On Sun, 13 Jan 2002, Pete Smith wrote:
>
> Some people worry a lot that the Internet is providing an attractive
> alternative to ham radio, particularly for the young.
>
> There is one dimension that clearly distinguishes the two, to the advantage
> of ham radio, and that is competition. DXers and contesters have no
> Internet counterparts. QST and the amateur community in general should be
> playing up this difference, not seeking to exile it to special-interest
> niches on the web, where only DXers and contesters will be aware of it.
>
> 73, Pete N4ZR
>
There seems to be a number of people who get fascinated with RADIO. I
don't think it has ever been a large percentage of the population. When I
was in high school, 4 out of a total of about 800 students got ham
licenses. The fascinating (well, to some of us) phenomena of radio and
radio propagation just aren't duplicated in any other field, including
Internet. There just isn't anything to compare to the sound of UA0's CW
signals coming over the pole or aurora on signals on VHF.
Maybe we've always been a tiny minority. I hope the percentages at least
continue to be about the same in the years to come. Of course, growth in
numbers is what we really hope for!
73, Zack W9SZ
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