Amateur Radio Newsline headlines for Ham Nation. October 28, 2020.

Amateur Radio Newsline headlines for Ham Nation. October 28, 2020.

 

lol, the "Counterfeit Detection Act of 1992, Public Law 102-550, Section 411 of Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations, you can make and display color reproductions of bills as long as the illustration is one-sided and “less than three-fourths” the size of the original — or 150 percent larger than the original. You also have to destroy the files after their final use."

Okay, I guess it seems legit, but gotta delete the video after I watch it.

 

lol

 

Well we use the frequency's I suppose we should pay a fee for the licence, $5.00 a year is not that bad, heck what do we pay each year for cable tv. Your thoughts?

 

I don't pay for cable TV. Back when cable came out they promised everyone it would be commercial free because you're paying for it. Well that was a lie. I do pay for internet access to watch Youtube videos (and I block all commercials), but I'm paying for a SERVICE. The "frequency" is not a service it's just there. It never cost anything to use something that's just there before. How do you justify charging people now? Just because someone decided to monetize something doesn't mean it's right. What "service" is being provided and why do they need more money? And I say "more money" because up to date they have been paid by presumably my tax dollars (whether I was a ham or not).

 

I am not to upset over license fee's but they should be nominal, Those who are on fixed income like SS or disability should be waived along with minors. Those who want vanity calls should pay a lot more to balance it out.
If they do go that route they should also print licenses unlike today. Of course none of that will happen as government lacks any common sense.

 

My personal opinion is I have too much invested in the hobby to not pay a $50 fee to renew every 10 years but I don't think a new operator should have to pay $50 to get a license. If you told me I would have to spend $15 for a test and $50 for a licence to try a hobby I may not like I might find a cheaper hobby. With that said let's review some history:
In 1933, the FRC (predecessor of the FCC) proposed a fee of $5 ($100.17 in 2019 dollars) for amateur operator licenses. In those days operator license terms were 3 years. This proposal was strongly opposed and was not enacted.

In 1954, the FCC proposed a fee of $3 ($28.93 in 2019 dollars) for amateur licenses. In those days, and until the early 1980s, license terms were 5 years. This proposal was strongly opposed and was not enacted.

In the early 1960s the FCC again proposed fees for amateur licenses, and this time the proposal was enacted despite the opposition. The original effective date of January 1, 1964 was delayed a few months by a legal challenge, but by mid-March, 1964 the following fees were enacted:

New or renewed license: $4 ($33.45 in 2019 dollars)
Modified license: $2 ($16.72)
Special callsign: $20 ($167.25)

Novice and RACES licenses remained free.

Effective August 1, 1970, the FCC raised the above fees for amateur licenses to the following:

New or renewed license: $9 ($60.09 in 2019 dollars)
Modified license: $4 ($26.71)
Special callsign: $25 ($166.92)

Novice and RACES licenses remained free.

Effective March 1, 1975, the FCC lowered the above fees for amateur licenses to the following:

New or renewed license: $4 ($19.27 in 2019 dollars)
Modified license: $3 ($14.46)
Duplicate license: $2 ($9.64)
Special callsign: $25 ($120.46)

Novice and RACES licenses remained free.

Finally, effective January 1, 1977, FCC dropped all fees for amateur licenses. From then until now, all US amateur licenses have been free.

 

Here's a different view. I don't plan on assisting the ARRL on this one. They went against a lot of us on digital bandwidth and winlink etc.

I'll pay the $50 every 10 years and my $49 annual dues to the ARRL so I can participate in DXCC/LOTW but it's not to support the ARRL.

 

Cough up the Grant and be happy. Or, quit. It's only a hobby, yo?

 

Count your blessings Guys. Here is Switzerland we pay CHF120 a year (approx. US $131) to maintain our license.

73, Dave, HB9GNE/KM6FOR

 

In Italy we pay 5,- euros (5,80 USD) a year to maintain our licenses.

73, Massimo, IW3ILM-KC2YNT

 

50 bucks is fine, Just stop selling off our bandwidth $$$$ Greed

 

I don't think $5.00 a year is unreasonable, but to have to pay extra for an upgrade (which it appears is the case) after you've paid your annual isn't right. And to have to pay another $50 for a printed copy of the license - what are they printing it on - gold embossed lambskin? I didn't see any details if there is to be another fee for the FCC emailing you your license.
Now, if they would use the extra money to do a little more enforcement, I'd be a little happier.

 

Consider the fact that the air waves are a free resource that nobody owns. Some governments sell partitions to companies that use it for profit. That is fine since the alternative would be chaos, regulation is needed.

Licensing individuals to use the public space properly is also fine if the purpose is to insure we have order on the airwaves. However the reality is the FCC does not do that anymore. The FCC's only action is to prevent interference to commercial interests. So it should be the commercial users that should pay the cost to enforce rules that keep their space clear for their commercial use. Hams should not have to pay for regulation that does not benefit us in any way.

Increased fees would be bad for everyone, Hams and commercial users. This would greatly increase the number of unlicensed users that cause problems to everyone.

Some people have been conditioned to think the government owns you and you should have to pay for your freedom.

 

WOW!