Last week, there was an item in the March 21, 2018 ARRL Letter titled, “Why ARRL is Recommending Enhanced HF Privileges for Technicians.” Their rationale includes the following points:
The 378,000 Technician licensees comprise more than half of the US Amateur Radio population, yet the Technician-class license no longer serves its original purpose from 18 years ago. Many Technicians do not participate actively, pursue on-air and public service opportunities, renew their licenses, or upgrade. An uncomfortably large attrition rate exists among Technician licensees. Technician licenses are not upgrading, because they don’t find their operating privileges interesting enough to keep them in the hobby.
The proposed addition of 275 kilohertz of HF phone privileges, spread across 80, 40, and 15 meters, would allow Technicians the opportunity to develop and expand their understanding of HF propagation. In addition, this proposed change would allow Technician licensees to participate in public service-oriented, emergency, and Section traffic nets on 75 meters, from 3900 to 4000 kHz, where primary state/Section-wide public service activities often take place.
Additional operating privileges for Technicians will not limit their incentive to upgrade. ARRL points out that Technicians now have access to 850 kilohertz of spectrum in four HF bands. ARRL proposes an additional 275 kilohertz on three of those bands, so the total under this proposal is 1,125 kilohertz on four bands — 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters.
This sparked a Twitter discussion prompted by Jeff, @ke9v. He wrote:
Jeff Davis @ke9v
Perhaps the time has come to scrap the one-day Technician license sessions and replace them with something focused on getting the glut of Technicians to upgrade? #hamradio
There was some support for going to a two-tier, instead of a three-tier license structure:
Patrick @WD9EWK
At the risk of angering some in the ham community, maybe the time has come to discuss going to a two-level licensing structure, centered around the General and Extra classes we currently have.Paul Stoetzer @PRStoetzer
General and Extra would seem appropriate. Many countries already have just one or two license levels and the FCC would probably appreciate the reduction in the administrative burden that would accompany a reduction to two license classes.
One of the driving factors behind all this is that many Techs are just not upgrading, and that the reason for this is that incentive licensing just isn’t working.
Jeff Davis @ke9v
The @arrl has made the case that new licensees are getting “stuck” and not moving on – so they need to bite the bullet and fix it.
I tried to make the point that giving more HF privileges is not going to fix that problem. Techs are still going to get stuck. I also asked the question, “Why are inactive Techs a problem?”
kb6nu @kb6nu
If you go to a Tech/Extra scheme, Techs will still get stuck. If you go to a General/Extra scheme, you won’t attract as many people. Why are inactive Techs a problem?Patrick @WD9EWK
Why are inactive Techs a problem? Ask ARRL – it is their proposal to add some HF privs to Techs. If that is the case, then I think ARRL’s proposal doesn’t go far enough.kb6nu @kb6nu
I agree that the @arrl proposal doesn’t go far enough, or perhaps it’s better to say that the proposal isn’t really going to fix the (perceived) problem. I personally DON’T think it’s a problem that many Techs are inactive.Paul Stoetzer @PRStoetzer
Replying to @kb6nu @WD9EWK and 3 others
The inactivity of Techs isn’t necessarily a problem. Lots get their licenses for reasons other than being an active radio operator. I have a friend who got his for extra credit in an engineering class in college.Jeff Davis @ke9v
The @arrl has gone down a bad path by *assuming* that the privilege of hanging out on 75 meters is what everyone is drooling after. I find that odd and very 20th century thinking. All the highest tech aspects of the hobby happen at VHF and up. #hamradioBill Barnes @ataribill
my feeling exactly! High Tech stuff is all measured in mm wavelengths. I’m cool with changing CW segments to CW + Digital modes to match, but the additional HF voice segments didn’t make sense to me. I feel like I’m missing some information…
My experience is that the problem is the lack of Elmering, not the lack of privileges. I think some of the guys came around to my line of thinking.
therealjohnnyf @therealjohnnyf
I don’t feel it is one or the other. The fact is, in most places there is no “After Licensed” support or programs. We need to focus on Elmers and programs to support Techs and Ham Radio Enthusiasts in general. I got my ticket in October 2016 and it is a big void.Jeff Davis @ke9v
New hams don’t understand all the interesting things that can be done with their privileges OTHER than just talking on the local repeater. But this seems an impossible void to fill when most new hams total exposure is to a one day memory session without post-license elmering.Jeff Davis
So we agree – the @arrl needs to create 50 short videos. Two minutes each Each will show a different ham having fun doing something fun above 50Mhz. Sats, repeaters, DV, EME, Microwave, VHF contesting, high-speed packet networks, etc. Now margarita time? #hamradio #TGIF
I think Jeff’s remark is about “50 short videos” is pretty much tongue-in-cheek, but that’s kind of what the recent market study done by the ARRL—and described by Dick Norton, N6AA in his recent talk at the Yuma Hamfest—is proposing. They want the ARRL to pony up $400,000 for a collection of videos and other material to help people learn more about amateur radio!
If the ARRL really wants to convert more of those Techs to Generals, and get more of them on the air, they’re going to have to bite the bullet and somehow get more current, active hams to Elmer newcomers. Setting up an expensive website just isn’t going to work as well as personal Elmering. There are already thousands of great amateur radio videos on the Internet. They are a great help for those that already have a baseline of knowledge that enables them to get something from them, but apparently, many, if not most, Techs are not at that level.
And, if they’re not at that level, how is giving Techs more privileges going to help them become more active and give them an incentive to upgrade? If they already need help to use their current privileges, I just don’t see how giving them more privileges is going to get them more engaged. The ARRL says, “Additional operating privileges for Technicians will not limit their incentive to upgrade,” but I fail to see how them come to this conclusion. As someone commented on a previous post, “[The ARRL] has completed the circle by inventing Disincentive Licensing.”
Frank Howell says
The $400K of membership donatiins for a website to Elmer Techs and other hams reminds me of a former colleague’s son. He was a college football kicker, a very good one, who landed a summer job funded by a federal grant. Artie drive a van to a number of small towns around Mississippi on an advertised time schedule. He’d arrive, slide open the van door, revealing a large TV and VCR to those who gathered to watch. What did he show the crowd? Prepared tapes of how to get out of poverty. I told him there was a hit country music sing here: Making Money Off Poverty for Free!
The proposed website is terribly over-priced. And, imho, the material is already on YouTube. Dave Casker’s Channel is just one of many that could be lifted up as exemplars.
Pete says
Let me start by saying I think it’ a good idea to expand the proposed tech privileges. I won’t expound on my reasons, because I want to make another point.
Here’s a quote from your post with one word left out:
“Many ____ do not participate actively, pursue on-air and public service opportunities”.
Fill in the blank with any license class, and I think it’s a correct statement.
I think missing out on HF privileges is not the reason Techs don’t stay in the hobby.
Techs get a license, maybe play radio for awhile, then the handheld gets put on a shelf, and they get into something else. Nobody stays into everything they get into. I’d be on a bowling league, a golf league, making pottery, making birdhouses, playing guitar and piano, and be fluent in French and Spanish, if I stuck with everything hobby I tried.
You’re simply not going to retain the majority of the newly licensed techs. I know many local clubs who have exasperated themselves trying. People get into it, and people get out of it. It happens.
Syd says
Well – count me among the people that have lost interest in radio – The 2 meter handy talkie was a disappointment – no people talking – and to get a rig that get any real listening – was true sticker shock – I got my general and tech on one day – wish i would have tested for Advanced – but anyway – i’ll play with my sdr until i accumulate enough bread for a decent HF radio …
Steve C - KE8HXM says
As one of the ranks of newly licensed Technicians, I can see that Elmering is a very valuable thing, but Elmers don’t grow on trees, and teaching less experienced hams is a gift that is somewhat rare. I am very fortunate to have access to many through ARROW and UMARC, and without them my understanding of how all this works would be somewhat behind the curve. This is not to say I have learned up to that curve, but I am getting closer. As far as youtube and other web based videos go, they are not well organized to start with beginner level and progress to the more technically advanced disciplines within amateur radio, but it is a resource that is helpful, but there is no real substituting videos (many of which are too deep for beginners to grasp without help) from Elmers. Perhaps there should be some effort directed toward outlining the major concepts and practices of amateur radio on the web, but there is so much information out there is an overload of input. Technicians who are new to radio need the subject matter laid out by topic – then the videos cataloged according to that outline.
Books are well organized in that regard, but how far can you go with Ham for Dummies?
Had I not had military experience with radio, and a life long interest in amateur as well as commercial radio, I doubt that I would have gotten the “ticket” to work UHF/VHF/HF or even have my own amateur station.
My father grew up in the radio generation, born in 1930, in Oklahoma and radio was the way you kept up with the rest of the world, as well as got your entertainment. He introduced me to SWL, and got me interested in all of this radio world. He did not have an FCC license, (other than CB back when that was beginning to become popular), and if he were still around I think he would have enjoyed being in ham. When he was with us, the Morse code requirement was in effect, and I am not sure if that played a role in his not getting licensed. He too, was a military radio man in Korea in 1950, and I am sure he had to learn code to pass the Army’s signal school, but all I remember him telling me is he did voice communications on radios that filled the back end of a jeep, or were dismounted in a command post’s communications bunker, coordinating radio communications between field units and HQ. His official title was radio net chief, equivalent of the net control in amateur radio.
So Dad was my first Elmer, but we didn’t have a name for what he did for me with radio. Without the mentoring that Elmers provide all of us new comers would be lost in a sea of terminology and concepts that are so technical that you need a glossary of terms to understand. Books can only go so far, Elmers give that valuable “learn by doing” experience that the greenhorns need to get them basic competence behind the microphone.
Increasing the opportunity for Techs to work HF phone mode is very much appreciated, but more important to me are the practicing and well experienced Elmers who take the time and expend the effort to support us as fledgling hams. In my opinion, that is the best way for ARRL to approach the “problem” of inactive Technicians. They need to figure out a way to encourage Elmering, in a more formal and structured way, and that will in turn resolve the issue.
Steve C - KE8HXM says
Oops! I hit the submit key before I realized I did not say, “Thanks!”, to all you Elmers who have helped me and inspired me to get more deeply involved in Amateur Radio.
73!
Dave New, N8SBE says
Where to start? Let’s see…
First of all, where did the extra phone privileges on HF come from? The last I heard, it was just adding digital modes on 80, 40, and 15, which I was just fine with.
No, not all high-tech aspects of the hobby occur above 50 MHz. In particular, all the experimentation with digital modes (see above) is where I see a lot of innovation. Witness the FT8 take over – in less than a year, it has practically replaced all the previous popular digital modes, and that was still while it was in beta release.
On second thought, maybe give Techs some phone space to play with, as long as they use digital voice/visual modes. If you don’t want them playing with that on the low bands, let them try it out on 10 meters, which is currently SSB only for them.
Also, why do we think that the general malaise of the Tech population is a recent phenomenon? I recall Tech being the “dead end” class back in the 70’s, when I was first licensed. I really sweated bullets passing my 13 wpm code test at the quarterly examination point in Nashville, so I could get a General license when upgrading from Novice. No one wanted a Tech license because you lost all your Novice privileges and gained only VHF/UHF. The situation is slightly less worse these days, because Tech class now retains all the Novice privileges. But since there is no new Novice class licenses, there is no entry level license that actually encourages putting together a basic HF station with wire antennas. Hopefully, that’s what giving Techs at least digital privileges on 80, 40, and 15 would do.
Funny thing about CW — no one wants to learn it to get a license, but there sure a LOT of CW operators on the low bands during contests, and I’ve heard stories from folks that discovered how fun and effective CW was after they first got their no-code license, they taught themselves.
Who knows how many Generals and Extras are active? I bet it’s a rather small number compared to the number of licenses. Sure, Tech may be worse off at the moment, but it seems we created that poor ratio by pushing everyone hard to get a Tech license, then leaving them to themselves.
I find that talking up HF operating/modes on the local repeaters gets a good response. A number of folks on the repeaters have never heard of modes like PSK31, and seem genuinely interested in trying them out. Some even have General licenses, and may even have an HF station, but have never tried any of the digital modes. They didn’t know how easy it is to download a program like Fldigi or WSJT-X, hookup a cable from their rig to their laptop sound input, and just listen to all the activity. That’s the first step to getting them ‘hooked’ on such stuff.
For those Techs on the repeaters that don’t have the privileges or the gear, then it becomes a 2-step process — how to get upgraded to General and how to acquire HF equipment and set up a station. Often times, the biggest barrier seems to be the cost of even a starter HF stations these days. Seems a minimum of about $1000 for a radio, and that comes to a chunk of change for someone that isn’t sure they’ll get a lot of use out of such an investment.
I think the $400,000 that everyone is bandying around is just to LAUNCH the website with NO CONTENT. That makes it even a worse deal than it seems.
I don’t think ARRL would ever put up a bunch of links to content THEY DON’T CONTROL. That would be against their long-standing policy of controlling all content. Can you think of a single example of the ARRL lending their stamp of approval to something they didn’t have a hand in creating?