robert casey wrote:



Actually, in the hobby activities in the USA, amateur radio is NOT
very high on the list. That's reality, despite all the
self-interest of
the very ardent ham fanatics.


It's roughly comparable to other hobby activities like
amateur astronomy, model railroading, model airplanes, and such.
Model railroaders and amateur astronomers, as well as
ham, are concerned about low numbers of younger people
getting into their activities. And these other activities
don't need a license.

I think that the way people get into these hobbies is changing. Whereas
so many Hams I know now have been hams for about a gazillion years, I
may be part of the new paradigm. I got my first license when I was 45
years old. I got into amateur astronomy when I was 40. Amateur radio
takes some more outlay to get into than it used to (yeah, I suppose a
young technician could lay out 75 bucks for a really cheap HT, but
getting on a repeater isn't my idea of a really fun hobby. GEtting on HF
is. And Astronomy has a double whammy in that most young people can't do
much observing in their back yards with the terrible state of light
pollution. Most of the time, I pack up my scope and drive to one of
three spots. The closest is an hour away, and the other two are 2 and
3.5 hours away respectively. Not many young'uns will be able to do that
kind of thing.

So I think Ham radio is simply changing its face more than going away.

- Mike KB3EIA -