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#11
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Feb 23 Test Results
"Dee Flint" wrote in
: The individual reporting from Manitoc, WI (?) gave similar results, heavy on upgraders and very light on new licensees. We'll have to wait and see what the future brings but "early returns" would suggest simply a change in upgrading patterns and no change in new licensees. Do you think that you can make a valid conclusion after less than 24 hours? - 73 de Mike KB3EIA - |
#12
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Feb 23 Test Results
"Mike Coslo" wrote in message 36... "Dee Flint" wrote in : The individual reporting from Manitoc, WI (?) gave similar results, heavy on upgraders and very light on new licensees. We'll have to wait and see what the future brings but "early returns" would suggest simply a change in upgrading patterns and no change in new licensees. Do you think that you can make a valid conclusion after less than 24 hours? - 73 de Mike KB3EIA - No I do not. It's like elections, it isn't complete until all the returns are in. It's also why I have a "guessing game" pool on the percent change in licensed hams at the one year mark. Would you like to add a guess to the pool? Dee, N8UZE Dee, N8UZE |
#13
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Feb 23 Test Results
Dee Flint wrote:
... No I do not. It's like elections, it isn't complete until all the returns are in. It's also why I have a "guessing game" pool on the percent change in licensed hams at the one year mark. Would you like to add a guess to the pool? Dee, N8UZE Dee, N8UZE That is good. After decades of insanity, may take a decade just to sit things on a so-so course ... JS |
#14
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Feb 23 Test Results
On Feb 24, 9:57 pm, "Dee Flint" wrote:
wrote in message oups.com... snipped Unfortunately with such a large group and limited time for use of the facility, there was no time for chit chat. We administered 27 written tests in addition to those who were just doing paper upgrades. .. . . overload time eh. . . ? I do know that one of the three was a former ham (Tech+) as he mentioned it when he pre-registered. He is one of the individuals who passed both Element 2 and 3, thereby earning his General ticket. Good. 2 failed on the upgrade exam 1 failed on new license exam 2 achieved General as their 1st license by passing both elements 2 and 3 at this session. 14 upgraded to General from Tech via test or CSCE 5 upgraded to Extra from Tech via test and/or CSCEs Dee, N8UZE w3rv The individual reporting from Manitoc, WI (?) gave similar results, heavy on upgraders and very light on new licensees. We'll have to wait and see what the future brings but "early returns" would suggest simply a change in upgrading patterns and no change in new licensees. No surprises there at all, it's just one more example of history repeating itself. My contention is that while they're few in numbers the newbies are a good if not the best source for finding out what actually drives folk toward ham radio. The way I see it we're not mining the VE sessions for the hard data which could be used to more rationally target the efforts currently underway to bring folk into the hobby. Which strike me as a collection of committee-designed hipshots in the dark which would never in this world fly out in commercial reality. Given my druthers I'd cobble together some sort of questionnaire to be passed out to the newbies at VE sessions which asks the pointed questions which I think need to be answered. Over a period of say a couple years of compiling their inputs we'd have some of the hard data we don't have now. Shouldn't be much additional workload involved at the VE sessions. Pass out the questionnaires at the registration desk, collect 'em on the newbie's way out and forward 'em to The Committee for analysis and the reality checks they need. Dee, N8UZE w3rv |
#15
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Feb 23 Test Results
On Feb 24, 11:27 pm, Mike Coslo wrote:
wrote groups.com: On Feb 24, 11:40 am, "Dee Flint" wrote: Well I've had a chance to tally the test results for my Feb 23rd session in Oak Park, MI 24 candidates total. 21 for upgrades, 3 for new licenses Dee ~ These three are the meat & potatoes of the matter, the 21 upgraders being no-counters as far as the growth or shrinkage of the hobby is concerned. Supposedly the idea behind the elimination of the code tests is to draw new blood into the hobby, folk who would otherwise not bother with becoming licensed yes? Increased numbers were not the reason for eliminating the Code test, IIRC. Tell that to the NCTA/NCI crowd which has been claiming for eons that the path to growth is eliminating the code tests. Carl R. Stevenson NCI honcho grande, 31 Jan '07 11:03AM this NG sayeth: "It appears that no-code WILL result in significant growth. (as I predicted)" And I certainly won't draw any conclusions about how many "new" hams will be drawn in after one day. Indeed I would expect almost all upgrades for the first few months. 'Way to go Mike . . - 73 de Mike KB3EIA - w3rv |
#16
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Feb 23 Test Results
"Dee Flint" wrote:
The 3 testing for new licenses is, for all intents and purposes, what I have had at test sessions before the rules changed. Although one datum is not sufficient to really draw any conclusions, this does not bode well for growth. There is a saying we teach statistics students: "one observation does not equal a trend". I believe that in the "what effect will this have on licensing numbers" thread, I stated we would see a 0 to -1% growth as a result of these changes. I believe in that thread I stated I felt we would see a huge number of increases from the lower licenses classes to the higher classes (i.e. lots of techs upgrading to extra). I believe it was Jim (N2EY, but I may have the attribution wrong) who stated for the first time in the past 15 years since the creation of the no-code tech license, we might see an actual *DECREASE* in the number of licensed hams in that license class. Your data point supports both those points. |
#17
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Feb 23 Test Results
On Feb 25, 5:23�am, "KH6HZ" wrote:
"Dee Flint" wrote: The 3 testing for new licenses is, for all intents and purposes, what I have had at test sessions before the rules changed. *Although one datum is not sufficient to really draw any conclusions, this does not bode well for growth. There is a saying we teach statistics students: "one observation does not equal a trend". I believe that in the "what effect will this have on licensing numbers" thread, I stated we would see a 0 to -1% growth as a result of these changes. I believe in that thread I stated I felt we would see a huge number of increases from the lower licenses classes to the higher classes (i.e. lots of techs upgrading to extra). The end result of the 2000 restructuring was exactly that. A lot of existing hams upgraded, and for a few years we saw some growth. But the long term result has been a decrease in the number of US hams. I believe it was Jim (N2EY, but I may have the attribution wrong) who stated for the first time in the past 15 years since the creation of the no-code tech license, we might see an actual *DECREASE* in the number of licensed hams in that license class. I don't remember writing anything like that. But I could be mistaken about it. I will say this: Simply looking at the number of Technicians can lead to wrong conclusions. Since 4/15/2000, FCC has been renewing all Technician Pluses as Technicians. Also, a Novice who passes Element 2 after 4/15/2000 gets a Technician, not a Tech Plus. So the Technician totals actually include both code-tested and non-code-tested hams. Assuming that all hams listed as Technicians after 4/15/2000 are not code tested is/was just plain wrong. In about three years there should be no more Tech Pluses at all, as they will all have either upgraded, expired, or been renewed as Technician. Kinda like what happened to Conditionals 30 years ago. When you look at the total number of Technicians and Tech Pluses combined, there are fewer today than on May 14, 2000. It should also be remembered that since 4/15/2000 all licensed hams who had ever passed a code test could upgrade to Extra without any more code testing - just written testing. Also, anyone who could provide documents showing they had *ever* held a Novice or code-tested Technician got credit for Element 1, even of the license had expired decades ago. What all this boils down to is that we will soon see how much of a "barrier to growth" Morse Code testing actually was. If it were *really* a barrier, we will see big jumps in both the number of new hams and the number of upgraders. The ARS License Numbers thread will tell the tale. IMHO, the real "barrier to growth" wasn't the license test requirements at all. Rather, it is simple lack of publicity about amateur radio. Amateur radio is fundamentally "radio for its own sake". Radio as an end in itself, rather than a means to some other end like avoiding long distance telephone charges or the cost of a cell phone. Most people are simply not interested in "radio for its own sake" no matter what the requirements. That's been true since radio was invented. But a small percentage of people *are* interested. The challenge is to find them and inform them of the existence of amateur radio - because many of them don't even know it exists, or have a very distorted idea of what amateur radio is. IMHO Consider this: When's the last time you saw Amateur Radio portrayed in the movies or on TV in a positive and accurate manner, and in such a way that a nonham could understand that amateur radio exists today and they could be a ham if interested? 73 de Jim, N2EY |
#18
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Feb 23 Test Results
wrote:
I don't remember writing anything like that. But I could be mistaken about it. I tried to find the attribution on Google, but there is so much noise in this group it made wading thru hundreds of messages impossible. Perhaps it was Dee or another regular poster who alluded to the fact. I wasn't attempting to put words in your mouth -- I remember someone making the comment, but cannot find the post. If it were *really* a barrier, we will see big jumps in both the number of new hams and the number of upgraders. The ARS License Numbers thread will tell the tale. Right. And my own anecdotal observations show me that the code test was never a real barrier to entry. It isn't the code test that has turned people away, it is simply that "radio" isn't "sexy". This is why I predicted that the result from these changes will be 0 to -1% growth. What the changes may do is tap a few new people into the ARS and slow the rate of decline for a year -- but I really suspect what we'll see over the next 6 months is a huge number of upgrades, and very little in the way of "growth" in new hams (over the rate they're already added to the ARS). IMHO, the real "barrier to growth" wasn't the license test requirements at all. Rather, it is simple lack of publicity about amateur radio. That could be be. Remember the explosion of CB radio after "Smokey and the Bandit" and similar movies in the 70's? Consider this: When's the last time you saw Amateur Radio portrayed in the movies or on TV in a positive and accurate manner, and in such a way that a nonham could understand that amateur radio exists today and they could be a ham if interested? Even if they did put it in a movie, what would it show? Someone talking to another dude 1/2way across the world? Most people would say "what's the big deal, I can do that too" as they pull their credit-card-sized cell phone out of their shirt pocket. 73 kh6hz |
#19
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Feb 23 Test Results
On Feb 25, 8:13 am, wrote:
On Feb 25, 5:23?am, "KH6HZ" wrote: "Dee Flint" wrote: The 3 testing for new licenses is, for all intents and purposes, what I have had at test sessions before the rules changed. ?Although one datum is not sufficient to really draw any conclusions, this does not bode well for growth. There is a saying we teach statistics students: "one observation does not equal a trend". I believe that in the "what effect will this have on licensing numbers" thread, I stated we would see a 0 to -1% growth as a result of these changes. I believe in that thread I stated I felt we would see a huge number of increases from the lower licenses classes to the higher classes (i.e. lots of techs upgrading to extra). The end result of the 2000 restructuring was exactly that. A lot of existing hams upgraded, and for a few years we saw some growth. But the long term result has been a decrease in the number of US hams. I believe it was Jim (N2EY, but I may have the attribution wrong) who stated for the first time in the past 15 years since the creation of the no-code tech license, we might see an actual *DECREASE* in the number of licensed hams in that license class. I don't remember writing anything like that. But I could be mistaken about it. I will say this: Simply looking at the number of Technicians can lead to wrong conclusions. Since 4/15/2000, FCC has been renewing all Technician Pluses as Technicians. Also, a Novice who passes Element 2 after 4/15/2000 gets a Technician, not a Tech Plus. So the Technician totals actually include both code-tested and non-code-tested hams. Assuming that all hams listed as Technicians after 4/15/2000 are not code tested is/was just plain wrong. In about three years there should be no more Tech Pluses at all, as they will all have either upgraded, expired, or been renewed as Technician. Kinda like what happened to Conditionals 30 years ago. When you look at the total number of Technicians and Tech Pluses combined, there are fewer today than on May 14, 2000. It should also be remembered that since 4/15/2000 all licensed hams who had ever passed a code test could upgrade to Extra without any more code testing - just written testing. Also, anyone who could provide documents showing they had *ever* held a Novice or code-tested Technician got credit for Element 1, even of the license had expired decades ago. What all this boils down to is that we will soon see how much of a "barrier to growth" Morse Code testing actually was. If it were *really* a barrier, we will see big jumps in both the number of new hams and the number of upgraders. The ARS License Numbers thread will tell the tale. Jim, you're severely neglecting the temporal aspects of the barrier. Back when there was a lot of interest in amateur radio, there was a lot of people turned off and/or turned away by the Morse Code requirement. Many of those people have moved on. IMHO, the real "barrier to growth" wasn't the license test requirements at all. Rather, it is simple lack of publicity about amateur radio. Do you have an ARRL "Hello" bumper sticker on your vehicle? "Hello" was to be a campaign about inviting people into amateur radio. Amateur radio is fundamentally "radio for its own sake". Radio as an end in itself, rather than a means to some other end like avoiding long distance telephone charges or the cost of a cell phone. Cell phones and service are far cheaper... Most people are simply not interested in "radio for its own sake" no matter what the requirements. That's been true since radio was invented. But a small percentage of people *are* interested. The challenge is to find them and inform them of the existence of amateur radio - because many of them don't even know it exists, or have a very distorted idea of what amateur radio is. IMHO Consider this: When's the last time you saw Amateur Radio portrayed in the movies or on TV in a positive and accurate manner, and in such a way that a nonham could understand that amateur radio exists today and they could be a ham if interested? 73 de Jim, N2EY I don't watch much TV, Jim, so you tell me. |
#20
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Feb 23 Test Results
On Feb 25, 9:02 am, "KH6HZ" wrote:
wrote: If it were *really* a barrier, we will see big jumps in both the number of new hams and the number of upgraders. The ARS License Numbers thread will tell the tale. Right. I disagree. Extremely few people are interested in amateur radio these days. Those who were and were turned off or turned away by the Morse Code exam have found other interests satisfied by the web or massive amounts of cable/satellite television. Who's going to tell them to give it another try? The ARRLs "Hello" campaign just ended. And my own anecdotal observations show me that the code test was never a real barrier to entry. It isn't the code test that has turned people away, it is simply that "radio" isn't "sexy". Mike, it turns people off and it turns people away. Besides, amateur radio isn't sexy. |
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