W4CLM

Society for the Preservation of Amateur Radio

LOUD and CLEAR

January 21, 2004
To: Mr. David Sumner K1ZZ
CC: All ARRL Directors

Re: ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access

Dear Dave,
Thank You for taking the time to reply to my email. This will be my last time I write to you about this issue, so do with it as you please because I believe the League is going to do as they please regardless of how I and so many other feel on the issues.

Please allow me to clarify something for you. I was first licensed in 1971 with my ((WN)) novice call. Now maybe I missed something along the way in my youth, but I though the idea of incentive licensing was to learn something, teach new skills and upgrade one's understanding of basic electronics, electricity, radio and introductory engineering. So that is what I tried to do in my life. I now hold two degrees in electronics, I once held my First Class Radio Telephone license (Thanks Deregulation!) now a GMDSS maintainers permit and I still hold a Second Class Radio telegraph license. so please don't lecture me or try to impress me with the fact that you drew 10 questions on your exam by hand back in 1965. I too passed the 20 WPM for my Extra in 1976 and the same for my commercial telegraph license and I still sail on that license now. I also drew at least 15 or so questions by hand for my telegraph license in 1977. Yes the commercial telegraph license was the last to abandon the drawing process in examinations. But who cares, it's all irrelevant now, isn't it.

No body is asking for this sort of in-depth understanding to be implemented into the amateur radio examinations especially at a novice level. I'm one of a hand full of commercial radio operators left in this country. So I fully understand the license structure as it previously stood for the last 40 years, so there is no need to further clarify to me the old CW privileges for the novice license as it once stood.

I'm a product of incentive licensing as it was intended from the start and it worked as intended. Through that process I learned something and I did not start this journey through life by shooting my mouth off on HF phone. Your proposal in giving away large sections of the 80 / 40 / 15 meter phone bands as such teaches nothing except that if people scream long enough, societal pressure will eventually give you what you want for free, and the board's recommendation of a 25 question novice exam where all you need do is memorize a hand full of questions and answers is not an exam at all and might as well be FREE.

If indeed the conditional class license was a fraud in your time, then I'm sorry. Someone should have fixed it at the time. However, it could not have been any more of a fraud then the Doctor's permit for C.W. was in the recent past. Due to the fact the C.W. is basically a irrelevant issue today, the issue I believe at hand is not CW, the issue is the farming out the HF bands for Novice VOICE privileges. Please don't correct me again on this because the NOVICE in recent years past was authorized 10 meter phone privileges. Because ITU regulations allowed for phone operation below 30 Mhz for those who could show a minimal ability with C.W. at one time. Novices were granted 10 meter phone privileges. You are however right on one thing, they seldom used the C.W. portion of the bands as you stated. So all the new licensees, novice (and technicians) flocked to 10 meter phone and two meter phone and didn't use the C.W. band. I specifically tried not to make reference to C.W. in my previous Email to the league so that it would not be the focus of the issue.

However since you brought it up, as far as the boards proposal to keep 5 WPM C.W. for the Extra, What a JOKE. I personally don't care what you or anyone does with C.W. anymore. Having worked as a professional ships communications officer, ((Ships Radio Telegrapher officer))

I'll be the first one to tell you that C.W. is an archaic mode of communication. But you completely missed the point I was making in the entire email I wrote about the once proud tradition of having held an amateur license. It's no different then teaching a Merchant Mariner (Cadet) how to use a sextant in this modern age of Global Positioning Satellites for navigational purposes.

Let me put it to you in simpler terms.
Something worth having such as an amateur license or a commercial license is something that should be worth working for. If it's not worth working for then it's not appreciated, that goes for HF phone privileges.
If it's not appreciated then why have a license exam at all.
The commission may as well just start collecting $20 dollars per head and issuing call signs like KDW2975 and we may as well call it all legalized HF~CB. NO body ever said the NOVICE license was an end to itself. It's a starting point and on that we both agree. But I can tell you this much, as a Novice I knew more then most generals and advanced class amateur operators today. We at least knew what Ohms Law was and how to calculate the input power to my final amplifier stage.
I could identify the most basic of components and I knew enough not to use a CB handle on the two meter phone band as I've heard others do in recent years. Today your average Advanced class and General Class operator can't tell you what the difference is from input power to the final and output power to the antenna or identify the simplest of semiconductor devices or does he care.

So Dave, you see I believe I fully understand the situation. I also believe the League and the board of directors is hell bent on giving away as much of the spectrum as possible while bolstering the number of licensed amateurs in this country and in turn I'm sure Yaesu, Kenwood, Icom and the other radio manufacturers around the world will thank you. I personally believe you are taking the path of least resistance and a bureaucratic stand point on this. For someone who has been licensed since 1965, I would have expected more from you and the board.
There are many, many people who feel as I do on this issue.

Assuming this is a proposal, like other proposals from my maritime union, various bureaucratic organizations I have dealt with throughout my life and previous proposals from the ARRL it only leads me to believe that it may as well already be written in stone. I fully believe that you will regret this, lets hope ~ I'm wrong. Since it human nature to want more and more, I can only assume we will hear our 100 watt novices stations running 600 watts, we are likely to hear more jamming across the spectrum, whistle blowing in the microphones, AUDIO~AUDIO~AUDIO testing and arguing over who was on the frequency first.

Now that we have minimalized the CW and testing requirement to the point where just about any moron can obtain a license, I'm just wonder what else if anything will there be left for you and your associates to give away in the future after this proposal passes.

I'm afraid your plan to save amateur radio from extinction while attempting to bring young individuals into this once proud endeavor will only be met by the remainder of old men and truckers from eleven meters who were too lazy to pick up a book and learn something twenty years ago. Then we can all thank you and the ARRL for their fine performance in 2004 for trying to fix something that wasn't broken. The way I see it, it's a real shame the League with it's honorable past has now become nothing more then a business like any other business and apparently has worn out it's usefulness.

A good friend of mine wrote me on this matter today and I could not have said it any better, so in closing I will put his comment here.

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The ARRL and the FCC have apparently decided that people aren't as
intelligent as they were and are incapable of similar achievement. I think
this and similar proposals that lower the bar are insulting, degrading and
condescending.
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Again, Thank you for your time and Email reply.
Regards and 73
Carol L. Maher
W4CLM