RadioBanter - View Single Post

Michael Coslo · **July 23, 2007 ARS License Numbers**

wrote:
On Jul 27, 2:39?pm, Michael Coslo wrote:
wrote:

- Some hams haven't gotten the word

I still have prospective Hams tell me that they have to brush up on
their Morse code so they can test. Oddly enough a few fellows continued
in that line of even after I told them they didn't need to.

I just don't understand that at all.

The latest example for me was while getting a key made. THe fellow
brehind that counter saw my PAQSO Party T-shirt, ans asked if I was a
Ham. I told him yup, and we had a nice conversation about his wanting to
become a Ham. He showed me the Morse Program on his Palm Pilot that he
was using to study for the test. I told him that while he would still
want to study it, He didn't need to learn Morse for the test because
they didn't test for it any more.

Our talk moved on to other testing issues. I explained that our club
held test sessions at our monthly meetings, and suggested he come to one
and do the test. He said "Maybe in a few months, because I still am not
up to speed for the Morse code part of the test".......

For example, I have had more than one Advanced tell me
that s/he won't upgrade to Extra because the Advanced "proves" the
person passed a code test, while the Extra doesn't.
Same here! I suppose that if a person runs with a crowd that sees that
as somehow being better than other people it might be legit. Otherwise
it strikes me as really odd.

Which is a better indicator of Morse Code skill:

1) Once upon a time, maybe decades ago, a person passed a particular
test under certain conditions

or

2) A person demonstrating their *current* skills under real-world
operating conditions?

Seems to me #2 is the better indicator.

Absolutely. If a person knows how to "walk the walk" then they are
there. What test they took is close to irrelevant. IMO, the Testing
process is the beginning, not the destination.

Others have told
me that they're sure FCC will eventually give Advanceds a free upgrade
to Extra, so they're just waiting it out.

Even when I point out that FCC has repeatedly turned down auto-upgrade
proposals, they aren't convinced.

It's what I call positive thinking enhanced by not wanting to have to do
any work...

I'd tell them the same thing I told those who waited out element one's
demise: "If the wait doesn't bother you, then go ahead and wait." There
were people telling me to wait it out back in 1999 "because Element 1
will be going away any day now!" But I didn't wait, and I wouldn't trade
the extra 7 years I had my General and Extra for anything.

When I got my Extra in 1970, some folks said I was wasting my time and
effort because "incentive licensing won't last - in a few years
Generals will have all privileges again..."

Kinda another example of what I was talking about above. Even if they
were correct that the incentive licensing would go away, it's hard to
fault picking up knowledge.

At least one I know feels
insulted that it takes the same testing to go from General to Extra as
it does to go from Advanced to Extra.
Oh my! Does this person want a special test made up just for him?

Actually, yes - or rather, for all Advanceds.

Some of us might think that was a pretty hefty sense of entitlement!

Exactly what dud they see as insulting about having to take the same
test?

He was angry that having passed the old Advanced written did not carry
any testing credit towards Extra.

Wow. I guess that the only way to sate this fellow might be to throw
away a lot of the questions. Of course then he might be angry that he is
paying the same that a General pays to upgrade! He'd be paying more per
test question! ;^)

Sooner or later, the last of those closed-off licenses will disappear.
It may take a very long time, though - the number of Advanceds today
is about 67% of what it was when the license class was closed to new
issues.

While we have discussed lots of reasons for that decline, I know of
another possibility, at least for a delay. I know several Hams who
waited for the Element one to go away after it was eliminated from the
treaty yet not gone from our testing requirements. The long wait made
for an upgrade delay on some peoples part. I thought that the delay was
actually a harmful thing in that respect.

IOW: "if you're going to change the rules, change 'em! Don't take
3-1/2 years to make such a simple change!"

Absolutely. While I didn't win the poll that we had a long time ago in
another group, I wasn't all that far off. It should have only taken 6
months, a year tops. Even then, it could have been more like "this is
what is going to happen then, instead of being a minor mystery until the
end.

bunch of good stuff snipped

I think the amateur radio organizations that pushed for the changes
bear some responsibility for that delay.

What *should* be done, IMHO, is for amateur organizations to do the
legwork up-front. IOW,
I think the way to do a proposal is:
1) Gather up lots of opinions from the amateur community
2) Write a draft proposal
3) Present it to the amateur community, with clear explanation of what
is proposed and why.
4) Gather more opinions by means of surveys, polls, etc.
5) Rework the draft proposal based on the input received
6 Repeat steps 3 through 5 until a proposal gets a clear and
compelling majority of support from the amateur community, and the
opposition's points are dealt with.IOW, build a consensus *first*
7) Submit the proposal to FCC, including the survey/poll results.

If all that were done, FCC would assign an RM number and then be
flooded with supportive comments. FCC could then easily rubber-stamp
approval of the proposal.

But doing it that way takes a lot of grunt work, time, and effort.
Also takes compromise.

Jim, that is an excellent proposal. I think it might be a great way to
keep the league in (better?) touch with the Ham community. It would
certainly allow Hams to offer feedback and interactivity. It would be a
semi-direct conduit, coordinated by the organization(s).

- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -