Well, the fact that it's an expensive hobby has _never_ been a barrier in
the past.  Really _good_ commercial ham gear has always been expensive and
my interest in gear goes back to the 1950's when, in fact, a good
transmitter and receiver set were proportionally a _lot_ more expensive than
a decent transceiver is now.  Also, I think it's much easier to get a ticket
today than it was, say, thirty or forty years ago, especially since the CW
requirement was altered.  I think that the Internet and the general change
in culture are the responsible culprits ... people today just don't have the
interest, patience, or attention span to sit at a desk for several hours a
day with only sound coming at them.  Because of television, we've become a
visually-oriented culture and the Internet meets a lot of this need.  Also,
the fundamental concept behind ham radio ... the making of acquaintances and
even good friends by some remote means ... has just lost a lot of its
appeal.

I just found out the other day that the Voicespondence Club, the world's
oldest tape recording hobby club, is disbanding next year.  It's fallen
victim to the same things ... the allure of the Internet and the decline in
a need for relationships of a more than casual or superficial kind.  Email
can and will never substitute for the human voice, but Internet chat is so
popular today; as are virtually no-cost telephone rates; that those who want
that kind of involvement can get it a lot easier than by radio.  As a
medium, radio is simply dying out ... and that applies to all forms, not
just to ham radio.

--
Walt Smith - Raleigh, NC
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