[Lowfer] New Ham Licensing

[John Davis]

>  The problem is that over the past many years,
>as license requirements have been downgraded, more and more guys have
>gotten licenses and then abused the priviliges of the ham bands in such
>a way as to lessen the fun for the more law abiding.  ----  In the "good
old
>days" guys behaved much more like gentlemen.
>
> It's not so much a bunch of us wanting to restrict membership in "our
>club" as it is to keep undesireables out.
>


The only problem with that is, the downturn (as I noticed it) started well
back in the days of 13 and 20wpm code requirements.  Nor is the trend to
lawless behavior confined to newcomers.  Some of the worst offenders in this
area are people who've been licensed 20 and 30 years.

Ungentlemanly conduct pervades every area of life these days.  I've seen a
huge deterioration of conduct on the roadways in the past two years in my
neighborhood, just as one example.  Stop signs are strictly a suggestion
now...the rule of thumb being that if you can get out in front of an
oncoming car before it arrives at the intersection, it's the responsibility
of the guy who *didn't* have the stop sign to keep from killing you!  Just
as in ham radio, the highway problem is not only the newcomers behaving
badly, but people who've been licensed for decades.

I don't know HOW you keep the "undesirables" out when bad behavior is so
widespread generally.  Code is not the key, though (no pun intended).  The
skill set needed for copying and sending Morse does not translate to good
conduct.  Sure, it means someone has demonstrated a certain amount of
perseverance to reach a certain level of skill.  But a *good* written test
on theory and rules can demonstrate the same thing.  And yet in the end,
neither show that someone will be thoughtful of others or apply their
knowledge of good operating practices.

Personally, I think people took the responsibilities and privileges of
amateur radio more seriously when they had to pass the test in front of an
actual representative of the US government.  It was a lot more "real" to
people than the volunteer examiner system seems to be.  I know that my
commercial license, which required a trip to the 20th floor of a massive,
imposing federal building at a set time on a predetermined day, seemed a
much bigger deal to obtain than my ham ticket some years later, where I went
to a church basement filled with other folks I knew from my own area.

Whatever your views on these ideas, though, can't we at least agree to be
more gentlemanly about how we express ourselves in these discussions?   I
know that offending the innocent wasn't intended, but let's remember THIS
ISN'T THE FIRST TIME that the level of vitriol expended on this same subject
has badly hurt other people in this same reflector.

John Davis  KD4IDY -- No code yet, but still proud to be a
technically competent and law-abiding American HAM!