No subject

[Roderick M. Fitz-Randolph]

I AM UNALTERABLY OPPOSED TO THE FURTHER "DUMBING DOWN" AND "LET'S
MAKE IT EASIER FOR THOSE THAT DON'T LIKE THE CW SPEED REQUIREMENTS!"
THIS SMACKS OF FURTHER COMMERCIALIZATION BY THE ARRL TO INCREASE THE
RANKS OF AMATEURS SO THAT THE ARRL WILL SWELL ITS RANKS.  WHERE AND
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLY GOING TO HELP MATTERS?  ISN'T THE CESSPOOL OF
75 METER BAND (AND NOW RAPIDLY FOLLOWING SUIT IS THE 20 METER BAND)
PROOF THAT LOWERING REQUIREMENTS (VIS-A-VIS THE VE PROGRAM) DOES NOT
IMPROVE MATTERS ON THE BANDS.  THIS WILL SWELL THE RANKS OF CB-ERS
INTO THE HF HAM BANDS.  IS THIS WHAT EVERYONE WANTS?  DON'T WE HAVE
ENOUGH "NO-CODE EXTRAS AND ADVANCED CLASS LICENSEES NOW?

PLEASE COUNT MY VOTE AS A FIRM "NO!!" AND PLEASE EVERYONE SEND YOUR
OWN FEELING ABOUT THE MATTER TO THE DIRECTORS AT THE ADDRESSES
INDICATED BELOW.

ROD, N5HV
w5hvv at aeneas.net
______________________________________________________________________

ARRL Proposes Simplified Amateur License Structure

The ARRL Board has agreed to propose a simplified Amateur Radio
licensing structure with four classes. Lengthy discussion and debate
during the Board's meeting July 16-18 led to majority support for a
plan for four written examination elements to establish amateurs'
operational and technical qualifications instead of the present five,
and two Morse code examination elements instead of the present three.

Under the plan adopted by the Board, the entry level to Amateur Radio
would be known as Class D and would convey the privileges of the
present Technician license. The written examination would be at the
same level of difficulty as that of the present Technician examination,
but consistent with the privileges of the license. All amateurs now
licensed as Technicians would become Class D.

The next step would be known as Class C and would convey the privileges
of the present General license, but with phone subbands expanded by 50
kHz on 75 and 15 meters and by 25 kHz on 40 meters. Class C would be the
entry level to high frequency (HF) operating privileges. To upgrade from
Class D to Class C, an amateur would pass a written examination on the
operational and technical qualifications required for HF operation and a
5 word per minute Morse code examination. All amateurs now licensed as
General, Technician Plus, and Novice would become Class C. The expansion
of the telephony sub-bands would result from "refarming" of the Novice
CW bands that are no longer required for their original purpose.

The third step would be known as Class B and would convey the privileges
of the present Advanced license, but with phone subands expanded by 50
kHz on 75 and 15 meters and by 25 kHz on 40 meters. To upgrade from Class
C to Class B, an amateur would pass a more advanced written examination
similar in difficulty to the present Element 4A and a 12 word per minute
Morsecode examination. All amateurs now licensed as Advanced would become
Class B.

The final step would be known as Class A and would convey the full
privileges of the present Amateur Extra Class, with telephony sub-bands
expanded by 50 kHz on 75 and 15 meters and by 25 kHz on 40 meters. To
upgrade from Class B to Class A, an amateur would be required to pass
the most difficult written examination in the sequence. Consistent with
the practice in many other countries, no additional Morse code examination
would be required beyond 12 words per minute. All amateurs presently
licensed as Amateur Extra Class would become Class A.

In their discussions, Board members emphasized that the objective is
to rationalize and simplify the amateur licensing structure without
reducing the requirements for any class of license. Where reductions
in Morse code requirements are proposed, there would be a corresponding
increase in written examination standards. On the other hand, Board
members were adamant that simplifying the structure should not come at
the expense of privileges already earned by amateurs. Therefore, present
Novice and Technician Plus licensees, having earned entry-level HF
operating privileges, would be granted the new entry-level HF license.

Adoption of the simplification plan marks the culmination of 30 months
of work by the Board, during which time the input of literally thousands
of ARRL members and other amateurs and prospective amateurs was considered.
The Board debated a wide variety of options including both smaller and
larger numbers of license classes, higher and lower qualification levels,
and different privileges. Nine of the 15 Directors voted in favor of the
plan, with six opposed. Following the meeting ARRL President Rod Stafford,
W6ROD, observed, "The debate was at times contentious and the result was
not unanimous. Some Board members preferred greater simplification; others
were uncomfortable with some of the changes being proposed. However, every
Board member, without exception, left the meeting knowing that each of his
or her colleagues did what they believe is best for the future of Amateur
Radio."

Members are urged to contact their ARRL directors to comment on this
proposal. E-mail addresses are on page 10 of any issue of QST. Members
also may comment on the proposal via the ARRLWeb site, http://www.arrl.org
or via e-mail at restrux at arrl.org.

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