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)

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)

"which radio" is an absolutely enormous question and really depends on what you want to do with it, what you want it to be ABLE to do, and how much money you have. a cheap line-of-sight chinese handheld radio is $25-$30 and will work fine for what it does. a good modern HF-capable radio like the ICOM 7300 will be closer to $1,000 new. but you will also need to set up an antenna for it, in order to hear or send much of anything.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2",#39130181)

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)

I've got some Garmin Rinos and I think they're cool as shit. I've got a pair of them and I've used them for hunting. It's just so damn amazing to go hunting with someone else and know precisely where they are

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2",#39130225)

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)

They literally couldn't keep track of where their fellow units were, so they spent their own money on tech that would enable them to do so.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2",#39130266)

Those little Chinese radios are amazing for all sorts of shady shit too.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2",#39130995)

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)

-ham

-shrimp keeping

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2",#39130268)

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)

It's convenient that you can tx on MURS, GMRS, marine, and commercial frequencies though out of the box whereas most name brand amateur radios lock out those frequencies.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2",#39131178)

What was it like before vs now

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2",#39131628)

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)

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)

Congrats on the Japan DX tho

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2",#45313403)

are there an xo type ham channels?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2",#45306638)

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)

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)

Starting point (June 1, 1997): 678,473

Last year (January 7, 2025): 745,292

Endpoint (December 21, 2025): 738,802

YoY decline: -6,490

PER CAPITA 1997: 1 license per 394 Americans

PER CAPITA December 21, 2025: 1 license per 464.3 Americans

cold be better. despite the decline, the legal arm of the ham lobby remains tight and has fended off attempts to 'borrow' its spectrum for other uses.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4383596&forum_id=2",#49553601)