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R&O scheduled for FR Jan 24th

Sonwatcher

Active Member
Apr 6, 2005
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NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 19, 2007 -- The ARRL has learned that the FCC's Report and Order (R&O) in the "Morse code proceeding," WT Docket 05-235, is scheduled to appear in the Federal Register Wednesday, January 24. Assuming that occurs, the new Part 97 rules deleting any Morse code examination requirement for Amateur Radio license applicants would go into effect Friday, February 23, 2007. The League cautions that this date is tentative, pending official confirmation and publication.
www.arrl.org
 

After further thought on this subject how will this help ham radio attract new hams?
I can understand how this action will help current hams up grade to a higher lic class a lot quicker. But how will it help attract new hams?
I have tried to attract Tech people to ham radio and just plain people to the hobbie most if not all said Why should I?
The reasons stated start at I have a cell phone,computer ect all the way to the money issue High cost of radios limited contacts (hams only)ect. ect. I am afraid ham radio is doomed. Comments? 73's
 
todt061458 said:
After further thought on this subject how will this help ham radio attract new hams?
I can understand how this action will help current hams up grade to a higher lic class a lot quicker. But how will it help attract new hams?
I have tried to attract Tech people to ham radio and just plain people to the hobbie most if not all said Why should I?
The reasons stated start at I have a cell phone,computer ect all the way to the money issue High cost of radios limited contacts (hams only)ect. ect. I am afraid ham radio is doomed. Comments? 73's
1 example... A friend of mine is one of the original designers of the gell cell battery(A real dummie...NOT) He told me he has been interested for a long time but "Didn't want to mess with that beep beep crap". I'm sure he is not the only one like that. As far as why should anyone get involved with amateur radio... maybe to help the community if needed OR , For the same reasons some folks like to sail, quilt, fly RC planes, go fishing,CB, SWL, etc etc. IOW....a hobby ;)
 
karo said:
I still fail to see how making someone take a test to use a portion of bandwidth make you any smarter..
It dosen't make anyone smarter. Just test that the operator knows how to run a station safely. Dosen't even make sure they do run it safely. If you are talking about element 1 then I agree with you 100%

There are plenty smart people on the 11 meter band and no one gives them any credit. Who is supposed to give credit and credit for what? I don't understand.

I feel it's wrong for the US government to control who can or cannot use radio bandwidth that is not used by any government or military organization.So if you had a business and radio communication was important to it, you wouldn't have a problem with other folks yacking on the freq. your business uses? You wouldn't mind if folks started yacking on your favorite radio station ?You wouldn't mind other folks joining in on your cell phone conversation? You wouldn't mind folks yacking on the same freq.s that the radar is using thats monitoring the plane you are on?

For what it's worth I see it as segregation of the air waves and I feel it's time for desegregationCOOL!! Could you please start with using the frequency of a local TV station? TV SUCKS anyway.What a waste of air waves! While you are at it, see if you can have them do away with those stupid drivers license and control of what side of the road we can drive on. :LOL:
 
Hello todt61458:

I am sure the new FCC ruling on dropping the morse code testing requirement will bring new people into the ham radio hobby.

Yeah I agree with you on trying to get technical type people in to the ham radio hobby. Ham Radio sure has a bad reputation as far as being unfriendly. Other originations such as service clubs, the Kiwanis, Lions, and others all have a pre arranged game plan to welcome new members into their clubs. This is a shame as the vast majority of hams are pretty great people.

I know the turn off type of ham, a little guy reciting rules and regulations, constantly repeating one can not talk on ham radio without license, and wants to turn everyone and everything into the FCC, over the slightest rule violation. And again this is a real shame especially with the internet and cell fones taking a large chunk or interest away.

But I am sure the radio enthusiasts, the guy who works on a antenna on of a icy roof at 10:30 PM while the ol lady is yelling at him, that runs the coax thru the living room window because its too short for now. That JB weld epoxy is holding one of his plate cap connections on his linear, who stays up till weird hours to make a contact, and is truly wanting to learn a few new things about radio, and make new friends will always over come all the bad things out there.

Got to go, the Maid lady is vacuuming up the living room, and I have to move a coax, and some books.


Jay in the Mojave



todt061458 said:
After further thought on this subject how will this help ham radio attract new hams?
I can understand how this action will help current hams up grade to a higher lic class a lot quicker. But how will it help attract new hams?
I have tried to attract Tech people to ham radio and just plain people to the hobbie most if not all said Why should I?
The reasons stated start at I have a cell phone,computer ect all the way to the money issue High cost of radios limited contacts (hams only)ect. ect. I am afraid ham radio is doomed. Comments? 73's
 
11 Meter Operators are the only ones who make up their own set of technical standards and myths. If we had that every where the world would be nuts. As long as it is contained to a certain area its all good.
 
karo said:
I still fail to see how making someone take a test to use a portion of bandwidth make you any smarter.
***********************************************

No argument here.

There are plenty smart people on the 11 meter band and no one gives them any credit.
**********************************************

One doesn't have to be "smart" to turn on an oven, or open a refrigerator. CB radio is a consumer appliance that doesn't REQUIRE smarts! :p
***********************************************

I feel it's wrong for the US government to control who can or cannot use radio bandwidth that is not used by any government or military organization.
***********************************************

Right. *YOU* feel. Based on what data, degree, or training?
However, we DO have representatives in Congress who have delegated responsibility to agencies and trained people to do the job. It ain't perfect, but it generally works! ;)

For what it's worth I see it as segregation of the air waves and I feel it's time for desegregation.
***********************************************
Fences! If you were a farmer and another farmer's cows trampled your wheat, how would you like that? What if there were NO fences, or laws, that allowed you to keep others' "cows" out? Oh, I reckon you'd be fairly livid with rage and ready to do harm to that OTHER farmer...............or yelling
"HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MR CONGRESSMAN, GIT THEM COWS OUT OF MY WHEAT!! PASS SOME LAWS!!!!!!!!!! CALL THE LAW!! DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!" :evil:

It's called "anarchy"--the absence of control, mayhem,--even danger to others lives, property, or........even to be able to use a radio with any reasonable effectiveness!

There are several reasons RF spectrum is regulated centrally.

1) BECAUSE it cannot easily be contained.

2) Because it can create crippling interference.

3) Because of the potential for loss of life or property.

So what must be contained since we can't contain Radio energy? We have to control the behavior of the users in order to make it viable. And, further, the users (cows, if you will) are placed in "fences" (or "frequency allocations" to separate them from the others.

A little history. "It's time to 'desegregate radio'". Hate to tell you this, but there's not that much new under the sun because it was LIKE that prior to 1934; a free for all!!! It took YEARS to get it under control, and finally Congress passed the Communications Act of 1934 which brought some semblance of order. States tried to control radio, towns tried to control it, counties tried to control it---even TAX it, but it was the central control of FCC that made radio as effective and orderly as it is today. Not perfect, but better than what went before.

Those of us who try to encapsulate radio from the sum of their experience with CB are seeing it ONLY from that point of view. Radio fulfills many requirements from THOUSANDS of viewpoints and it fills the same number of needs. These radio services are NOT a "hobby". They don't "ratchetjaw", they don't CARE about "skip". They are trying to do a JOB the same way a carpenter uses a hammer. While a CBer might get on with "How 'boucha, Central Naw'th C'lina, we tryin'! Break skipland", the utility user may say TWO words. Then nothing for a week! :D But he doesn't want YOU on there tying up the frequency "playing" when he DOES need it! :x So that's why there are laws to prevent YOU from doing exactly that--with penalties for it that can run into the thousands!!! It is why "freebanding" is WRONG! Just because the assigned user isn't using it NOW, it is STILL HIS LEGALLY, and he has a reasonable expectation to be able to use that frequency when he WANTS to. Likewise, if you have a garden tiller out in your shed you haven't used for awhile, does that mean that *I* can just come borrow that tiller without your knowledge?
"But, Mr Po-leeceman, I was just borrowing it; he wasn't using it"! :p Try THAT excuse either with the cops OR FCC because the law treats both concepts the same way!

Last is, it only takes ONCE to lose a life! You can't get it back.
So let's say that you got all this "desegregation" done. HOW would you like to be on an international flight trying to land in fog, and some goof with the disease I.M.P. (Infantile mental paralysis :p ) was on the frequency, "HOW 'BOUT IT CALIFORNIA, YUH GOT A COPY? I GOTS THE PEDAL TO THE METAL AND FIRE IN DA WIRE"! The equation changes when it's YOUR butt in a sling and about to die!!!! So if you want this "deregulation", just listen to your CB when the "skip" is howling. That noise is caused by THOUSANDS of unregulated signals, hordes pouring over the RF border. That is what the rest of radio would be like (shudder). Most of us don't WANT that!

Take that Amateur test. Don't just memorize. LEARN something from it!!!! It will give you pride and a sense of achievement!
We don't all have to be RF engineers, but a modicum of radio knowledge goes a LONG way! And you will then know WHY we don't want 'desegregation'!

That's why our regulations are the way they are.

CWM
 
todt061458 said:
After further thought on this subject how will this help ham radio attract new hams?

It won't. Not one bit. It may, however, cause some hams to leave the hobby out of frustration and never come back.

todt061458 said:
I can understand how this action will help current hams up grade to a higher lic class a lot quicker. But how will it help attract new hams?

Yep, pretty soon everyone will have an Extra, and what's left over will be grandfathered over to Extra. Within 5 years, there will be only one class of license, IMHO.

todt061458 said:
I have tried to attract Tech people to ham radio and just plain people to the hobbie most if not all said Why should I?
The reasons stated start at I have a cell phone,computer ect all the way to the money issue High cost of radios limited contacts (hams only)ect. ect. I am afraid ham radio is doomed. Comments? 73's

Agreed. One day within the next 50 years we'll all be like members of a manual typewriter club today.
 
another point to ponder. I have been asked by Young and old folk what does ham radio offer to a local club/area of non tech type people that a GMRS lic does not offer? It is just like 440mhz and local rptrs are coming online all the time without the hassel of the testing that ham radio puts people thru.Just apply for a lic pay your fee and presto ypur lic is ready to go.
As a Extra class ham and a truck driver/small fleet owner I have equipped all my trucke with Gmrs and murs radios and payed for the lic for my drivers. It works pretty well . so we use 11 meters for down the road coms Gmrs for convoy type traffic and amd we have a few private business class lic for private comms. So now what's the big deal about ham radio? Nothing as far as I see Oh ya we also use Nextel radios to talk to one another across the states.
A driver in NewYork called a Driver in Denver the other day Two way voice traffic.No problem. Un able to do that on my ham gear. Ham radio is slowely becoming obselete just by it's own rules can't the spectrum be used for a better purpose than Ham radio it's a value based thing I think? I wonder how much the ham spectrum is really worth anyway? Oh and if I let my lic expire(won't happen) I wonder if I would really miss it? That's the question would we all be poorer if ham radio just went away ?? :?:
 

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