A Little Extra Class
It might seem like amateur (“ham”) radio is a dying hobby. Once upon a time, hams were privileged to make mobile phone calls. Now everyone has cell phones. In the old days, hams communicated around the world using shortwave radio. Now everyone has the Internet. When I earned my first license in the 1960s, hams had to learn the Morse code. In 2007, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) eliminated Morse code proficiency requirements.
Despite these seismic technological and cultural changes, amateur radio has managed to survive. Why?