A couple of days ago, the ARRL posted a news item, “ARRL Seeks Opinions Concerning Possible New Entry Level License.” Apparently, the ARRL Board of Directors set up an An Entry Level License Committee in September 2016. (I guess that I’ve been lax in reading the board meeting minutes lately.)
The committee is gathering member input via an online member survey and will make recommendations to the Board for possible rules changes to submit to the FCC. They note, “The result could mean changes to the Technician license, but it could also be an additional, but simpler, license with privileges that would give a newcomer a taste of most facets of ham radio from HF to VHF and UHF. The survey will be online until April 7, 2017.
The survey page gives a little more insight into the work of the committee:
What are the problems we’re trying to solve?
- The declining population of new hams under the age of 30.
- A decline in the number of new licensees who actually get on the air.
- Amateur Radio’s lack of appeal for those under the age of 30, compared to other technical hobbies.
- The increasing challenge of engaging and retaining Technician licensees.
- A reluctance in much of the amateur community to embrace newer technologies of interest to the younger segment of the population.
The working mission:
- Encourage students and young adults to learn about ham radio.
- Train licensees for concepts necessary to be effective and successful.
- Provide sufficient privileges that will make Amateur Radio more attractive.
- Build in a strong incentive to upgrade to next license level.
The reddit page discussing this has a lot of interesing opinions. Many of the commenters say that there’s really no need for a new class of license, supposedly one that’s easier to pass. There is a lot of talk about making the test more relevant. Several people pointed out the questions about PSK, and noted that PSK is really an HF thing, and that Techs can’t operate PSK on HF.
I don’t think that coming up with a new entry-level license class with privileges that are even more limited than the Technician Class is a bad idea, but whether or not it’s successful will depend completely on the implementation. Unless the new class of license is accompanied by some kind of program that will help these new licensees really become engaged with amateur radio, then we’re just creating another class of inactive licensees. I don’t know exactly what this program would consist of, but without it, this effort is doomed to failure.
And, who’s going to develop and run this program? The only organization that has the horsepower to make this work is the ARRL. They are going to have to step up big time. Most clubs don’t have the people or resources to do it properly.
Joshua DC7IA and KK4RVI says
I’m wondering why anyone would even consider a new class. Every time I tell someone here in Germany about the Technician Class, they can’t believe there’s a class that easy. Our lowest class is almost as difficult as the Extra Class.
goggo says
Europe’s population density probably requires a higher bar.
Walter Underwood K6WRU says
There are some positive things about Australia’s Foundation Licence. Access to HF with 10 Watts (80, 40, 15, and 10) using Morse or voice. I’d suggest that with the addition of data. Digital modes make 10 Watts pretty useful.
The exam seems similar in difficulty to the Technician exam.
http://www.wia.org.au/licenses/foundation/trialexam/
2m0wdg says
That’s pretty much the standard of the foundation in the UK also.
10w and use of digi modes you can have a great time and work far off DX with a simple dipole.
It got me hooked.
Charlie - M0PZT says
Speaking from our side of the pond, I would say that “the problem” is one we all share. However, I don’t think another licence-level (it was mooted in RSGB’s RadCom back in 2014) is the answer – what is required are enthusiastic, energetic Hams who are part of the training process who actually generate RF and include a mix of those involved with as many aspects of the hobby, eg: HF CW, JT65, VHF DX’ing, satellites and such.
I agrees with your closing comments, Dan, about clubs not having enough people – it’s a catch-22 in most instances: People see a club as “set in its ways” or run by a select few (eg: clique) which makes new ideas and forward-thinking a non-starter.
A common problem is we don’t know how to sell what we have: Sure it’s hard to compete with the sort of “tech” most people have these days, but “Amateur” Radio can be anything but… We are responsible for pushing the boundries, discovering new technologies and demonstrating that, in times of crisis, our simple set-ups often excel where more complex systems (ie: phones/fire/police) fail. For our hobby to continue, we need people who can articulately demonstrate the hobby and give it that “wow factor”.
Instead of trying to compete with the interwebs and such, it should be seen as a tool that can aid us, eg: discussion groups, blogs that detail a project, where to buy components etc. The buzz surrounding Tim Peake on the International Space Station helped the hobby’s profile over here – and our Foundation licence, which is usually a weekend course or a weekly 6-week affair, permits 10-watts on “most” bands. That’s a big step from the original “Novice” (2E1xxx) licence back in the early 90s which permitted 3-watts on a few bands (2m being a notable omission). Passing a 5wpm Morse test got you access to *some* bits of *some* HF bands. It now permits 50-watts and most of our allocation.
Sure, students need to use their brain in order to get a callsign, but the recruitment process should be as welcoming, enjoyable and enticing as possible – We need to get out of our sheds/basements more!
Bob K0NR says
I really wish the ARRL would look at this situation strategically and apply modern market research methods to the problem. Running a survey of existing hams is not a bad thing but its kind of like a restaurant interviewing its most loyal customers to find out how to attract completely new customers. What would work better is to get inside the heads of the target demographic and figure out how to attract them to ham radio.
Rob W4ZNG says
Thanks for posting the survey link. My 2 cents: don’t add another class, just extend Tech’s CW HF bands to add digital modes with a 20w power limit. Also, give Tech a slice of the 30m band. It’s way under-used and needs the extra traffic. No need for another license class, the Tech exam is way easy as it is.
Todd KD0TLS says
Rob,
I agree, and think that’s a more sensible course.
The current “Gateway to HF” programme was always some old guy’s vision of what “the kids” wanted, and it’s ridiculously out-of-touch. Somebody thought that “the kids” would learn Morse if that gave them a chance for HF operation — because *everybody* wants to get on HF. Obviously.
I’d also point out that, once again, the underlying premise here is that everyone is crazy about HF and that the regulatory scheme has failed if it discourages HF operation.
Maybe, just maybe, HF isn’t as attractive to younger people as we all seem to ‘know’ that it is. Maybe these people don’t get “hooked” nearly as often as we ‘know’ they do. Hey… maybe people don’t join this hobby to emulate their Elders and rub elbows with some imagined elite.
If we’re going to try to change the licence structure to bring in more of a certain group, maybe we should start to ask what that group *wants*, rather than ‘knowing’ what they want in advance. Let’s stop pointing to anomalous examples of a few individuals that support our pre-conceived notions, and… maybe listen. Crazy, I know. But it might work.
I’m also curious *why* it’s so crucial that people advance. The pressure to advance is relentless, but subtle. If you don’t advance to General within two years, you’re seen as lazy or stupid (or both). Maybe designating a lot of people as lazy or stupid really just *turns them off*, rather than inspiring them. Maybe a whole lot of people don’t see Tech Class as something to be ashamed of, or some kind of ghetto that they need to escape from. Weird, I know.
Wade. VK1FWBD says
Just a reminder that unde the Australian Foundation (which is the entry level) there is no digital. I did mine last month. Disappointed as I wanted to try some APRS projects.
Jeff K1NSS says
Rather than trying to sell amateur radio as we geezers know it, why not create a new category of digital amateur radio with freq and mode privileges sufficiently smokin’ cool and enticing to merit a seriously challenging, state-of-the-art test ? Smart or stupid, kids wanna do what kids wanna do, and lowering the bar on a technical pastime that for many, at least in its current general iteration, is desperate to convince the world it’s not passé, doesn’t do anybody any good. I’m too geezer to know what those smokin’ cool and enticing privileges might be, but instead of some watered-down neoCB class, why not a whole new ballgame class, to which kiddos and digi-geezers might both aspire. Some kinda new Wireless Wizard license that’s difficult to obtain and a real badge of no-joke honor. Seriously! Let’s not forget the timeless spirit that engendered the ham nostalgia we share.
Bob (NC) says
Let’s face it. If you needed to know the two parts of a diode to boot a computer and ohms law to connect an rj45 to it, then wait until next quarter to take a test that’s given some 2 hours away, just so you can surf the web via a command line interface, the internet would be something that only big companies would use.
Heck I just passed my tech, and I am waiting on the FCC to assign my call sign. The closest test was three months after I picked up the tech guide. Now, I grew up watching movies like convoy, so I had some social background with radios, and I was willing to study and wait. If I was a millennial, I would have given up once I found out the test wasn’t online.
I thing we should have a intro level license. Keep the tech level as is and add a 20 meter voice range to it.
Have an introduction level exam without any circuit board related questions; keep it focuses on ranges to avoid like murs, cap, emcom; have the test online, and give them access to vhf/uhf + digital/ aprs.
Remember that even though we live in the computer age, most of these millennial can’t even use a computer unless there’s an icon to click. Yes, I know there will be cheating with an online introduction test. There’s no real way around that. Most of that generation has no idea what HAM even is. To get them interested we need to make the introduction as easy as possible.
Anyways that’s my two cents
David says
Belgium,Sweden,Germany,Portugal, etc are allowing low entry level license to all bands and modes with limited power of 50 -100 watts. And yess there ar no problems on the shf bands nor hf.
Yes there are countrys that still live in the old days and not willing to chance. Even without cw ur not welcome on the hf bands in france and the uk.
In the Netherlands Cept amateurs are not willing to learn for the harec extra class license because there’s too much status that comes with it.
This war is going on between cept and harec houlders for many decades.
The youth dont want to learn a 2 inch book off old school technology just for the extra class. If ur not a extra class level ham than youre not welcome to the ham’s family are the words of old hams. I dont agree with them.
General class is a nice level. Why not give them all bands just like Portugal Sweden has with limited power.
Most hams here are hf contesting with 2KW ++ and not having normal conservations. just pushing the function parrot keys F1 youre 95 F2 QRZ this is IW4.. … F3 .
PLC noice is winning on hf , and most people canot have a antenna on there roof these days.
pd1ash says
If most country’s dont allow CEPT, whats the use than of all those new different class licenses.
Bob says
Thanks for the various opinions I think we need to have kids who want to learn about computers in school take a new license test (,11 to 16 year olds) and include digital modes and voice on HF with say a 20 watt limit. That will not stop the cheaters but will keep the industry happy building kits and talking about ham radio for next decade. We desperately need young men an women to get into hobby that o keep aFCC and manufacturing going. 73 Bob Kg4rrn
Rick Duff says
Yep. No use for another class licence. The 80/40m bands are full of the “if your not a extra class from the 40/50s your not a ham” crap already and the foul language predominant on them are a major reason so many few new ones on. 20 is nothing but useless boring nets that waste time with some guy yanking others chains and does nothing for the entire time blabbing on. 15 is nothing but “ola’s” if you hear anything at all. And 10 has several that try to run off legit operators for some stupid useless group like 10-10ers that even have nerve to say nobody can use 10m unless a 10-10er number! And the rampant illegal converted radios from South of Florida with fake call signs is a major problem all over 10m from 28 to 28.6 using that gutter Spanish nobody can understand. So. That’s the problems in a nutshell. A lot of new hams got disgusted and quit. Most repeaters are now dormant. And nobody cares about the “I remember when….” Useless crabby old farts that are dieing off like flies and never did anything useful except run electric bill up.
Paul Corson says
Hello everyone, discovering this posting a year later on word the ARRL’s attorney has filed a Petition that the FCC has accepted into its database. Has anyone on here learned why the Swedish government last year rejected “categorically” a proposed entry-level status for Sweden’s certified radio hobbyists? Their reasoning could apply to the discussions in the U.S.