So, in honor of CQ Magazine's 65th anniversary, the list is being repeated...with a few updates, and five more Great Things About Ham Radio.
This list is reprinted with permission from the February, 2010 issue of CQ Magazine. Copyright CQ Communications, Inc.
1) It works when nothing else does.
2) It makes you part of a worldwide community.
3) The opportunity to help neighbors by providing public service and emergency communications.
4) Some of the nicest people you'll ever meet.
5) Some of the smartest people you'll ever meet.
6) Some of the most interesting people you'll ever meet.
7) Some of the most generous people you'll ever meet (along with some of the cheapest).
8) Lifelong friendships.
9) Friends around the world (including those you haven't met yet).
10) The opportunity to go to interesting places you might not otherwise go to.
11) The opportunity to do interesting things you might not otherwise get to do.
12) The opportunity to expand your knowledge of geography.
13) The opportunity to expand your knowledge of earth and space science.
14) Practical uses for high school math.
15) Practical uses for high school physics.
16) A good way to practice a foreign language.
17) A good way to keep in touch with faraway friends and relatives.
18) A good way to get driving directions when visiting someplace new (with or without GPS).
19) A good way to find the best places to eat when visiting someplace new (with or without GPS).
20) Finding ''non-touristy'' off-the-beaten-path places to stay, eat, visit, etc.
21) A good way to learn about virtually any topic.
22) A good way to bridge the generation gap.
23) A good way to keep tabs on eldery/infirm people.
24) People named Joe (Walsh, Rudy, Taylor).
25) How many of your non-ham friends have actually talked to someone in some remote place such as Cape Verde or the Seychelles?
26) How many of your non-ham friends might have talked to an astronaut aboard the space station?
27) How many of your non-ham neighbors might have a satellite uplink station in their basements -- or in the palms of their hands?
28) How many of your non-ham neighbors might have a TV studio in their garage?
29) What other hobby group has designed, built, and had launched its own fleet of communication satellites?
30) Where else can you play with meteors?
31) Moonbounce.
32) Informal way to improve technical skills.
33) Informal way to improve communication skills.
34) Introduces a variety of career paths.
35) Offers unparalleled opportunities for career networking.
36) Opportunities for competition in contesting and foxhunting.
37) A good way to collect really cool postcards from around the world (despite the growth of electronic confirmations).
38) Nearly endless variety of different things to do, on and off the air.
39) Hamfests.
40) Dayton.
41) Field Day.
42) Working DX.
43) Being DX.
44) DXpeditions.
45) Contesting.
46) Award-chasing.
47) Double-hop sporadic-E.
48) Worldwide DX on 6 meters (once or twice every 11 years). (The current extended sunspot minimum has shown that mechanisms other than F2 propagation can offer intercontinental DX on the ''magic band'' at any point in the solar cycle).
49) Tropospheric ducting.
50) Gray-line propagation.
51) TEP, chordal hops, etc.
52) Getting through on CW when nothing else will.
53) Unexpected band openings.
54) Building your own gear.
55) Using gear you've built yourself.
56) Operating QRP from some remote location.
57) Experimenting with antennas.
58) Working DX while mobile or while hiking.
59) Experimenting with new modes and new technologies.
60) The opportunity to help build an internet that doesn't rely on the internet.
61) DXing on your HT via IRLP and Echolink.
62) Contributing to scientific knowledge about propagation.
63) Keeping track of others people's GPS units via APRS.
64) Ham radio balloon launches to the edge of space, and as always...
65) Reading CQ!