What do you think of my idea? (I'm taking bets on how many people
flame my idea.)

Eliminate the 5 wpm exam but keep the rest of the exams, license
structure, and privileges in place. All No-Code Techs automatically
gain Tech Plus privileges. The General and Amateur Extra licenses
require ONLY the written exams.

It's simple. The confusion over No-Code Technicians and Technicians
with Tech Plus privileges is finally resolved. All written exam
requirements remain in place. (In spite of the red herrings thrown
around, the trend has been towards beefing up the written exams rather
than watering them down. Since the restructuring in 2000, RF safety
questions have been added to the new question pools.)

I'm surprised the ARRL didn't propose this, as it would be simpler.
(Or the ARRL could have proposed the exact same thing I propose here
but retain the 5 wpm exam for the Amateur Extra class as a
compromise.) I think my idea would do more to simplify the FCC's work
and be just a continuation of the 2000 restructuring. I'm not sure if
the FCC will like the ARRL's proposal due to the added complications.
Remember that the restructuring of 2000 kept the same basic license
structure in place - the only real changes were eliminating the 13 wpm
and 20 wpm exams, keeping the 5 classes in place, and stopping the
issuance of new Novice, Tech Plus, and Advanced licenses. The FCC
didn't bother to reshuffle band plans, probably because it felt that
would be too much work for too little impact.

OK, OK, my idea isn't that original. No Code International
essentially proposes the same thing.

I'm optimistic about the prospects of eliminating the Morse Code
testing REQUIREMENT. The FCC did say in its restructuring that the
ITU treaty was the main reason to keep the Morse Code requirement and
repeated many of No Code International's arguments. Now that the ITU
has given all nations the go-ahead to eliminate Morse Code testing
requirements, the FCC has no reason to retain ANY Morse Code test. Of
course, Riley Hollingsworth could change his mind on the matter,
though I don't see that happening given that we're still waiting for
the "General Lites" and "Extra Crispies" to overrun the HF bands with
the music of the Lords of Acid. (That would be not only a violation
of the ban on music but also obscene.)

I think the FCC will propose some variation of what I'm proposing. It
may retain the 5 wpm for the Amateur Extra license, but this would
require that Riley Hollingsworth change his mind on the Morse Code
testing issue. It's conceivable the FCC could automatically upgrade
all Novices to Tech or all Advanced licensees to Amateur Extra. But I
think the FCC is satisfied with the basic license structure as it
stands, or it would have completely changed things in the
restructuring of 2000.

I highly doubt that the FCC will expand the phone bands, and I don't
think this should happen anyway. SSB is a bandwidth hog compared to
the digital modes (CW, PSK-31, etc.), and there should be some
incentive to develop new bandwidth-efficient digital modes rather than
have SSB crowd everyone out. That's why phone is illegal on the
digital bands but (with the exception of 60m) Morse Code is legal on
the phone bands.

Jason Hsu, AG4DG
usenet AAAAATTTTT jasonhsu.com