Do you guys think the tests have been "dumbed down" as stated earlier? If they have been, I must be really dumb because the material for the Extra Class is darn hard. 
-
You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.
ARRL is Loosing my Membership/If passed!
- Thread starter BJ radionut
- Start date
Oh most certainly Joe...when I took General: 13 wpm CW...send/receive must be passed....No multiple choice question's and there were no study guides like today...only 400+ page study books and no published questions...
But WTH....the whole world has dumbed down...look at the school system in US and see where we rank Vs. the world....
Just the Nature of things....but I am not one to be one of those...."I passed it, so you should too"
kinda thingy's....
but the new proposal PMO that they would just give more than half of the General Class HF Phone away...instead of making the test different and going from there...but another subject...
All the Best
Gary
But WTH....the whole world has dumbed down...look at the school system in US and see where we rank Vs. the world....
Just the Nature of things....but I am not one to be one of those...."I passed it, so you should too"
kinda thingy's....
but the new proposal PMO that they would just give more than half of the General Class HF Phone away...instead of making the test different and going from there...but another subject...
All the Best
Gary
Last edited:
I'm like you Gary and although I am in Canada we have had similar testing procedures over the years. When I was licensed we had to pass a CW test and there were a few multiple answer questions IIRC........or maybe that was on some of the practice exams.......too long ago to remember. We definitely did have to look at schematics and identify various parts of the circuit and describe the operation of that circuit as well as draw block diagrams of a basic TX and a basic RX as well as basic station layout using a list of equipment on the exam. IIRC we were given two and a half HOURS to finish the exam and of course there were NO question pools published to study the answers to. We had to actually learn things the hard way. The advanced ticket exam was indeed much harder than the regular exam and required either a LOT of studying or a previous background in electronics. I remember asking about 45-50 minutes into the exam if we could just pass them in and leave when we were finished. One guy taking the test said to me "You gave up hey? Pretty hard isn't it?' His and a couple other's jaws hit the desk when I said "No I actually finished it and if I didn't pass my boss would likely want to fire me". I passed it in and the inspector asked where I worked and just chuckled when I told him.That was back in my broadcast days. LOL As it was he knew the chief engineer I worked with at the time. I walked out with 100% on my theory and 98% on my regulations. I missed one on either fast scan television or RTTY I can't remember. Even our basic license exam back then was harder than our advanced exam today. I don't begrudge anyone getting a ticket today however I do begrudge them when they think they know it all just because they can remember some answers to a few questions.
Do you guys think the tests have been "dumbed down" as stated earlier? If they have been, I must be really dumb because the material for the Extra Class is darn hard.
Don't get me wrong the material is difficult but compared to other technical challenges in my life not impossible.
Just what does "dumbed down" really mean ?
When I first saw the NAVY manual for RM 3 & 2 in the 70's it was comprehensive, detailed and daunting. Now I consider it a good, basic, reference. When I first saw (not passed) the FCC administered exams the amateur specific had to be memorized but the theory was no different. When I took my commercial exams I was immersed in commercial land mobile and broadcast radio as well as operating marine. 1st Phone (now GROL) was at least the challenge that today's extra exam is and possibly more.
To me dumbed down is la azy and incorrect observation of the changes to the exam content. We barely had transistors and were still non PLL VFO when I started. Satellite operation via Oscar was in its infancy. Digital modes consisted of RTTY. Receivers , transmitters and transceivers had just made it under 50 pounds and were steadily dropping in weight. IRLP and echolink were unheard of. Repeaters had just made the switch from AM to FM and CTCSS wasn't considered necessary. Simple 74 series chips and more complicated National/Fairchild/Linear Monolithics integrated circuits were just appearing .
Now we have countless digital modes.
Radios on a chip (SDR)
High powered Mosfets and LDMOS
Direct digital synthesis
Totally different license structure, frequency allocations and band plans.
Tune and load are disappearing as recognizable terms.
Changes to CFR47~97.xx
and
The elimination of the OOK cognition requirement. (the code)
Antennas are still antennas
Kilovolts still kill.
Hollow state still barely survives
Diodes are still one way.
Transistors are still NPN and PNP (okay UJT for those playing along and want to nit pic)
AM, SSB, FM, and CW haven't changed.
Safety is still safety.
Ohm's law is still the law.
Maxwell was and still is correct.
The math has not changed (see above)
The exams have changed with the times but the basic information is still there.
If you eliminate that percentage of amateur licenses that believe the world as they knew it ended on February 23, 2007 you have little but opinion to base any argument on that amateur radio has been dumbed down.
So you pass your extra exam. You receive a CSCE that says you are an extra. Now if you want to be an extra that's up to you. If you want to all but design and built your next radio that's up to you. If you want to pursue CW proficiency that's up to you. If you want to add all that has gone before you as well as chase the bleeding edge of technology that is up to you.
If all you want is to memorize the 742 question pool and have access to the additional bandwidth as an appliance operator that too is up to you.
So after all that I have a reply to the OP .
BJ,
If you cancel or let your membership lapse in protest then you become one of the many tens of thousands the ARRL purports to represent that are not members. Welcome to my club. I'm a never leaguer for my own reasons. Don't anyone waste the effort convincing me otherwise. My ongoing reasons are evident and repetitious.
I guess my question would be " why did you become a member of the ARRL"? If that reason is no longer valid then cancel and leave. If you feel that working within the "Church of St Hiram" for change is a better option then do so.
The ARRL is already receiving considerable backlash from it's membership over this. Why don't you add to it where it counts? Mail bomb Newington with all you've got. Bitching here isn't much more than a troll post.
BJ,
If you cancel or let your membership lapse in protest then you become one of the many tens of thousands the ARRL purports to represent that are not members. Welcome to my club. I'm a never leaguer for my own reasons. Don't anyone waste the effort convincing me otherwise. My ongoing reasons are evident and repetitious.
I guess my question would be " why did you become a member of the ARRL"? If that reason is no longer valid then cancel and leave. If you feel that working within the "Church of St Hiram" for change is a better option then do so.
The ARRL is already receiving considerable backlash from it's membership over this. Why don't you add to it where it counts? Mail bomb Newington with all you've got. Bitching here isn't much more than a troll post.
Couldn't agree more. I do plan to tackle CW. The thought of it is a bit imtimidating but so is the Extra Class study material.
As far as memorizing the questions/answers, being 65-years-old I'm old school and don't consider that an option. I want to understand what the answers mean (as best I can).
Last edited:
The term is neither lazy nor ignorant. Dumbing down is simply the reduction of requirements to the point where it becomes almost impossible to fail. It stems from the days when the "dumb"people (those that did not study) failed whereas now they can pass with flying colours.
Yes but now less and less of that basic information is required to pass the exam.
And they will become part of the problem operators on the air. Not all mind you but a LOT will. With things from the requirement for proper operating procedures to knowing how to adjust your ALC so you are not splattering across the band not being a requirement to any extent whatsoever today, these operators QRM the bands needlessly and when it gets mentioned to them the response is often to go piss off because the FCC says they have passed the requirements to be on the air. The problem is that standards are not being kept up regardless of any technological changes to equipment.
Not a ham here so I don't have a horse in this race, just observations from an outsider looking in. Take this with a grain of salt.
I think it would be good for the hobby to let Tech class operators get a taste of more of the bands but those numbers look way to high to me, it does seem like they're gutting the incentive to upgrade. This change but with significantly lower percentages would probably be healthy for the hobby in the long term, just enough to get operators hooked on HF and make them want to upgrade for more.
In a nutshell this looks to me like a good idea implemented very poorly.
They ALREADY have privileges on those bands just not on phone. They can use CW on those bands now. Learn a little and upgrade a lot I say.
Before this gets emotional and illogical I'll relent a fair bit.
CK you do see a reduction in standards. I see the exams not keeping old tech as well as not keeping up with technology.
Somewhere in the middle is the truth.
My concern is that the current technician question pool expires 1 July 2018.
If the current pool gets replaced with a dramatic reduction in standard coupled with additional HF allotment for technician licenses ...
I get to have "some" small amount of input in the coming question pool.
I get to teach locally.
I get to comment to the FCC
I can, and frequently ignore the ARRL but this shot across the bow will not go unnoticed.
We can only hope that the FCC maintains it stance that enhancement is " $15/seat, step right up, no waiting, and pays your money take your chances.
Technician "enhancement" has come up more often than I can count . Each time the FCC position has been "upgrade is easy enough" .
Again , my fear is that the expiration of the current technician pool and being replaced by a "do you have a detectable pulse" pool , in combination with with enhanced HF privileges for technicians is a potential disaster.
See CK? we're probably not that far apart opinion wise. We just come to it differently.
Yeah that would be akin to the proverbial cereal box top license IMHO
It seems that we do have the same concerns about the outcome but are in slight disagreement about the path to that outcome.
Jerks are jerks and regardless of diffuclty of test they will be poor operators. I think permitting more than 100w for ham radio is a bad idea in my book. Its all about good antenna and operation. I see tons of bad operators from before all thrse test changes.
I think looking down on someone who just got a test that is different than yours is bad. I give everyone equal respect and let thier actions speak for themselves now what test they took. I prefer to make everyone feel welocme into the fold and show them the right way if they make a mistake etc. then just ignore them or treat them with disdain because they did not learn CW etc.l
God forbid anyone in this day and age should have to do a little something they don't like in order to actually earn something that they want.
I HATED television theory and had zero intentions of EVER working on them when I took my electronics courses but I had to put up with it and pass it if I wanted to pass the courses. A little inconvenience versus the rewards reaped is a thing of the past I guess.