Subject: Let's debate: Should Amateur Radio be made a free for all?
From: Alun
Date: 5/8/2004 9:38 AM Central Standard Time
Message-id:

(Brian Kelly) wrote in
om:

I had no particular interest in the topics covered by probably half
the courses I had to pass to get a degree. But I did pass 'em
(grousing all the way) and the priveleges flowed. The philosophy
behind volume of work invested in learning = volume of privs goes back
at least to the guilds of the early Renaissance.


You would have thought we would have learnt since then, rather than aping
the practices of hundreds of years ago.

Nope.

You can refer to almost any current career college degree program and
still find curricula loaded with irrelevant and inconsequential "fluff"
courses, no doubt "mandated" for the purpose of keeping the paying student
paying.

What's your point?

My point is that we need to recruit people into the hobby.

If one reflects back on the history and demograpics of the Amateur Radio
Service, there have been those who obtained licensure for a myriad of reasons,
but those who really get in it and stick with it have recurring central
interests...Two types come to mind. First are those who are facinated by radio
for radio's sake...Gadgets.

The other are those who see Amateur Radio as a further means to an
end...public service, emergency services, etc.

Then there are always those "others", ie: husband-wife licensee's who just
want a cheap honey-do connection and nothing else.

Most of the "active" folks are the gadget operators and ES types, so let's
go to where they are rather than wait for them to find us..."Popular Science"
and "Popular Mechanics" magazine..."Journal of Emergency Medical Services",
"Emergency Medical Services", etc etc etc.

I never understood why we put the number of "basic" licensing course ads
we do in Amateur Radio magazines...Most folks who read them are ALREADY
licensed!

Ham radio license tests should be reduced to
passing a test on mouse operations in order for ham radio to compete
with the Internet? Passing a one-button mouse test garners a Tech
ticket, two gets a General and two plus a scroller wheel gets the
examinee an Extra?

Where do you get that from? I don't think we should reduce theory standards
atall. I just think we need to abolish the code test.

Code test-schmode test...If you want to re-establish some validity of the
Amateur Radio Service's credibility as a breeding ground for technically
competent licensees, close the written test pools.

That will never happen, however, for one very prominent reason if no
other...Truth be known that MOST people would never get an Amateur license
because of the WRITTEN test...In it's raw form, it requires that the applicant
actually KNOW something. That requires REAL learning, not just rote
memorization, which is exactly what learning Morse Code is, and is exactly what
the written tests are now.

Element 1 only adds access to about 2.5% of all Amateur allocations.
Those that really wanted HF priviledges only saw the Code test as a
hurdle...Not a brick wall.

73

Steve, K4YZ