[HCRA] Partial on the rule change

Thu Jul 21 03:19:59 EDT 2005

Hi Rick (and the list),

If Jim had noted the source of the news story as the ARRL would that have 
made it OK?  Although that would still be redundant and not a good use of 
web resources.

Maybe what he could have done instead of cutting and pasting would have been 
to make his own comments and included a link to further comments at the 
ARRL?  Like this:

BTW,  I have pretty much made my opinion about dropping the code requirement 
public long ago.  I did not advocate even keeping it for the Extra Class 
license requirement.  I had predicted that the FCC would drop it completely. 
Demonstration of Morse Code proficiency has never and will never be a 
predictor of whether or not a ham will be a good operator or not (in a 
general sense).  When the only way to get on the air was using Morse code 
(for most hams) it did ensure that hams were ready to operate in that mode. 
Times have changed since then and I believe ham radio must move on as well 
however slowly that movement is.

I'm surprised that they didn't address the number of license classes left; 
to simplify its database and to make self policing the bands easier.  I 
think the comment in the ARRL news story 
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/07/20/100/?nc=1 that the FCC had taken 
the easy road is right on target with regards to this issue.  Maybe the FCC 
feels that it is only a matter of about 30 to 50 years and the issue will be 
resolved due to the SK factor or non-renewal of licenses.  In the NPRM 
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-143A1.pdf the FCC 
did justify not making changes to the number of license classes in a number 
of ways which included something to the effect that they didn't want to 
issue additional privileges to hams that hadn't earned the privileges 
through additional testing and said that they felt that if a licensee were 
compelled to receive the extra privileges of the next higher license it 
wouldn't be too much to expect them to study for the test for that upgrade. 
That part makes sense but it doesn't address the issue of having an entry 
level license that the privileges of which make sense for our hobby today 
(and into the future).

Well, dropping the code is a baby step but, non-the-less, a step in the 
right direction.  I know that there are some out there that want to cling to 
that proverbial woobie (a type of security blanket that toddlers typically 
use) of a requirement BECAUSE I HAD TO DO IT THAT WAY and it makes me feel 
good that others have to be tortured the same way that I was or however that 
type of logic goes.  For those with that type of thinking, try to imagine 
what the hobby will look like 50 or 100 years from now.  By then you 
probably won't recognize the bands.  I wonder if anybody will still be using 
code at all?  Whatever your opinion, our hobby is changing regardless of 
whether or not any individual agrees or not with those changes.  With 
regards to the CW issue, I think it is time to move on and the FCC got it 
right.

I hope when the NPRM gets posted into the Federal Register that someone will 
post that the comment period has started, possibly with a link to the part 
of the FCC web site where comments can be made.

73 de KI1I,
Peter

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rick Lindquist, N1RL" <n1rl at earthlink.net>
To: "'Jim Harrington'" <jldhjr at verizon.net>; "'Hamden County Radio Assoc.'" 
<hcra at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 9:51 PM
Subject: RE: [HCRA] Partial on the rule change

> ______________________________________________
> -------Hampden County Radio Association-------
> -----------e-mail list (reflector)-------------
> ______________________________________________
> Greetings!
>
> I appreciate that you're trying to make this convenient for folks, but
> please don't copy material from the ARRL Web site to the list or to any
> other Web site for that matter. It's copyrighted.
>
> Just list the URL for the story, which, in this case, is
> http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/07/20/100/.
>
> Many thanks.
>
> Rick, N1RL
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: hcra-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:hcra-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
> On Behalf Of Jim Harrington
> Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 9:33 PM
> To: Hamden County Radio Assoc.
> Subject: [HCRA] Partial on the rule change
>
> ______________________________________________
> -------Hampden County Radio Association-------
> -----------e-mail list (reflector)-------------
> ______________________________________________
>
>
> FCC Proposes to Drop Morse Code Requirement for All License Classes
>
> NEWINGTON, CT, July 20, 2005--The FCC has proposed dropping the 5 WPM
> Morse
> code element as a requirement to obtain an Amateur Radio license of any
> class. The Commission recommended the change to its Part 97 Amateur
> Service
> rules in a Notice of Proposed Rule Making .
> in WT Docket 05-235. Any rule changes proposed in the NPRM would not
> become
> final until the FCC gathers additional public comments, formally adopts
> any
> changes to its rules and concludes the proceeding by issuing a Report
> and
> Order (R&O) spelling out the changes and specifying an effective date.
> That's not likely to happen for several months. The FCC declined in its
> NPRM to go forward with any other suggested changes to Amateur Service
> licensing rules or operating privileges beyond elimination of the Morse
> requirement.
>
> "Based upon the petitions and comments, we propose to amend our amateur
> service rules to eliminate the requirement that individuals pass a
> telegraphy examination in order to qualify for any amateur radio
> operator
> license," the FCC said in its NPRM, released July 19. This week's NPRM
> consolidated 18 petitions for rule making from the amateur
> community--including one from the ARRL--that proposed a wide range of
> additional changes to the amateur rules. The FCC said the various
> petitions
> had attracted 6200 comments from the amateur community, which soon will
> have the opportunity to comment again--this time on the FCC's proposals
> in
> response to those petitions.
>
> The Commission said it believes dropping Element 1--the 5 WPM Morse
> examination--would "encourage individuals who are interested in
> communications technology, or who are able to contribute to the
> advancement
> of the radio art, to become amateur radio operators." The FCC said it
> also
> would eliminate a requirement it believes "is now unnecessary and that
> may
> discourage" current licensees from advancing their skills, and that it
> would "promote more efficient use" of current Amateur Radio spectrum.
>
> The FCC cited changes in Article 25 of the international Radio
> Regulations
> adopted at World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 as the primary
> reason
> to go forward with eliminating Morse code as an Amateur Radio licensing
> requirement in the future. Among other changes, WRC-03 deleted the Morse
> testing requirement for amateur applicants seeking HF privileges,
> leaving
> it up to individual countries to determine whether or not they want to
> mandate Morse testing. Several countries already have dropped their
> Morse
> requirements.
>
> ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, said he was not surprised that the FCC
> proposed altogether scrapping the Morse code requirement. The League and
> others had called for retaining the 5 WPM requirement only for Amateur
> Extra class applicants. Sumner expressed dismay, however, that the FCC
> turned away proposals from the League and other petitioners to create a
> new
> entry-level Amateur Radio license class.
>
> "We're disappointed that the Commission prefers to deny an opportunity
> to
> give Amateur Radio the restructuring it needs for the 21st century," he
> said. "It appears that the Commission is taking the easy road, but the
> easy
> road is seldom the right road."
>
>
> ------Hampden County Radio Association-------
> An ARRL Special Services Club for over 50 years
> ------------http://www.hcra.org------------
> ________________________________________________________
>
> To unsubscribe from the list please visit:
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>
> Address any comments to:
> -Jim, KK1W  -  jmullen at rockys.com
> _______________________________________________
> HCRA mailing list
> HCRA at mailman.qth.net
> 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  -  jmullen at rockys.com
> _______________________________________________
> HCRA mailing list
> HCRA at mailman.qth.net
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/hcra
>
>
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