ARRL Proposes New Entry Level License Class w/ HF

kb1hoy. I DO NOT SUPPORT the removal of the code as a requirement for Extra class for the same reasons you have put forward. It should be a part of Ham radio but I think all hams need a taste of the HF side of ham radio.

How would I be able to learn through practice how to use an HF rig if I have no on the air time?

 

I am a life member and a very strong supporter of the ARRL. However, I cannot support the ARRL proposal to upgrade all Technician and Technician Plus licensees to General Class.

While the No Code Technician License has brought a great many fine people into our Amateur ranks, some unqualified and undesirable people have also entered Amateur Radio through this avenue. This has occurred largely because the level of difficulty of the examination was too low and because applicants were permitted to retake the test repeatedly over a short time, even on the same day until they “got lucky”. Now the ARRL is proposing to grant these individuals 1500 W PEP and H.F. privileges carte blanche.  

Although I am not a proponent of no-code, I do recognize the fact that the main barrier to qualified people entering Amateur Radio is the code requirement. Quality people of the type that we are seeking will have no problem passing the General written exam to upgrade once the code requirement is lifted. Most Technician Class Amateurs that I have discussed this with would rather take the General written exam to assure a higher quality Amateur presence on the H.F. bands. Lifting the code requirement will open the floodgate, additional incentives and automatic upgrades are not necessary.

We can stop this automatic upgrade. The first step is a massive e-mail campaign to our Directors who are our representatives before OUR League. These letters should be respectfully worded. Letters should focus on the issue of the automatic Tech to General upgrade and leave the no-code issue out of this.

If enough Amateurs, particularly ARRL members write their Directors, it will be obvious to the Directors that this part of the proposal does not represent the wishes of the ARRL membership or the Amateur community in general.

Encourage Amateurs to write their ARRL Directors on reflectors, during nets where appropriate, in newsletters, and at club meetings. Petitions can also be circulated at club meetings and hamfests.

Very few Amateurs will have any problem with passing the General written exam to obtain H.F. privileges. We can stop the automatic Tech to General upgrade if enough of us act now.

Walter A. Breining, N9WB

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (kc5vdj @ Jan. 24 2004,00:12)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">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[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Jim,

I read your post. It's enough to send chills down anyone's spine. Here is a copy and paste from "The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy" by William G. Pierpont N0HFF:

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Is the Radiotelegraph Code Obsolete?


Outsiders and some of those looking into Amateur Radio often ask this question: "Isn't the Morse code obsolete? Hasn't modern technology displaced it?"

Back in 1912 nobody balked at learning the code: it was simple then -- if you didn't know the code you couldn't even listen and understand, much less communicate, by wireless.

But today it refuses to lie down and die. Why? Not only old timers, but many newcomers have found that it is a skill worth learning, a pleasure just as any other skill. There is a real sense of pleasure and achievement in communicating this way. Some find it an excellent means of escape, a way to forget immediate work-a-day problems and completely absorb one's attention.

There is practical value also. It can get a message though where other methods fail. Operators have long known that Morse code signals penetrate distance, and go through interference and static where voice signals can't hack it. This is why low power (QRP) enthusiasts find that it is far superior to voice. Besides this, the equipment required, both transmitting and receiving, is much simpler and smaller, uses less power, and in an emergency can often be built up from simple, available parts.

These factors did not escape the Russian communists. They were also deeply impressed with the reliability, simplicity and lower cost of equipment for code communication and ease in maintaining it. (In the same line of thinking, their military radio gear has all been vacuum tube type to avoid potential damage due to radiation.) Therefore, through the years they have popularized and promoted learning the Morse code and developing skill in its use. It was included among their civilian "sports" activities. Contests and prizes were offered to the best and fastest operators. This would assure them of a pool of skilled, high-speed operators in event of war. Several years ago a couple of American soldiers who were amateurs were taken captive from a ship which was too close to North Korean shores. They were surprised to find that very many civilians in that country readily understood code.

In recent years our own military seem to have awakened to all this, and have re-begun to train some personnel for Morse code operation. In addition, they have realized that Morse is an effective means of communicating during periods when the enemy is jamming. There are other advantages also. It uses the next to narrowest signal bandwidth (PSK31 uses less but requires a computer) , which for amateur use means more channels are available within a band. It has  much superior signal-to-noise ratio, and in addition, an operator can soon learn to separate (mentally "filter") signals, which are very close together by differences in pitch, speed and style of sending.
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You don't see the Russians or any of the communist countries dropping their Morse requirements like the progressive countries in the Free World are. In event of a nuclear or other type of high-tech global war, thay will have CW communications, we won't. The Chinese aren't stupid. Neither are the Russians. Why are we being stupid?

 

[This plan if accepted by the fcc will do nothing more than turn all of amatuer radio into one giant glorified C.B. band.
Let the techs and the tech plus classes work for thier hf privileges like the rest of us did. Not only will that keep the quality of operators in the hf band to a higher standard, But those who earn thier ticket will appreciate it a hell of alot more.]

What hight standard is he talking about? A higher standard of medical chat?

Can you say curmudgeon???

K6BBC

 

K4rjj,
You learn through practice how to use an HF rig, AFTER you pocess all of the knowledge required to do so. Just like every ham has been doing for years. It is not right to allow people to get on HF before they know the code. Code used to be the only thing there was (back before AM, FM and SSB), do we want people to forget what ham radio is all about? Not requiring them to have the smallest knowledge of what made the whole thing possible, would be a wrong thing to do.

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (K6UEY @ Jan. 24 2004,10:42)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">K4RJJ,
You instruct KD7YQU to stay away from you and HF,have you considered maybe you are the type he was trying to avoid by upgrading. He was willing to EARN his upgrade, what have you done lately??

ORV
K6UEY
ARRL Life Member[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I have considered that. I have learned quite a bit on my own as well as in our club with 6 meter SSB. I have a 10W SSB rig and have been building antennas. I am also active on these areas.

2 meter, 70cm, and 33cm bands FM
The 6 meter band SSB phone.
APRS, ARES activites and other public service events.

If you re read the post you will see I was not asking him to stay away from me and HF but rather to consider that times do change and people should too. I did not propose the no code tech licence, I did not propose that tech class operators have the opportunity to get a vanity callsign, (I had my car door kicked in by someone who did not like that I have a 1X3 call) and I did not go out and propose this plan although I will not oppose it even though it means that these people without a licence will now get more privledges than I had taking one exam instead of two. I should be angry but I am not because times do change and I see all sides.

I just happen to think that code is not for me. I go with the rules that are in place.

Have you considered that soon the majority of people in Amateur radio may give not a care about morse or HF?

Again to KD7YQU. all i'm saying is we are not all bad people. I don't know you and you don't know me. If we meet on the air or at Dayton someday I hope we can talk about radios, weather, Sneaking the newest stuff from a hamfest by the XYL or something good. I look forward to that day and that OSO. If you don't so be it. 73 to all.

K4RJJ Ronny in Atlanta

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (k4rjj @ Jan. 24 2004,11:36)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">[[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Please!!! if you think for one second that knowing morse code at any level is the one element that makes a good HF operator then you are really grasping at straws.

I have built antennas and fixed radios as well as operating a few of them since being licenced. Morse code has never taught me a thing and not knowing it did not get in the way of learning it.
We agree on the part about it not going away. My idea was that if you know the code and pass it then you should have access to the CW portions of the bands. The ARRL idea if you read the section on HF in the General portions gives techs having never passed the test the privledge of using CW on air. Heck right now I can go into the 6 meter and up bands and tap away all I wish on a keyboard to produce some of the cleanest sound card CW ever. I would say that if you do not pass the test for CW you don't get to use it or the CW parts of the band. Who agrees that would be fair?

K4RJJ

 

I have a problem with the code/no-code arguement. I passed the tech + and was very pleased to move up from a no-code Tech to a Tech +. Now my class was eliminated and I have a new ticket that says Tech. I have to save my old ticket to show I did indeed pass the code. Now that I a Tech + may be moved up to a General seems to bother some ????. With everyone trying to get the bands away from us we should embrace anything that would ad to our numbers. Also if anyone thinks just because someone can pass the written or code test it makes them a better operator better think again. Many Hams came from 11 meters and the 2 meter and 440 band in my area has not suffered. I do however listen to HF and hear many so called real Hams acting like they are on 11 meters. Whats the deal, they passed 13 and 20 WPM code tests and a much tougher written test than I did and they act like this ? Lets not blame code and no-code or grandfathering for the bad apples on the air waves people. Let all the good Hams stick together and expand our numbers and keep the tradition of "Ham Radio" alive and stop fighting over one small issue. You can make someone pass a code test but you cant make them use it now can you ??
Just another opinion and i am sure since I live here in America others will have opinions that are not as mine, and that my friend is what makes this country great, God Bless America and Let Ham Radio Live On With The Code If You Choose To Use It.

 

"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."

What about 80/75, 40, 15, and 10 meters for the Extra Class operators?  What do we get on the bands not listed in that list?

73,
Ed K4XXX

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (N2MAQ @ Jan. 24 2004,11:54)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">... Also if anyone thinks just because someone can pass the written or code test it makes them a better operator better think again. Many Hams came from 11 meters and the 2 meter and 440 band in my area has not suffered. I do however listen to HF and hear many so called real Hams acting like they are on 11 meters. Whats the deal, they passed 13 and 20 WPM code tests and a much tougher written test than I did and they act like this ? Lets not blame code and no-code or grandfathering for the bad apples on the air waves people. Let all the good Hams stick together and expand our numbers and keep the tradition of "Ham Radio" alive and stop fighting over one small issue. You can make someone pass a code test but you cant make them use it now can you ??
Just another opinion and i am sure since I live here in America others will have opinions that are not as mine, and that my friend is what makes this country great, God Bless America and Let Ham Radio Live On With The Code If You Choose To Use It.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Sounds like an echo in here!


Here Here!

 

I started my radio hobbiest days as an SWL in 1981, listening to foreign broadcasters on a Heathkit SW-717. It wasn't until several years later that I was bitten by the ham radio bug.

I entered ham radio in December 1988 with a Novice ticket, which gave me limited HF privledges with CW and phone(10 meters only), and some privledges VHF and above. I wanted to do more with HF, so upgraded to General 6 months later, than Advanced a little over a year later.

Being able to get hints of HF(4 bands 80, 40, 15, and 10) gave me incentive to upgrade because with more privledges I could do more things, get more frequencies, etc.

Today's Technician entry level doesn't do that, only gives all the VHF and above privledges, with no hint of other things they could do. Giving limited HF to new Novices, phone, CW and maybe digitial modes, would give them a hint of what could be done in all parts of the RF spectrum, and incentive to learn more and upgrade.

In other words, I'd have no problem giving new no-code licensees some HF. I do however, disagree with the shorter exam. The Novice exam I took in 1988 was only 30 questions, but we also had the CW test. I would prefer the written tests for all classes of license be longer, perhaps 50 questions and be relevant to the privledges granted, i.e. test technology, regulations, operatorating procedures, etc.

Another poster mentioned Canada; the entry level test there is 100 questions! If anyone wants to try it, the RAC has a link to it at http://www.rac.ca/regulatory/liceinfo.htm , select "Download Industry Canada Exam Generator" on the page.

As for testing CW, I think it should still be tested for upper classes of license because it is a valid and can be a useful mode of communication and new hams should be exposed to it. The same can be said for other modes, such as the various flavors of phone(SSB, FM, AM), RTTY, AMTOR, SSTV, etc.

As for those who have no interest in CW, there are modes I have no interest in trying and in my 15 years in ham radio, still have no desire to try, yet I had to learn about them and was tested on them. Because CW is a useful mode, prospective hams should be exposed to it and it should be tested, just like any other mode.

As for the proposal, if the FCC accepts it and opens it up for comment, file a comment on it, for or against whatever your view. Those who are ARRL members should also contact their division leaders and let them know what you think.

73,

Jonathan, KB5IAV

 

I think this is a good compromise - those of us who are extra still have the prestige of passing a cw exam and those of us who are general can take an exam and go to extra anyhow (its not too hard - took me about a month of study or something). In some ways if they are going to do grandfathering they probably should have moved the generals who had code into Extra... oh well...

One thing you have to realize is the ARRL was up against two groups - neither of them would accept anything less than more code tests or no code tests for everything and they kind of struck a middle ground.

This was in fact a democratic movement - even I was asked for input. Nobody (except for people who don't belong to the ARRL - and they don't really matter in this decision) was left out.

 

-------You Won't Like Me On This One.------------

Why do you insist on supporting an organization that is tearing Amateur Radio apart?

This organization is trying this and trying that with inimical (hurt) to ham radio.

Let me proceed further:

Why was the classes of "Novice, "B", "A" and Extra" not enough to get all involved in ham radio? It was a happy bunch at that.

Ham radio can still go back to these past classes and still continue with the technical advancements of the future and of the past. Also remain as Amateur Radio and not a hobby.

This organization is a magazine publishing company and nothing more. You as a member or not a member have the right and privilege to decide what you want and not take it for granted that others can persuade you to their means and liking for the full purpose profitable gain.

Stand up for your rights and YOU decide and YOU tell these organizations what YOU want and not what they want. This includes the FCC as well.

This is America fellow hams, the land of the FREE and the BRAVE. Think of the one's that have gone before us to make it so.

.:

 

Lots of head shaking followed by response...........................Radio welfare, thats all it is radio welfare I tell you. I already hear people that are hardly know which end of the microphone to talk in. Their prior experience was most shurely with a citizens band radio. Does anybody think that they will understand the principles of basic antenna construction, and how to tune it up etc. What about the frequency they are actually transmitting on (center of intelligence)? Yes, I know I hold a Tech license, both my elmers held Extra class licenses and one of them had an engineering degree in electronics. Both of them enjoyed code.
Both of are now deceased. I intend to earn my license the same way they earned theirs. I also think that if the FCC would pass such a licensing structure it would cheapen not only the worth of earning a higher class license but also Amatuer radio in general. It would further diminish the technical expertise that emergency situations require. I know because I am a member of Navy Mars. Generators don't maintain themselves and radios don't repair themselves and nothing sets the equipment up by itself. Nor does it understand what coax does at odd quarter wave multiples. Only experienced operators with a good technical background will be able the handle things when something unexpected happens and it will (Murphy's Law).
That said I think the FCC did the right thing the last time they restructured the licenses. I also go out of my way to spend my time and recources to help individuals that take the initiative to learn.
Look for me on the General bands later this year. But PLEASE LET ME EARN IT THE OLD FASHIONED WAY!
73, Dean

 

If you think theres QRM now on the amatuer bands , wait till the FCC approves this proposal. According to ARRL satistics there are 350,000 licensed (Tech. & Tech+ combined). The total for General, Advanced, and Extra class is 337,000 licensees in the US. QRM will be so bad that you'll think that your on 11 meters. What we need is more spectrum. Eliminate the CW subbands totally to acommodate such a large influx of new generals. I believe that the generals, that took both the code and written exams should be upgraded to Extra class. Otherwise, it would be a slap in the face for the people that earned their license class instead of taking the freeride. Also extra class should get allocated more spectrum than the generals.  My .02 cents worth.