It all started with his father (DL4QB) rediscovering CW for himself as a longtime radio amateur. Both kids found this is a cool "secret language" and wanted to participate. Via a training call sign our kids Sophie (11) and Simon (14) could already participate in the worldwide amateur radio via SSB. A interesting moment was of course the so-called KIDs Day, where connections with other children all over the world are carried out. Thereby numerous contacts all over the world were established via shortwave. It was visibly fun! Both decided to work on their ham radio license. In Feb 2020 the time had come. Simon (14) already managed his upgrade to the highest license class (DL3QB) and Sophie (11, DO4QB) as the youngest radio amateur in Germany to the novice license (status of today). We got this confirmend by the federal agency. In the meantime both are enthusiastic about it and have already participated in competitions. On the one hand on a worldwide youth day (DH0YOTA) and on the other hand on contacts via the new satellite ES'Hail QO100 at a distance of 36 000 km. The satellite's range extends from Brazil to the whole of Africa and Europe, from Russia to India. Another real highlight was then two stations from Namibia (V55QO, V51JP) as well as of course from Germany and almost all over Europe. The other part of the World will come, if condx on shortwave going up! At this point I would like to make an appeal to create incentives to inspire young people for science and technology. Even if there is no "license" at the end, the kids have learned a lot in this time (technology, physics, communication) and will keep it for their lives. Approach children and young people actively! DL3QB (formerly DO8SV) via DH0YOTA on QO100 DO4QB on air 73 DL4QB
Great work WOW ! it is a lot harder to get licensed in Germany than over here in the USA ! hope to work both of you on the bands 73 Phil KI6PMD..
I heard a rumor that in Germany the Amateur Radio License test included showing proficiency in tuning a 6 cylinder boxer engine. Which reminds me of a joke about the difference between heaven and hell. In heaven the Germans are the mechanics and the British are the Police. The joke expands upon stereotypes of numerous nationalities.
Can you cite a reference about this? I was under the impression that the behaviour of Hertzian waves and Maxwell's equations were universal.
Oh they are universal, however, one has never had to show proficiency in Maxwell's equations here in the States. At least not beyond one or two multiple guess questions. I don'y know if other countries do either but quite a few people claim our testing to be less difficult. It would be interesting to see a comparison of AR tests around the world.
I agree. Given the universal nature of radio waves and the electronics which underpin their harnessing, it struck me as odd that there would be any possible artificial (geopolitical) differences for examinations.
The german test is more detailed in the novice class. You need to learn much more compared by the "us novice class". If you compare the "us extra class" with german CEPT-Class 1, the required skill level is similar to pass the test. The us amateur radio service has a national resource state and supported by the governement. In germany, ar is just an expensive old school hobby without any governement support. If the governement could do, they would reject all lics and sell the frequency ranges to the industrie.
A decade ago, there was a study made in Sweden that compared the scope and depth of the amateur radio exams in the CEPT countries, and also for some countries outside Europe. It turned out that the German exams came out on top, with the British and French just below. The Canadian, Swiss and Romanian exams were at about the same level, and the US Extra exams could be compared to the German Novice or "Klasse E" in difficulty. A lot of the more "complex stuff" in the US exams come out of the byzantine FCC regulations. The easiest exams that still provided HAREC status were found in Norway and Sweden. Incidentally, the CEPT countries now do not consider anything below the US Extra for HAREC, previously also the General was included. This is also the case in many other countries. Amateur radio is considered to be a PITA by most regulators. What currently saves the Germans is that their regulator takes the ITU regulations quite seriously, but this may also cause some other long-term problems. An example is that the primary status of the Galileo satellite navigation system in the 23 cm band has been enforced in Germany. In more deregulated countries the ITU is mostly regarded as an inconvenient curiosity which stands in the way for more profitable uses of spectrum. One of the most deregulated countries of the world is Sweden, where the regulator has explicit political instructions not to regulate the spectrum use more than absolutely necessary. This almost resulted in the early-2000s that amateur radio exams and licences were considered "unnecessary" by the lawyers, and should be abolished. In return, the privileges were to be reduced to a minimum. It turned out that CB and amateur radio had been conflated in the minds of the new breed of regulators. Only by exerting some serious pressure from influential people, the exams could be kept. 73/ Karl-Arne SM0AOM
What an honor to work Sophie DO4QB on the satellite. It was a pleasure listening to her having a few QSO's before i called in. I hope to have a bit of a longer chat next time. well done to you and your Family vy73 Werner, V51JP
Great! Instead of congratulating the kid for her achievement, some guy hijacks the thread with an innuendo in poor taste, and others take that as their cue to debate exam degree of difficulty. Shame on you for changing the subject. CONGRATULATIONS and KUDOS to Dear Sophie for a HUGE ACHIEVEMENT which may serve her well in many positive ways for the rest of her life. K8JHR
Yes congratulations to Sophie! Quite an accomplishment! To JHR, please remember that a thread is a conversation. I tried to inject a bit of humor commenting upon the difficulty Sophie may have had in acquiring her license compared to other countries. Sorry you found it in poor taste. But it did result in some discussion pertaining to licensing that others may have found enlightening. Find a thread w/o "hijacking" and you have probably found a thread that no one is reading. Once again congrats to Sophie, Simon, and their dad.
Great going German QBs! Keep up the exploring and learning in ham radio! Maybe place in some contest in the future.
