The number of active amateur radio licenses in the US has fallen to 754,552, according to the FCC. This means that only 1 out of every 437 Americans is a licensed ham, an all-time low during the FCC licensing era.
It's easy to blame changing technology for this, but I don't think that's the entire story. This also has to do with the decline of practical/applied science education in schools. A lot of people used to get licensed as part of highschool courses in electronics or broadcasting. There is a demographic element, but again, that's not ENTIRELY the story, since countries like Mexico have their own ham radio scenes.
The decline of ham radio leaves people less self-reliant (analog tube-based radios in particular can survive EM attacks), less able to communicate on their own (instead having to rely on corporate-owned networks), etc. Was this intentional, Jow Forums? In some ways, a small town in 1940's America had a more robust communications infrastructure than it would today. It would have been full of military-trained radio and telegraph operators with their own analog equipment and antennæ. Other than massive ongoing EM jamming, there is no central shutoff switch for that kind of network.
i remember there being many more hobbyists in general when i was younger. not just ham radio but lots of stuff.
Elijah Mitchell
Hams are all cucks for "rules."
Jeremiah Gray
how's it going, reviewbrah?
Kevin Davis
look at them tuubbess. fuck i love vacuum tubes. tube stereos are way more badass than tube radios however
Eli Young
Me too. More interest in learning- everyone could do mild technical tasks, read a manual and learn something. Now? Everyone just watches YouJew, claiming to be learning but the fools they listen to haven’t read the manual either.
Lucas Diaz
all hobbies seemed to have peaked in the 90s but then along came the internet...
>along came the internet... I ordered my Baofeng over the internet. You can't order anything over the radio.
Jayden Harris
because you dont even need the license. why would you waste the time to learn morris code so you can get an extra license and talk to old folks in senior homes. Seriously just make up a new callsign every time you DX
Ryan Gomez
What if you don't get a license?
Levi Brooks
Nerds will locate you and knock on your door at 11pm.
Jaxson Lopez
my grandpaw still builds his own radios, pretty cool shit
Gavin Clark
In most 'shit hits the fan' scenarios(war, civil unrest, invasion or complete loss of infrastructure) publicly broadcasting your location is probably the last thing you wanna do.
Buy more guns.
Easton James
Nothing happens for a long time, then you get a letter in the mail from the FCC telling you that you need to get ready for a big fine and/or a federal trial.
Thomas Gonzalez
Yes, the entire switch to digital was absolutely on purpose, for exactly the reason that you stated. Digital will not survive EM pulse, it also can be shut down
Luis Perez
... ---...
Andrew Kelly
>stupid kids and their new technology >back in my day all we need was a stick and a hoop!
Leo Torres
>What if you don't get a license? they triangulate your position and the Feds show up
Jason Turner
....and buttfuck you and your dog.
Luis Powell
Because ham radio is the ultimate blue board. You're not even allowed to say "damn".
Angel Robinson
That's because only square freaks, geeks and closet faggots are there and there is absolutely no communication whatsoever. You can ask a station where he is and how the weather is and how strong your signal is, that's it. There is nothing more ridiculous than ham radio. But I think it will have a comeback one day. I hope so. CB radio in the early nineties was just awesome.
The vulnerability of semiconductors to EMP is vastly over-inflated. It's the pulse on the electrical grid that is the problem, in which case the HAM radio is exactly as vulnerable as a computer. The only solution is to completely isolate it from the grid. Two cutout switches, blade or removeable fuse block, and then grounding the connecting span is the only way to protect your house. The EMP pulse WILL burn down houses. A massive current spike will be present even on residential 7200 volts lines that will jump right over even a removed meter base. So unplugging yoru computer will not do it as your entire electrical system will spark inside your walls. A large fraction of homes will catch fire and by the time you realize your studs/joises/stringers are burning, it's too late. The more you know.
>CB radio in the early nineties was just awesome. You should have experienced US CB radio in the late 1970s. It was our Cell Phone. We even had a base station at home and everyone had one in their car. Breaker One Nine, this here's the Rubbery Ducky, what's your 10-20 come back?
Nathan Wood
people worked less hours and had more disposable income.
the internet should have exploded hobbies, you can google how to do anything. I had to teach myself guitar, but there are now countless tutorials at your fingertips for free.
Chase Turner
What's wrong, Sausage Sucker, somehow the Germans have figured out how to change the laws of physics? I don't think so, nearly everything you make is over-complicated crap.
Jordan Nguyen
>CB radio It would be interesting to do regional /pol CB radio meet ups. Can you see the news headlines about NAZIs taking over the airwaves?
Landon Cruz
>people worked less hours and had more disposable income. People worked less and also had less disposable income, and there was just less shit in general.
Isaiah Butler
When's apple making the new iHam?
Brayden Cook
>headlines about NAZIs taking over the airwaves? There are plenty of Nazis all over the CB even today.
Jason Williams
What happened to your dog?
Henry Perry
>10-20 My QTH is somewhere in Germany. We used the Q codes. 55+73 de user
Just get a ham without getting licensed. Licensing a ham is for absolute pussies.
Anthony Morris
my grandpa uses HAM radio. it’s boring
Luke Myers
>Nerds will locate you and knock on your door at 11pm. And i'll punch a nerd in the face.
John Reyes
>then you get a letter in the mail from the FCC Bullshit
Isaiah Ramirez
>they triangulate your position and the Feds show up bullshit
Caleb Howard
Ham is GROWING. Go ask Jow Forumsnerds about software defined radio. FCC rules are archaic, but the hobby is becoming more and more popular among the hobbyist crowd.
In reality you just get a mean letter from the FCC that is basically a cease and desist.
Joseph Reyes
I really want a ham set up but no idea who to talk to
Ryan King
>Just get a ham without getting licensed >Just get a ham >get a ham >ham
Bentley Brooks
It was glorious times. We had 40 channels FM and 12 AM and they were all full. All ages and every issue you could find, 24 hours a day. People were casual, funny and honest these times. It started to change with the introduction of packet radio.
Parker Hall
The airwaves are filled with stodgy old fucks who care more about enforcing rules and appealing to authority than they do about technology or having fan.
Isaiah Thompson
not for long, son
Chase James
in my Country, the hams are worse than mormons in their aggressive proselytizing and that ruined it for me. i hate being asked to join the Cult whenever i reveal that i know what a Phase angle is.
Landon Johnson
Interesting. We only have over-current and we have few electrical fires. Does that device shunt it to a solid ground?
Christian Robinson
You don’t need to learn “morris code” genius
Jaxon Parker
drugs are for useless pieces of shit man I hope you're just trolling.
in any case, mdma can be made from pretty much anything that resembles benzodioxole, even eugenol, which isnt even bicyclic. if you think theres anything hard or to be respected about making a chemical like that, then you are retarded and morally degenerate.
usually I mess around with metals and inorganic salts its pretty, fun, electrochemistry is probably one of the most interesting things I've ever studied.
Parker Torres
i loved the warm glow that came out of my b&w tv set (NOT A BOOMER)
Adam Jones
An army of boomers with nothing better to do triangulates your position and descends upon your house and reports you to the FCC.
Back in the '70s the cops would actually drive around with triangulators and find people with over-wattage transmitters. We were only allowed 5w. I've heard of q-codes user but you lost me on the 55+73
There are tons of cheap Chinese radios (even though the FCC is mad at them for reasons) and tons of test prep materials online. Just buy a cheap Chinese radio and do an internet search for test dates/locations then take the exam from your local old guy. I reccommend doing this even if you plan to pirate because you learn a lot about what exactly it is you are doing using the radio and not just going in like a clueless retard.
Austin Hill
i stopped reading books the day after epiphany 1996. that was when i discovered that i had Internet on my first day at the zaibatsu.
Ryder Garcia
nobody want's kids to buy walkies from ebay just to jam airpots for fun , or worst... I use to trigger the alarms of my local supermarket when I was a child with a combine harvester intercom just with it's power, 200 people running outside of a mall is fucked up , so think about rescue boats or CT scanners and everything Regulations a not here for nothing my nigger
Is there a band where we can do as we do here without regulations? Citizens band maybe?
Ryan King
>software defined radio
gay
Matthew Cox
This 100% Most hams fcc bootlickers and make the hobby unenjoyable
James Torres
Did you just watch pump up the volume? We don’t need any of you faggot and tranny “makers” in radio I hope so I mostly just use APRS cause most hams I’ve talked to are unbearable
Carter Miller
How can we 4chanize the airwaves?
Jace Butler
Bump
Oliver Perry
there's a lot of shitposting goes on on 10 meters, 20 meters too. 10 meters is great when the band is open it's worldwide. this solar minimum isn't helping propagation though
Carson Rodriguez
This. The government has an ultra-autistic test you have to get thru and then it's zero shitposting. Why bother.
Nicholas Mitchell
Just dont jam on Coastie/Rescue bands then my dude. My police radio net is encrypted too so there's nothing to hear anyhow.
Camden Bennett
Try 3840
John Cox
Literally everybody is a Janny on ham and they're all Boomers. I remember reading about an infamous repeater in LA that is nothing but shitbroadcasting, literally only still exists as a containment repeater
Jose Hernandez
based home alchemist
Samuel Reyes
>Does that device shunt it to a solid ground Green/yellow is PE - Potential Equalization, connected to the ground. You need to have a low ohm ground connection in every house here.
Aiden Taylor
if you consider the test autistic , you might be retarded
Liam Robinson
>Fuck laws and shite man just don't break em I'll have a coke with that thx
Identifying yourself with your ID, not swearing, and not use too much watts?
Luis Parker
oi, you have a loicense for that radio?
Carter Peterson
I fuckin love ham
Blake Smith
pretty much. i rarely do any of those things though, i only id regularly on my main repeater most of the time
Brody Price
> Only faggots and trannies are STEM hobbyists. > Implying. Neck yourself.
> zero shitposting I remember Jow Forums used to have a favorite repeater. Has that changed? There was one station that was basically radio Jow Forums.
> Autistic test FCC rules are autistic, but learning how to use your radio is just common sense to study. And even then you may as well know what rules you are going to be breaking.
Josiah Gray
They should loosen some of the rules regarding what you can do. From what I've read, the rules prohibit almost every conceivable practical application, which means it's not going to be fun. It's like practicing how to start a car, but then never leaving the driveway.
>You need to have a low ohm ground connection in every house here. So do we, with local codes to determine depth and placement of grounding rod. Over-voltage protection will save some houses but not a lot. A 100kV surge is going to go right through a device like that which is why I said to have a totally isolated and grounded leg for your house. That's autistic but it's the only way to be sure.
Hey I'm a ham, but I'm a poorfag who uses baofeng handhelds
Thomas Wood
CQCQ de user 700k is a lot desu I know quite a few who have gotten into SDRs and such of the younger generation
Elijah Williams
Hell, Radio Shack used to have an entire section devoted to this sort of stuff. My grandfather would take me with him to buy replacement parts for his 40s-era gear.
Gabriel Thomas
I've a good HH that can receive that. I live at the edge of Canada in the Atlantic. Maybe if I hang my long cable antenna I'll receive something.
Michael Sullivan
Yeah couldn't be for convinience or it makea encryption better at all.
