On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 15:53:52 GMT, Harris
wrote:

Leo wrote:

400,000 upgraded licences = 400,000 happier ARRL members.

Not true. Only a small percentage of licensees are ARRL members, and they
tend to be the folks that have been hams a long time. The ARRL is sticking
it to the folks who worked hard in the past to pass 20 wpm and the Extra
Class written test. Ironically, those licensees who stand to gain the most
from this proposal are the ones least likely to join the League.

You're right - that should have read "potential ARRL members". As in,
400,000 folks who are so happy that the ARRL got 'em something, that
the ones who aren't already members might just join up. Perhaps that's
what they're thinking, anyway...

My error.


Keep code for Extra licence = a 'tip of the hat' to the 'Extra' class
members, to give them something to be happy about (although keeping
code testing as a requirement for a licence class that provides only
additional phone bandwidth as a perk is pretty odd

5 WPM for Extra Class is an insult, not a tip of the hat. The Extra Class
ticket grants exclusive 25 kHz CW segments on 80, 40, 20, and 15 meters.
These are prime DX frequencies and the proposal doesn't change that. A
higher speed code test for Extra would be more appropriate.

Oops again!

Being that the requirement was dropped fairly recently to 5 wpm, and
that other countries are dropping code altogether as a requirement,
how could the ARRL justify an increase in speed?


-and- the big one:

New entry level licence with 100W on HF phone, plus simplified test =
a whole bunch of happy new potential ARRL members = lots more
potential members....and voters....and customers.....

This is what the proposal is all about, saving ARRL and the jobs of its
staff. But as we learned after the No-Code license was created in 1991,
most new hams don't join the League.

True, but some percentage does, and the more new hams, the more new
members.


Art Harris N2AH