On Feb 25, 9:02?am, "KH6HZ" wrote:
wrote:
I don't remember writing anything like that. But I
could be mistaken about it.

I tried to find the attribution on Google, but there is so much noise in
this group it made wading thru hundreds of messages impossible. Perhaps it
was Dee or another regular poster who alluded to the fact. I wasn't
attempting to put words in your mouth -- I remember someone making the
comment, but cannot find the post.

OK, no problem.

If it were *really* a barrier,
we will see big jumps in both the number of new
hams and the number of upgraders. The ARS
License Numbers thread will tell the tale.

Right.

And we just may see that.

And my own anecdotal observations show
me that the code test was
never a real barrier to entry.
It isn't the code test that has turned people
away, it is simply that "radio" isn't "sexy".

Not for most people. To most, it's a means
to an end, not an end in itself. Hams are
the exception.

This is why I predicted that the result
from these changes will be 0 to -1%
growth. What the changes may do is
tap a few new people into the ARS and
slow the rate of decline for a year -- but
I really suspect what we'll see
over the next 6 months is a huge number of
upgrades, and very little in the
way of "growth" in new hams (over the rate they're already added to the
ARS).

Perhaps. Time will tell.

IMHO, the real "barrier to growth" wasn't the
license
test requirements at all. Rather, it is simple
lack of
publicity about amateur radio.

That could be be.

I think it's *the* major factor. I have met far too
many people who, before they met me, had all
sorts of inaccurate ideas about amateur radio.
Fortunately, I've been able to correct a lot of
misconceptions, and the result has been *a few*
new hams.

But the usual reaction I encounter isn't that people
don't want to learn Morse Code, or think the theory
is too hard. Rather, most people just aren't interested
in "radio for its own sake".

Remember the explosion of CB radio
after "Smokey and the
Bandit" and similar movies in the 70's?

Sure. cb was all over the popular media, in
movies, on TV and in music. Heck, it got to
the point where "First Mama" Betty Ford had
one in a White House limo.

How many active cbers are there now?

What percentage of those who were cbers
in the '70s are still active cbers now?

What percentage of those who were hams
in the '70s are still active hams now?

Consider this: When's the last time you saw
Amateur Radio portrayed in the movies or on
TV in a positive and accurate manner, and in
such a way that a nonham could understand that
amateur radio exists today and they could be a
ham if interested?

Even if they did put it in a movie, what
would it show? Someone talking to
another dude 1/2way across the world?

It could be done in a way that would emphasize
the things which make Amateur Radio unique.

For example, did you see the movie "Contact"?
Opening sequence is a pretty good demo of
amateur radio, except for two omissions:

1) The fact that amateur/ham radio is being portrayed is never
mentioned.

2) The fact that amateur/ham radio exists today,
not just in the past, is never mentioned.

Most people would say "what's the big
deal, I can do that too" as they pull their credit-
card-sized cell phone out
of their shirt pocket.

Of course - because they aren't interested in
"radio for its own sake".

Heck, way back 40 years ago, when I was first
licensed, what was the big deal to work a ham
across the continent? Long distance telephones
weren't new in 1967.

The best explanation I can give is an analogy to
transportation. If you just want to get from A to B,
the main concern is which way is easiest/fastest/less expensive,
depending on the particular situation.

But if the journey itself is important, everything
changes. Driving a minivan is definitely not the
same *experience* as riding a Harley, even if
both take the same route and go the same speed.
There are far more people in minivans than on
Harleys, too - but that's completely irrelevant to
the journey and the experience.

73 de Jim, N2EY