Dee D. Flint wrote:
"Carl R. Stevenson" wrote in message
...

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
...

Carl R. Stevenson wrote:

The power limits make sense.

Do you support not teaching newcomers about RF safety? I believe they
should be, and as long as they know the fundamentals, they should have
the same power privileges as the rest of us.

I'll say right out that not teaching new people the fundamentals of RF
and electrical safety is not very responsible.

The power limit is about RF exposure and the need to do the evaluations.
This is something that I think can reasonably be considered beyond the
"beginner" level, as it requires a foundation in a number of areas.

We can't expect the newcomer to learn EVERYTHING before then
can get on the air ... compare the Novice tests of years past with their
small number of questions and study guides with a dozen or less pages
to "Now You're Talking," which contains 200-some pages and it's clear
that "the bar" for entry has increased greatly from the entry level tests
that
I and many others took those many years ago ... the proposal is not a
"dumbing down" for the entry level ... it's an attempt to rationalize
beginner level tests and beginner level privileges, while providing an
incentive
(gee, I hate to use that word, since the incentive used to be keyed to

Morse

proficiency more than anything else) to learn and advance.

[snipped the rest where we seem to be in fundamental agreement]



The real oddity is how this situation came about. Once the no-code
technician license was introduced, people chose to take the route of
studying the 200 page book to get the no-code tech license rather than the
much simpler Novice written and simple 5wpm test. It was the beginners
themselves who changed the Tech to a beginner license by choosing to bypass
the Novice. People are strange.

I took the Technician test because it had the access that I wanted.
Until I went to a few club functions and started working contests with
the higher licensed hams, I was VHF-centric.

This is part of my thoughts on the natural divide between MF/HF and
VHF/UHF. I noted that divide before I ever took a test, and many of the
Technicians I know seem to have that impression also.

And finally, Exactly WHO is the Technician test too hard for? I hear
and see people talking about this, but I really want to know who it is
too hard for?

And with the Morse test going, who is the General or Extra test too
hard for?

I find it very interesting that the NCVEC does not produce one bit of
evidence for the failure rate among those tested. If the tests are too
hard, there should be a percentage of testees that fail the tests. That
might go a long way in convincing me that they are too hard. Instead, we
hear the tests are too hard, but no hard evidence whatsoever.

- Mike KB3EIA -