…the more they stay the same. Read this article, “Friends in Radioland,” from a 1961 issue of Time magazine. Here’s an excerpt:
Amateur radio operators are called hams, and it is easy to see why: talk, talk, talk—that’s all they seem to do. There are 250,000 of them in the U.S., and another estimated 100,000 elsewhere in the world, all of them chiefly bent on short-wave conversation about capacitors, resistors, transmitters, antennas, and occasionally, the weather and what is playing at the local movie house.
We still do talk a lot about our gear, but one thing certainly has changed: there are now more than 650,000 licensed radio amateurs in the U.S. and more than 2 million worldwide.
Thanks to Bill, WA6ITF, for posting this link to the ARRL PR mailing list.
Hi Dan,
I wonder how many of the 650,000 are active? 10-30%? How many are sk 20%?. How many got a license 8-9 years ago and don’t plan on renewing when the tickete expires? 8-9 years ago the internet was not as ubiquitous as it is in 2008. There were alot less entertainment options than there is now.
I hope the hobby stays viable for many years to come.
73
Jim K8ELR