[Skywarn] ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access

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ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access

NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 19, 2004--The ARRL will ask the FCC to create a new
entry-level Amateur Radio license that would include HF phone privileges
without requiring a Morse code test. The League also will propose
consolidating all current licensees into three classes, retaining the
Element 1 Morse requirement--now 5 WPM--only for the highest class. The ARRL
Board of Directors overwhelmingly approved the plan January 16 during its
Annual Meeting in Windsor, Connecticut. The proposals--developed by the ARRL
Executive Committee following a Board instruction last July--are in response
to changes made in Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations at
World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03). They would continue a
process of streamlining the amateur licensing structure that the FCC began
more than five years ago but left unfinished in the Amateur Service license
restructuring Report and Order (WT 98-143) that went into effect April 15,
2000.
"Change in the Amateur Radio Service in the US, especially license
requirements and even more so when Morse is involved, has always been
emotional," said ARRL First Vice President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, in
presenting the Executive Committee's recommendations. "In fact, without a
doubt, Morse is Amateur Radio's 'religious debate.'" The plan adopted by the
Board departs only slightly from the Executive Committee's recommendations.
The "New" Novice
The entry-level license class--being called "Novice" for now--would require
a 25-question written exam. It would offer limited HF CW/data and
phone/image privileges on 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters as well as VHF and UHF
privileges on 6 and 2 meters and on 222-225 and 430-450 MHz. Power output
would be restricted to 100 W on 80, 40, and 15 meters and to 50 W on 10
meters and up, thus avoiding the need for the more complex RF safety
questions in the Novice question pool.
"The Board sought to achieve balance in giving new Novice licensees the
opportunity to sample a wider range of Amateur Radio activity than is
available to current Technicians while retaining a motivation to upgrade,"
said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. "It was also seen as important to limit
the scope of privileges so the exam would not have to include material that
is inappropriate at the entry level."
As an introduction to Amateur Radio, the Novice license served successfully
for most of its 50-year history. The FCC has not issued new Novice licenses
since the 2000 license restructuring, however. Under the ARRL plan, current
Novice licensees--now the smallest and least active group of radio
amateurs--would be grandfathered to the new entry-level class without
further testing.
Anticipating assertions that the new plan would "dumb down" Amateur Radio
licensing, Harrison said those currently holding a ticket often perceive the
level of complexity to have been greater when they were first licensed than
it actually was. "Quite frankly," he said, "if you review the questions
presented in our license manuals throughout the years, you will be surprised
how they compare to those of today."
Technicians and Generals
The middle group of licensees--Technician, Tech Plus (Technician with
Element 1 credit) and General--would be consolidated into a new General
license that no longer would require a Morse examination. Current Technician
and Tech Plus license holders automatically would gain current General class
privileges without additional testing. The current Element 3 General
examination would remain in place for new applicants. ARRL already has
proposed additional phone privileges for Generals in its "Novice refarming"
petition, RM-10413, but the FCC has not yet acted on that petition.
Morse Code Testing Retained for Extra
At the top rung, the Board indicated that it saw no compelling reason to
change the Amateur Extra class license requirements. The ARRL plan calls on
the FCC to combine the current Advanced and Amateur Extra class licensees
into Amateur Extra, because the technical level of the exams passed by these
licensees is very similar. New applicants for Extra would have to pass a 5
WPM Morse code examination, but the written exam would stay the same. The
League's plan calls for current Novice, Tech Plus and General class
licensees to receive lifetime Element 1 (5 WPM Morse) credit.
"This structure provides a true entry-level license with HF privileges to
promote growth in the Amateur Service," Harrison said. "It also simplifies
the FCC database by conforming to the current Universal Licensing System
(ULS) structure and does not mandate any modifications to it."
Sumner concurred. "The Board started out by recognizing that three license
classes was the right number when looking down the road 10 or 15 years," he
said. "We need a new entry-level license."
"On the other hand, there's nothing particularly wrong with the existing
Extra class license," he continued. "The change in the international
regulations notwithstanding, the Board felt that the highest level of
accomplishment in the FCC's amateur licensing structure should include basic
Morse capability."
Sumner and Harrison say the current Technician entry-level ticket provides
little opportunity to experience facets of ham radio beyond repeater
operation. "The quality of that experience," Sumner said, "often depends on
the operator's location."
Among other advantages, Sumner said the plan would allow new Novices to
participate in HF SSB emergency nets on 75 and 40 meters as well as on the
top 100 kHz of 15 meters. The new license also could get another name,
Sumner said. "We're trying to recapture the magic of the old Novice license,
but in a manner that's appropriate for the 21st century."
Proposal Includes "Novice Refarming" Band Plan
The overall proposed ARRL license restructuring plan would more smoothly
integrate HF spectrum privileges across the three license classes and would
incorporate the "Novice refarming" plan the League put forth nearly two
years ago in a Petition for Rule Making (RM-10413). The FCC has not yet
acted on the ARRL plan, which would alter the current HF subbands. The
Novice refarming proposal would eliminate the 80, 40 and 15-meter
Novice/Technician Plus CW subbands as such and reuse that spectrum in part
to expand phone/image subbands on 80 and 40 meters.
The ARRL license restructuring design calls for no changes in privileges for
Extra and General class licensees on 160, 60, 30, 20, 17 or 12 meters.
Novice licensees would have no access to those bands.