wrote in message
ps.com...

On Mar 4, 9:10am, "Dee Flint" wrote:

My bet is that we'll indeed have a de facto two level license
system but I think they will be General and Extra. The step from Tech to
General is not that difficult and the licensee will have access to all
modes, power levels and bands. Unless you are into DXing, contesting or
being a VE, the additional privileges that Extra licensees have are not
that
much of an advantage.

I, for one, encourage all those studying for Technician to go ahead and
get
the General study guide and go for it either at the first sitting or as
soon
as possible thereafter. The Technician will be basically turn into a very
temporary way station on their climb up the ladder.

My fiftieth of a dollar:

There are really two issues here.

The first is "what's the best possible license
structure?" and the second is "what can we
realistically put in place in US amateur radio?"




Agreed. These really are separate issues. Usually practicality will
outweigh other issues.


The first step in answering either question is
to define what should be on the tests for a
license that gives *all* US amateur radio
privileges. Some think the testing for the current
full-privileges US amateur radio license isn't
near as comprehensive as it should be, others
think it covers too much, etc.




Since people are split on this issue, my opinion is that we are probably at
about the right level for the full privilege license.


The answer is almost certainly going to be a
compromise between all those opinions.




That may end up leaving it the same as it is now.


The second step is to determine whether
it's a good idea to require a new amateur
to pass that test just to get started in amateur
radio, or whether it's better to have license
classes that require less knowledge in return
for fewer privileges.




Personally I just can't see expecting the new amateur to do that much work
just to be able to start exploring amateur radio. History has shown that
having a basic licensing option is helpful to the growth and health of
amateur radio.


Then decide how many steps are needed from
"not a ham" to "full privileges".




Agreed. Three steps has always seemed appropriate to me. I would not find
two objectionable. However if we keep the full privilege license as is,
then three really seems better. The introductory license to try out amateur
radio and then an intermediate license (like the General) that gives a wide
range of privileges but does not require delving into the more exotic
technical and mathematical areas. Then the full privilege license.


While doing this, it is important to remember
that what appears easy to someone with
significant radio/electronics/engineering/math
background may not appear easy to someone
who does not have that same background.




That is why I favor three license levels but do encourage people to move up
to General as quickly as they can study the material. I've taught classes
for Tech, General, and Extra to people who had no significant
radio/electronics/engineering/math backgrounds. So I'm quite familiar with
this issue. With the exception of two who did not take the Extra test, all
my students have passed the respective licenses for which they were
studying. The ironic part is the two who did not attempt the Extra class
test had significant math/electronics/radio backgrounds. A lady who was an
administrative assistant (no significant background in math/technical/radio
subjects) passed her Extra with flying colors.



Then there's the whole question of what FCC can
be induced to do. In recent R&Os and other
writings, FCC has repeatedly said they consider
the optimum number of license classes to be
three.

So it seems the way to go is:

- an "entry level" license that is easy to get
and gives limited privileges

- a "middle level" license that requires more
knowledge, but not everything

- a "full privileges" license that has comprehensive
knowledge requirements for full privileges

That's close to what we have now, but there are
improvements that can be made. First is the
extreme unbalance in the privileges of the
Technician license. That may be a hard
sell to FCC.




With the expansion of the Novice/Tech+ privileges in December and dropping
of the code so all Techs have those privileges, much of that imbalance has
now been alleviated.


---

It should be remembered that the old Novice class
was extremely successful in getting new hams
started in amateur radio, at least for the first 30-40
or so years of its existence. The main feature of
the old Novice that worked so well was that it
required minimal testing, so that newcomers could
get on the air and see if amateur radio was really
for them.




I wasn't into radio until 1992 and the codeless Tech was already rapidly
becoming the entry point of choice. So I can't really comment on this.
However my elmer/teacher strongly encouraged us to go for Tech+ right off
the bat. I'm glad I did. However, it took so long for the license to come
that I passed my General in the meantime and went on the air as a /AG the
day that first license arrived. So I did not experience operating as a
Novice.


There was never any requirement for newcomers
to start with the Novice, yet for decades most new
hams did just that.




When the codeless Technician came into being, it quickly became the entry
point of choice and rapidly chipped away at the Novice licensing approach.


What's needed now is a "Novice license for the
21st Century", IMHO

73 de Jim, N2EY



So just out of curiosity, what is your version of the 21st "novice" or entry
license?



Dee, N8UZE