Open letter to the ARRL (Henry)

[K8DO at aol.com]

In a message dated 96-06-27 11:53:59 EDT, you write:

<< You told your core constituents that, as a National Leader, they
 should trust you and allow no-code licensing.  >>

No code first surfaced in the early eighties... The Leagues Division
Directors polled their membership and finding that a majority opposed no
code, the League fought a strenuous battle against no code and won, but the
price was strained relations with the FCC staff for years afterwards...  the
professional staff at the comission, who had watched years of continuous
annual decreases in the amateur population and knew that loss of the amateur
bands to other radio services would begin unless changes were made, were
shocked at the opposition of the League officers to growth through no code...
 the FCC staff in the personal radio bureau could not understand why League
officials would oppose the very survival of amateur radio...  they failed to
appreciate that the League Directors, who are elected by their district
members, react like any elected officials by doing the bidding of the
majority of their voters... ham voters, like many others, do not always
consider their own best interest in the long term... instead, reacting to the
emotional appeal of the moment.... 
The continued decline in the amateur population and low useage  _directly_
 caused the loss of the bottom half of 220... (this would not have happened
had there been no code in 1983)...  that came as a wake up call to the League
Directors who went back to the membership and rediscussed the situation... as
a result of this, 60% of the league membership approved of the no code
provision to stop the hemorrhaging of licensees, and the League Directors
acted accordingly by cooperating with the FCC staff when no code was
considered the second time around...

(BTW, the FCC staff was absolutely dead on in their analysis... far more than
just the bottom 2 mc of 220 would be gone by now if they had not forced the
issue of the declining amateur population... I would have preferred another
way than no code, but this is 1996 not 1936...
I also have to believe that there was a fair amount of "I told you so", among
the FCC staff at the Personal Radio Bureau after the orders came down from
congress to reassign part of 220 to a major US corporation  - and campaign
donor, not so incidentally - ... )

Are you aware that technician class licensees exceed 50% of the league
membership?...  Well, they do!... this is not my opinion... it is simple fact
right from the leagues computer... technicians are the majority for now and
for the future...  a fact we need to keep in mind when calling people second
rate hams and CB operators... if you feel so strongly that the League is
wrong on WARC 99, then YOU need to run for your division directors seat, so
that you will sit on the board of the league and make policy for your
division...

Denny


Cordially   ...   Denny