Well, first of all, like Mark Twain's comment "Rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated" probably applies here. While the code aspect of amateur radio is now gone, there are millions of folks around the world who still like and use ham radio daily--and its a good thing they do. Hams will ALWAYS be the ones communicating long after all other forms of communication are down. Be it hurricane, winter storm or any other disaster, amatuers offer valuable communication service. And Martin, I dont know where you shop, but paying $30k for a radio is simply absurd. Excellent NEW HF radios can be bought for $1000 or less. Good used gear can be far less than half of that 1k, that will talk around the world.
Anyway, I am not trying to be contentious, but just bringing a little balance. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
KG7IW