Good News for Amateur Radio Operators

I thought I would be a lifetime Novice before I got the chance to upgrade. It took time and effort and a real accomplishment and you were already experienced in daily operations by the time you upgraded. Everything still operates from the CW original operations and terms. I intend to hold onto my Advanced also because it wasn't just an easy snap of becoming an instant Ham for us. You are correct. It is the one class that really means the most...KD0QG..

 

Not the last word but perhaps a much better indicator of activity.

 

Our local radio club has about 120 members. My guess is about half are active. We're lucky if we get 25% to Field Day. Back in the late 60's our entire club would show up at Field Day. Year after year.

 

Please correct the spelling in the Headline? It's Amateur not Amature. Thanks

 

Do you think you have a chance?
There are currently about 40,000 of us. True
14 years ago, there were 80,000 of us. True
We diminished by about 2300 not [3000] during 2018

The restructuring that eliminated the issuance of any new Advanced licenses was done April 15, 2000
There were a few more than 100,000 Advanced Class Amateurs at that time.

It took almost exactly 15 years for that number to drop to 50,000 Advanced Class Amateurs.

How many more years will it have then taken to drop to 25,000 ?
That could be a reasonable long term trend analysis.

 

So over 18 years ago you met a standard that is not required of a higher license today. Today a new ham that takes a test and gets their Extra has more frequencies than you gained when you passed a test 18 years ago and you are fine with that? If you are happy I am happy but I can't wrap my brain around that line of thinking.

73, Larry WB8LBZ
El Paso, TX

 

I've been Advanced since 1991 and am hoping to be the last one standing. While I have nothing against the "no-coders", I am proud that I came up through the ranks the "old" way - starting as a Novice. It wasn't easy but, that made the victories that much more sweet.

 

Interesting observation. I was an Advanced Class operator for approximately 35 years. I eventually upgraded to Extra Class. I wonder how that would figure into these growth calculations.

73,
Mark WA4KFZ

 

Advanced class. No guilt.

 

Count me in Bonnie

Bill KA6SPQ

 

Sorry to disappoint, but you'll always be an Extra in my book Bonnie!

 

When I upgraded from Novice in 1971, I was one of several at the FCC office taking 13 wpm for General/Advanced Class. One fellow was there for the Extra Class exam so, since the fellow had more written exam waiting, the examiner [literally] cranked the Morse machine up to 20 wpm. I flipped my paper over, and easily copied letter-for-letter. I passed my exam and later stepped up to Advanced. Then, life got in the way.

The irony is, a no-code Extra Class ham is authorized to operate in the bottom 25 kHz of 80/40/20/15m but, those of us w/ lesser class licenses (who are VERY Morse-proficient) aren't allowed.

 

This is close to what the only useful truth actually is, from my perspective. Regardless of code proficiency, if you don't want to hunt the sought after DX beginning ops at the bottom of each band, then why upgrade to extra today. It's the ONLY reason I did, having the class without operating I think has become so much hubris among peers. Many frequently mention the demise of the code as part of the exam, but few today mention how the increased difficulty of the code exam as license class increased implied and made necessary quite a bit of operation. Who went from 5wpm to 20wpm using only a practice oscillator, a rhetorical question. Not many hams in my loop experiment, build, operate like they love it. I am a no-code extra who now operates and logs code, having wanted to since my early teens. I wish more felt likewise about operating today. I really have 'gone home' 73

 

How many 13wpm generals think that they should automatically be upgraded to advanced class privledges?
Aye!

 

I also was an Advanced since the early 90's and finally got around to upgrading about 5 or 6 years ago. It would be interesting to know what percentage of the former Advanced upgraded as opposed to being cancelled due to death.