Joe <nss@mwt.net> wrote:
Everything is in the single digits till 1958/59 What happened then? WOW!
and then in 1980 it fell apart again.
what changed on those dates?
1957-58 was the International Geophysical Year, which brought a huge
worldwide emphasis on science and technology. Sputnik and Explorer were
launched into orbit, the space race was heating up and it was the original
"Science Citizen" initiative. I think this led to a big increase in
interest in amateur radio, which was of course helped by the record solar
cycle that year. The first baby boomers were starting to come of an age
where interest in technology and radio would lead them to study and become
licensed.
I suspect the dropoff at the end of the 70s could be due to the license
restructuring that took place in 1977, along with the CB craze that
flourished in the late 70s which perhaps drained away the more casual
communicators from our ranks.
--
73,
Frank Maynard, NF8M nf8m@arrl.net
- - - - - - - - - - Fifty years of ham radio 1968-2018 - - - - - - - - -
_______________________________________________
CQ-Contest mailing list
CQ-Contest@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
|