[TxHam] Codeless Ham Testing tentatively scheduled

[David Johnson KB5YLG]

SB QST @ ARL $ARLB004
ARLB004 Codeless Amateur Radio testing tentatively
begins February 23

ZCZC AG04
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 4  ARLB004
>From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  January 19, 2007
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB004
ARLB004 Codeless Amateur Radio testing tentatively
begins February 23

The ARRL has learned that the FCC's Report and Order
(R&O) in the
''Morse code proceeding,'' WT Docket 05-235,
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-178A1.pdf,
is scheduled to appear in the Federal Register
Wednesday, January
24. Assuming that occurs, the new Part 97 rules
deleting any Morse
code examination requirement for Amateur Radio license
applicants
would go into effect Friday, February 23, 2007. The
League cautions
that this date is tentative, pending official
confirmation and
publication.

''This change eliminates an unnecessary regulatory
burden that may
discourage current Amateur Radio operators from
advancing their
skills and participating more fully in the benefits of
Amateur
Radio,'' the FCC remarked in the Morse code R&O.

Publication of the R&O in the Federal Register starts
a 30-day
countdown for the new rules to go on the books. Rules
and
regulations that appear in the Federal Register
constitute their
official version.

Deletion of the Morse requirement is a landmark in
Amateur Radio
history. Until 1991, when a code examination was
dropped from the
requirements to obtain a Technician ticket, all
prospective radio
amateurs had to pass a Morse test.

On or after the effective date of the new rules, an
applicant
holding a valid Certificate of Successful Completion
of Examination
(CSCE) for a higher license class will be able to
redeem it for an
upgrade. For example, a Technician licensee holding a
valid CSCE for
Element 3 (General) could apply at a VEC exam session,
pay the
application fee -- which most VECs charge -- and
receive an instant
upgrade. A CSCE is good only for 365 days from the
date of issuance.

The new rules also mean that all Technician licensees,
whether or
not they've passed a Morse code examination, will gain
HF privileges
identical to those of current Novice and Tech Plus (or
Technician
with Element 1 credit) licensees without having to
apply for an
upgrade. Novices and Technicians with Element 1 credit
have CW
privileges on 80, 40, 15 meters and CW, RTTY, data and
SSB
privileges on 10 meters.

The FCC R&O includes an Order on Reconsideration in WT
Docket 04-140
-- the so-called ''omnibus'' proceeding. It will
modify the Amateur
Service rules in response to ARRL's request to
accommodate
automatically controlled narrowband digital stations
on 80 meters in
the wake of other rule changes that were effective
last December 15.
The Commission designated 3585 to 3600 kHz for such
operations,
although that segment will remain available for CW,
RTTY and data.

The ARRL has posted all relevant information on these
important Part
97 rule revisions on its ''FCC's Morse Code Report and
Order WT
Docket 05-235'' Web page, www.arrl.org/fcc/morse/.
NNNN
/EX