[Lowfer] New Ham Licensing

[Mark Langenfeld]

> 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.
> 

John, for the most part, I think you are 100% correct (and certainly
there has always been an more-than-ample supply of miscreants smart
enough to pass any then-current FCC examination). But I stand by my
argument that, as a general proposition, people tend to value and
protect those things they work the hardest to obtain or achieve.  Each
time licensing standards are lowered, the privileges conferred have
gotten "cheaper."  Is it any wonder that those privileges are
increasingly abused?


Mark -- WA9ETW