[CW] W5YI groups suggestions on ham radio licensing

[scott mcmullen]

--- N2EY@aol.com wrote:
> Such an organization would gain the ear of the
> FCC, the vendors, and many others.

i don't agree. i think the fcc frankly pays little
attention even to the arrl, which, in general, is
the 800 lb gorilla in the amateur radio world. a
cw special interest group they would regard as
nearly insignificant.

think about the issues of ownership of the broadcast
media, broadband internet access, promoting 
competition in the telephone industry, phone number
portability. the fcc is most concerned (as it probably
should be) with issues that affect 99% of the
american population; not the 1% of us that are hams.

i believe amateur radio enforcement at the fcc *is*
riley hollingsworth. the arrl official observers
do the best they can to run interference for him,
and pass to him the most egregious cases. but the
fcc hemmed and hahhed quite a while before they
even allocated -one- person to amateur radio
enforcement. that's how insignificant we are. for
quite a long time, there was -no- amateur radio
enforcement at the fcc.

my impression is that for most manufacturers, cw
performance is an afterthought. how many rigs come
stock with a cw if filter? they generally come with 
a 2.4 khz filter, and if you are a cw op, you have 
them add a 500 hz filter (at extra cost). take a 
look at the magazine ads; they almost all show the
radio in the ad with a mike (if anything). it 
wouldn't surprize me if we soon start seeing more
hf radios like the little 10 meter transceivers that
radio shack sold for a while; they won't even have
a cw mode, unless you modify them.

the anti-code types have managed to increase their
influence by obtaining leadership positions that
influence -all- radio amateurs; at the national
conference of volunteer examiner coordinators. if we
pack up our marbles, and engage principally in
radiotelegraph code-only organizations,
we will condemn ourselves to insignificance in the
broader hobby.

73
scott nj0e


=====
Scott McMullen, NJ0E
http://www.geocities.com/scottamcmullen
scottamcmullen@yahoo.com
Dripping Springs, Texas

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