[50mhz] A leter to President Haynie concerning entry level
proposal
peter markavage
manualman at juno.com
Wed Jan 11 12:21:40 EST 2006
It may or may not make any difference. He comes up for reelection in less
than 2 weeks. An entry level license that allows access to more of the HF
bands is a good thing. Settling in to only the VHF/UHF region of the
amateur spectrum can lead to a blurred vision of the entire amateur radio
service.
Pete, wa2cwa
On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 09:54:38 -0600 "John Geiger (NE0P)" <ne0p at lcisp.com>
writes:
> Here is a letter I just email to ARRL President Haynie concerning his
> recent comments about the need for an entry level HF license. If
> you feel the same as me, maybe you could drop his a line as well.
>
> Dear President Haynie,
>
> I am writing you regarding some comments of yours about proposing an
> entry level HF license which were reprinted in Worldradio. Since I
> am reading the Worldradio copy of them, I apologize in advance if I
> am misstating something you said since I am getting them from a
> secondhand source.
>
> You refer to a "Two-meter ghetto" which I fully agree with, as 2
> meter FM is a very segregated and limiting mode of operation. I
> agree that limiting oneself to 2 meter FM quickly causes many new
> amateurs to lose interest and leave the hobby.
>
> However, you also state "to only open the door ajar to allow for 2M
> operations for new licensees doesn't go far enough". This is the
> statement which I take issue with. Last time I checked the FCC
> rules, Technician licensees were allow to operate on all frequencies
> above 50mhz, at up to 1.5KW PEP output. I believe that the problem
> is not with the privileges given the Technician class license, but
> how we advertise and promote the license. There is no reason why
> any Technician licensee should limit themself to 2 meter FM, except
> out of ignorance.
>
> I have held an Extra class license since 1984, but in the past few
> years, 75% of my operating is on frequencies available to the
> technician class license, and I don't feel that I am being limited
> in any way. This has been by choice instead. I have 2 friends
> locally (1 a general class and 1 an extra class) who show similar
> patterns of operating. The frequencies available to the Technician
> class ham show a wonderful variety of operating activities and
> opportunities. My preference recently has been for 6 meter SSB and
> satellite operation, both of which are available for Technician
> class hams. Getting on either one of these operating modes is less
> expensive and easier than getting on HF.
>
> I have worked all states on 6 meters from my current location in
> Lawton, OK, and have worked 49 states on 6 from my previous QTH in
> Iowa (lacking KH6). I have worked around 425 grid squares on 6 from
> this QTH, and have 29 DXCC countries worked on this band. On
> satellites I have worked 45 states, 130 grids, and 9 DXCC countries.
> On 2 meters I have worked 39 states, and have my 2 meter VUCC with
> a 125 grid endorsement. So you see that Technician privileges do
> not limit one in terms of working beyond the line of sight, or even
> for DX. Last year (2005) I worked 8 different DXCC countries on 6
> meters.
>
> My station is not something that is beyond the reach of any newcomer
> to ham radio. I am using a Yaesu FT100D with a 2 element mini
> products Miniquad on 6, a Cushcraft 10 element yagi on 2 meters, and
> a Cushcraft 19 element yagi on 70cm. All antennas are mounted on
> radio shack tripods using radio shack TV rotors. I have never run
> more than 180 watts on 2 meters, and more than 100 watts on 6 or
> 70cm. My total investiment in this setup is around $1000.
>
> I help teach an amateur licensing course once or twice a year, and I
> always try to promote what you can do with a Technician license, and
> cite some of the above accomplishments I have made on those
> frequencies. I find that the "Now You're Talking" book which most
> hams use as a study guide is slanted much too heavily towards 2
> meter FM. That is probably a large part of the problem for too many
> new hams believing that they are limited to 2 meter FM or as you put
> it "only opening the door ajar." We need to educate these hams on
> what they can do with a Technician class license, rather than what
> they can't do with it. We need to more effectively promote how easy
> it is to get on amateur satellites, and the weak signal VHF/UHF
> modes. I have been very successful on the amateur satellites
> WITHOUT using elevation rotors, circularly polarized antennas, or
> rotors interfaced with software for automatic tracking. In fact, I
> have worked many hams on AO51, AO27, and SO50 who are using
> HTs. We need to make this known to new hams who may feel
> intimidated by some of the setups they see for satellite operation,
> and believe that a large complicated setup is needed.
>
> In closing, I also find it interesting that the ARRL now is
> interested in bringing back a Novice license. We had a Novice
> license up until 2000, and from 1991-2000 the ARRL virtually ignored
> it as a point of entry in favor of the Technician license. I always
> felt that that was a mistake on the ARRL's part, and still feel that
> way.
>
> 73s John Geiger NE0P
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