In article , "Dee D. Flint"
writes:

I agree except for one point: The decision was made by different people
for a
number of factors, such as the *perceived* difficulty and the *perceived*
rewards.

Actually that was what I was trying to point out and you've clarified it
quite nicely.

Glad to help.

Having earned my initial license in 1992 (Tech with HF), I'm quite
familiar
with what was going on. The majority of people sitting for their first
license took the Tech no-code route to put off learning the code not
because
of its two meter and VHF access. Prior to on-air experience, they simply
were not personally familiar enough with various ham activities to select
their entry route on the basis of the desireability of having 2m access.

Here in EPA, after about 1980 the predominant entry license was the Tech.
This
was true even before it lost its code test. The reason was 2 meter/440
access,
which Novices didn't have. A prospective ham would see almost every ham
with a
2 meter HT or mobile, ask "what license do I need to talk to you guys" and
wind up with a Tech. Code or no code.

I can see where that could easily be a dominant factor if the prospective
ham had some exposure to that.

At least here in EPA/SNJ/DEL/MDC, a lot of new hams started out with scanners.
They were a natural adjunct to a cb set in the late '70s and early '80s. And of
course they'd come upon ham repeaters and mobiles - all running 2 meters or
440. Indeed, many clubs in this area were organized around their repeater.

73 de Jim, N2EY