AJ Lake wrote:
Denny wrote:

Incentive licensing,
and all the other changes we see moaned about on this topic...

My moaning was because of the *unfairness* of the incentive licensing
frequency changes. I passed an examination for General and I expected to be
able to use those General frequencies. Then they took away half the General
frequencies. Even these many years later (even after having regained those
lost frequencies) I think it was an unfair change.

Some may moan that the FCC now gives advanced licenses with no code test and
modern hams don't have to work as hard for the license as hams in years
past. Which is true. And some may moan that people can now get an advanced
ham license by memorization without knowing the advanced electronics
pretended in the testing. Which is true. But not me because it takes nothing
away from privileges already earned.

I have an idea (analogy). How about we institute an Extra Plus license.
Forget the code test because it's obsolete. But to make sure that the
applicant is really qualified he must pass a *real* electronics/digital
test, one that can't be passed by memorization. No answer sheets. At the FCC
office like in the old days.

And....to make the license desirable we take away half of the current Extra
privileges and give them to the new Extra Plus.

Whoa, talk about moaning...
Well, the current extra class license only adds a small slice of extra
phone and cw bandwidth. I lived without the extra class phone segments
for years. Finally got my extra when the cw requirement went away.

The LACK of incentive plus the 20wpm code was the reason so few upgraded
to the extra class, the advanced class license was good enough.
Actually the extra cw segments were the most prized, so the cw
requirement made sense.

As far as techs are concerned... Well I knew quite a few techs who were
very much into home brew radios. Some of the best two meter (and up)
gear I ever saw was home brewed by those guys.
(state of the art in (1970's) mosfet front rx front ends).