[HCRA] HCRA member in the news

Sat, 30 Aug 2003 13:16:15 -0400

Sorry for the misfire. The link to the more-detailed story caught the
asterisks I was using for emphasis. I should have left a space. Try:

*** Please also see more-detailed story on ARRL Web site
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/08/29/2/ ***

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Rick Lindquist, N1RL
Sent: Saturday, August 30, 2003 8:36 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [HCRA] HCRA member in the news

______________________________________________
-------Hampden County Radio Association-------
-----------e-mail list (reflector)-------------
______________________________________________
I should have given appropriate credit. This story is from The ARRL
Letter, Vol 22, No 34 (Aug 29, 2003) http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Rick Lindquist, N1RL
Sent: Saturday, August 30, 2003 12:11 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [HCRA] HCRA member in the news

______________________________________________
-------Hampden County Radio Association-------
-----------e-mail list (reflector)-------------
______________________________________________
FCC INVITES COMMENTS ON SIX MORSE CODE-RELATED PETITIONS

***Please also see more-detailed story on ARRL Web site
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/08/29/2/***

The FCC has invited public comments on six separate Morse code-related
petitions for rule making, some of which would altogether eliminate
Element 1, the 5 WPM Morse test, from the Amateur Service rules (Part
97). World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) made optional the
requirement to prove the ability to send and receive Morse signals to
operate below 30 MHz.

A petition from Peter M. Beauregard, KI1I, designated RM-10781, would
give all Technician licensees current Novice/Tech Plus CW privileges on
80, 40, 15 and 10 meters and limited phone and image privileges on 80,
40 and 10 meters. Beauregard said the CW privileges would "encourage
Technician class licensees to upgrade to General" by giving them a
"practice area." He has proposed new Tech phone/image privileges on
3850-3900 kHz and 7225-7300 kHz. His petition would not eliminate
Element 1, however.

Pete V. Coppola, KG4QDZ, and family--Tina Coppola, KG4YUM, and Pete A.
Coppola, KG4QDY--have asked the FCC to eliminate Element 1 from the
rules. The Coppolas' petition, designated RM-10782, would grant Tech
Plus HF privileges to current Technician licensees. It also would retain
the current CW-only subbands. The Coppolas asked the FCC to make the
change effective immediately on a provisional basis.

Kiernan K. Holliday, WA6BJH, has asked the FCC simply to "remove all
requirements for knowledge of Morse code" from the Amateur Service
rules. Holliday said there is less reason to require Morse code in the
Amateur Service today. In his petition, designated RM-10783, Holliday
also said the code requirement limits the ability of handicapped
individuals to get ham tickets. "The Commission's policy should be to
encourage the use of Amateur Radio," he said.

Dale Reich, K8AD, petitioned the FCC to delete Element 1 for General
class applicants but keep it in place for Extra class applicants. Under
Reich's scheme, "no-code" Techs wanting HF privileges would have to
upgrade to General first. Reich's petition is designated RM-10784.

Eric Ward, N0HHS, seeks immediate elimination of "proficiency in
telegraphy using Morse code." The "immediate removal of the telegraphy
requirement from Amateur Radio licensing is appropriate and clearly in
the public interest," Ward contended in his petition, designated
RM-10785.

In a detailed, nine-page petition, the National Conference of Volunteer
Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) is calling on the FCC to delete Element 1
and give "Tech Plus" privileges to current Technician licensees. The
NCVEC also asked the FCC to "take expedited action" to allow volunteer
examiner coordinators (VECs) to discontinue administering Element 1 "as
soon as possible."

"The Amateur Service community suffers from the loss to its ranks of a
large number of potentially excellent operators who are turned away
because of the CW requirement," the NCVEC petition said.

The organization, the umbrella group for the 14 VECs in the US, said
there's "no longer any reasonable justification for requiring an
applicant to demonstrate this antiquated skill," and that most
applicants never use Morse after they pass the test. The NCVEC petition
is designated RM-10787.

The ARRL-VEC abstained from voting on the NCVEC's petition question when
it came up during the NCVEC's July 25 meeting in Pennsylvania. At its
own July meeting in Connecticut, the ARRL Board of Directors affirmed
its interest in reviewing members' input on the Morse issue as well as
on other possible revisions to Part 97 arising from WRC-03. The Board's
current position is to retain the Morse requirement for HF access.

Two more recently filed petitions--one from No Code International and
another from two amateur licensees--are expected to be put on public
notice in the near future.

Interested parties may file comments on any or all of these petitions
using the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS)
<http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/>, which also permits users to view the
petitions and all comments on file. There is a 30-day comment window.

To file a comment, click on "Submit a Filing" under "ECFS Main Links."
In the "Proceeding" field, type the full RM number, including the
hyphen, and complete the required fields. "RM" must be in capital
letters, and you must include the hyphen between "RM" and the five-digit
number. You may type your remarks into a form or attach a file. ECFS
also accepts comments in active proceedings via e-mail, per instructions
on the ECFS page.

While a Morse code exam element remains on the books in the US, Canada
and elsewhere, a handful of countries--including Switzerland, Belgium,
the UK, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands--already have moved to drop
their Morse requirements. Austria and New Zealand are expected to do so
soon.

------Hampden County Radio Association-------
An ARRL Special Services Club for over 50 years
------------http://www.hcra.org------------
________________________________________________________

To unsubscribe from the list please visit:
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/hcra

Address any comments to:
-Jim, KK1W  -  [email protected]
_______________________________________________
HCRA mailing list
[email protected]
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/hcra

------Hampden County Radio Association-------
An ARRL Special Services Club for over 50 years
------------http://www.hcra.org------------
________________________________________________________

To unsubscribe from the list please visit:
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/hcra

Address any comments to:
-Jim, KK1W  -  [email protected]
_______________________________________________
HCRA mailing list
[email protected]
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/hcra