ARRL Proposes New Entry Level License Class w/ HF

ZCZC AG03
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 3  ARLB003
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  January 20, 2004
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB003
ARLB003 ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access

The ARRL will ask the FCC to create a new entry-level Amateur Radio
license that would include HF phone privileges without requiring a
Morse code test. The League also will propose consolidating all
current licensees into three classes, retaining the Element 1 Morse
requirement--now 5 WPM-only for the highest class. The ARRL Board of
Directors overwhelmingly approved the plan January 16 during its
Annual Meeting in Windsor, Connecticut. The proposals--developed by
the ARRL Executive Committee following a Board instruction last
July--are in response to changes made in Article 25 of the
international Radio Regulations at World Radiocommunication
Conference 2003 (WRC-03). They would continue a process of
streamlining the amateur licensing structure that the FCC began more
than five years ago but left unfinished in the Amateur Service
license restructuring Report and Order (WT 98-143) that went into
effect April 15, 2000.

''Change in the Amateur Radio Service in the US, especially license
requirements and even more so when Morse is involved, has always
been emotional,'' said ARRL First Vice President Joel Harrison, W5ZN,
in presenting the Executive Committee's recommendations. ''In fact,
without a doubt, Morse is Amateur Radio's 'religious debate.'''

The entry-level license class--being called ''Novice'' for now--would
require a 25-question written exam. It would offer limited HF
CW/data and phone/image privileges on 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters as
well as VHF and UHF privileges on 6 and 2 meters and on 222-225 and
430-450 MHz. Power output would be restricted to 100 W on 80, 40,
and 15 meters and to 50 W on 10 meters and up.

''The Board sought to achieve balance in giving new Novice licensees
the opportunity to sample a wider range of Amateur Radio activity
than is available to current Technicians while retaining a
motivation to upgrade,'' said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. Under the
ARRL plan, current Novice licensees--now the smallest and least
active group of radio amateurs--would be grandfathered to the new
entry-level class without further testing.

The middle group of licensees--Technician, Tech Plus (Technician
with Element 1 credit) and General--would be merged into a new
General license that also would not require a Morse examination.
Current Technician and Tech Plus license holders automatically would
gain current General class privileges without additional testing.
The current Element 3 General examination would remain in place for
new applicants.

The Board indicated that it saw no compelling reason to change the
Amateur Extra class license requirements. The ARRL plan calls on the
FCC to combine the current Advanced and Amateur Extra class
licensees into Amateur Extra, because the technical level of the
exams passed by these licensees is very similar. New applicants for
Extra would have to pass a 5 WPM Morse code examination, but the
written exam would stay the same. Sumner said the Board felt that
the highest level of accomplishment should include basic Morse
capability. Current Novice, Tech Plus and General licensees would
receive lifetime 5 WPM Morse credit.

''This structure provides a true entry-level license with HF
privileges to promote growth in the Amateur Service,'' Harrison said.

Among other advantages, Sumner said the plan would allow new Novices
to participate in HF SSB emergency nets on 75 and 40 meters as well
as on the top 100 kHz of 15 meters. The new license also could get
another name, Sumner said. ''We're trying to recapture the magic of
the old Novice license, but in a manner that's appropriate for the
21st century.''

The overall proposed ARRL license restructuring plan would more
smoothly integrate HF spectrum privileges across the three license
classes and would incorporate the ''Novice refarming'' plan the League
put forth nearly two years ago in a Petition for Rule Making
(RM-10413). The FCC has not yet acted on the ARRL plan, which would
alter current HF subbands.

The ARRL license restructuring design calls for no changes in
privileges for Extra and General class licensees on 160, 60, 30, 20,
17 or 12 meters. Novice licensees would have no access to those
bands.

See ''ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access''
on the ARRL Web site, www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/01/19/1/, for
the specific subband allocations ARRL is proposing for each class.
NNNNARRL News

 

oh my god.. im the first one to reply..

well.. nothing new to say here.. this debate will be on-going.

i love cw.. thats my only thought.

 

I can't believe it took this long to get posted here, but it's a fair compromise. Some of the points are the same as I suggested in comments I made to the FCC during the open comment period, including three license classes and retaining code for Extra.

I would have preferred to withold HF until General class, but I suppose giving a taste of HF with limited power at entry level is OK and may encourage upgrading, much like the old Novice license.

This proposal actually puts us very close to having only two license classes: No-Code and Code!

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (gu7uj @ Jan. 23 2004,20:59)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">when will you understand that the morse exam must be eliminated for all license and the CW only portions of the band must be totaly eliminated.

Steve
NCI-3069[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

No, no, no, long live CW!  Operators who take the time to learn this skill are a connection to the rich heritage of ham radio.  The slow but unavoidable movement away from CW should not be rushed, but rather slowly reflected upon like the passing of a favorite uncle.  The day you can't raise someone with a -.-. --.- on the lower 40m band (hopefully, that day isn't here), many of us will indeed shed a tear.

- Greg

 

I think its a great plan!! keep up the good works ARRL.
Brent N9ZR

 

QRD:  I am dumbed down.

QRD?: Are you dumbed down?

 

this is a great "revelation" a well thought out compromised solution to to an old problem TO REVIVE AND BREATH NEW LIFE INTO THE SERVICE. i fully support the ARRL in its effort to do so. MOST REASONABLE RADIO AMATEURS WOULD AGREE that this is the BEST WAY TO GO. so lets make it SO. TOM N2NZJ ARLS #807

 

As a technician class licensee I am glad to see the ARRL supporting the idea of allowing limited HF operations to new operators. However, I do not feel I am qualified to be "grandfathered" into the existing General class license. Current licensees should have to take the standard written test to upgrade to their new privileges without the code requirement. Also, making the new entry class license test only 25 questions does nothing but dilute the knowledge that is needed to earn your ticket.

We must remember that this is ONLY a proposal and not written in stone; and of all the proposals I have read this is one of the better ones out there. If the FCC adopts it with a few minor modifications, it will be for the better.

73,
Brian

 

I can live with this.
73

 

RIGHT ON OM.      

 

It's a GREAT PLAN! It's time for the CW crowd to get over it and welcome the change.

K6BBC

 

WHAT THE GREAT PLAN is, to put a 90 day time limit on all Technician licenses and you take the test and up grade or study GOLF. Once the now phony Technician ticket is done away with it will clear up a lot of the problems almost automatically.Then change the novice ticket back to what it was originally before people started playing idiot games with it. Keep the code for the General class so those who ARE willing to earn HF priviliges can move up, those who are not willing to contribute will drop off like fly's with a dose of Raid.

 

I have thought long about if I should enter my comments into this proceeding, and my comments were dependant on the common availablity of source material I had previously read and no longer had access to when I started thinking about if I should reply.

I have recently found, at Princeton University, a scanned copy of "The Effects of Nuclear Weapons", 3rd ed., 1977, Compiled and edited by Samuel Glasstone and Philip J. Dolan, Prepared and published by the US Department of Defense, and Energy Research and Development Administration, from which, and it's derived references, I derive my argument in favor of retaining the current minimal Morse Code requirement for US Amateur Radio Service licensing for HF access.

The events of the past few years, and the irresponsible actions of those in leadership positions in the United States, in particular those of the President of the United States and his advisors, such as attacking the wrong country in response to the 9/11 attacks [The highjackers and financiers were Saudi, not Afghani], as well as the invasion and occupation of Iraq on false pretense in order to secure it's oil, have created many enemies of the United States, and in particular have the rest of the world pursuing nuclear weapons programs to protect their populations from us.

The current, and probable future geopolitical context cannot be ignored in the debate on if we should retain or trash the Morse Code as a licensing requirement. Hitler's Banker's Grandson is our President, and has been acting like he's living up to his family heritage. The rise of Fascism worldwide cannot be ignored in this either, as struggles between corporations become struggles between the governments they have bought. Although there may be some efforts to reverse this trend, such as the recent Italian Constitutional Court ruling that the leaders of the Italian Fascist Party [yes, it still exists by name, and is in current political control of Italy] are subject to prosecution for wrongdoing. Although some small steps as these have occurred, it would be unreasonable to say that the trend is reversing, but efforts are being made.

Ignoring geopolitical contexts, we also face the possibility of accidental nuclear war. In 1996, the United States came within ten seconds of having the nuclear weapons of the Russian Federation launched upon it because of a launch that the Russians had no prior knowledge of and was on a potential ballistic trajectory towards the Russian Federation from a country in the United States sphere of influence. This well-documented case was the reason that President Clinton agreed to help create a universal launch notification system and update the Russian command and control systems. President Clinton's program to prevent this from ever happening again was trashed by the Bush Administration soon after taking office though, and the threat of another such misinterpretation of an unannounced launch and the possible response by a country armed with ICBMs is inevitible.

The civil defense aspects of Amateur Radio in a post-nuclear war situation is of utmost importance, and rises to the level of being a National Security requirement, in my opinion. During the period of time in which Amateurs will be called upon to serve their local communities, in the absence of any other form of long-haul telecommunications, the radio environment that Amateurs will have to deal with will be harsh to say the least, but Amateurs with knowledge of Morse Code, as well as technical skills verified through proper testing of technical knowledge can assure that a signifigant percentage of HF-capable Amateurs will not only be able to communicate, but should have the rudimentary knowledge necessary in order to build and operate the simplest CW transmitters and receivers from whatever parts are still good in consumer electronic equipment which will largely be otherwise unusable after the detonations.

The first hours and days after any such event are by far the most critical to preserve life and property, as well as order. Unfortunately, it is also during this time that CW [using Morse Code] may be the only means of communications that can even be termed reliable.

Most of these effects are documented in the above cited publication, available on the Internet [which will not be there if this happens] at http://www.princeton.edu/~globsec/publications/effects/effects.shtml in which I refer the Commission to Chapter Ten.

Any nuclear attack on the United States will require a large number of detonations above 40 miles in altitude. As a reference I refer you to Hardtack, Phase II, 1958, Project TEAK, as well as Project Argus, as well as Project Starfish Prime, as well as most of the 1962 and later atmospheric tests which further explored the effects that can disrupt power, command and control, and general communications.

In such detonations, the ionosphere is greatly degraded, phase issues make most modern modes unusable [no PSK-31 would be possible due to the phasing issues], wideband modes will have serious phase and doppler distortion, SSB would be unlikely, as would most machine-decoded modes. In a nutshell, what will be left is the simplest of transmitters, probably being built on the spot, the simplest receivers, probably being built on the spot, and Morse Code decoded by ear and sent by hand. All but the most paranoid Amateurs will be blown off the air permenantly by EMP, so home-built equipment will be the most likely scenario, as those with spare equipment in storage will probably NOT be selling.

Although the TEAK exercise resulted in vastly degraded communications via the F and E layers, relatively normal ionization returned by morning. I think it would be unrealistic, given the debris ionization [late-gamma, and late-beta], to assume that the picture would be so optimistic after hundreds to thousands of detonations within minutes to hours of each other. Any reasonable estimate would have to conclude that the problems demonstrated by TEAK would continue well beyond a single day and night. The problems exhibited by TEAK spread over most of a hemisphere within hours, as well as took out the power grid of Honolulu, and this was just a single 3.8 MT yield burst at 48 miles altitude. If I was Russian, under those circumstances, I would already have a system set up to do this daily for many days under automatic control.

Many Amateurs across the United States have proven that they can operate under conditions resembling what is described by Glasstone, Dolan, and others. Auroral CW contacts are made daily, EME CW contacts are made daily, and both of these operating styles demonstrate that Amateurs can deal with weak-signal, doppler, and phase issues using the only reliable mode under such conditions: Continuous Wave encoded with Morse Code. What TEAK, and atmospheric tests in it's class did was prove that the conditions commonly found in Auroral-scatter and EME will be what Amateurs will have to deal with after a nuclear war.

With these points in mind, I give what I feel is the most compelling argument for the retention of Morse Code as a licensing requirement. Be the cause an accident or the result of a leader with a Napolean complex, the facts are the facts.

A Morse Code requirement for United States Amateur Radio Licensees with HF access should indeed be deemed a National Security requirement for the continuance of the Service, so long as the United States remains even a potential target for thermonuclear weapons.

Respectfully submitted,

Jim Bryant, KC5VDJ

 

Thank you for your comments Gen. Turgidson.

Well, boys, I reckon this is it - nuclear combat toe to toe with the Roosskies. Now look, boys, I ain't much of a hand at makin' speeches, but I got a pretty fair idea that something doggone important is goin' on back there. And I got a fair idea the kinda personal emotions that some of you fellas may be thinkin'. Heck, I reckon you wouldn't even be human bein's if you didn't have some pretty strong personal feelin's about nuclear combat. I want you to remember one thing, the folks back home is a-countin' on you and by golly, we ain't about to let 'em down. I tell you something else, if this thing turns out to be half as important as I figure it just might be, I'd say that you're all in line for some important promotions and personal citations when this thing's over with. That goes for ever' last one of you regardless of your race, color or your creed. Now let's get this thing on the hump - we got some flyin' to do.

or...

Mandrake, do you recall what Clemenceau once said about war? He said war was too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.

K6BBC

 

Over the years, it has been obvious the ARRL has never mentioned the privileges the general class license holders from the 1950s and early 1960s lost to license
restructuring.  Is that because there is nothing to gain with this group of amateurs, perhaps the silent majority?   Why not afford us the same attention as the novice and technician classes and grandfather us up to Advanced Class or Extra class, after all, not only did we once qualify for full privileges but had to pass the technical test and 13 WPM CW within the ONE year life span of our Novice ticket, not FIVE years plus renewals later!

Grandfather “The middle group of licensees--Technician, Tech Plus” to General and HF is absurd, we have a bunch of guys in our emergency group ® and they cannot even program their single mode single band walkie talkies for simplex operation!  How then, can they be expected to operate across crowded HF bands with competence; tune antennas, debug RFI, and properly adjust transmitter ALC?? So I guess we can expect even more SSB splatter across the bands, Oh my god, will these Licensees have access to LEAN E ER amplifiers too? Move over SSB, CW is going to get more popular!

Bill Prats
K6ACJ (Original call licensed 1957)