Throw away those code practice CDs - ARRL proposed new Amate

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Linnea
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Throw away those code practice CDs - ARRL proposed new Amate

Post by Linnea » 03-21-2004 01:50 AM

Check out the proposed new ham radio licensing plan. No code for current Novice/Tech Licensees - and all existing Tech and Tech Plus automatically become General Licensees. Yah see! Everyone here should have gotten that Tech License. Kinda feel deflated for studying so hard to pass that code and the General test. I could have just waited. Heh. As it was, getting that code element was one of the better skirmishes I've had in a long while. :D Congrats to all Techs! You will soon be Generals. The current General licensees went through much of the same thing - as most of them had to get the code at 13 words per minute! :eek:

Start studying that Extra book.
;)

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/01/19/1/?nc=1

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Post by Byeman/Endtimes » 03-21-2004 08:16 PM

Hate to be Stupid, but what all can a techie do now?

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Bob73
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Re: Throw away those code practice CDs - ARRL proposed new A

Post by Bob73 » 03-21-2004 08:38 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Linnea
Check out the proposed new ham radio licensing plan. No code for current Novice/Tech Licensees - and all existing Tech and Tech Plus automatically become General Licensees. Yah see! Everyone here should have gotten that Tech License. Kinda feel deflated for studying so hard to pass that code and the General test. I could have just waited.

Acording to last nights Art Bell program about BPL
(Broad band Power Line proposed project) If it is
done as the FCC wants it....there will not be any
HAM radio or emergency communications due to all
the HUM interference from all the power lines.
Bob73

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MeesterCranky
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Post by MeesterCranky » 03-22-2004 01:09 AM

so, when do they think they'll be able to push this through?
"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong."
Voltaire

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Bob73
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Broadband Power Lines Project

Post by Bob73 » 03-22-2004 01:15 PM

MeesterCranky wrote: so, when do they think they'll be able to push this through?


The Art Bell program is the first I have heard of BPL. The
ARRL man said there is more on their website, so we need
to check there I suppose. Art and the Man said we should
all write or telegram our Congressmen and Senators to
protest this BPL internet thingy.

Go to the website at : http://www.arrl.org



Comment Deadlines Set for Proposed BPL Rules (Mar 18, 2004) -- Comments on the FCC Broadband over Power Line (BPL) Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in ET Dockets 03-104 and 04-37 are due by Monday, May 3. The deadline for reply comments (comments on comments filed by others) is Tuesday, June 1. The NPRM text appeared March 17 in The Federal Register.


Full Story on ARRL website.
Last edited by Bob73 on 03-22-2004 01:23 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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MeesterCranky
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Post by MeesterCranky » 03-22-2004 02:44 PM

I meant, when will they be able to push through the license restructuring.
"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong."
Voltaire

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ElKamino
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Post by ElKamino » 03-23-2004 02:42 AM

Originally posted by Byeman/Endtimes
"Hate to be Stupid, but what all can a techie do now? "
___________________________

6 meters and up. (get the 5 wpm and you can work some of the HF bands)

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FCC invites comments on Amateur Radio restructuring plans

Post by Linnea » 03-24-2004 10:17 PM

SB QST @ ARL $ARLB007
ARLB007 FCC invites comments on Amateur Radio restructuring plans

ZCZC AG07
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 7 ARLB007
>From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT March 24, 2004
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB007
ARLB007 FCC invites comments on Amateur Radio restructuring plans

The FCC is seeking comment on three plans, one from the ARRL, that
would reshape the Amateur Service licensing structure. Each Petition
for Rule Making responds to World Radiocommunication Conference 2003
actions last summer that made changes to Article 25 of the
international Radio Regulations. While differing substantially in
some other aspects, the three petitions call for modifications at
Amateur Radio's entry level and for a three-tiered license system.
One petition goes beyond licensing structure to recommend additional
changes to amateur testing and HF digital privileges. A fourth
petition focuses solely on the Morse requirement. Comments are due
by April 24 on all four petitions.

Designated RM-10867, ARRL's petition asks the FCC to create a new
entry-level license class--being called ''Novice'' for now. It would
offer limited HF CW/data and phone/image privileges on 80, 40, 15
and 10 meters plus certain VHF and UHF privileges. The League plan
also would consolidate Technician, Tech Plus (Technician with
Element 1 credit) and General licensees into a new General license
that no longer would require a Morse examination. Current
Technicians automatically would gain General privileges without
additional testing. Applicants for Amateur Extra would still have to
pass a 5 WPM Morse code examination, but the General and Extra
written exams would stay the same.

A news report ''ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF
Access,'' http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/01/19/1/, has further
details. Frequently asked questions (FAQs) are addressed on the ARRL
Web site, http://www.arrl.org/news/restructuring2/faq.html.

An ''unincorporated grassroots organization,'' the Radio Amateur
Foundation (RAF), has filed a petition designated as RM-10868. Its
wide-ranging filing asks the FCC to modify the Technician ticket to
allow restricted HF phone, data, image and CW privileges. The group
also proposes retaining the 5 WPM Morse requirement for General and
Amateur Extra applicants, upgrading Advanced class holders to Extra
and all Novices to Technician. The Radio Amateur Foundation said it
sees no need to change licensing requirements for General or Amateur
Extra applicants.

The RAF also wants to scrap existing Amateur Radio question pools
and start over from scratch, keeping the question pools out of the
public domain and requiring a 10-day waiting period before
retesting. In addition, it would permit only Generals and Amateur
Extras or Technicians licensed more than two years to request vanity
call signs.

The RAF has further asked the FCC to permit digital experimentation
from 29.0 to 29.3 MHz at bandwidths of up to 15 kHz.

In his two-page petition designated RM-10869, Ronald D. Lowrance,
K4SX, calls on the FCC to retain the 5 WPM Morse code requirement
for General class applicants and to raise the Morse requirement to
13 WPM for Amateur Extra class applicants. He called Morse code ''the
most reliable mode of communication'' in an emergency. Lowrance would
make no change in Technician licensing requirements.

The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC)
wants the FCC to establish a new entry-level license called the
Communicator class. Its petition, designated RM-10870, reiterates
its call--first made last fall in RM-10787--to altogether eliminate
the Morse code testing requirement.

The NCVEC's petition would upgrade all current Novices to
Communicator class. The NCVEC would further upgrade all existing
Technician and Tech Plus (Technician with Element 1 credit)
licensees to General and all Advanced class licensees to Amateur
Extra without further testing. Once the Morse requirement goes away,
NCVEC said in its filing, ''there will be no effective difference
between the Technician and General class licenses.''

The new Communicator ticket would permit a power limit of 100 W on
bands below 24 MHz and 50 W on all frequencies above 24 MHz.
Communicator licensees would have to use commercially manufactured
equipment (or gear built from a commercial kit). They could operate
both voice and digital modes on 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters plus VHF
and UHF up to 70 cm.

All three license restructuring plans call for changes to the
present HF subbands.

Interested parties may view and comment on these petitions via the
FCC Electronic Comment Filing System, http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html.
When entering the RM number in the ECFS ''Proceeding'' field, RM must
be in capital letters and the hyphen must be included.
NNNN
/EX

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Elk
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Post by Elk » 03-25-2004 03:49 AM

The RAF bunch seem to have the right idea. Good plan. Im not certain about the communicator class tho. Ill have to ponder that one awhile....
The 5wpm requirement is a solid basis for weeding out the casual players from the true ham buff. It will help protect certain bands from mass interlopers, and insure clean operating practices. (In a perfect world, that is...)
If you just hand someone something, they'll value it less. If they have to work for it, the accomplishment itself inspires better operating practices. In spite of what that moron Powell and the FCC believe, amateur radio is a important asset to this country in so many ways. Keep the 5wpm, dump BPL. Anything less will destroy the service.

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Post by mudwoman » 03-25-2004 05:31 AM

Bottom line:

There are two reasons why I actually think the government would like HAMs to disappear (as in cease to exist).

1) The ptb thinks band width is a "natural resource". That equates to millions stuffed into the bulging wallets of the pig corporations and Powell et al are just the flunkies to deliver the goods.

2) No control freak government (as ours is becoming) can abide a bunch of free wheelers communicating with out easy surveillance.

I shared my thoughts on the question of BPL back in June. They are about the same as every other HAM. It stinks! And I am one of those who has a slow dial-up running through miles and miles of 40 year old copper wire. I would (supposedly) be a beneficiary of the BPL marketing scheme.

The CW question:
If we accept that dropping the CW requirement is tantamount to lowering of the standards for entry level HAM operation then I think something else needs to counter balance this effect. I would think that making the exam more difficult might do the trick. More RF safety questions.

:D

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The end of HAM?

Post by MeesterCranky » 03-25-2004 09:10 AM

those of you who've seen me saying this recently, forgive me, but in response to Mud's comments I'd like to cross post this entry from my blog:



Ham radio operators are super pissed at the FCC's charging forward with the BPL (Broadband Over Powerlines) plan - wherein the government will create a high speed internet network accessible to every home in the US by deploying internet services over power lines - making evey outlet in your home a high speed internet portal.

Here's an article to read about it.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/12/08/1/?nc=1

In addition to what the article says, I'd like to state a few things that EVERYONE should be aware of that are not addressed.

The government at local, state and federal levels has ALWAYS relied on the amateur radio netowrk to assist in times of natural disaster and the potential event of national catastrophe. Indeed, it was part of the reason they began licensing amateurs. This BPL **** will completely invalidate that assistance, as well as render local police incommunicado. Even FEMA is on record saying they oppose it because it will impact their communications - but the FCC continues to implement it regardless.

Why would the government want to knock out ham operations, when we face an unprecidented time of national emergency? Read on.

You may think you can live without police communication, air traffic control, AM radio and the first six TV broadcast channels - but even so, there are unspoken ramifications to this that will make you seriously consider running for the border before they close it.

A scenario of complete control over our media is emerging slowly. The FCC crackdown after Boobiegate is nothing compared to this scenario, wherein:

1): no citizen will be able to listen to the news over AM or parts of FM radio. News will be available only online, through cable TV and through the Clear Channel-Bush Administration media conglomorate currently harrassing Howard Stern a la Lenny Bruce.

2) no citizen will be able to use shortwave radio either to listen to foreign stations - BPL was deployed on a trial basis on Europe, who shut it down when citizens complained that they could no longer receive shortwave from other countries. Euros have a long tradition of listening to news from outside their borders via shortwave - think WWII. Goebbels and Hitler made it illegal to listen to foreign broadcasts - but could not prevent them from coming in.

3) Most air traffic control will be wiped out. I wonder if only the military will be able to operate air traffic control outside the frequencies of BPL?

4) The ongoing efforts to install chips in every appliance from refrigerators to TV sets... all constantly reporting back over the internet on what you drink, eat, watch. What about that?

5) finally, no signals in means no signals out. No one in Europe will hear the reports of what is going on inside our borders. We will be sealed in with no one tattling to the outside world what transpires within our borders. What advantage can you see in that? If you're an insane power hungry warlord intent on gang raping the Bill of Rights with your buddies, I can see a few advantages.

This is a ****ing nightmare. It's deliberately being put into place and we can't stop it. See, they don't CARE if they interfere with shortwave and amateur traffic... cause they WANT TO. Why would they want to?

Think about this for a couple days.
Last edited by MeesterCranky on 03-25-2004 09:46 AM, edited 1 time in total.
"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong."
Voltaire

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MeesterCranky
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Post by MeesterCranky » 03-25-2004 09:47 AM

I went in to edit a naughty word that I accidently left in, and someone had done it for me. Uh, thanks, I think.
"It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong."
Voltaire

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Post by Burt Gummer » 03-25-2004 10:13 AM

I emailed my wimp congressmen protesting this stupid capitalistic BS crap! (for the little good it will do).... :mad:

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Ham Radio Meet Ups - Grassroots

Post by Linnea » 03-25-2004 10:47 AM

For grassroots action meet ups - sign up to attend local meetings and get these issues out. So far, there are only about 337 members signed up. Wonder how many we could get to sign up if Art Bell put this out on the air...

http://hamradio.meetup.com/

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Post by Guardian Angel » 03-26-2004 12:23 AM

All of this would be a bad mistake on the FCC's part. As a Ham myself I would not like to see this, as it would destroy it as all Ham's know it.

KA7NDI Oregon

GA

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