Thanks, looking at this, it looks like some of the biggest "shots in the arm" to ham radio have come form the things that Amateur Radio operators have reviled the most. CB seems to have sparked interest in the radio communication hobby. Reducing, and eliminating, the code requirements seem to have made that interest accessible.
Not really.
Consider the following:
1930 123,202,624 19,000 0.015%
1940 132,164,569 56,000 0.042%
During the 1930s, the number of US hams almost tripled. The percentage of the population took a giant leap as well. Yet those were the years of the Great Depression, and immediately after the 1929 regulations which cut the size of several amateur bands and imposed strict new regulations on transmitters. Also, in 1936 the code test speed went from 10 wpm to 13 wpm and the written exams were upgraded.
1950 151,325,798 87,000 0.057%
1960 179,323,175 230,000 0.128%
The 1950s were a decade of tremendous growth in US amateur radio as well - almost a much as in the 1930s percentagewise. Yet this was the decade when TV became widespread in the USA. And it was almost all before 11 meter CB, which was created by FCC in 1958.
Now look at the 1960s:
1960 179,323,175 230,000 0.128%
1970 203,211,926 263,918 0.130%
Why so little growth in that decade? We had good economic times, the Space Race, and much more. Yet US ham radio barely kept up with the population growth. This was the decade when 11 meter cb went from a few users to millions.
Some might blame incentive licensing, but those changes didn't happen until November 1968 and 1969. So their full effects wouldn't be seen until the 1970s - which were also economic hard times. But look at the numbers:
1970 203,211,926 263,918 0.130%
1980 226,545,805 393,353 0.174%
The growth in the 1970s was far more than in the 1960s despite the increase in license requirements and the economic troubles. About 33,000 more hams in the 1960s, almost 130,000 - four times more! - in the 1970s. Why?
73 de Jim, N2EY