RadioBanter - View Single Post - How many licenses should there be, why and what privileges?

December 29th 05, 01:25 PM posted to rec.radio.amateur.policy

wrote:
KØHB wrote:
"Bill Sohl" wrote

...... what is your specific proposal?
cut
The permit
would be issued for a period of 10 years, and be non-renewable.

But "re-takeable" - if someone took the Class B test again, they'd get
another 10 years as Class B - right?

so it would seem
cut
Current Novice, Technician, General, and Advanced class
licensees could upgrade to "Class A" at any time.

Some questions, Hans (minor details, really):

1) What test would be required for upgrade to Class A for current
licenses?
Would the testing be the same for all current license classes - IOW,
would a current Novice face the same test to get Class A as a current
Advanced?

obviously whcih would put the Bocvices tech (of all stripes) general
advanced on the same footing

I gues this violates your seniblity in "nothing they did not test for"

2) Would there be any experience requirement for Class B hams that
wanted to upgrade to Class A? IOW, could an unlicensed person go
for Class A "right out of the box"?

why not?

3) If the licenses are issued "for life", how would FCC know when an
amateur expired unless next-of-kin sent official notification? (Yes,
having
nonexpiring licenses means the apparent number of hams would cause
apparent growth, but OTOH it would also make the numbers less and less
a reflection of reality)

obvious hand does blow it here no way the fcc is going to issue life
liecneses

4) What would happen to the vanity callsign program under your plan?
Obviously a Class A could get a callsign from any block, but what would
be available to Class B?

---

One interesting side-effect of your plan is that a brand-new Class B
will be allowed on
frequencies that an old-timer Advanced (or any other non-Extra) is not
allowed on. Imagine the fracas that would cause!

bwaahaahaa!

Of course, the counterargument is that "it's an incentive for existing
hams to upgrade to Class A!"

73 de Jim, N2EY