Many hams are trained to provide emergency communications during a disaster. That proved valuable after the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, when many mobile phones and land lines failed.

Still, even the most die-hard hams concede theirs will never be a mainstream hobby.

After all, being an amateur radio operator takes skill and technical knowledge, and will never match the ease and convenience of smart phones and the Internet. But even so, there are those who still find great joy in communicating with friends near and far via 20th century technology.