General Category > Amateur Radio

Age of ham radio operators

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Elf36:
Been licensed since 16, but I'm still in the below 46 category. There seems to be a fair amount of new hams since Covid set in. I hear a fair amount of new guys on UHF/VHF when I listen. Hopefully, they keep it going. I need people to talk to when I get old!

Elf36:
To comment to NJQA - I didn't have to go to an FCC site, just a local downtown club, but CW was still a requirement. I hated the thought of it at first. It was just something to suffer through in order to get on SSB. Particularly 10M at the time, because I already had the gear. I soon realized two things. One- I worked hard to learn and 2 - I wasn't getting a tower and amp any time soon. (Still waiting on that) CW is still my favorite mode, however, I guess I understand the requirement being dropped. As long as people are having fun with radio, it's their choice to what mode they want to go with.... as long as it's not ALL FT8 for god sake.

RobRich:
CW does not work for me, which is a primary reason I never bothered getting licensed when younger. It is not simply learning the code. It is not patience. Forget it even being another language, as you might as well be shouting absolute gibberish at me. I just do not process it for whatever reason.

Looking forward, I suspect we might see two or even just one FCC amateur license class at some point.

jta:
I'm really not "older than dirt", but I did get a Tech license in 1994, when I was 49. Got the General the day after code testing was eliminated in 2007, and the Extra in 2014. I still do more listening than transmitting.

I learned CW three times as a teenager (first time at age 12) but never took a test; you still had to drive to the Field Office to test and I wasn't driving. Today I can copy a few letters if sent slowly enough but can't seem to really re-learn it.

Finman:

--- Quote from: RobRich on September 15, 2021, 0117 UTC ---Looking forward, I suspect we might see two or even just one FCC amateur license class at some point.

--- End quote ---

Ah yes.. the continued dumbing down of amateur radio. I expect the way things are going, someday we'll just fill out a form to get a license.

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