This is not a political posting but instead an opportunity to address some serious issues concerning our hobby.
At one time it was not the number of hams who were licensed that was the metric but that those who were licensed hams all had a level of technical chops. The ARRL in a move to increase advertising revenues fostered the get more hams licensed by dumbing down the licensing requirements.
ARRL's own data shows about 77o,000 licensed US hams today but only half of that number have full HF privileges. The rest have a Baofeng UV 35R handheld.
Many of the technical advances in our hobby during the period 1940 -1970 were a direct result of ideas and products developed in ham shacks across the US.
Some Internet Data (not independently verified but likely close).
1939 about 51000 US licensed hams
1950 about 90000 US licensed hams
1956 about 140000 US licensed hams
1970 about 270000 US licensed hams
2024 about 770000 US licensed hams
So, what this tells me is that there was a 5-fold increase in the ham population in the 30-year period, 1940 - 1970. But in the 54-year period from 1970 to today it is only a 3-fold increase.
The US population in 1940 was 132M where the ham population is 0.04% of the US. In 2024 we have 330M and the ham population is 0.02%.
Despite the BS from the ARRL, our hobby is not growing commensurate with the growth of the general population and today's hams do not have even the basic skill set that existed in 1940. The sad fact, the new hams of today simply are not interested in gaining those skills. You ask why? Simple -- it is too easy to get a ticket today.
The blame lies with the ARRL so resist any and everything ARRL. Dump your membership and you will not burn in hell for doing so.
The next resistance is to stop buying those appliance boxes from the Far East. US hams put MFJ, Collins, Drake, Heathkit, National, Hallicrafters, Atlas and Ten Tec out of business. Yet on the used market these are some of the best transceivers/equipment that can be acquired and put back on the air. Oh, but you need skills to do that which you didn't need to get a license.
Finally, resist the idea that you cannot homebrew a modern radio. You can do it! For the longest time ARRL touted you cannot build a quality receiver at home. If they did suggest homebrewing receivers, the plain truth, they would lose advertisers.
A Homebrew Modern SSB Transceiver
On the political side, too late to resist and a bad choice is just that and you will have to live with it. Already you can hear some grumbling of what is likely to unfold from those who voted for the person. I say again -- too late!
Happy New Year!
73's
Pete N6QW