"N2EY" wrote in message
...
In article , "Carl R. Stevenson"
writes:

"Mike Coslo" wrote in message
...
Carl R. Stevenson wrote:

The power limits make sense.

Do you support not teaching newcomers about RF safety? I believe they
should be, and as long as they know the fundamentals, they should have
the same power privileges as the rest of us.

I'll say right out that not teaching new people the fundamentals of RF
and electrical safety is not very responsible.

The power limit is about RF exposure and the need to do the evaluations.
This is something that I think can reasonably be considered beyond the
"beginner" level, as it requires a foundation in a number of areas.

There may still need to be *some* evaluation done even at the 100/50W
power
level, but they are simplified compared to what needs to be known for the
whole
raneg of amateur power/frequencies.

We can't expect the newcomer to learn EVERYTHING before then
can get on the air

I agree 100%! That's the whole point of multiple license classes. It's not
in
the best interests of amateur radio to require all newcomers to pass the
Extra
just to get started.

... compare the Novice tests of years past with their
small number of questions and study guides with a dozen or less pages
to "Now You're Talking," which contains 200-some pages and it's clear
that "the bar" for entry has increased greatly from the entry level tests
that I and many others took those many years ago

No it's not clear at all! In fact, it's an apples and oranges comparison.
Here's why:

Books like "Now You're Talking" are meant to be stand-alone study guides.
They
contain the entire question pool, with explanations of each question and h
ow to
get the answer. And much more.

The old License Manuals were not meant to be "one stop" books. They
focused on
the license process only - where the tests were held, the process, etc.
The
"study guides" were *not* the actual Q&A, but rather *essay* questions
intended
to indicate the areas to be tested.

Wrong...see below.

If you really want to make a comparison, take an old ARRL License Manual,

The "old ARRL License Manual" was all anyone needed to pass the
tests in the late 50s. Novice material was covered in 4 or 5 pages and
General/Tech was about 12/16 pages. NO other info or books
were needed.

add
on "How To Become A Radio Amateur", "Learning The Radiotelegraph Code" and
"Understanding Amateur Radio" and you'll begin to have an apples-to-apples
comparison.

Or consider these questions from the 1976 ARRL License Manual:

Study Question #31:
Draw a schematic diagram of a circuit having the following
components:
(a) battery with internal resistance,
(b) resistive load,
(c) voltmeter,
(d) ammeter.

AND the study guide included the diagram. I memorized all 15 "draw a
diagram"
answers for the General written. 5 of those EXACT questions were on the
General written I took in 1958.

Study Question #32:
From the values indicated by the meters in the above circuit, how can
the value of the resistive load be determined? How can the power consumed
by the load be determined?

All you needed to know was the formula...and that was in the study guide.

Study Question #33:
In the above circuit, what must the value of the resistive load be in
order for the maximum power to be delivered from the battery?

Anyway...you get the picture.

Cheers,
Bill K2UNK