RadioBanter - View Single Post

December 18th 03, 11:20 PM

(N2EY) wrote in message ...
In article om, "Dee D.
Flint" writes:

"N2EY" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(Brian) writes:

You don't seem to recognize that the desire to modernize the ARS has a
groundswell of support.

How do you know?

Have you made a scientific survey to determine this "groundswell"?

What constitutes "modernizing the ARS"? Shall we all go out and buy new
radios?

It doesn't need to be filtered through state
and regional directors, brought up in a board meeting, with lots of
hand-wringing that there is no clear mandate...

Then what needs to be done? What is the "mandate"?

Some folks make a big deal out of the fact that ARRL's membership is only
about
25% of US hams. These same folks ignore the fact that No-Code
International's
membership is less than 1% of US hams, despite the fact that such
membership
has no dues and no expiration or renewal requirements.

And let's keep in mind that NCI does have a structure with officers and a
board. The detailed policies and procedures were developed by those
officers and that board based on the organization's stated goal. Thus it
was "filtered" through a limited group.

Excellent point, Dee!

One thing that the NCI has quite convincingly demonstrated is that HARD WORK
is what is required to achieve a goal. Although I don't agree with their
goal, I must commend them for getting in there and doing the work required.
They did not sit on their hands and whine.

Very true - but how much "hard work" was really required?

- They set up a website and a board
- They made a proposal to FCC and two directors went to Washington (on their
own nickel, BTW) for an ex parte (3 hour drive at most)

- They petitioned FCC after the treaty changed

They organized on a world wide
basis. They lobbied the various governing bodies around the world to
support a change in the code requirement at the last ITU conference.

How much did that really take?

It is
all the more convincing when one considers the low percentage of hams
belonging to NCI. It shows that the minority can prevail if they have the
commitment.

And if the governing bodies are already headed in that direction to begin with.
We've had a nocodetest amateur license here in the USA since 1991 - that's more
than 5 years before NCI was started.

Personally I support code testing but NCI certainly did their homework to
achieve their goal.

Agreed!

73 de Jim, N2EY

If NCI were really such an ineffective, do-nothing organization, how
do you explain the groundswell of support for full access to HF w/o a
Morse Code exam?

Perhaps it was just an idea whose time had come?

Which say a lot about the real need for the retention of the code
exam, and all the warfare you've taken part in.