HAM RADIO LICENSE TRENDS in the US since 1997:
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Poast new message in this thread
Date: November 17th, 2019 1:24 AM Author: mischievous learning disabled keepsake machete
kind of interesting how the numbers were in decline before ITE, and then the explosion of preppers boosted them back up, in a trend that continues today:
ANNUAL CHANGE IN TOTAL LICENSE COUNT:
2019: +7,550
2018: +8,603
2017: +4,697
2016: +7,629
2015: +7,066
2014: +9,831
2013: +7,960
2012: +8,197
2011: +5,667
2010: +12,719
2009: +19,311
2008: +8,320
2007: -314
2006: -4,677
2005: -8,801
2004: -13,530
2003: -1,763
2002: +1,687
2001: +748
2000: +5,884
1999: +3,885
1998: -3,976
1997: -1,664
Starting point: (June 1, 1997) 678,473
Endpoint (January 1, 2020): 763,502
HOWEVER, the US population has increased from 267 million in mid-1997 to slightly over 330 million today, meaning that there has been some slippage in per capita terms:
PER CAPITA 1997: 1 license per 394 Americans
PER CAPITA Jan. 2020: 1 license per 432.5 Americans
BUT, the slippage has been reduced relative to what it would have been without the ITE bump. without that bump, the numbers would be close to 1 out 500.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2:#39130171)
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Date: November 17th, 2019 1:25 AM Author: Swashbuckling philosopher-king
recommended ham radio?
is the entry level license good enough or are getting the two upgraded versions optimal?
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2:#39130174) |
Date: November 17th, 2019 1:32 AM Author: Dashing principal's office
How common are ham scofflaws?
I've got some GMRS walkie talkies I've never bothered getting a license for
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2:#39130184) |
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Date: November 17th, 2019 2:14 AM Author: Dashing principal's office
It's a shame they never entirely caught on. It's pretty obvious why they never did though, most of them are pretty expensive.
I got a pair of some really basic ones (the 110s) ages ago for about $150 each. That was a pretty fair price, but they discontinued the cheap models a long time ago. I took a look just now and Garmin has just one current Rino model and they go for $550 each. Crazy.
The quality was kind of shit (the screen on one of mine goes in and out) and they had a terrible UI.
But the functionality was amazing. My dad and I would go out hunting on national forest land. We often wouldn't have these places all that scoped out. A lot of it was kinda spur of the moment and we'd just sort of vaguely wander off in different directions from one another. The Rinos were amazing because they would let us keep a distance from one another in territory we'd never been to before.
You can kinda do the same thing these days with cheap cell phone apps *if* you're in cell phone coverage. That's a pretty big qualifier though; a lot of time you don't have coverage when you're in the woods.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2:#39130246) |
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Date: November 17th, 2019 1:43 AM Author: mischievous learning disabled keepsake machete
the answer is, "probably." this video does a reasonable summary of some basics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtexMEqAuZ0
one thing to note is that the question pools for the tests are public information published online. if you wanted to just memorize the answers and zip ahead into a license, that can be done, though it would leave a lot of gaps in terms of your ability to operate or properly set up actual physical ham equipment.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2:#39130210) |
Date: November 17th, 2019 2:25 AM Author: ivory mewling box office
Things to get into:
-ham
-shrimp keeping
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2:#39130268) |
Date: November 17th, 2019 2:59 AM Author: Black Place Of Business
it's the per capita that matter
i had friends who were into this in high school. back then, it was a quirky geek world very much like the early chat rooms.
how is it now?
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2:#39130315) |
Date: November 19th, 2019 5:09 PM Author: razzmatazz boistinker
What cool shit can I do with my BAOFENG? Aside from initially programming it, it's just set aside for emergencies. Is there any potential usefulness for me to consider? Can I radio ahead to the truckstop to schedule with Peterman, not sure how to add the CB channels.
Also, why do people make a big deal on licensing, it's really hard for me to imagine the FCC is going to "go after" someone with a $40 handheld (and I worked at the FCC).
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2:#39141127) |
Date: October 9th, 2022 8:39 PM Author: mischievous learning disabled keepsake machete
we haven't updated this in a while, so here it is:
ANNUAL CHANGE IN TOTAL LICENSE COUNT:
2020: +8,810
2021: +7,242
2022 (through October 4): -7,833
so, what happened here? it's actually quite straightforward - the flu era led to a surge in preppers and others who wanted to get their radio licences, leading to the booms in 2020 and 2021. this leveled off after 2021, and it also probably 'brought forward' licensees who otherwise would have gotten licensed in 2022 or beyond.
there have been steep reductions in 'grandfathered' license classes ('novice' and 'advanced') for which licenses are no longer issued, meaning that the people who hold them tend to be older. they are dying off. the boom in preppers offset the natural decline for a couple years, but that has reversed in 2022.
Starting point: (June 1, 1997) 678,473
Endpoint (October 4, 2022): 771,721
HOWEVER, the US population has increased from 267 million in mid-1997 to slightly over 333 million today, meaning that there has been some slippage in per capita terms:
PER CAPITA 1997: 1 license per 394 Americans
PER CAPITA Oct. 4, 2022: 1 license per 431.7 Americans
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2:#45306579) |
Date: October 9th, 2022 8:47 PM Author: razzmatazz boistinker
i've logged onto a local repeater and have listened to some local shit, but other than that, not sure the utility of my baofeng aside from it being essential prep gear.
are there an xo type ham channels?
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2:#45306638) |
Date: November 20th, 2023 6:33 PM Author: mischievous learning disabled keepsake machete
2023 update - a big DIP. we are seeing the convergence of several trends: people who got licensed during the late-00's/early-10's surge not renewing their licenses, and gradually dropping off the rolls (the FCC does not delist expired licensees immediately; they are delisted in periodic chunks via database updates), old people dying, younger americans no longer taking up the hobby at the same rates, and (as before), the grandfathered license classes shrinking.
we see the largest decline in the entry-level 'technician' class, meaning that people who took the easiest test are tending to drop out over time. the 'extra' class is retaining a higher percentage of licensees.
let's tally up those numbers:
Starting point: (June 1, 1997) 678,473
Last year: (October 4, 2022) 771,721
Endpoint: (November 20, 2023) 756,466
YoY decline: -15,255
in raw numbers, this is the steepest decline thus far, and the sharpest in per capita terms since 2004.
PER CAPITA 1997: 1 license per 394 Americans
PER CAPITA Nov. 20, 2023: 1 license per 443.8 Americans
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2:#47079870) |
Date: January 7th, 2025 5:58 AM Author: mischievous learning disabled keepsake machete
so, it wasn't the greatest year for ham radio licensure, but i think the losses have been STAUNCHED for now. what we initially saw was a steeper dropoff followed by a bottoming-out, and then a slight increase in the past few months. the increase is much smaller than the decline, but the line is no longer crashing down.
as before, the twin penalties of demographics (ham operators skew older) and narrowing pipelines into the hobby are offset by ham radio as a growing cornerstone of people trying to adopt a prepper/rural lifestyle. whether they are LARPing or not, a license is a license.
Starting point: (June 1, 1997) 678,473
Last year: (November 20, 2023) 756,466
Endpoint: (January 7, 2025) 745,292
YoY decline: -11,174
this pares last year's decline by 4K, but of course, a decline in the rate of decline is some sort of derivative bullshit rather than what we want, which is a gain.
PER CAPITA 1997: 1 license per 394 Americans
PER CAPITA January 7, 2025: 1 license per 457.8 Americans
not great. could be worse. let's see what unfolds.
(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2:#48526389) |
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