RadioBanter - View Single Post - Will "no code" license result in meaningful growth?

Mike Coslo · February 2nd 07, 02:44 AM posted to rec.radio.amateur.policy

wrote in
oups.com:

On Feb 1, 12:49�pm, Dave Heil wrote:
wrote:
On Jan 31, 11:03?pm, "Carl R. Stevenson" wrote:
Information from within ARRL indicates that last year the ARRL
VECs, w
hose
teams handle over 70% ov al VE sessions, per their claim (which I
am n
ot
confirming nor disputing), performed over 5,000 VE sessions (with
each session handling multiple applicants/testees).

According to the report, the average session was 5-10
applicants/teste
es ...
(25-50k testees)

"Reservations" have now jumped to 50-75/session!!!

That's excellent!
It appears that no-code WILL result in significant growth. (as I
predi
cted)

Well, maybe.

W3GEG told me that this past week's VE session in Morgantown resulted
in five fellows who took and passed Morse Code exams in obtaining
their new licenses. *I seem to recall that you'd commented some time
ago that some people might want to take such an exam before the
elimination of Morse testing.

Yep, that's right.

In fact Carl, WK3C, was a major contributor to a local radio club
prize for the *last* person in the club to pass Element 1.
(See his earlier posting at the start of a different thread for
details.)

---

Hopefully, the upcoming changes to the license requirements will
result in a new era of long-term growth in amateur radio, as has been
repeatedly predicted and promised by many of those in favor of the
changes.

But what if it doesn't?

A question might be "what are you going to do to insure that it doesn't?
(Not you specifically)

My group is already working to make sure that the new folks don't
feel shunned, and in recognition that many of the new folks will be
inexperienced as compared to years past, we plan on some pretty
extensive Elmering. It should be great fun.

One possible fly in the ointment is that just as there are Hams who
wouldn't upgrade to Extra because their advanced license proved they
took a higher speed code test, there are some who will probably do all
they can to have their dire predictions be a self fulfilling prophecy.

- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -