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Ham Radio Licenses Top 700,000, An All-Time High
Velcroman1 writes "The newest trend in American communication isn't another smartphone from Apple or Google but one of the elder statesmen of communication: Ham radio licenses are at an all time high, with over 700,000 licenses in the United States, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Ham radio first took the nation by storm nearly a hundred years ago. Last month the FCC logged 700,314 licenses, with nearly 40,000 new ones in the last five years. Compare that with 2005, when only 662,600 people hammed it up and you'll see why the American Radio Relay League — the authority on all things ham — is calling it a 'golden age' for ham. 'Over the last five years we've had 20-25,000 new hams,' said Allen Pitts, a spokesman for the group."
While the number of licensees has grown considerably over the years, we realize that these numbers include some who are no longer active in Amateur Radio. A recent survey of ARRL members, however, indicates that more than 80 percent of those responding are active.
It's been possible to get a code-free Technician license for almost two decades.
However, it likely has much more appeal now that you can get on the international HF bands without a code test. (Code-free Tech only had access to VHF/UHF and above)
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
It's neat that amateur radio still has a niche in today's world, even though these figures are less impressive when you consider (1) population growth in the US over the last four decades and (2) getting a radio license now is much easier than it used to be.
These days, no Morse code knowledge is required for Tech level, and many clubs offer a "get your license in one day" class for cramming on the published question pool and then doing a brain dump into the exam before you forget everything.
Really, if you have a free Saturday and you've ever thought for more than 10 seconds about getting your radio license, there's no reason not to do it.
It helps when the sunspot cycle is on the upswing. During the CQWW last month it was almost no effort to work Australia and Japan from Texas.
You have to look beyond the simple "communications" aspect and explore your inner geek. Ham radio is so much more than simple communications. There are facets to fascinate almost anyone with a bend towards things tech. Just the band options alone are huge. Everything from the traditional HF and huge antennas to microwaves and dishes. Learning how things work - learning what to use for what - and maybe even finding a new use for something, that's just a part of it all.
For me, ham radio lead me to many years of working in networking and FOSS (it's how I found and learned Linux). From there, to commercial and public safety communications. Now - it's a big part of what I do 'outside work' to relax. Many things to many people. And enough options to be attractive to most.
Basically, if you ask such a question like that - comparing ham radio to commercial services - those around you that had the opportunity to share the joy of Amateur Radio have not done such a good job.
If all you want to do is exchange data from point A to B - well, yea, you can do that too in ham radio - but you're missing out on most of what's going on.
I would imagine that FPV model plane flying has quite a bit to do with this. Most of the high-powered control systems you need to make FPV a reality require a HAM technician license. With the massive upswing in FPV flying I would expect to see a big boost in HAM license interest.
Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
With the internet, and cell phones, and all; what is the HAM radio attraction?
People ask me this all the time. Ham radio is a big hobby with lots of areas to be explored, it's not simply about communicating. Some people are interested in building their own gear, some in preparing for emergencies, some in public service (communications for marathons, parades, etc). Some people are paper chasers, working to earn awards for contacting stations in as many different countries as possible, others like to operate in ham radio contests (like this one: http://www.cqww.com/). Some hams even bounce signals off the moon, using it as a giant reflector satellite.
When people ask me why I like ham radio when I could just call someone on my cell phone, I like to compare it to fishing or hunting or any number of other hobbies. After all I can just buy fish to eat at the store. Fishing strictly as a means to obtain fish probably doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's not why people do it. Likewise, strictly communicating with other people isn't really why people do ham radio. There's a lot to learn in ham radio, and it can be a really fun, satisfying hobby.
Now I just need to convince the wife to let me spend $2K - $20K on fancy radio gear so I can talk further than the nearby 2M/70cm repeaters...
I hope you're kidding -- there is really no need to spend more than a few hundred bucks. From where I am on the West Coast, just last weekend I hit Japan and Hawaii with a cheap 10 meter dipole ($35 -- it would have been a third the cost if I built it myself) and a $650 used FT-897D.
Keep in mind that technician class is limited to CW transmissions below 30MHz, so morse code is still somewhat required for shortwave.
Well, that's not true. From this chart, technician licensees have phone (SSB) privileges in the 10-meter band at 28.3-28.5 MHz.
As opposed to participating in machine-to-machine communications where the signals are not human-readable. I appreciate the joke. FYI, I have talked to non-terrestrials - one was on MIR and the other two were on the ISS. :-)
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
No doubt that there are some Hams who have gone silent key still on the rolls, but most of their registrations will expire after no more than 10 years. And the dead certainly don't account for many of the new registrations (except perhaps in Chicago).
It doesn't work that way. A license expires after 10 years, but renewal is free and practically effortless, so everyone renews forever. The number of ham licenses will therefore always be "at an all time high" because of the ratchet effect created by free renewals.
My father has been a ham since the 1960s, but hasn't touched a radio in three decades.
FATMOUSE + YOU = FATMOUSE
Next step is I want to get something portable like an FT-857 or 817 and do some mountaintopping. Good times!
Have to recommend the FT-897 wholeheartedly. The FT-897 is electrically identical to the FT-857. The FT-857 is the FT-897 in a smaller package intended for use in a car. As such, the FT-857 has fewer external buttons and knobs than the FT-897 so navigating it while it's on your desk or on top of a boulder could be more challenging than with the FT-897.
While the FT-817 is very popular among the mountain topping community, 5 watts is a frustratingly low level of power unless you're on CW. I'm not sure about the condition of your legs and back, but carrying a larger battery and a marginally heavier transceiver so that you can do 20 watts is probably worth the effort. Further, the FT-897 will do a better job on your desk than either the FT-817 or the FT-857 will do.
I bought a 897 used on craigslist for about $650. Don't even bother with the retail price tag -- Yaesu and ICOM both build their gear to last.