[CW] petitions for rulemaking

[Donald Chester]

>there are three new petitions for rulemaking for
>amateur radio license restructuring that the fcc is
>soliciting comments on.

>i particularly objected to RM-10870, filed by the
>national conference of volunteer examiner
>coordinators. Their petition would prohibit licensees
>with the entry-level license from homebrewing their
>own apparatus(!).

They adopted a similar rule in Canada a decade or so ago.  This will 
institutionalise appliance operating in the rules once and for all.  It 
could eventually evolve into mandatory type acceptance for all amateur 
equipment for all classes, like CB is today.

When I passed my Novice test in 1959, I used the two-month waiting period 
before the ticket arrived, to build my 30-watt 6AG7-807 homebrew transmitter 
and get it working into a light bulb.  I still needed help from the 
experienced ham who gave me the exam to get it to load into a real antenna.  
We finally got it on the air and I made my first contact while he was still 
in the shack.
If that thrill is denied to newcomers, they might just as well use a cell 
phone or wireless internet connection to communicate, and not even bother 
with a ham licence.

And some people still insist that ham radio hasn't been dumbed down!

What's the point in continuing the charade of Incentive Licensing, with all 
the useless operator class subband divisions and exams with published 
question pools?

Don K4KYV

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