ARRL Proposal to Give Technicians More Operating Privileges

Quite a commentary considering you let your cat walk around in a paper bag....

 

And you forgot the Great Incentive Licensing Clawback of (I think) 1963?

I'm not a historian, but it appears your history lesson has a hole or two in it.

73

 

These people seem to want to wear this "burden" on their sleeves by not upgrading. They'd rather be able to keep their Advanced license, with the limitations that come with it, than upgrade. By upgrading they would have to, in some respect, admit they did not hold the GREATEST LICENSE EVER!! They want their cake and eat it too. It's apparently not enough to show they know Morse code by operating on the air, or with records kept in any of a number of places, including the FCC database history. They must have it as prominently displayed as they can.

My guess is that is as close as they will get, but I doubt even that is enough. They want to be considered peers, or superior to, Extra. I suspect that even if the FCC offered a "paper upgrade", like what happened with pre-1987 Technician to General when the Morse code testing went away, they would not take it. They want to see that option offered, just so that they can refuse it.

We should see a new entry class license to replace Technician. I suspect that we would have had one by now if the numbers of Novice and Advanced weren't so large. The FCC likely does not want to return to the days of six distinct license classes with each having different privileges. One way to resolve that is to renew Advanced as General, much like they renewed Technician Plus as Technician. I don't expect Advanced to change unless or until there is another larger restructuring, and this change to Advanced is just part of a larger plan.

 

Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

Really, the best thing to do is to create 2 new license classes. Leave the extra pretty much as is, maybe increased power out. Call the two new licenses basic and full. The basic would have restricted privileges across all or most amateur bands, power limited to 150 watts (or whatever). No automatic control privs, no repeater control, and other restrictions. Sub bands would be roughly half of what general now has on HF, and most bands on VHF+. Same 35 question test, revamped to eliminate a lot of the RF safety questions, etc. This would be the entry level, and all existing techs would renew with that license. This means in ten years, the tech would be gone. Techs would retain current privs until then, and could renew immediately as basic to lose some privs, but gain others. Full would have frequency privs similar to existing advanced, and all advanced and general would renew as "full". Power limit would be 800 watts or so. Other privs same as existing advanced. Test would be same 35 question test, revamped with the new privileges. Extra would stay pretty much the same, but maybe increase power to 2400 watts max. Or something like that.

Now, in ten years, you would have only three license classes with more balanced privileges.

 

If anything is going to happen there must be a case made to the FCC on how they benefit, or how Amateur radio benefits. Screaming about how Advanced license holders "earned" this upgrade means nothing to the FCC, they will simply respond like they did in the past and point out that to earn Extra means passing the written tests.

Presumably the FCC benefits by getting rid of the "dead" licenses by not having to keep them in their records, enforce a separate license class, and perhaps other benefits. They get this same benefit by renewing Advanced as General, and they also maintain the policy that no one gets a "freebie".

Because both General and Advanced would need to take the same exam to upgrade to General I see the only way that Advanced get a free upgrade to Extra is if this is also applied to General. That could only happen if the FCC somehow decided to be rid of the Extra as it is today and decide that having passed two 35 question exams is sufficient to get what is now Extra.

We are overdue for a modernization of Amateur radio licensing, and as part of that we will need to decide what happens to ALL of the existing license classes. If Advanced wants a "freebie" to Extra then I suspect the FCC wold bring General along for the ride, and that would likely be considered an insult to Advanced license holders having had to take such more difficult testing in the past.

There will be no "freebie" upgrade from Advanced to Extra. The FCC denied such requests in the past and I don't see how the argument gets more convincing with every passing year. What I believe gets more convincing is a downgrade. If these people wanted an upgrade that bad then they'd have it by now.

 

I like that. I had a similar idea except continuing the slicing and dicing up of band based on license class. Give them an entire band or none of it. Incentive licensing is dead, so let it die. Base the testing and privileges on safety. If they can safely operate a 200 watt transmitter on one part of 40 meters then they can do so on the entire band.

I like what Canada has for licensing, except allowing for Morse code testing to get additional HF privileges above Basic. I believe two license classes is where we will end up in time. What needs to happen first though is buy in from the Amateur radio community. That won't happen so long as a vocal minority continues to cling to their FCC issued Morse code proficiency certificates.

Maybe if the FCC restored some kind of endorsement of Morse code on the Amateur radio license they'd get better support. The Advanced license holders could get their "Extra Plus" with an upgrade and their Morse code credit. Again the FCC would not likely want to return to keeping track of six license classes, as there would be the three we have now and a "Plus" modifier for each. In that case have four, Basic, Basic Plus, Extra, and Extra Plus. The means of transitioning from current licensing to the new would depend on how the privileges and testing are defined for the new license class. A single 100 question exam for Basic would seem appropriate, again like Canada does, then another 50 question exam for an upgrade.

 

I think we should go back to the good ol' days when you had to tell the FCC field office you were going to operate portable on vacation. you had to pass the 20 WPM test with a hand key, and girls wore mini skirts.

Well, one of three ain't bad....otherwise looking back S&**s.

 

Now now........ it did in fact take some effort. It required you fill out the paperwork, pay $5.00, mail it back.... similar to today's Tech license proposal. Just sayin.....73 Rich KNK2694

 

Did someone say "mini skirts?" .....I'm in. 73 Rich

 

Unless you ARE an Advanced Class licensee then you are 'mind reading.' Has some Advanced Class license holder told you that they 'want their cake and eat it too,' or that they want to 'wear this "burden" on their sleeve'? Are you able to 'mind read' Novices also?

I think there are at least a couple of factors you are not considering.

License holders of all classes go on ham radio hiatus, from time to time, and do not pursue higher licenses during their 'time off.' Sometimes the break in their 'ham career' is in excess of 10 years during which time the license holder will continue to renew their license.

Additionally, some people are simply happy with their license class and do not WANT to upgrade. Advanced Class License holders have nearly the same privileges as Extra Class License holders and perhaps they don't feel it necessary to upgrade.

And, there are Advanced and Novice License holders out there that are not active in ham radio at this time, but continue to renew their licenses because they plan to become active at some later period in their lives.

There is a myriad of reasons people hold on to their current license class. I doubt very much that it has anything to do with 'cake' or 'burden.'

Dan KI4AX

 

Of course, we'all had to try the Dabney Coleman look-alike, with amethyst ring...

 

I don't have to mind read, they will quite plainly post on forums like this one how they consider themselves superior than the "no code Extras". Where I admit to speculation is the likelihood of these Advanced license holders not taking the offer of an upgrade if the FCC chose to do so. Maybe they'd consider that justice, maybe they'd consider it an insult for having taken so long to happen.

I don't recall ever meeting one face to face, and I recall seeing one on QRZ. He seemed to express delight in having the challenge of communicating within the legal bounds of Novice. After that he was berated for not having upgraded for so long. I haven't seen another post since. I suspect he moved from his house in the dark of night, left no forwarding address, and is now living under an assumed name. People were not kind.

I realize that there is a possibility for Advanced license holders to go inactive while still keeping their license current. These are not the people I'm talking about.

You want me to believe these people are both active operators and happy with their license? For 20+ years? I don't believe you. People that spend hours on the radio every week, and many kilobucks on hardware, are not likely to be happy with anything but the highest license. If they do exist then they are exceedingly rare, not tens of thousands of them.

The people that are quiet on this are the silent majority, they don't say a word. The vocal minority are those that exclaim how superior they are for having passed their Morse code exam and the supposedly more difficult written tests.

If they want to prove that they are as intelligent and skilled as any Extra then the only way to do so is to upgrade. But then to do so means they cannot advertise their exclusivity of having been licensed for so long and/or their Morse code skills.

If they are "happy" where they are then I say we make them a little less comfortable, renew them as General.

This is the same idea with this change in Technician privileges, is it not? We make them a little less comfortable in not taking advantage of HF. As it is now they can dismiss it easily as a place where they can't talk to anyone, where digital modes are banned, and apparently only old guys without microphones on their radios go to tap on switches.

 

Not sure who you are addressing.

If it was me....no, I didn't forget.

Here's what happened:

In 1963, there began to be concern that US amateurs weren't....keeping up with the Joneses - I mean, the Ivanovs....

Some folks got the perception that US hams basically memorized the License Manual, got some store-bought gear, and proceeded to chew up the airwaves....and not in a good way. This was the time when the Soviets were beating us in the Space Race, which brought about much hand-wringing, JFK's famous challenges to ask-not and to go to the moon, 50 mile hikes, and the New Math.

Sound familiar?

ARRL and others submitted proposals to FCC. ARRL's original 1963 proposal was simple: Reopen the Advanced to new issues, and go back to how it was before Feb 1953, when you needed an Advanced or Extra to use 'phone on the bands between 2.5 and 25 MHz.

This raised quite a ruckus. There were a bunch more proposals - 11, I think - and the whole thing went back-and-forth, round and round, for 4 years, until the final plan was announced: In 1967, the Advanced was reopened to new issues and the Novice went to 2 years. In late 1968, Generals, Conditionals, and Advanceds lost privileges on four HF bands (there were only 5 HF ham bands back then.)

There was considerable opposition to the idea of existing amateurs losing privileges they'd had for years.....some, for decades. But the FCC had its way.

The number of US hams grew from about 60,000 on VJ-Day to about 250,000 by the mid-1960s. Most of them had not been hams, or had not been Generals or above, before the Great Giveaway of 1953, and didn't know how it was before. Many didn't care - they felt they'd earned full privileges by getting a General or Conditional, and thought they should be guaranteed full privileges for as long as they kept renewing their licenses. They were......entitled.

Sound familiar?

 

Radio used to be SRS BIDNESS but sadly it's not so important anymore.

I say just eliminate/grandfather all the old license classes into General and Extra. Two levels of license, the easy to get into General that gets a new question pool that's a combination of Tech and General and grants all General rights, and Extra which is the prestige upgrade that's available to people who want something special to work towards. Feel free to make the Extra question pool more intense to make it more of a challenge.

Novice and Tech get free upgrade into General, and Advanced becomes Extra. Simplifies everything, and weirdly the world does not collapse into anarchy. A Tech who suddenly gets General privileges is not going to be any more of an embarrassment than any new General that ever passed the old tests.

Quick and simple, and maybe the FCC even likes the idea of having less complexity.

 

I'm sure the FCC would like the idea of having less complexity. You know what would bring less complexity? Having a single band plan for all licenses, like most nations in the world license their Amateurs. Where's the incentive in that? Well, there is none, I guess. There is no incentive in other nations, why do we need one?

Oh, wait, there is a kind of incentive. In other nations it takes the higher license class to operate higher power, among other things. I do believe the FCC would be content with a two tiered license. That top license would likely have unique privileges like operating repeaters, being proctors for licensing exams, and I'm sure we could all think of more.

To make anything happen on this the FCC would have to be convinced it benefits them. To see the benefit a goal must be defined. What's the goal behind upgrading everyone with Novice to General? Getting rid of the stragglers? We can get that by just not renewing them, which I suspect might be coming at some point.

Here's one question that needs serious discussion, are HF privileges an incentive any more? I believe they are not. Shuffling around the HF privileges will not save incentive licensing. If people really crave the spectrum above 30 MHz then use that as the incentive. Make the entry class license HF only and then make them upgrade to get above 30 MHz. How does that sound?