Are You Keeping Track - US Amateur Radio Numbers Reach an All-Time High

[Pete, WA2CWA]

From the ARRL web page dated 3/4/15:
"Amateur Radio growth in the US continues to soar. At the end of 2014, the total number of radio amateurs in the FCC’s Universal Licensing System (ULS) database reached an all-time high of 726,275. The trend has continued in the first 2 months of 2015,..."
rest of story: http://www.arrl.org/news/us-amateur-radio-numbers-reach-an-all-time-high

The actual statistics: http://www.ah0a.org/FCC/Licenses.html

The counting process:

[KA0HCP]

How the counting is done....

"One little, two little, three little Emcomm'ers, Four little, five little, six little Prepper's; Seven little, eight little, nine little Email Boaters; Ten Little Technicians with Baofengs!"

(To the tune of Ten Little Indians)

[Pete, WA2CWA]

We all started somewhere.

[Steve - K4HX]

The population of the USA is at an all time high. I'm not sure the ARRL should be celebrating anything.

[w1vtp]

Yeah, Pete

I think it's encouraging for amateur radio.  Technology is a lot more diverse than when I started out 62 years ago.

One look at this forum and I'm impressed with the wide spectrum of AM and then there are all the other interests we have in this hobby.

Al

[W3RSW]

Thanks for the info Pete and Al, your right about the myriads of ways the hobby/service has expanded. Visual now and better than ever. We can see the heterodynies now, whistling away on pan and waterfall.  All the cruddy signals displayed in clicking and splattering glory for the world to see and hear.  Smellio is the next step. 

And who knew?  Perhaps some "licenses" we're accquired simply for the purpose of adding virii and QRM to the airwaves. Exponential increase there in general lawlessness.  --Gotta add that little Indian.

Up to us to lead with exemplary operating, um Hmm.
Hey I got a nice lapel pin from ARRL for 40 years. 
I don't have the documentation handy, but I'm pretty sure that if it weren't for a representating organization we would have lost amateur radio long ago, the two major world wars being the watershed points.

[w1vtp]

It's a love / hate thing but I think we're joined at the hip (ham & ARRL)

Al

[n1exi]

got started in 1967 - cw rig and a "twoer" which i built - am fun on two meters and cw on 40 - novice days woke me up early in the morning and kept up late at night - much  to the chagrin of my parents! - nice to hear ranks are growing - spectrum space is wanted and can not be lost for us
greg - n1exi

[Pete, WA2CWA]

I think the bug hit me back when I was a very young boy scout and read several articles in the Boy's Life magazine about amateur radio and short wave listening. I remember building a crystal radio with toilet paper coil, and one of dad's razor blades. Can't remember what I used for a crystal. I remember reading that directional beam antennas improved reception so I made a miniature version out of erector set parts. Even took it outside for better reception; of course, didn't work for beans; but I continued to persevere in my radio knowledge; and here I am today, decades later still diddling with radios, antennas, and all that cool stuff.

[W7NGA]

so many nets, so many useless check-ins

I vote for quality over quantity ...

dan W7NGA
San Juan Island, Wa.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

so many nets, so many useless check-ins

I vote for quality over quantity ...

dan W7NGA
San Juan Island, Wa.

That's why we have tuning ability on our radios. It allows you to make choices.

But, don't fret, ARRL DX phone contest is this weekend. Wall-to-wall stations all saying roughly the same thing for 48 hours.

[n1ps]

Lets take a crack at some average ages.

1965:
Average age: 29
2.4 kids
1.3 dogs
1 wife


2015:
Average age 54
1.2 grand kids
no dog
1.5 wives (over the years)


2065
Average age: deceased 

Took some license with the figures, but you get the idea.

Pete

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Some additional information in graphical form:




See how your state is doing in terms of amateur growth:

http://www.ah0a.org/FCC/ARRL/2014/C.html

[W6TOM]

 I wonder what the age break down is and especially that of new licensees. From what I see at the swap meets here in CA this is becoming an older man's hobby. I don't see very many young people at the swaps, mostly guys in my age group or older.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

I wonder what the age break down is and especially that of new licensees. From what I see at the swap meets here in CA this is becoming an older man's hobby. I don't see very many young people at the swaps, mostly guys in my age group or older.

I don't think anyone is keeping statistics on amateur radio age breakdowns. These days, age, gender, and other things that back in the "good old days" we took as common "normal" things to input on a form, are today optional in many cases.

[N1BCG]

I remember building a crystal radio with toilet paper coil, and one of dad's razor blades. Can't remember what I used for a crystal.

Ah, I made one of those too. The "Fox Hole Radio" named for the makeshift radios fabricated by troops in WWI. The razor blade was part of the detector and had a bent out safety pin that held a piece of pencil lead against it. The lead point was moved about on the razor until signals were heard, indicating that a rectifying joint had been achieved.

Reminiscing aside, I'm curious if there are any stats showing percentage of active hams. I would never have guessed that the hobby was growing at that rate.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Reminiscing aside, I'm curious if there are any stats showing percentage of active hams. I would never have guessed that the hobby was growing at that rate.

The problem is, how to define "active hams" and how would you even measure activity of those "active hams"?

[W3RSW]

Those talking, not necessarily walking but somewhat upright.

Seriously, ham radio these days is similar to a lot of fraternities, organizations and interests. One doesn't join or take an interest until reaching a more inquisitive milestone.

For example, few people take an interest in geneolgy until they approach the age of reason, then start visiting towns and graveyards of family, subscribe to Ancestry,com and so forth.
I remember my parents talking about visiting, Harrisville and Brownsville, Pa. To visit family plots, take stone engraving copies with pencil rubbings, all that stuff.   Totally off my radar...ewe. Then not to many years later, guess who's out there exploring the country, visiting a former relative buried in Friends graveyard near the Philidelphia waterfront, digging up old property maps showing holdings and wondering what they're worth today?
Fascinating. 

Other organizations are aging be it Rotary, SAR or DAR.  Well DAR was always thought of as littl ol' blue haired ladies.  Just don't try to tell them that. A certain age and wisdom must be obtained to even appreciate what the original DAR generation signified. 

So many newer avenues to communicate and connect, Facebook, LinkedIn, et. al., But they come and go.

Many new hams you'll notice are truckers and others of the open road who want to stay that way and have found a more viable and expanded way to communicate. Their excitement is infectious and easily seen by their companions as the way to go. There may be not so hidden political ramifications to wanting wireless freedom.  So if the kids are absorbed in E-glass world and mindless Twitter chatter, perhaps the more task oriented want a way to communicate while being productive.  Perhaps some have discovered the true service aspects of our hobby. ..or at least they feel they're contributing or have the potential to do so in a catastrophic disaster.

There's no doubt that our service /hobby has aging operators.  Surprised anyone makes that "discovery" daily and expounds the fact so breathlessly. Yet the facts of increasing license numbers tell a story. We should so breathlessly research why.

[k3msb]

I would never have guessed that the hobby was growing at that rate.

It's only a 6.4% increase from the 2000 ham population level.   The large upswing after 2007 on Pete's chart is due to how he has the vertical axis plotted.

[W3RSW]

To save paper and keep this page from running off the bottom to infinity he didn't start at zero.  

Many understand relative or differential charting. Trends are magnified as the authors intend.

Can't help myself and have to add this:
Why not start the abscissa at year zero ( whoops!) or AD 1 or Julian 1 too? Now that would be an interesting presentation.

[w1vtp]

My opinion: active ham = one who is contributing to the hobby.  Doesn't necessarily mean time spent on the air but one who may be an experimenter who may pass the results of his experiments to others, one who is helping others get their tickets, one who is helping an organization that promotes ham radio including participants in nets, VE etc they all help with the hobby.  There are lots of activities that can promote the hobby.  Certainly someone who is causing problems and hindering the good of the hobby is not "active" but is detrimental to the hobby

It's a stretch, I know, but that's what I think

al

[w1vtp]

Here's the cert

[W1RC]

The numbers are important for is to justify the amount of spectrum that is allocated to us.

[K1ETP]

Just where are these 726,275 hams? have you listened to the 2 meter and 440 repeaters lately? Dead. What about the HF bands, especially during the day. Isn't the average ham near or at retirement age? Why not more daytime activity? On many evenings you can tune 20, 30, 40 Khz on 80 and hear nothing but international data signals. Thirty years ago you couldn't find a place to park. Seems like the only thing that brings them out are the weekend corn-tests.

[W1AEX]

I believe you are correct Rich!

"Quack quack quack quack quack quack!"

A sea of dubious sounding signals and lots of hot tempers! Great fun!