On Apr 23, 10:41?am, "KH6HZ" wrote:
"Michael Coslo" wrote:

In my field, I find many people writing and giving away software. I think
how much altruism exists depends on a person's outlook.

What real altruism exists in software short of Linux-based products?

Granted, there is a large amount of 'shareware' out there, but a sizeable
percentage of it is simply crippleware designed to get you to upgrade to the
'commercial' version.

Go to Linear Technology (the semiconductor company). They
will let anyone download LTSpice, a fully functional, operating
SPICE suite, complete with component library and schematic
drawing function that will automatically create a SPICE netlist.
The manual for it is a separate download, also free to anyone.
Not shareware, not some "crippleware designed to make one
upgrade." A fully working SPICE program, for nothing. Ideal
for amateur radio homebrew projects to check out any
circuit before building it in hardware. LTSpice has been out
for about a year, already has some hobby groups talking
about it, using it, with tips on how to use it for unusual
circuits and applications.

Licensed amateurs as a whole in the US has been declining for 3+ years now.

Not really any big decline. Newcomers (never before licensed)
are filling in the gaps left by expirations. Check it out on
www.hamdata.com, right on the home page.

All of these observations support a generic claim that interest in ham radio
is lessening.

The drop of Ham Radio, 73 magazines happened in between
1990 and about 2003 due to lack of advertising space sales,
particularly among the "Big3" (Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood). Folks
tend to ignore those same Big3 are also engaged in making
radios for businesses and governments. They probably make
more money in that market than in the amateur radio field.

However, in the periodicals that survive there continue to be
new ham radio models being made and advertised, certain
models promoted with extras (such as Icom). Antenna
makers are still "up" and so are the hundreds of smaller
businesses selling peripheral equipment and add-ons. I'd
say that the interest in amateur radio is increasing, not the
opposite.

There might even be a trend towards more newcomers
entering than ever before, some hints of that already shown
in numbers on www.hamdata.com.

73, Len AF6AY