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

SB QST @ ARL $ARLB003

ARLB003 ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access

 

ZCZC AG03

QST de W1AW 

ARRL Bulletin 3  ARLB003

From ARRL Headquarters 

Newington CT  January 20, 2004

To all radio amateurs

 

SB QST ARL ARLB003

ARLB003 ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access

 

The ARRL will ask the FCC to create a new entry-level Amateur Radio

license that would include HF phone privileges without requiring a

Morse code test. The League also will propose consolidating all

current licensees into three classes, retaining the Element 1 Morse

requirement--now 5 WPM-only for the highest class. The ARRL Board of

Directors overwhelmingly approved the plan January 16 during its

Annual Meeting in Windsor, Connecticut. The proposals--developed by

the ARRL Executive Committee following a Board instruction last

July--are in response to changes made in Article 25 of the

international Radio Regulations at World Radiocommunication

Conference 2003 (WRC-03). They would continue a process of

streamlining the amateur licensing structure that the FCC began more

than five years ago but left unfinished in the Amateur Service

license restructuring Report and Order (WT 98-143) that went into

effect April 15, 2000.

 

''Change in the Amateur Radio Service in the US, especially license

requirements and even more so when Morse is involved, has always

been emotional,'' said ARRL First Vice President Joel Harrison, W5ZN,

in presenting the Executive Committee's recommendations. ''In fact,

without a doubt, Morse is Amateur Radio's 'religious debate.'''

 

The entry-level license class--being called ''Novice'' for now--would

require a 25-question written exam. It would offer limited HF

CW/data and phone/image privileges on 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters as

well as VHF and UHF privileges on 6 and 2 meters and on 222-225 and

430-450 MHz. Power output would be restricted to 100 W on 80, 40,

and 15 meters and to 50 W on 10 meters and up.

 

''The Board sought to achieve balance in giving new Novice licensees

the opportunity to sample a wider range of Amateur Radio activity

than is available to current Technicians while retaining a

motivation to upgrade,'' said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. Under the

ARRL plan, current Novice licensees--now the smallest and least

active group of radio amateurs--would be grandfathered to the new

entry-level class without further testing.

 

The middle group of licensees--Technician, Tech Plus (Technician

with Element 1 credit) and General--would be merged into a new

General license that also would not require a Morse examination.

Current Technician and Tech Plus license holders automatically would

gain current General class privileges without additional testing.

The current Element 3 General examination would remain in place for

new applicants.

 

The Board indicated that it saw no compelling reason to change the

Amateur Extra class license requirements. The ARRL plan calls on the

FCC to combine the current Advanced and Amateur Extra class

licensees into Amateur Extra, because the technical level of the

exams passed by these licensees is very similar. New applicants for

Extra would have to pass a 5 WPM Morse code examination, but the

written exam would stay the same. Sumner said the Board felt that

the highest level of accomplishment should include basic Morse

capability. Current Novice, Tech Plus and General licensees would

receive lifetime 5 WPM Morse credit.

 

''This structure provides a true entry-level license with HF

privileges to promote growth in the Amateur Service,'' Harrison said.

 

Among other advantages, Sumner said the plan would allow new Novices

to participate in HF SSB emergency nets on 75 and 40 meters as well

as on the top 100 kHz of 15 meters. The new license also could get

another name, Sumner said. ''We're trying to recapture the magic of

the old Novice license, but in a manner that's appropriate for the

21st century.''

 

The overall proposed ARRL license restructuring plan would more

smoothly integrate HF spectrum privileges across the three license

classes and would incorporate the ''Novice refarming'' plan the League

put forth nearly two years ago in a Petition for Rule Making

(RM-10413). The FCC has not yet acted on the ARRL plan, which would

alter current HF subbands.

 

The ARRL license restructuring design calls for no changes in

privileges for Extra and General class licensees on 160, 60, 30, 20,

17 or 12 meters. Novice licensees would have no access to those

bands.

 

See ''ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access''

on the ARRL Web site, www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/01/19/1/, for

the specific subband allocations ARRL is proposing for each class.

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/EX

 




PA State PRB-1
Hello,

My counterpart (Eric WB3FPL) SM Eastern Pa is compiling information pertaining to any PRB-1 issues that we have had in the western pa section. Western Pa
share's with Eastern Pa (1) State Government Liaison between the two of us.Our shared SGL lives in the Eastern PA Section and keeps close contact with
Harrisburg. Eric and his crew are re-working our States version of PRB-1 and need input from us. Below is a copy of what was sent By Eric to his people in the
Eastern Pa section.

To All Radio Amateurs in Pennsylvania,

We are seeking case histories of anyone having tower/antenna problems due to municipal action and/or municipal inaction. Anyone having problems
of this type are encouraged to contact E. Pa. Section Manager, WB3FPL, in writing or via the internet.
Eric D. Olena, WB3FPL.
284 Blimline Rd.
Mohnton, PA. 19540-7810.
wb3fpl@arrl.org as soon as possible

Thanks for you help.
73
Rich N3SRJ
SM WPA

ARLB069 New General Class Question Pool Released

ZCZC AG69
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 69 ARLB069
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT December 4, 2003
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB069
ARLB069 New General Class Question Pool Released

The Question Pool Committee (QPC) of the National Conference of
Volunteer Examiner Coordinators has released a revised and expanded
Amateur Radio General class (Element 3) question pool into the
public domain. The new question pool becomes effective July 1, 2004,
and must be used to generate all General written examinations
administered on or after that date.

"The pool has been expanded to 432 questions," said ARRL VEC Manager
Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, a member of the Question Pool Committee, who
notes that all subelements grew slightly. "The largest increase in
questions this time around was in our Operating Procedures and
Amateur Radio Practices subelements," he said. The General class
question pool does not contain any diagrams or symbols.

The new Element 3 question pool is available on the ARRL Amateur
Exam Question Pools Web page at
http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/pools.html in Adobe PDF and ASCII text
format. It includes all questions and answers relating to Element 3.
The Question Pool Committee now is turning its attention to
developing an outline for an updated Amateur Extra class (Element 4)
question pool, which will be revised over the next 24 months, Jahnke
said. It will go into effect July 1, 2006. The deadline to submit
input to the Amateur Extra question pool syllabus is May 1, 2004.

Commenters may address specific Element 3 questions as well as
inputs to the Element 3 syllabus and question pool to the Question
Pool Committee via e-mail at, qpc@arrl.org.
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/EX