[KYHAM] My views on ARRL proposal

[David Greer]

Hello everyone:

I'm Dave, N4KZ, from Frankfort. I've read the several views expressed here 
on the recent ARRL proposal for license reorganization. I must say I think 
the proposal is excellent in most every way. It's a finely crafted 
compromise that offers something for everyone. Admittedly, some of us who 
earned our tickets a long time ago (35 years ago for me and 25 years ago for 
the Extra) might be upset about some getting new privileges they didn't 
"earn" because they will be grandfathered into a higher class of license. 
But as one who "earned" them the "hard way," I'm not upset in the least 
about the grandfathering aspects of the proposal. The grandfathering would 
be done in the name of consolidating all the different licenses classes into 
three. That makes sense to me. Besides, life is far too short to get bent 
out of shape everytime one thinks they have been slighted.

As for recalling ARRL board of directors members, if that's what people want 
to do, go for it. I don't think it will succeed but the process is permitted 
under the bylaws. But remember, ARRL just like all other legislative bodies 
is representative democracy and not direct democracy. If ARRL used direct 
democracy, we'd all get polled on every issue and/or attend meetings on 
every bit of League business. But that's no practical so we elect 
representatives who do either what we want them to do or they use their own 
brains and do what they believe is best for the organization. If members 
agree with how they vote, great. If not, they get booted out of office.

Personally, the ARRL proposal is better than I thought it would be. It's 
quite progressive for a changing world and a changing hobby. And it's quite 
progressive for an organization that has been way too stodgy for its own 
good for far too long. I'm still smarting from the last phase of "incentive 
licensing" that kicked in in November 1969 and I lost the use of several kHz 
that I'd had already "earned." The League learned from that debacle and said 
never again would amateurs lose the use of frequencies through any sort of 
license reorganization. This plan lives up to that premise.

Over the years, I've helped probably 100 people get into amateur radio. Most 
went the novice route and many never progresed beyond that point. I 
literally begged several of them to renew their licenses with the premise 
"that someday that novice license might actually allow you to do something 
on the air that you'll enjoy." But few even bothered to renew because they 
had been so overwhelmed and traumatized by the whole entry-level amateur 
radio experience. Some of us were survivors and even thrived from our novice 
experiences. But most "voted" themselves out of the tribe.

Our hobby is a service, a tremendous national resource. We all know that. 
But it's also a hobby. Most of us got into it with that idea in mind. We can 
maintain the status quo and continue watching our great hobby slowly fade 
into the sea because it's being overshadowed from several fronts. Or we can 
be progressive and reinvent ourselves so we can remain vital and robust. I 
personally vote for the latter. And if that means someone in the future can 
operate 75m SSB with 100 watts and no knowledge of Morse Code in the name of 
an entry-level license, then so be it.

By the way, in the name of full disclosure, I am a 35-year ARRL member, have 
served on the ARRL Public Relations Committee, and presently serve as 
assistance section manager and PIC for the state. But I'm not just singing 
the party line. If I thought the proposal was a bad one, I wouldn't hesitate 
to say so. But if ever there was a time that amateur radio and the ARRL 
needed the support of all amateurs, it's now. There is no other voice out 
there representing us before the decision-makers in Washington, D.C.

No one.

73, Dave, N4KZ
See you on the air!

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