I just spent $300 on a Kenwood F6A and am working on a tech license so I sure hope they aren't "on their way out". I got mine mostly so I would have a means to communicate after a personal emergency (broken leg, etc) when hiking in the far off places of the world where it is hard to even get a decent analog cell signal, but it would also be nice to be able to help out others in times of major disaster such as hurricanes. I'm still researching this so correct me if I'm wrong but the way I understand it even in the most remote areas where a repeater isn't available, if I know the satellite rotation schedules I can dial up a satellite for emergency comms if needed. That in itself make the HT HAMs second to none except maybe a satellite phone. With the F6A its also very nice to have AM/FM radio and NOAA Radio in the same small lightweight package. I carry and extra battery pack for specifically that purpose. On a side note I'm looking at various specs for building a lightweight antenna with major antenna gain so if anyone has any brilliant ideas I would love to hear them.