[KYHAM] interesting numbers

[Pete & Kim]

GARSTJOE@aol.com and  wa4jqs@mikrotec.com wrote:

>>Maybe the focus should not be on the ARRL, but rather on the "rules" for
>> becoming a Ham operator...make them compatible with today's technology.

>Joe:
>So what does "making them compatible with today's technology" mean? Today's
>technology is far more complex than it was 50 years ago
>Actually I don't think we realize how little we do need to know to be hams
>these days. We no longer need to know how our radio works. Can it be dumbed
>down any further?

This, I think, is the real issue that has been debated on this list: older
hams who may have built simple QRP radios capable of sending CW around the
world on a handful of watts vs. newer hams like myself, whose first radio
was (and still is) an Alinco DJ-582 dual-band that has its own CPU. This is
light years away from from the HW-101s or similar radios that some (many?)
on this list built as their first radio. After listening to some of the poor
operating I've heard on all bands, I do not think I am handicapped for not
having built my own radio. I am not an EE, I do not hold an electrical
engineering degree, nor do I have any electronics classes under my belt.
However, I do know how to operate my station properly and I do know what I
can and can't do on the air, which is a function of my understanding of
proper radio operation, not from having built my own radio (or knowing how
to send and receive CW). If we raise the technical bar too far, then only
EEs and repair techs will have the knowledge to have an **amateur** radio
license.

I don't think that one can argue that the FCC exams have been dumbed down
when modern radios are computer controlled. What separates us from CB and
many business-class operators is knowledge of the operating principles of
radios, RF propagation, antenna design, communication modes, FCC rules, and
knowing what resources to use to build our own station. Those elements
should be emphasized more than the internal workings of a CPU-controlled
radio that a new ham is likely to buy.

In my line of work (laboratory medicine), I had to take at least two
proficiency exams per year in every hospital lab area I worked in
(Hematology, Chemistry, Coagulation, Urinalysis, Toxicology and Transfusion
Medicine). Given that experience, I would have no problem taking an amateur
radio recertification review (maybe 10-15 questions) every two years or so
instead of a paper renewal every ten years. I think it would do more toward
making the amateur bands cleaner and useable than CW or higher testing
standards would ever do.

Pete
KF4VCC