789,720 Amateur stations world wide I suspect the figures have increased since 2000 -- Caveat Lector |
Good answer.....there seems to be a "purist" (i.e. butthead) in every
thread.... -- Charlie Ham Radio - AD5TH www.ad5th.com Live Blues Music www.492acousticblues.com "Caveat Lector" wrote in message news:OIxLd.26840$xt.22631@fed1read07... I gave you the URL for the source - The IARU Why not ask them ?? -- Caveat Lector -- (Reader Beware) "Derek Wills" wrote in message ... In 1960 there were 399,000 Amateur stations world wide In 2000 there were 2,789,720 Amateur stations world wide How you interpret these numbers depends on how you define a station, in part. Does it weigh less than 1 lb or not? Station licenses are not the same as stations, anyway - I have a license but no station unless you count the halogen lamps at home. But nobody asked me whether I have a station. And I won't get into quantity vs quality (feel free to do so). Derek aa5bt, g3nmx |
http://www.iaru.org/statsum00.html
Sez In 1960 there were 399,000 Amateur stations world wide In 2000 there were 2,789,720 Amateur stations world wide You have to be careful about these figures. For example: in the UK the RSGB is well-known for telling lies about their subscriber numbers. Ask them for detailed info on the subject and they immediately refuse, claiming "commercial confidentiality" :) And that's quite apart from the famous time they sent a "family membership" form to someone's dog ... .... I believe the owner actually filled it in and the mutt has been a "member" ever since ! Young Nick |
Hmmm don't know what all this has to do with the original post, but my
comments inserted "Brian Short" wrote in message ... I don't want to draw any fire, but there is a point to this - Not all that many licensed amateurs in the United States have the legal right to install an antenna on their property. Ah contraire -- There are thousands and thousands of hams that do have the right and have installed outdoor antennas. Just don't buy a home that has the restrictions. Ah but you say -- I want a nice upscale neighborhood where all houses are painted the same color and no one can park their car in the driveway, and you can only have two pets, and flag poles are forbidden, et al. Well ya can't have it all sez I. I live in a neighborhood built in 1969, so there is no deed restriction, but there is a city-wide restriction (Tempe, AZ) of 35 feet height. Move outta town! Get outta Dodge! But if ya gotta stay -- A vertical at 8 feet or 35 feet will do well --- as will a beam at 35 feet for the upper bands. Use a vertical at the lower bands -- most do anyway. Even so, my neighbors send the "neighborhood enhancement" (doesn't that sound ominous and sort of nazi-like?) out regularly for various imagined city code issues of which there has never been a single violation. Just ignore em. Ms Snoop or Ms Clipboard abounds in all endeavors. Basically, there is an ad hoc legal ban on amateur stations at residences built in the last 20 years, at least in suburban settings. Not against the "stations" just outdoor antennas. If it was "stations" then all the cell phone users are in violation. Hey Junior -- knock it off with that RC car model -- the HOA is monitoring (;-) Here in Calif, there are lots of homes (even in the million dollar category) with no restrictions. The reasoning seems to follow that since antennas are outlawed, only outlaws have antennas. :) Ah stealth antennas -- can't keep a Ham off the air huh ? Remember, radios don't transmit, antennas do! Indeed A final comment about HOA's -- Those that relinquish their essential rights for the sake of protection -- shall receive neither. -- Caveat Lector (Reader Beware) |
you have a better source ?? -- Caveat Lector (Reader Beware) "Young Nick" wrote in message ... http://www.iaru.org/statsum00.html Sez In 1960 there were 399,000 Amateur stations world wide In 2000 there were 2,789,720 Amateur stations world wide You have to be careful about these figures. For example: in the UK the RSGB is well-known for telling lies about their subscriber numbers. Ask them for detailed info on the subject and they immediately refuse, claiming "commercial confidentiality" :) And that's quite apart from the famous time they sent a "family membership" form to someone's dog ... ... I believe the owner actually filled it in and the mutt has been a "member" ever since ! Young Nick |
On 01/02/2005 8:41 AM, Brian Short wrote:
In article , (Derek Wills) wrote: In 1960 there were 399,000 Amateur stations world wide In 2000 there were 2,789,720 Amateur stations world wide How you interpret these numbers depends on how you define a station, in part. Does it weigh less than 1 lb or not? Station licenses are not the same as stations, anyway - I have a license but no station unless you count the halogen lamps at home. But nobody asked me whether I have a station. I don't want to draw any fire, but there is a point to this - Not all that many licensed amateurs in the United States have the legal right to install an antenna on their property. I live in a neighborhood built in 1969, so there is no deed restriction, but there is a city-wide restriction (Tempe, AZ) of 35 feet height. Even so, my neighbors send the "neighborhood enhancement" (doesn't that sound ominous and sort of nazi-like?) out regularly for various imagined city code issues of which there has never been a single violation. Basically, there is an ad hoc legal ban on amateur stations at residences built in the last 20 years, at least in suburban settings. The same sort of thing has been going on in Canada, as well. It is my understanding, though, that the federal government here has the sole right to regulate antenna structures within Canada; provinces and municipalities can create their own statutes and bylaws, but these have no real jurisdiction over the use of antenna installations in Canada. They can, however, institute laws and require permits to ensure that their local concerns are addressed. So, there may be permits and regulations and guidelines one must follow to erect such a structure. The notion is that an amateur is entitled to operate within the limits of that license anywhere within Canada, local statutes and bylaws notwithstanding (ah, that most Canadians of words.) Basically, Industry Canada encourages the local governments to "regulate" within their jurisdiction, but retain the last word on what is allowed, and can veto any such permit, bylaw or statute. The feds have actually lined up the process you can use to state your case, regardless of local government laws. The whole thing is rather ill-defined, and there are no deciding court cases to furnish us with a definitive answer. However, the notion is that an amateur is entitled to a "reasonable" use of their license, including being able to erect "reasonable" towers and antennas for that purpose. Often all it takes is notifying your neighbours, tweaking the design a bit to make it less offensive and ensuring it conforms to all the necessary federal and local safety guidelines. This last bit often requires a "permit" from the local government, but my understanding (IANAL, obviously) is that only the feds can tell you that you can't erect some sort of reasonable antenna installation, and they have to have a pretty good reason to do so. Basically, the law is set up to keep people from going crazy and setting up a 200kW antenna farm in their backyards, while being hard for any province or town to keep an amateur from erecting a simple, reasonably high structure that complies with their license and local building codes. -- clvrmnky Heat up and unmunge email to reply. |
Not according to the IARU page at URL:
http://www.iaru.org/statsum00.html Sez In 1960 there were 399,000 Amateur stations world wide In 2000 there were 2,789,720 Amateur stations world wide I suspect the figures have increased since 2000 How many are active? 1/10 of that? Roland, NK2U |
"Roland Stiner" wrote in message
... Not according to the IARU page at URL: http://www.iaru.org/statsum00.html Sez In 1960 there were 399,000 Amateur stations world wide In 2000 there were 2,789,720 Amateur stations world wide I suspect the figures have increased since 2000 How many are active? 1/10 of that? I don't know -- do you ? Does anyone ? Source please for your 1/10 figure Ok have it your way -- only 1/10 are active -- multiply the above figures by 1/10. (;-) CL |
Well despite all of the below
There are a lot more Hams now than 40 years ago And if the decline was 50% in the last 5 years -- guess we would have to worry. It was about a 2% decline in 5 years for the USA. Still about 666,000 of us left though. (was about 678,000 in 2000) Gawd we are doomed (;-) At that 2% decline rate we will be a dead dodo in about 500 years (just kidding - ain't statistics wonderful) The world population has went up by about 400 Million in 5 years -- does that mean Ham radio should have increased accordingly. Well then so should all other human endeavors huh. Comparing cell phone growth to Amateur radio is apples to oranges. Ah the age argument -- here in southern calif we are training lots of new Hams -- how are you doing? The Tech class population has increased last time I looked. But agreed - that is a concern. We do need to infuse the hobby with young hams and there are lots of folks pursuing that despite your assumption. Nah I think we are hanging in there -- the hobby is healthy enough at the present. Otherwise all the Ham stores would close and we would have to make our own radios. (;-) Hey not a bad idea. -- Caveat Lector (Reader Beware) "Larry Gauthier (K8UT)" wrote in message ... Although these raw figures show growth up until 2000, they produce a false sense of a ham radio as a "healthy hobby". First - it is not fair to consider 1960 to 2000 - 40 years!! Several generations of technology have come and gone in that span - hardly an accurate interval for measuring whether the hobby is "growing" or not. Let's limit our scope to {roughly} the last decade: 1995 to 2005. These are the years in which competing technologies - cell phones, computers and the Internet - have grown by substantial double-digit margins every year while ham radio remained comparatively stagnant. - when compared to the global population counts, the percentage licensed hams in the world versus population has declined. - looking at the US figures (http://ah0a.org/FCC/Licenses.html) you will see that US license counts peaked in April of 2003, and are now at a level lower than they were in June 1997. - consider the average age of licensed hams ( http://users.crosspaths.net/~wallio/LICENSE.html US figures are available for comparison... we'll have to extrapolate that other nations are experiencing a similar trend) the hobby could be seen as being terminally ill, with very little fresh blood being infused by young hams. I wish the statistics proved otherwise, but I think your celebration of the IARU charts is a bit mis-guided. -- -larry K8UT "Caveat Lector" wrote in message news:BztLd.25649$xt.7545@fed1read07... Not according to the IARU page at URL: http://www.iaru.org/statsum00.html Sez In 1960 there were 399,000 Amateur stations world wide In 2000 there were 2,789,720 Amateur stations world wide I suspect the figures have increased since 2000 -- Caveat Lector |
On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 20:20:40 -0500, "Larry Gauthier \(K8UT\)"
wrote: - looking at the US figures (http://ah0a.org/FCC/Licenses.html) you will see that US license counts peaked in April of 2003, and are now at a level lower than they were in June 1997. In Canada there is no annual renewal of a license required. Thus no real way to get the deceased hams off the books. So I've often wondered just how many of those there are in the official guvmint database. Tony |
"Larry Gauthier (K8UT)" wrote in message ... Although these raw figures show growth up until 2000, they produce a false sense of a ham radio as a "healthy hobby". .... - consider the average age of licensed hams ( http://users.crosspaths.net/~wallio/LICENSE.html US figures are available for comparison... we'll have to extrapolate that other nations are experiencing a similar trend) the hobby could be seen as being terminally ill, with very little fresh blood being infused by young hams. I'm a relatively new ham (licensed in 2002), and I'm what the average ham would consider "young" at 42. I was mildly surprised when I joined the ham club where I work - MITRE, in Bedford MA. We host a Winlink node (club sign is W1ON), we host a field day every spring. All the officers of the club, except one, are younger than I am - late twenties/early thirties. And we have at least a couple of women. Granted, MITRE is a technical company (R&D for the US Govt), so we have a ready pool of technical men and women. But at least we're contrary to the stereotype. My point is - all is not lost. There is a younger generation in the wings. Instead of complaining, get out and promote amateur radio. Yeah, cell phones are cool, but they require a multi-billion dollar infrastructure to make them work. Ditto for the Internet. Show a kid how a cell-phone sized radio can talk directly to someone halfway around the world - without having a "4 bars" connection to the neighborhood cell tower, and you open up their mind just a bit more than the normal classroom fare. I wish the statistics proved otherwise, but I think your celebration of the IARU charts is a bit mis-guided. -- -larry K8UT BTW, Larry - my dad's name is Lawrence also. Nice to know there's more than one Lau(w)rence Gauthier in the world. And one that spells Gauthier correctly, too! Jon Gauthier KB1HTW |
right on guys !
btw, many of those inactive hams are now returning to the hobby due to retirement, kids at school or more spare time and the interest is there. I'm 46, tech ten years and general by june ! 73 qro "Jon Gauthier (KB1HTW)" wrote: "Larry Gauthier (K8UT)" wrote in message ... Although these raw figures show growth up until 2000, they produce a false sense of a ham radio as a "healthy hobby". ... - consider the average age of licensed hams ( http://users.crosspaths.net/~wallio/LICENSE.html US figures are available for comparison... we'll have to extrapolate that other nations are experiencing a similar trend) the hobby could be seen as being terminally ill, with very little fresh blood being infused by young hams. I'm a relatively new ham (licensed in 2002), and I'm what the average ham would consider "young" at 42. I was mildly surprised when I joined the ham club where I work - MITRE, in Bedford MA. We host a Winlink node (club sign is W1ON), we host a field day every spring. All the officers of the club, except one, are younger than I am - late twenties/early thirties. And we have at least a couple of women. Granted, MITRE is a technical company (R&D for the US Govt), so we have a ready pool of technical men and women. But at least we're contrary to the stereotype. My point is - all is not lost. There is a younger generation in the wings. Instead of complaining, get out and promote amateur radio. Yeah, cell phones are cool, but they require a multi-billion dollar infrastructure to make them work. Ditto for the Internet. Show a kid how a cell-phone sized radio can talk directly to someone halfway around the world - without having a "4 bars" connection to the neighborhood cell tower, and you open up their mind just a bit more than the normal classroom fare. I wish the statistics proved otherwise, but I think your celebration of the IARU charts is a bit mis-guided. -- -larry K8UT BTW, Larry - my dad's name is Lawrence also. Nice to know there's more than one Lau(w)rence Gauthier in the world. And one that spells Gauthier correctly, too! Jon Gauthier KB1HTW |
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