"Jason Hsu" wrote in message
om...
Until the ARRL proposal came out, I had never heard anyone propose
automatic upgrades of Technician licensees to the General class. Now
that this proposal has come out, many people are defending this part
of the proposal.

Sure is bunkie!

Ain't it just grand?

I realize this might sound radical, but I believe that the current
licensing system, for the most part, is OK. The only change that I
strongly believe should be made is eliminating the 5 wpm Morse Code
exam for all license classes, including Amateur Extra. Until the ARRL
proposal came out, the Morse Code exam was the main controversy. The
proposed automatic upgrades from Tech to General have now stolen much
of the spotlight.

That is because that is how the ARRL wants it to be!!
The yankee-blueblood-old-boys-club in Newingtion
has finally admitted that the stats for HF operators has
been on a steady decline since the mid-80's. All the new
op's have been getting on 2 Meters and 440 FM so they
can talk to their friends during morning and evening
drive time. They have no interest whatsoever, for the majority
of them, to "upgrade" to TRADITIONAL HF mode of
operation because the *mistique* and *unique* ability to
have in your private home a radio that you can talk to
the other side of the USA or into Europe. Not any longer!
Today a teenager with a Dell computer and a DSL connection
can conduct live chat and/or video with their friends across
town or across the country or across the world. And they
don't need any unsightly antennas, limited propagation or
other things to hinder them...plus it's also much cheaper
than ham radio. (besides...from a generational perspective,
what kid or teenager wants to converse with a bunch of
60+ something year-olds on HF radio?) Face it boys.
The REAL REASON this is being done is the ARRL
***knows*** that within 10-15 years, most of the current
hams who use HF will be DEAD OF OLD AGE AND
OR IT'S COMPLICATIONS THEROF. Along with that
the subscription rate for QST (..and CQ Magazine also)
is steadly declining each year. Ham radio is on it's death
bed boys, the sooner you admit it, the better you'll feel.
We have *nothing* to offer the current youthfull generation
but a pile of obsolete technology which they not only have
no interest whatsoever in, but look upon the same and it's
current users as being both eccentric and wierd. As one 13
year old said to me at a ham radio demo last year: "What do
I want with just a microphone and a speaker? I can video
conference with my friends online at once and swap music
from home". The next generation has spoken boys!

Ham Radio is OBSOLETE. That is the root cause of the
problem issue. Ham radio will be DEAD in 20 years just
like the automobile replaced the horsebuggy.