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    <font face="Verdana">Upon reflection on my vast experience of 14.5
      months of being on the air (hihi) I'm in general agreement with
      you.<br>
      <br>
      I've yet to meet a non-US ham so I've had no opportunity to
      discuss the relative interest groups across boundaries.  My very
      limited air-time would naturally put me in contact with those that
      are interested in DX/contesting rather than EMCOM, traffic
      handling, or VHF for that matter.<br>
      <br>
      Thanks for sharing your thoughts.<br>
      <br>
      T.<br>
    </font><br>
    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 10-Sep-23 22:54, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:apizer@comcast.net">apizer@comcast.net</a>
      wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote type="cite"
      cite="mid:023101d9e45b$46783460$d3689d20$@comcast.net">
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        <p class="MsoNormal">Here is my take on this, just an opinion,
          others may differ . . . I realize this may stir the pot but so
          be it . . . I been on HF since 1970 . . .<o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <ul style="margin-top:0in" type="disc">
          <li class="MsoListParagraph"
            style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">A lot of the
            EU hams are avid DXers and / or contesters.  It could be a
            “cultural” thing having to do with competitiveness.  At
            least that is the impression I got when I met many of them
            in person at the WARC 2014 wrap-up celebration. Think sports
            – whether it be EU/WW football, EU basketball players or
            hockey players coming to the states, etc.  The EU/WW hams
            call their hobby “RadioSport”.  So you will hear them on the
            HF bands and they are active Ops. <o:p></o:p></li>
          <li class="MsoListParagraph"
            style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Many of the
            EU hams do not have space or funding for a BIG station, so
            how to they get the BIG signals you may hear?  There are a
            lot more HF DX / contest clubs over there.  They pool their
            resources and build world-class club stations at prime
            locations. There are also DX/contest clubs in South America.<o:p></o:p></li>
          <li class="MsoListParagraph"
            style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">I work with
            a lot of engineers overseas for my day job, and find them to
            be very technically competent.<o:p></o:p></li>
          <li class="MsoListParagraph"
            style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">A lot of
            stateside hams are just into 2 meter/440 vs. HF, to keep in
            touch will local friends. Nothing wrong with that.  It’s a
            good social support network.  I myself have had folks ping
            me to see if I was “OK” after long periods of inactivity.<o:p></o:p></li>
          <li class="MsoListParagraph"
            style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Some are
            first responder types (thank you for your service) that are
            primarily into EMCOMM,  CERT, ARES/RACES.  They may be to
            busy training to play on HF.<o:p></o:p></li>
          <li class="MsoListParagraph"
            style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Others are
            NTS traffic handlers.  Even though NTS is not as “busy” as
            is once was, they are keeping the system active should it
            ever be needed.<o:p></o:p></li>
          <li class="MsoListParagraph"
            style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Others are
            “preppers” – no explanation needed.<o:p></o:p></li>
          <li class="MsoListParagraph"
            style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">And some are
            “closet hams”, those that get their licenses but never get
            on the air.  Could have gotten their ticket just to please a
            family member get to them off their back.<o:p></o:p></li>
          <li class="MsoListParagraph"
            style="margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Or maybe a
            new ham started listening on some “haters” frequencies on 20
            40 or 75 meters and got turned off by that (and sadly so did
            the radio).  Don’t get me started on that.<o:p></o:p></li>
        </ul>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal">But I digress . . . and I welcome other
          points of view, agree or disagree or neutral<o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal">Art<o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal">NF1A<o:p></o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <div>
          <div style="border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1
            1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
            <p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> bars
              <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:bars-bounces@w1hh.org"><bars-bounces@w1hh.org></a> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Tim
              KC1RET<br>
              <b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, September 5, 2023 10:37 AM<br>
              <b>To:</b> w1hh <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:bars@w1hh.org"><bars@w1hh.org></a><br>
              <b>Subject:</b> [bars] Hams as % of population<o:p></o:p></p>
          </div>
        </div>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><span
            style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">I was
            ruminating the other day about the relative percentage of
            hams in various countries.  I seem to work A LOT of
            Italians, Spaniards and Germans.  So a quick Google search
            led me to Wikipedia.  It has a listing of hams by country (
            <a href="https://bit.ly/3sI2aeR" moz-do-not-send="true"
              class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://bit.ly/3sI2aeR</a>
            ).<br>
            <br>
            The Top Ten by % of Population</span><o:p></o:p></p>
        <table class="MsoNormalTable" style="width:33.0%;border:outset
          1.5pt" width="33%" cellpadding="0" border="1">
          <tbody>
            <tr>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal"><span
                    style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">10:
                    United Kingdom: </span><o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal"><span
                    style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">0.114</span><o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal"><span
                    style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">9:
                    New Zealand:</span><o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">0.120<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">8: Norway: (seriously?)<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">0.125<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">7: Spain:<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">0.127<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">6: Thailand:<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">0.147<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">5: Denmark<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">0.152<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">4: Canada:<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">0.187<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">3: US:<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">0.233<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">2: Japan:<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">0.304<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">1: Slovenia:<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
              <td style="padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt" valign="top">
                <p class="MsoNormal">0.317<o:p></o:p></p>
              </td>
            </tr>
          </tbody>
        </table>
        <p class="MsoNormal"><span
            style="font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif"><br>
            Germany was 15 at 0.073% and Italy 21 at 0.049%.<br>
            <br>
            Slovenia was a bit of a surprise but it is a small country
            so a relatively small population of hams (6,500 as of 2000)
            can tip the scale pretty easily.  Same with Norway with
            6,818 hams as of 2022.  US had almost 780,000 as of 2021.<br>
            <br>
            So we hams are a relative rarity, population wise - approx.
            1 in 500 in the US.  We are LEET! ( <a
              href="https://bit.ly/45DwgyC" moz-do-not-send="true"
              class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://bit.ly/45DwgyC</a> )<br>
            <br>
            73,<br>
            <br>
            T.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
        <div>
          <p class="MsoNormal">-- <br>
            <br>
            <o:p></o:p></p>
          <br>
        </div>
      </div>
    </blockquote>
    <div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
      <p style="font-family:Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size:10px;
        -webkit-margin-after:.5em; -webkit-margin-before:.5em">Courageously
        sent from a non-Apple device that <em>includes</em> a headphone
        jack.</p>
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                      <h3>Tim Carter - KC1RET</h3>
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                            <td><a href="tel:1.978.710.0133">+1.978.710.0133</a></td>
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                            <td><a href="mailto:kc1ret.radio@gmail.com"
                                class="moz-txt-link-freetext">kc1ret.radio@gmail.com</a></td>
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                            <td><a href="https://kc1ret.com"
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              <p>"Computers are incredibly fast, accurate and stupid;
                humans are incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant;
                together they are powerful beyond imagination." -- <i>Albert
                  Einstein</i></p>
              <p style="font-family:Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;
                font-size:10px; -webkit-margin-after:.5em;
                -webkit-margin-before:.5em">Warning: Spelling errors in
                this message are the product of a poor school system.
                Pay teachures more than athletes.<br>
                IMPORTANT: This email is intended for the use of the
                individual addressee(s) named above and may contain
                information that is confidential privileged or
                unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with low
                self-esteem, no sense of humor or irrational religious
                beliefs. If you are not the intended recipient, any
                dissemination, distribution or copying of this email is
                not authorized (either explicitly or implicitly) and
                constitutes an irritating social fauxpas. No animals
                were harmed in the transmission of this email, although
                the mutt next door is living on borrowed time, let me
                tell you.</p>
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