The Ham Radio: Where Did 750,000 Operators Go?

This is the full story — from the spark gap transmitters of 1900, through two world wars, through the golden age of the 1950s and 60s, through the demographic turn nobody wanted to admit, all the way to Hurricane Helene in 2024, when ham radio was the only communication system still working in western North Carolina. The frequencies are still allocated. The equipment still exists. The question is whether the people who know how to use it will still be there when they're needed. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Beyond History With Jonathan Reed covers the hidden histories of the technologies, subcultures, and physical spaces that shaped modern life — and how some of them disappeared before most people noticed. New videos every few weeks. Subscribe to follow along. #HamRadio #AmateurRadio #BeyondHistory #RadioHistory #HurricaneHelene #EmergencyComms #FT8 #ARRL #LostTechnology #DocumentaryHistory #TechHistory #ForgottenHistory #RadioOperators #JonathanReed #SubcultureHistory