In article , Mike Coslo
writes:

N2EY wrote:

In article ,

(Larry Roll K3LT) writes:


I think that the most likely scenario is that they will do as you suggest,
and distill it down to two license classes, General and Extra. All current
Techs would be "grandfathered" to the General class, and the Extra will
remain the same, sans Element 1(a). This would be the easiest change
to accomplish from an administrative standpoint, and they wouldn't have
to even bother renaming the remaining license classes, which would only
risk causing resentment among current Extras. There could be, at most,
a requirement for current Techs to pass another written element, but the
grandfathering would be an easier fix.


ARRL asked for something very similar back in 1998 and FCC said no. (ARRL's
proposal would have given Novices and Tech Pluses instant upgrades to
General).

Such an instant upgrade has these problems:

1) A lot of screaming about "no giveaways"

Let's test your premise here, Jim. Would you support a one class system

in which all amateurs that have passed Novice, Tech, General or (of
course) Extra get an "instant upgrade" to Extra?

No. In fact, not just "no" but "HELL, NO!!"

That of course would be a simple and elegant solution. No more arguing
about anything as far as classes go.

"All amateurs are equal. Some are more equal than others" (with a tip of the
hat to George Orwell and "Animal Farm".

That would certainly cure the falloff in people getting Tech licenses
at the moment. A person would have to be foolish to not take the Tech
class license in order to get General class access after restructuring
as in your example, or full Extra access as in my one class idea.

Some folks would agree with that system, or one like it. After all, once upon a
time, anyone who could pass the Tech/General written (they were the same test
for 36 years) and the required code test got all privileges. If the code test
is removed, that leaves the General written.

Can anyone *prove* to me that the Extra written contains things a ham *must*
know to operate on the Extra-only subbands?

Be careful what you ask for.

73 de Jim, N2EY