Jim's caution below is accurate.

Until the effective date of the new rules, you can't upgrade to General or
Extra without credit for Element 1.

AFTER the effective date you CAN upgrade to General or Extra without having
passed Element 1.

HOWEVER, you MUST upgrade by either presenting valid, unexpired CSCEs for
the written elements for the class of license at a VE session (and pay the
fee ...) OR take and pass the required written elements (and, again, pay the
fee ...) at a VE session.

Please do NOT operate beyond your license privileges.

73,
Carl - wk3c

"Jim Higgins" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 4 Jan 2007 19:32:30 -0500, "Stefan Wolfe"
wrote:


wrote in message
roups.com...
One item from FCC in today's Federal Register (Vol 72, Number 2)

It's not the Report and Order, though.

NO NEED for a report and order on the fr.

Since the FC already publically announced the acceptance of no code, that
effectively permits anyone with a CSCE for general or technician class
element 2 CSCE or license to use HF SSB NOW in the permitted frequencies.

There is no statute that requires publication in the FR before a
requirement
is effective, only that the regulating agency agree in principal to the
new
requirement. Such a statute would obviously be unconstitutional. It is
merely a government formality which cannot be enforced by the courts.

The FCC did not publish an effective date nor did they choose to publish
one
in the federal register. That means you can transmit SSB voice at this
very
moment.

Go ahead element 2 or 3 CSCE'S or tech license holders, you can transmit
NOW! I look forward to seeing you on the bands (though I do spend a lot of
time in the CW portions).


Do not be fooled by the above info into operating illegally.

You can transmit SSB voice once the CW requirement is officially
dropped - which will be at the time the R&O is published in the
federal register - probably some time in late January or more likely
February - ***PROVIDED*** you have used that CSCE to file for a
license upgrade... which you cannot do until the R&O is in the Federal
Register because passing a code test is a requirement until then. If
the CSCE expires you can legally apply it to an upgrade and actually
do apply it, then you must retest.

If you're just walking around with that CSCE in your pocket after the
R&O is published without filing it with the FCC for an upgrade and
you're using HF SSB privileges you are operating illegally.