SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE CODELESS "REVOLUTION"

Based solely on www.hamdata.com published statistics from
22 February to 3 March 2007, there doesn't seem to be the
kind of "revolution" nor the influx of CB hordes expected
by the long-timers. Specifically, the table below uses the
small block of daily statistics that appears to the left of
the license class totals. Since the data of the data
is derived from FCC database files, the numberic values
represent daily quantities from FCC actions the day befo

NEW EXPIRED UPDATES CALL CHG. CLASS CHG
=== ======= ======= ========= =========
22 Feb, Thu. 174 172 894 49 88
23 Feb, Fri. 78 83 432 5 44
24 Feb, Sat. 190 127 494 47 121
25 Feb, Sun. 1 95 195 20 13
26 Feb, Mon. 0 0 58 0 0
27 Feb, Tue. 144 2 700 13 347
28 Feb, Wed. 99 168 846 44 89
1 Mar, Thu. 138 203 783 13 369
2 Mar, Fri. 87 204 729 12 346
3 Mar, Sat. 85 168 724 83 270

NEW = Never before licensed or retest after long absence
EXPIRED = Past the two-year grace period
UPDATES = Renewals, address changes, adminstrative
changes, not 'upgrades' to another class
CALL CHG = Changed call sign of existing license
CLASS CHG = Changed class of license (mostly 'upgrades')

Numbers for 25 and 26 Feb idicate the weekend off for FCC;
Expirations would probably be automatic as a result of
computer check of pre-determined grace period end. The
Updates column may be a result of more automation from
renewals received and thus might be due to just computer
activity automatically changing the licensing dates.

Tuesday the 27th probably indicates the beginning of the
"deluge" of VEC input that arrived on the Monday before.
The sudden jump in Class Changes is no doubt from existing
"lower" class Techs or Tech Plusses moving up to General.
What is interesting is that there don't seem to be ANY
significant change of NEW licensees' daily numbers. Those
have overwhelmingly come from unlicensed entering the Tech
class and have been at a constant increase since Tech was
created in 1991. The totals of Technician class HAVE
started to drop since the 23rd of February and continue
to decrease slowly; it is very certain that class'
licensees have upgraded to General or Extra now that there
is no code test requirement.

Whatever, it seems clear at a week after 06-178 became
legal that there isn't much of any influx of newcomers.

In the last 12 months www.hamdata.com reports that 22,609
NEW licensees entered. In the same period, 29,096 licenses
EXPIRED. Licensee grand total dropped by 6,487 in that
past period. A good thing or bad one?

On Mar 3, 10:30 pm, "
wrote:
SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE CODELESS "REVOLUTION"

Based solely onwww.hamdata.compublished statistics from
22 February to 3 March 2007, there doesn't seem to be the
kind of "revolution" nor the influx of CB hordes expected
by the long-timers. Specifically, the table below uses the
small block of daily statistics that appears to the left of
the license class totals. Since the data of the data
is derived from FCC database files, the numberic values
represent daily quantities from FCC actions the day befo

NEW EXPIRED UPDATES CALL CHG. CLASS CHG
=== ======= ======= ========= =========
22 Feb, Thu. 174 172 894 49 88
23 Feb, Fri. 78 83 432 5 44
24 Feb, Sat. 190 127 494 47 121
25 Feb, Sun. 1 95 195 20 13
26 Feb, Mon. 0 0 58 0 0
27 Feb, Tue. 144 2 700 13 347
28 Feb, Wed. 99 168 846 44 89
1 Mar, Thu. 138 203 783 13 369
2 Mar, Fri. 87 204 729 12 346
3 Mar, Sat. 85 168 724 83 270

NEW = Never before licensed or retest after long absence
EXPIRED = Past the two-year grace period
UPDATES = Renewals, address changes, adminstrative
changes, not 'upgrades' to another class
CALL CHG = Changed call sign of existing license
CLASS CHG = Changed class of license (mostly 'upgrades')

Numbers for 25 and 26 Feb idicate the weekend off for FCC;
Expirations would probably be automatic as a result of
computer check of pre-determined grace period end. The
Updates column may be a result of more automation from
renewals received and thus might be due to just computer
activity automatically changing the licensing dates.

Tuesday the 27th probably indicates the beginning of the
"deluge" of VEC input that arrived on the Monday before.
The sudden jump in Class Changes is no doubt from existing
"lower" class Techs or Tech Plusses moving up to General.
What is interesting is that there don't seem to be ANY
significant change of NEW licensees' daily numbers. Those
have overwhelmingly come from unlicensed entering the Tech
class and have been at a constant increase since Tech was
created in 1991. The totals of Technician class HAVE
started to drop since the 23rd of February and continue
to decrease slowly; it is very certain that class'
licensees have upgraded to General or Extra now that there
is no code test requirement.

Whatever, it seems clear at a week after 06-178 became
legal that there isn't much of any influx of newcomers.

In the last 12 monthswww.hamdata.comreports that 22,609
NEW licensees entered. In the same period, 29,096 licenses
EXPIRED. Licensee grand total dropped by 6,487 in that
past period. A good thing or bad one?



Well, I see it as people are no longer interested in Ham Radio. The
internet is here. People hang out at boards like Nim Busters and do
talk shows these days...

Well, this data also puts them extra-class blow hards at ease. We
dont them all having heart attacks and becoming silent keys.... Lest
we have less hams then...

On Mar 4, 12:36 am, "Lloyd A Davies" wrote:
On Mar 3, 10:30 pm, "
wrote:



Well, this data also puts them extra-class blow hards at ease. We
dont them all having heart attacks and becoming silent keys.... Lest
we have less hams then...-
sadly some of them we can well spare and frankly it might spare them a
lot of pain too

On Mar 3, 11:30 pm, "
wrote:
SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE CODELESS "REVOLUTION"

Based solely onwww.hamdata.compublished statistics from
22 February to 3 March 2007, there doesn't seem to be the
kind of "revolution" nor the influx of CB hordes expected
by the long-timers. Specifically, the table below uses the
small block of daily statistics that appears to the left of
the license class totals. Since the data of the data
is derived from FCC database files, the numberic values
represent daily quantities from FCC actions the day befo

NEW EXPIRED UPDATES CALL CHG. CLASS CHG
=== ======= ======= ========= =========
22 Feb, Thu. 174 172 894 49 88
23 Feb, Fri. 78 83 432 5 44
24 Feb, Sat. 190 127 494 47 121
25 Feb, Sun. 1 95 195 20 13
26 Feb, Mon. 0 0 58 0 0
27 Feb, Tue. 144 2 700 13 347
28 Feb, Wed. 99 168 846 44 89
1 Mar, Thu. 138 203 783 13 369
2 Mar, Fri. 87 204 729 12 346
3 Mar, Sat. 85 168 724 83 270

NEW = Never before licensed or retest after long absence
EXPIRED = Past the two-year grace period
UPDATES = Renewals, address changes, adminstrative
changes, not 'upgrades' to another class
CALL CHG = Changed call sign of existing license
CLASS CHG = Changed class of license (mostly 'upgrades')

Numbers for 25 and 26 Feb idicate the weekend off for FCC;
Expirations would probably be automatic as a result of
computer check of pre-determined grace period end. The
Updates column may be a result of more automation from
renewals received and thus might be due to just computer
activity automatically changing the licensing dates.

Tuesday the 27th probably indicates the beginning of the
"deluge" of VEC input that arrived on the Monday before.
The sudden jump in Class Changes is no doubt from existing
"lower" class Techs or Tech Plusses moving up to General.
What is interesting is that there don't seem to be ANY
significant change of NEW licensees' daily numbers. Those
have overwhelmingly come from unlicensed entering the Tech
class and have been at a constant increase since Tech was
created in 1991. The totals of Technician class HAVE
started to drop since the 23rd of February and continue
to decrease slowly; it is very certain that class'
licensees have upgraded to General or Extra now that there
is no code test requirement.

Whatever, it seems clear at a week after 06-178 became
legal that there isn't much of any influx of newcomers.

In the last 12 monthswww.hamdata.comreports that 22,609
NEW licensees entered. In the same period, 29,096 licenses
EXPIRED. Licensee grand total dropped by 6,487 in that
past period. A good thing or bad one?



Eventually, they'll all be Extras and my wish for a one class amateur
radio service will be fulfilled. We should change the name of that
license to: Amateur.

There will ultimately be two classes of ham radio license.

Tech, and Extra.

Or Class A and Class B. A VHF+ entry-level license, and a license with all
privileges.

Just as I suggested in my Y2K NPRM restructuring comments, I might add.

"KH6HZ" wrote in message
...
There will ultimately be two classes of ham radio license.

Tech, and Extra.

Or Class A and Class B. A VHF+ entry-level license, and a license with all
privileges.

Just as I suggested in my Y2K NPRM restructuring comments, I might add.


I disagree. My bet is that we'll indeed have a de facto two level license
system but I think they will be General and Extra. The step from Tech to
General is not that difficult and the licensee will have access to all
modes, power levels and bands. Unless you are into DXing, contesting or
being a VE, the additional privileges that Extra licensees have are not that
much of an advantage.

I, for one, encourage all those studying for Technician to go ahead and get
the General study guide and go for it either at the first sitting or as soon
as possible thereafter. The Technician will be basically turn into a very
temporary way station on their climb up the ladder.

In my opinion, the Technicians who stay at that level will primarily be
those who are inactive.

Dee, N8UZE

On Mar 4, 9:10 am, "Dee Flint" wrote:
"KH6HZ" wrote in message

...

There will ultimately be two classes of ham radio license.

Tech, and Extra.

Or Class A and Class B. A VHF+ entry-level license, and a license with all
privileges.

Just as I suggested in my Y2K NPRM restructuring comments, I might add.

I disagree. My bet is that we'll indeed have a de facto two level license
system but I think they will be General and Extra.

I've been on record for a long, long time advocating a one license
"system." However, I've compromised with Hans suggestion of a simple
entry level license, and a full license. Whover said we needed more
license classes ought to have his head examined.

wrote in message
ups.com...
On Mar 4, 9:10 am, "Dee Flint" wrote:
"KH6HZ" wrote in message

...

There will ultimately be two classes of ham radio license.

Tech, and Extra.

Or Class A and Class B. A VHF+ entry-level license, and a license with
all
privileges.

Just as I suggested in my Y2K NPRM restructuring comments, I might add.

I disagree. My bet is that we'll indeed have a de facto two level
license
system but I think they will be General and Extra.

I've been on record for a long, long time advocating a one license
"system." However, I've compromised with Hans suggestion of a simple
entry level license, and a full license. Whover said we needed more
license classes ought to have his head examined.


Well it's hard to say what the right number of classes is. I would advocate
two licenses: a 50 question General exam and a 50 question Extra exam. The
material in the Tech & General tests has enough overlap and is basic enough
that it would not be a big hardship on applicants to master the combined
material. Going straight from a Tech or other entry level test to Extra is
a huge jump in both quantity and complexity of the material. It would
certainly discourage a lot of people and might increase the drop out rate.

Already our club is planning for future licensing classes to combine these
two. Of course, we'll have to create our own syllabus and figure out how
best to present the combined material. At this point in time, there are no
combined manuals that already address the material for both license classes.
In principle it would be similar to the Now You're Talking book that was
available prior to the 2000 changes, which combined the Novice and
Technician material in one integrated study guide such that a person could
study for both Novice and Tech writtens at the same time. Our goal will be
to not only help them get licensed, but to try for General right out of the
box.

As I see it, there simply is no longer a need for an "entry level" license.

Dee, N8UZE

On Mar 4, 9:10�am, "Dee Flint" wrote:

My bet is that we'll indeed have a de facto two level license
system but I think they will be General and Extra. *The step from Tech to
General is not that difficult and the licensee will have access to all
modes, power levels and bands. *Unless you are into DXing, contesting or
being a VE, the additional privileges that Extra licensees have are not that
much of an advantage.

I, for one, encourage all those studying for Technician to go ahead and get
the General study guide and go for it either at the first sitting or as soon
as possible thereafter. *The Technician will be basically turn into a very
temporary way station on their climb up the ladder.

My fiftieth of a dollar:

There are really two issues here.

The first is "what's the best possible license
structure?" and the second is "what can we
realistically put in place in US amateur radio?"

The first step in answering either question is
to define what should be on the tests for a
license that gives *all* US amateur radio
privileges. Some think the testing for the current
full-privileges US amateur radio license isn't
near as comprehensive as it should be, others
think it covers too much, etc.

The answer is almost certainly going to be a
compromise between all those opinions.

The second step is to determine whether
it's a good idea to require a new amateur
to pass that test just to get started in amateur
radio, or whether it's better to have license
classes that require less knowledge in return
for fewer privileges.

Then decide how many steps are needed from
"not a ham" to "full privileges".

While doing this, it is important to remember
that what appears easy to someone with
significant radio/electronics/engineering/math
background may not appear easy to someone
who does not have that same background.

Then there's the whole question of what FCC can
be induced to do. In recent R&Os and other
writings, FCC has repeatedly said they consider
the optimum number of license classes to be
three.

So it seems the way to go is:

- an "entry level" license that is easy to get
and gives limited privileges

- a "middle level" license that requires more
knowledge, but not everything

- a "full privileges" license that has comprehensive
knowledge requirements for full privileges

That's close to what we have now, but there are
improvements that can be made. First is the
extreme unbalance in the privileges of the
Technician license. That may be a hard
sell to FCC.

---

It should be remembered that the old Novice class
was extremely successful in getting new hams
started in amateur radio, at least for the first 30-40
or so years of its existence. The main feature of
the old Novice that worked so well was that it
required minimal testing, so that newcomers could
get on the air and see if amateur radio was really
for them.

There was never any requirement for newcomers
to start with the Novice, yet for decades most new
hams did just that.

What's needed now is a "Novice license for the
21st Century", IMHO

73 de Jim, N2EY

wrote in message
ps.com...

On Mar 4, 9:10am, "Dee Flint" wrote:

My bet is that we'll indeed have a de facto two level license
system but I think they will be General and Extra. The step from Tech to
General is not that difficult and the licensee will have access to all
modes, power levels and bands. Unless you are into DXing, contesting or
being a VE, the additional privileges that Extra licensees have are not
that
much of an advantage.

I, for one, encourage all those studying for Technician to go ahead and
get
the General study guide and go for it either at the first sitting or as
soon
as possible thereafter. The Technician will be basically turn into a very
temporary way station on their climb up the ladder.

My fiftieth of a dollar:

There are really two issues here.

The first is "what's the best possible license
structure?" and the second is "what can we
realistically put in place in US amateur radio?"




Agreed. These really are separate issues. Usually practicality will
outweigh other issues.


The first step in answering either question is
to define what should be on the tests for a
license that gives *all* US amateur radio
privileges. Some think the testing for the current
full-privileges US amateur radio license isn't
near as comprehensive as it should be, others
think it covers too much, etc.




Since people are split on this issue, my opinion is that we are probably at
about the right level for the full privilege license.


The answer is almost certainly going to be a
compromise between all those opinions.




That may end up leaving it the same as it is now.


The second step is to determine whether
it's a good idea to require a new amateur
to pass that test just to get started in amateur
radio, or whether it's better to have license
classes that require less knowledge in return
for fewer privileges.




Personally I just can't see expecting the new amateur to do that much work
just to be able to start exploring amateur radio. History has shown that
having a basic licensing option is helpful to the growth and health of
amateur radio.


Then decide how many steps are needed from
"not a ham" to "full privileges".




Agreed. Three steps has always seemed appropriate to me. I would not find
two objectionable. However if we keep the full privilege license as is,
then three really seems better. The introductory license to try out amateur
radio and then an intermediate license (like the General) that gives a wide
range of privileges but does not require delving into the more exotic
technical and mathematical areas. Then the full privilege license.


While doing this, it is important to remember
that what appears easy to someone with
significant radio/electronics/engineering/math
background may not appear easy to someone
who does not have that same background.




That is why I favor three license levels but do encourage people to move up
to General as quickly as they can study the material. I've taught classes
for Tech, General, and Extra to people who had no significant
radio/electronics/engineering/math backgrounds. So I'm quite familiar with
this issue. With the exception of two who did not take the Extra test, all
my students have passed the respective licenses for which they were
studying. The ironic part is the two who did not attempt the Extra class
test had significant math/electronics/radio backgrounds. A lady who was an
administrative assistant (no significant background in math/technical/radio
subjects) passed her Extra with flying colors.



Then there's the whole question of what FCC can
be induced to do. In recent R&Os and other
writings, FCC has repeatedly said they consider
the optimum number of license classes to be
three.

So it seems the way to go is:

- an "entry level" license that is easy to get
and gives limited privileges

- a "middle level" license that requires more
knowledge, but not everything

- a "full privileges" license that has comprehensive
knowledge requirements for full privileges

That's close to what we have now, but there are
improvements that can be made. First is the
extreme unbalance in the privileges of the
Technician license. That may be a hard
sell to FCC.




With the expansion of the Novice/Tech+ privileges in December and dropping
of the code so all Techs have those privileges, much of that imbalance has
now been alleviated.


---

It should be remembered that the old Novice class
was extremely successful in getting new hams
started in amateur radio, at least for the first 30-40
or so years of its existence. The main feature of
the old Novice that worked so well was that it
required minimal testing, so that newcomers could
get on the air and see if amateur radio was really
for them.




I wasn't into radio until 1992 and the codeless Tech was already rapidly
becoming the entry point of choice. So I can't really comment on this.
However my elmer/teacher strongly encouraged us to go for Tech+ right off
the bat. I'm glad I did. However, it took so long for the license to come
that I passed my General in the meantime and went on the air as a /AG the
day that first license arrived. So I did not experience operating as a
Novice.


There was never any requirement for newcomers
to start with the Novice, yet for decades most new
hams did just that.




When the codeless Technician came into being, it quickly became the entry
point of choice and rapidly chipped away at the Novice licensing approach.


What's needed now is a "Novice license for the
21st Century", IMHO

73 de Jim, N2EY



So just out of curiosity, what is your version of the 21st "novice" or entry
license?



Dee, N8UZE