In a word? Dire.
Every few weeks I try to give a very unscientific appraisal of activity through the narrowband transponder on this geosynchronous satellite. I do this by looking at the web SDR at Goonhilly in Cornwall, UK. It is a while since I did an update. This time it was a mid afternoon, mid-week, in Europe.
Whilst I admit that some have enjoyed the challenge of building or assembling microwave kit to create a ground station, the level of activity has fallen well below that I was expecting.
See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .
I have said before, I suspect the lack of commercial ready made gear has put off "appliance operators" who prefer to spend their money on shiny boxes from Japan.
In my view this tells us a lot about the state of amateur radio. Most have become "black box" operators, who probably have no idea about the technology of the box they are using. Quite probably the vast majority of operators today have never, ever, done any experimentation. More than ever I can see the day coming when amateur radio ceases to exist.
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