I usually am on HF because I am getting no replies on 2 meters. I just did a calculation, and if you divide 700,000 hams in the US by 3.8 million square miles, you get, on average, one ham every 100 square miles. THat's a box, 10 miles by 10 miles. Of course, your mileage may vary, as we say, and I find that here in the city, it is usually much less. I have 60 hams in my zip code. My point is that there may be no one in range of an HT direct. I think that it is a pretty good chance that there will be no one to answer. I don't "monitor" 146.52 and until my analysis of the chances, I would call a CQ but I haven't gotten an answer in 10 years. But like i said, I am active on HF. An average reply to my CQ is perhaps 500 miles away. That means that within a 1000 mile radius (remember i said "average", and a response can come from within 1000 miles) my signal is audible by maybe half of the hams in the US. There is a much better chance that SOMEONE will be listening and will answer.
Here is an idea. How about a 2 meter "contest" using exclusively 146.52

Don't know what the rules would be, but if there is anything to do, and do it and keep score, then some shlamazels will make it into a contest. I think.