RadioBanter - View Single Post

September 26th 03, 01:30 PM

In article , ospam
(Larry Roll K3LT) writes:

In article ,
(N2EY)
writes:

If we eliminate the code testing requirement, we therefore
demonstrate that basic communications skills are no longer
necessary to be a licensed amateur radio operator. I, for one,
would like to think that the present syllabus of the written tests
still represents "basic communications skills." So, which will
it be? Code testing, written testing, both, or neither?

I think Clint has already said he only sees a need for regs and safety
testing.

There's "the future".

Jim:

Like it or not, we're definitely heading in that direction.

Been that way for decades.

I'd like to
think
it's possible to hold the line somewhere, but in light of the fact that
abolition of the code testing requirement is almost a sure thing, the
rest of the dominoes will surely fall shortly thereafter. Once they do,
we'll most likely experience a major loss of spectrum allocations in
the ARS. Ironically, that will surely happen in the regions above
500 MHz, where there hasn't been any code testing at all for over
a decade.

More like 12 years, anyway.

btw, didja see where a US and a Czech ham had a successful EME QSO on 24 GHz?
Used relatively small dishes and less than 100 W at each end of the QSO. Pretty
snazzy bit of homebrewing to put together the required stations.

And the mode used? One guess.

73 de Jim, N2EY