[QCWA] Dumbing down

[Jeffrey D Angus]

Why must we persist in spreading the myth of dumbing down
the testing requirements for Amateur Radio?

The ONLY dumbing down the FCC ever did was to create the
Novice class license to allow people to "get their feet wet"
and gain experience.

To go from Novice to General (or Technician) you had to know
the answers to more technical and administrative questions.
The same was true for progressing to Advanced and then to
Extra class.

There was NO difference between the Technician and General
class testing other than code speed. They didn't have a special
set of questions relating to regulation or theory above or below
30 MHz.

The only difference between General and Advanced were rules
and technical theory. Not Morse code proficiency.

Other than the testing for Morse code, the only major changes
have been to eliminate the "upgrade or die" provision of the
Novice class license, and to remove the "must show xxx amount
of time operating" before upgrading to Extra class. Additionally
the FCC eliminated both the Novice and Advanced class licenses.
However, for those of you that did obtain an Advance class license,
you still have additional spectrum over the General class licensees
on HF.

The only conclusion I can reach is that "dumbing down" is a
secret phrase meaning "they dropped the Morse code testing."

Jeff-1.0
wa6fwi