An old hobby of mine as well... back in high school (late 80's to early 90's). I was on 2-meters and probably just one of the few 'geeks' that truly appreciated the hobby in all of its technicalities. Others are just along for social purposes (eyeballs and generally fooling around with pointless debates and banter)... those who don't know "squelch" from "frequency shift". While others are just plain idiots (jammers).

I confess that I didn't had an amateur license to operate any of my radios (Icom 02AT, 02N and 28H), but in my defense, I did observe proper protocol. I tried to secure a Class C license (and actually passed the written and Morse code exams) but I didn't pursue it. Why? In the words of Napoles; "I can't remember, your honor.." Must be my studies in the way or some other nonsense, I think. :D

I was reasonably active up until around '92-93, right about the time when my hobby shifted to dialup BBS. But the hobby officially died in the storm of 1995 (Typhoon Rosing), when it tore out my 70-ft. Ringo Ranger II antenna. I eventually lost interest and sold all my ham equipment shortly afterwards.