wrote nothing of any importance
in a message ////PLONK///


n2ey = fruit

These are the numbers of current,
unexpired FCC-issued amateur
radio licenses held by individuals
on the stated dates, and the
percentage of the total number
of active licenses that class contains:


As of May 14, 2000:

Novice - 49,329 (7.3%)
Technician - 205,394 (30.4%)
Technician Plus - 128,860 (19.1%)
General - 112,677 (16.7%)
Advanced - 99,782 (14.8%)
Extra - 78,750 (11.7%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 334,254 (49.5%)

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 291,209 (43.2%)

Total all classes - 674,792


As of February 14, 2007:

Novice - 23,020 (3.5%) [decrease of 26,309]
Technician - 293,023 (44.7%) [increase of 87,629]
Technician Plus - 31,193 (4.8%) [decrease of 97,667]
General - 130,322 (19.9%) [increase of 17,645]
Advanced - 69,183 (10.6%) [decrease of 30,599]
Extra - 108,263 (16.5%) [increase of 29,513]

(percentages may not add up to exactly 100.0% due to rounding)


Total Tech/TechPlus - 324,216 (49.5%) [decrease of 10,038]

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 307,768 (47.0%) [increase of 16,559]

Total all classes - 655,074 (decrease of 19,718)


Note that these totals do not include licenses
that have expired but are in the grace period.


They also do not include club, military
or other station-only licenses.


Note also that effective April 15, 2000, new
Novice, Technician Plus and Advanced licenses
are no longer issued.


Since April 15, 2000, FCC has renewed all
existing Technician Plus licenses as
Technician. By May of 2010, the number of Technician Plus licenses
should drop to zero, because all of them will have been renewed as
Technician or allowed to expire. It is therefore
informative to consider the totals of the two classes,
since the Technician class includes a significant
number of Technician Plus licenses renewed as
Technician.

73 de Jim, N2EY

This is an extra listing of the ARS license numbers,
in preparation for the rules changes of Feb 23, 2007.

These are the numbers of current,
unexpired FCC-issued amateur
radio licenses held by individuals
on the stated dates, and the
percentage of the total number
of active licenses that class contains:

As of May 14, 2000:

Novice- 49,329 (7.3%)
Technician - 205,394 (30.4%)
Technician Plus - 128,860 (19.1%)
General - 112,677 (16.7%)
Advanced - 99,782 (14.8%)
Extra - 78,750 (11.7%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 334,254 (49.5%)

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 291,209 (43.2%)

Total all classes - 674,792

As of February 18, 2007:

Novice - 22,995 (3.5%) [decrease of 26,334]
Technician - 293,233 (44.8%) [increase of 87,839]Technician Plus -
31,092 (4.7%) [decrease of 97,768]
General - 130,303 (19.9%) [increase of 17,626]
Advanced - 69,150 (10.6%) [decrease of 30,632]
Extra - 108,263 (16.5%) [increase of 29,513]

(percentages may not add up to exactly 100.0% due to rounding)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 324,325 (49.5%) [decrease of 9,929]

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 307,716 (47.0%) [increase of 16,507]

Total all classes - 655,036 (decrease of 19,756)

Note that these totals do not include licenses
that have expired but are in the grace period.

They also do not include club, military
or other station-only licenses.

Note also that effective April 15, 2000, new Novice,Technician Plus
and Advanced licenses
are no longer issued.

Since April 15, 2000, FCC has renewed all
existing Technician Plus licenses as Technician. By May of 2010, the
number of Technician Plus licenses
should drop to zero, because all of them will have been renewed
asTechnicianor allowed to expire. It is therefore
informative to consider the totals of the two classes,
since the Technician class includes a significant
number of Technician Plus licenses renewed as Technician.

73 de Jim, N2EY

This is an extra listing of the ARS license numbers,
in preparation for the rules changes of Feb 23, 2007.

These are the numbers of current,
unexpired FCC-issued amateur
radio licenses held by individuals
on the stated dates, and the
percentage of the total number
of active licenses that class contains:

As of May 14, 2000:

Novice- 49,329 (7.3%)
Technician - 205,394 (30.4%)
Technician Plus - 128,860 (19.1%)
General - 112,677 (16.7%)
Advanced - 99,782 (14.8%)
Extra - 78,750 (11.7%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 334,254 (49.5%)

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 291,209 (43.2%)

Total all classes - 674,792

As of February 20, 2007:

Novice - 22,893 (3.5%) [decrease of 26,436]
Technician - 293,177 (44.8%) [increase of 87,783]
Technician Plus - 30,881 (4.7%) [decrease of 97,979]
General - 130,092 (19.9%) [increase of 17,415]
Advanced - 69,040 (10.6%) [decrease of 30,742]
Extra - 108,205 (16.5%) [increase of 29,455]

(percentages may not add up to exactly 100.0% due to rounding)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 324,058 (49.5%) [decrease of 10,196]

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 307,337 (47.0%) [increase of 16,128]

Total all classes - 654,288 (decrease of 20,504)

Note that these totals do not include licenses
that have expired but are in the grace period.

They also do not include club, military
or other station-only licenses.

Note also that effective April 15, 2000, new Novice,
Technician Plus and Advanced licenses are no longer
issued.

Since April 15, 2000, FCC has renewed all
existing Technician Plus licenses as Technician. By May of 2010, the
number of Technician Plus licenses
should drop to zero, because all of them will have been renewed as
Technician or allowed to expire. It is therefore
informative to consider the totals of the two classes,
since the Technician class includes a significant
number of Technician Plus licenses renewed as Technician.

73 de Jim, N2EY

This is an extra listing of the ARS license numbers,
in preparation for the rules changes of Feb 23, 2007.
These numbers are the last ones before the FCC
rules change dropping all Morse Code testing went
into effect.

These are the number of current,
unexpired FCC-issued amateur
radio licenses held by individuals
on the stated dates, and the
percentage of the total number
of active licenses that class contains:

As of May 14, 2000:

Novice- 49,329 (7.3%)
Technician - 205,394 (30.4%)
Technician Plus - 128,860 (19.1%)
General - 112,677 (16.7%)
Advanced - 99,782 (14.8%)
Extra - 78,750 (11.7%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 334,254 (49.5%)

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 291,209 (43.2%)

Total all classes - 674,792

As of February 22, 2007:

Novice - 22,896 (3.5%) [decrease of 26,433]
Technician - 293,508 (44.8%) [increase of 88,114]
Technician Plus - 30,818 (4.7%) [decrease of 98,042]
General - 130,138 (19.9%) [increase of 17,461]
Advanced - 69,050 (10.5%) [decrease of 30,732]Extra - 108,270 (16.5%)
[increase of 29,520]

(percentages may not add up to exactly 100.0% due to rounding)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 324,326 (49.5%) [decrease of 9,928]

Total General/Advanced/Extra - 307,458 (47.0%) [increase of 16,249]

Total all classes - 654,680 (decrease of 20,112)

Note that these totals do not include licenses
that have expired but are in the grace period.

They also do not include club, military
or other station-only licenses.

Note also that effective April 15, 2000, new Novice,
Technician Plus and Advanced licenses are no
longer issued.

Since April 15, 2000, FCC has renewed all
existing Technician Plus licenses as Technician. By May of 2010, the
number of Technician Plus licenses
should drop to zero, because all of them will have been renewed as
Technician or allowed to expire. It is therefore
informative to consider the totals of the two classes,
since the Technician class includes a significant
number of Technician Plus licenses renewed as Technician.

73 de Jim, N2EY

These are the number of current,
unexpired FCC-issued amateur
radio licenses held by individuals
on the stated dates, and the
percentage of the total number
of active licenses that class contains.

Percentages may not add up to exactly
100.0% due to rounding.

These totals do not include licenses
that have expired but are in the grace
period, nor do they include club, military
and other station-only licenses.

Effective April 15, 2000, FCC no longer issued
new Novice, Technician Plus and Advanced
class licenses, so the numbers of those license
classes have declined steadily since then.

Also since April 15, 2000, FCC has renewed all
existing Technician Plus licenses as Technician.
It is therefore informative to consider the totals of
the two classes, since the Technician class
includes a significant number of Technician Plus
licenses renewed as Technician.

On February 23, 2007, the last Morse Code
test element, the 5 wpm receiving test, was
eliminated as a requirement.

The ARS License Numbers:

As of May 14, 2000:

Novice- 49,329 (7.3%)
Technician - 205,394 (30.4%)
Technician Plus - 128,860 (19.1%)
General - 112,677 (16.7%)
Advanced - 99,782 (14.8%)
Extra - 78,750 (11.7%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 334,254 (49.5%)

Total all classes - 674,792


As of February 22, 2007:

Novice - 22,896 (3.5%)
Technician - 293,508 (44.8%)
Technician Plus - 30,818 (4.7%)
General - 130,138 (19.9%)
Advanced - 69,050 (10.5%)
Extra - 108,270 (16.5%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 324,326 (49.5%)

Total all classes - 654,680


As of March 9, 2007:

Novice - 22,725 (3.5%)
Technician - 291,312 (44.5%)
Technician Plus - 30,243 (4.6%)
General - 132,863 (20.3%)
Advanced - 68,837 (10.5%)
Extra - 108,789 (16.6%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 321,555 (49.1%)

Total all classes - 654,769


Changes:

From May 14, 2000, to February 22, 2007:

Novice - decrease of 26,433
Technician - increase of 88,114
Technician Plus - decrease of 98,042
General - increase of 17,461
Advanced - decrease of 30,732
Extra - increase of 29,520

Total Tech/TechPlus - decrease of 9,928

Total all classes - decrease of 20,112


From May 14, 2000, to March 9, 2007:

Novice - decrease of 26,604
Technician - increase of 85,918
Technician Plus - decrease of 98,617
General - increase of 20,816
Advanced - decrease of 30,945
Extra - increase of 30,039

Total Tech/TechPlus - decrease of 12,699

Total all classes - decrease of 20,023


From February 22, 2007, to March 9, 2007:

Novice - decrease of 171
Technician - decrease of 2,196
Technician Plus - decrease of 575
General - increase of 2,725
Advanced - decrease of 213
Extra - increase of 519

Total Tech/TechPlus - decrease of 2,771

Total all classes - increase of 89


73 de Jim, N2EY

These are the number of current,
unexpired FCC-issued amateur
radio licenses held by individuals
on the stated dates, and the
percentage of the total number
of active licenses that class contains.

Percentages may not add up to exactly
100.0% due to rounding.

These totals do not include licenses
that have expired but are in the grace
period, nor do they include club, military
and other station-only licenses.

Effective April 15, 2000, FCC no longer issued
new Novice, Technician Plus and Advanced
class licenses, so the numbers of those license
classes have declined steadily since then.

Also since April 15, 2000, FCC has renewed all
existing Technician Plus licenses as Technician.
It is therefore informative to consider the totals of
the two classes, since the Technician class
includes a significant number of Technician Plus
licenses renewed as Technician.

On February 23, 2007, the last Morse Code
test element, the 5 wpm receiving test, was
eliminated as a requirement.

The ARS License Numbers:

As of May 14, 2000:

Novice- 49,329 (7.3%)
Technician - 205,394 (30.4%)
Technician Plus - 128,860 (19.1%)
General - 112,677 (16.7%)
Advanced - 99,782 (14.8%)
Extra - 78,750 (11.7%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 334,254 (49.5%)

Total all classes - 674,792


As of February 22, 2007:

Novice - 22,896 (3.5%)
Technician - 293,508 (44.8%)
Technician Plus - 30,818 (4.7%)
General - 130,138 (19.9%)
Advanced - 69,050 (10.5%)
Extra - 108,270 (16.5%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 324,326 (49.5%)

Total all classes - 654,680


As of March 1, 2007:

Novice - 22,841 (3.5%)
Technician - 293,031 (44.7%)
Technician Plus - 30,566 (4.7%)
General - 130,969 (20.0%)
Advanced - 68,977 (10.5%)
Extra - 108,462 (16.6%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 323,597 (49.4%)

Total all classes - 654,846


As of March 14, 2007:

Novice - 22,665 (3.5%)
Technician - 290,131 (44.3%)
Technician Plus - 30,069 (4.6%)
General - 134,124 (20.5%)
Advanced - 68,752 (10.5%)
Extra - 109,075 (16.7%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 320,200 (48.9%)

Total all classes - 654,816


As of March 22, 2007:

Novice - 22,565 (3.4%)
Technician - 289,520 (44.2%)
Technician Plus - 29,722 (4.5%)
General - 135,235 (20.7%)
Advanced - 68,604 (10.5%)
Extra - 109,230 (16.7%)

Total Tech/TechPlus - 319,242 (48.7%)

Total all classes - 654,876


Changes:

From May 14, 2000, to February 22, 2007:

Novice - decrease of 26,433
Technician - increase of 88,114
Technician Plus - decrease of 98,042
General - increase of 17,461
Advanced - decrease of 30,732
Extra - increase of 29,520

Total Tech/TechPlus - decrease of 9,928

Total all classes - decrease of 20,112


From May 14, 2000, to March 1, 2007:

Novice - decrease of 26,488
Technician - increase of 87,637
Technician Plus - decrease of 98,294
General - increase of 18,292
Advanced - decrease of 30,805
Extra - increase of 29,712

Total Tech/TechPlus - decrease of 10,657

Total all classes - decrease of 19,946


From May 14, 2000, to March 14, 2007:

Novice - decrease of 26,664
Technician - increase of 84,737
Technician Plus - decrease of 98,761
General - increase of 21,147
Advanced - decrease of 31,030
Extra - increase of 30,325

Total Tech/TechPlus - decrease of 14,054

Total all classes - decrease of 19,976


From May 14, 2000, to March 22, 2007:

Novice - decrease of 26,764
Technician - increase of 84,126
Technician Plus - decrease of 99,138
General - increase of 22,558
Advanced - decrease of 31,178
Extra - increase of 30,480

Total Tech/TechPlus - decrease of 15,012

Total all classes - decrease of 19,916


From February 22, 2007, to March 1, 2007:

Novice - decrease of 55
Technician - decrease of 477
Technician Plus - decrease of 252
General - increase of 831
Advanced - decrease of 73
Extra - increase of 192

Total Tech/TechPlus - decrease of 729

Total all classes - increase of 166

From February 22, 2007, to March 14, 2007:

Novice - decrease of 231
Technician - decrease of 3,377
Technician Plus - decrease of 749
General - increase of 3,986
Advanced - decrease of 298
Extra - increase of 805

Total Tech/TechPlus - decrease of 4,126

Total all classes - increase of 136


From February 22, 2007, to March 22, 2007:

Novice - decrease of 331
Technician - decrease of 3,988
Technician Plus - decrease of 1,096
General - increase of 5,097
Advanced - decrease of 446
Extra - increase of 960

Total Tech/TechPlus - decrease of 5,084

Total all classes - increase of 196


73 de Jim, N2EY

wrote:

Total Tech/TechPlus - decrease of 5,084

Total all classes - increase of 196

It will be most interesting to see the final tally for March in another
week.

Thusfar, all that has appeared to happen is a huge number of upgrades from
Tech to higher license classes.

I'm still waiting for the "flood" of technically-savvy people who would 'get
licensed but can't/don't want to/(insert excuse here) pass the
torturous/nasty/evil/oppressive/(insert adjective here) code examination
promised to us by the No-Code Agenda.

73
kh6hz

On Mar 24, 12:15?pm, "KH6HZ" wrote:
wrote:
Total Tech/TechPlus - decrease of 5,084

Total all classes - increase of 196

It will be most interesting to see the final tally for March in another
week.

My plan is to post the totals once per month, on or about the 22nd.
Those posts, like this one, will include totals for the first, 14th
and 22nd of each month (or thereabouts).

Thusfar, all that has appeared to happen is a huge number of upgrades from
Tech to higher license classes.

I disagree!

The total number of US hams had been slowly declining for a couple of
years before the rules change. Since the rules change, the decline has
stopped and we have a growth rate of about 1/3 of one percent per
year.

Of course that's based on one month of data. Whether the trend will
continue is unknown. Extrapolating one month's results may not be
valid at all.

When the rules changed in 2000, we had a couple years of growth - and
then the numbers peaked about 2003.

When the "price" of something declines, there
is usually a surge of "sales", which may or may not be sustained.

I'm still waiting for the "flood" of technically-savvy people who would 'get
licensed but can't/don't want to/(insert excuse here)

"don't have time"

pass the
torturous/nasty/evil/oppressive/(insert adjective here) code examination
promised to us by the No-Code Agenda.

Don't hold your breath.

Consider our resident "retired from regular hours radio-electronics
PROFESSIONAL" who finally
got his license out of the box.

Do you think he'll be homebrewing any radios for his amateur station?
Writing any technical articles for amateur radio publications or
websites?
Using any new modes or methods?

And hey, Mike - *you* are part of that
NoCodeTest agenda, too! I read your
1998 Comments.

73 de Jim, N2EY

wrote:

The total number of US hams had been slowly declining for a couple of
years before the rules change. Since the rules change, the decline has
stopped and we have a growth rate of about 1/3 of one percent per
year.

Thru the end of February, we saw a decline of 32,383 hams (687,860, 04/03 to
655,477 02/07) in 3.83 years. That's a decline of 8455 hams/year on average,
or 704/mo for the past 46 months. During that time period, we also saw a few
'statistical outliers' where the number of licensed hams temporarily
increased for 1 or more months (for example, Nov 03, Aug 04, Sept 05) but
then the downward trend continued. A final March tally of 1/3rd of 1% would
be consistant with prior blips.

687,860
Of course that's based on one month of data. Whether the trend will
continue is unknown. Extrapolating one month's results may not be
valid at all.

There's an old saying I teach my statistics students: One observation does
not equal a trend. However, I think my 0-1% decline prediction will hold
true in the end.


When the "price" of something declines, there
is usually a surge of "sales", which may or may not be sustained.

Like I've always said, the numbers game is a losing proposition for amateur
radio. It is in our interest to focus on quality over quantity.


Do you think he'll be homebrewing any radios for his amateur station?
Writing any technical articles for amateur radio publications or
websites?
Using any new modes or methods?

I've been listening regularly for "CQ de AF6AY" on 20m CW to no avail


And hey, Mike - *you* are part of that
NoCodeTest agenda, too! I read your
1998 Comments.

No, I got kicked out when Carl Stevenson had my No-Code International
membership revolked because he didn't like me and my postings to RRAP. Now
I'm a No-Code Gypsy, wandering around without a home.

73
kh6hz