Bill Sohl wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

Since April 15, 2000, FCC has renewed all existing
Technician Plus licenses as Technician. It is therefore
informative to consider the totals of the two classes,
since the Technician class includes a significant
number of Technician Plus licenses renewed as
Technician.

The interesting aspect of the renewed Tech+ as
simply Techs is that from that 4/15/00 date onward there
really is no way for anyone to know if a particular tech
operating in the Novice segments of HF is actually
authorised to do so since the FCC database doesn't
record the prior tech+ status, nor does it reflect
if/when a tech may have obtained a 5wpm CSCE
certificate after 4/15/00.

Hmmm - are you sure the database doesn't show the
previous license class, Bill?

The only HF privileges allowed to Novices and code-
tested Techs are Morse Code on parts of 80/40/15/10,
and some 10 meter SSB. So if you hear a Tech operating
Morse Code, chances are they could pass the test anyway.
Which only leaves 10 ssb.

If you look at the enforcement letters from FCC, they have gone
after Techs for operating HF in excess of their privileges. But
such violations have always been obvious, like a Tech operating
20 or 40 meter SSB.

I do know that FCC expects Techs who have passed
a code test to retain license documents proving that
fact.

FCC has put some real oddities into the code-tested-Tech rules.

For example, if someone can produce a license document from before
February 14, 1991 that clearly says "Technician", they get credit for
Element 1. If they can produce a license document that clearly says
"Novice" or "Technician Plus", they also get credit for Element 1.
These
rules apply even if the documents are for a license that expired
decades
ago, and even if the person holds no current license.

But a CSCE for Element 1 that is more than 365 days old conveys no test
element
credit at all. Yet if the person with the expired Element 1 CSCE is a
Technician, that
person retains their HF privileges.

Seems to me that FCC expects that active hams who are Techs should
simply get
a General or Extra. If the NPRM is enacted, Techs who are not code
tested will have to get a General or Extra to get any HF at all.

73 de Jim, N2EY