[Amps] Entry level license

[Chris Hays]

<<soapbox mode on>>

 

I apologize for the length of this and that it is only in a peripheral way
related to amps.  I monitor this list because I'm a technical person, and
there are a lot of smart people here that I can learn from.  I'm more of a
tinkerer than a big project builder. Now retired from broadcasting, that may
change.  Enough about me.

 

What prompted this was the statement that the old Novice license may have
had more theory than today's technician license.  That might be a small
overstatement, but I happen to have a license manual from 1957.  Here is a
sample of a few questions from the novice license chapter:

 

"What is ohms law?"

"What is meant by a 'parasitic oscillation'?"

"What is the relationship between a cycle, a kilocycle, and a megacycle?"

 

Basic stuff but important nonetheless.

 

The description of the technician license indicates it is to encourage
experimentation in the VHF and UHF portion of the spectrum.  It was never
designed to be entry-level, but with the loss of the Novice license, it is
what we are now stuck with.

 

A recent piece in QST looked at the growth of amateur licenses.  But it also
found that a large number of new licensees are getting licensed in the name
of emergency preparedness, not because they are really interested in
pursuing the hobby. I don't have to tell this group that the real fun is on
the HF bands! Thus I feel an entry level license that does not give some
meaningful Limited HF privileges is not a true entry level license. (Ten
meters is not meaningful as it isn't reliably open). Oh, and back then the
Novice was a one year (later increased to two) non-renewable license.  So it
gave a taste of the hobby and a big incentive to upgrade. Making the Novice
renewable was a mistake. There are still quite a few Novice licensees in the
database.  Why do I get the feeling that the approximate number of Novices
active on the bands is pretty nearly zero?

 

I was first licensed in 1959.  A phone station was AM, and stations had
separate transmitters and receivers. AM and CW transmitters were simple and
within the reach of beginner hams.  SSB changed that.  Previously, the most
complicated item in the ham shack was the receiver. With SSB, the
transceiver became dominant, and the complexity of a typical ham station
jumped exponentially. There is no turning back at this point.

 

A cw station is still simple enough, but with the loss of the Morse Code
requirement, learning code will rely on the initiative of the person
entering the hobby.

 

All this is leading to the renewed idea of a true entry level license.  So,
what were the defining characteristics of the old Novice license? Limited
power, limited privileges, a limited non-renewable term, and a basic exam
covering regulations and basic theory.  What will interest a techie just
entering the hobby?  I contend that digital is the new CW, so limited
privileges should include some psk31 spectrum.

 

<<soapbox mode off>

 

I hope this is some food for thought.  Like I said, there are a lot of smart
people here. We might just come up with a good solution!

 

Chris, AB6QK (and yes the extra is a real one with 20wpm code)