I would like to see a Novice license with a VHF/UHF and low power (25 watts) only option. I work with lots of CERT people and many come to me asking about getting a license. After I explain to them what is involved, the vast majority of them say no thank you. They have no interest in HF. They just want to talk around the community. The new 2 watt FRS will help a little, but not much. CB is a joke. Getting a GMRS repeater is expensive, so that's out of the question. There are just some people out there who are very responsible, but do not have the technical capability of getting the Tech license. I feel bad for them, but I cannot do anything.
The FCC is incapable of dealing with more than 3 license classes. The only option is to change the Tech.
There have always been those who aspire to a ham license who have less technical ability than others the answer is not to reduce the requirements the answer is to work with the material until you are able to pass the test lack of technical ability is one thing lack of desire is another story.
There's just too much of it. Oddly, its not the FCC that's driving this excess, but us. We essentially define the question pool.
Don't know much about current exams my last one was in the early 80's would be interesting to note how many of the questions deal with regulatory matters in the hobby it seems we hear a great deal about the failure of some to comply in this regard might the FCC have a database of most common violations of the rules and regs that could be incorporated into the tests on the other hand that would require actual enforcement actions which many feel are sorely lacking these days. The point being let's make the tests contemporary both in regard to the technical and regulatory requirements.
Out of curiosity, I had a look at some General and Technician practice exams the other day. About the same mix of subjects as ever. Some questions on regulations/operating practice, some basic theory questions, some questions about different modes, etc.
That is not true for everybody. I wanted an EE, but no matter how hard I tried I could not get past the math. Some things come natural to some people, hard to others, and impossible to some.
I had a thought a while back and wondered why we could not " PHONE PATCH A HAM" my idea was let's make a time and date at the local nursing home or assisted living homes to set up a time to phone patch a ham that can no longer have a radio to get on the Air. Put him on the air with a phone patch into a Net he used to call in to or get him into a QSO or a CQ call.
Older hams, if one had to generalize, view ham radio as a hobby activity centered around limited transmittive communication and activity with a small number of like older hams. Basically the once-a- month Denny's lunch bunch also on the air. Nothing wrong with that--many need this human contact and support and I am all for it. But the sense of exclusion these cliques of older hams often project is like what one encounters in 'seniors only' housing complexes. "It takes a village to raise a child". Don't keep everyone under 65 out please. Recognizing the issues is an important step to addressing and fixing them. 73 Chip W1YW[/QUOTE] Thank you Chip, as a newcomer to this hobby (2 Years), I have seen the situation where certain "experienced hams" seem to hang out with each other, perform activities with each other, and generally seem like a closed group. I have come to the conclusion that this is just natural behavior for people who have known each other for 30 years or more! It isn't meant to be exclusionary, but if you are a newcomer, it can sure seem that way. I've been going to my local radio club meetings for 2 years now, and I am just now starting to make some "friends" of my own. You've got to show that you are interested and serious about being part of the group before you are recognized or invited to participate. I have heard of new hams that don't feel welcome by the experienced hams so they stopped going to meetings, and that's a shame because if they had a little more patience, it would work itself out. That's just my opinion/approach.
Don, There are now thousands of remote stations and it is becoming feasible to do this with laptops/smart phones onto the remote stations. The problem is that no one has organized that, and your idea is a spectacular one, if morphed to laptops and remotes, or smart phones and remotes 73 Chip W1YW
