--
Most people found either code or theory difficult, therefore the
earning of HF privileges had value because it was an
accomplishment.  Now it will not be valued by some, because it will
not take any work to get licence.
--

Ok. I've been watching this whole discussion, and I've hesitated to chime in
for several reasons. But I'm seeing things here that, in my experience, are
the very things that sometimes keep younger people from even getting
involved in ham radio to begin with. Let me explain my situation, and then
for those who don't just automatically decide I must not know what I'm
talking about and therefore ignore the rest of my message, I'll continue
with my thoughts.

I'm no where near retirement age, in fact I'm 31 years old and have been
licensed since 1995. I enjoy science to some extent, but I'm no electrical
engineer. I have no where near the knowledge or desire to build my own
radios, maybe my own antennas one of these days but right now I wouldn't
feel comfortable even trying that. In fact, I tend to be paranoid about
fires and electric shock, therefore I prefer to use purchased items or get
someone to help out with getting my station up and running properly. I've
never passed a code test, I was one of those hated no code techs back in the
mid 90s.

Yes, most of these things, and certainly all of them combined, makes me
somewhat of an outcast in the general ham community, or at least some of the
long time hams that worked under the old system. Which raises the question,
why am I in the hobby to begin with? For several reasons. The first thing
that drew me to it was community. The ones that didn't shun me were, and I'm
sure will continue to be once I get back on, extremely helpful. As I got
more involved I found other ways in which I could help, relaying between
repeaters during severe storms, for one. Due to several circumstances I
didn't get as involved as I wanted to, but there are many things I'd like to
do. Upgrade my license for one, learn the code for another.. Get on HF, work
contests not to win but just for the fun of it, and prepare myself to be
able to assist in case of major emergencies. I've even considered getting
involved with the MARS group. But mostly, I simply want to be a part of the
ham community again, and hopefully give back, perhaps not as much in
technical knowledge but in other ways.

I disagree that getting licensed takes no work at all. Perhaps not as much
as it used to, but unless you're an electrical engineer or a genius, all of
these formulas and wave lengths and terms and numbers can make your head
spin, especially for general and extra. I'm not complaining, I'm loving the
challenge, and at least most of it I'm starting to grasp. but, while I can
respect the more difficult work that some of you had to put into getting
your license, I don't think it's fair to just assume that those of us who
perhaps have an easier time are going to not care. I'm getting two messages,
one being a concern that there will be no operators left, the other being
that it's a shame that operators don't have to know how to do code at 20
words a minute and build their own radio from scratch to get full privs, or
at least that's my impression. I guess my question is, what's most
important? Are the strict requirements and ton of work worth keeping out
people who truly do want to do good things with the hobby? Or is it more
important to open up more opportunities to allow people who aren't total
geniuses but still have the ability to show intelligence, stay professional
and give back to the community their chance to keep the hobby going? Don't
get me wrong, I'm not advocating dropping licenses or any other drastic
things like that. We don't need more CBers out there. All I'm asking is a
little consideration for those of us who have good intentions, but choose
to, at least for now, take advantage of the fact that we don't have to learn
the code in order to do things that won't require using it anyway.
Otherwise, even if others do get their license, they may find themselves
deciding not to participate if they are met with hostility.

and Buddy, I totally agree with you. though I've heard horror stories about
VHF/UHF in places like California, so far it has been my only mode of
communication and where I've been, I've found it to be extremely courteous
with very few exceptions.
--
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Checked by AVG Free Edition.
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