Southgate reports this morning that Brazil’s Agencia Nacional de Telecommunicacoes (ANATEL) is proposing the elimination of amateur radio examinations. This is part of a broad proposal, known ad CP65, to simplify Brazil’s regulation of telecom services. (Section 2.15 is the section relevant to the Amateur Radio Service.)
According to the report, the Brazilian Amateur Radio League (LABRE), was surprised by the proposal that calls for the elimination of the exam for all classes. Should the proposal be adopted, applicants would be given class C license with no examination. Applicants who present a certificate of technical course in telecommunications (or similar) or have 3 years of experience as a Class C licensee would be issued a Class B license. Applicants who present a certificate of higher education in telecommunications (or the like) or who have been a Class B licensee for 3 years would be advanced to Class A..
The proposal, in addition to not following international regulations for the Amateur Radio Service, is absolutely contrary to the LABRE’s thinking with regard to the minimum requirements to be a radio amateur. It also does not match ANATEL’s request for support from LABRE in the revision of amateur radio regulations in Brazil. LABRE has already requested a meeting with ANATEL, which will be scheduled soon.
Here in the U.S., there have always been complaints that the Tech license exam is too easy. That being the case, you can imagine the uproar we’d have here if the FCC proposed such a thing. Would this be such a bad thing, though, really? Instead of wasting so much time and energy on testing, we could instead devote those resources to providing practical training to new hams. And, I say this as someone who makes a buck off selling license study guides.
What do you think?
Chuck K4RGN says
It’s not just the Technician test that’s easy to pass. A very smart high school classmate who’s a lawyer with no prior knowledge of radio or electronics passed all three license tests by memorizing the answers. Took him 34 hours of study go to from unlicensed to Technician, then General, then Extra.
I don’t know where the FCC will eventually land with respect to license structure, tests, and license fees… but I suspect the system will look very different in 10 years, maybe sooner. No doubt FCC will look at Anatel and consider the possibility.
johnc says
What’s the point of getting the license(s) when you have no real skill or knowledge to actually enjoy the hobby. To be able to build equipment, to build and test antennae’s. and other things in the field of electronics . It would be a useless certificate that certifies nothing, A piece of paper does nothing and certifies nothing. You would not want a doctor, or airline pilot to not have the necessary skills to do the job.. It just seems pointless to get the paper without the hard work required to know the subject. Maybe this is how engineers that design and build bridges that fall down and buildings that collapse. The easy way is not the right way
Nate Lyons says
When I first saw the proposal for new Tech privileges I asked a friend cynically “why have any divisions? Just make everyone an extra.” Well, this is the next logical step- make everyone a ham.
P. S.: When I first read the title I was thinking their goal was to eliminate the amateur service by not having exams. The service would end through attrition.
Adam Davis says
Given the proposal to reinstate license fees, I’d be concerned that the bar to entry is being raised, even if they eliminated examinations for the first tier.
Those who want to use the bands without license are already doing so. They aren’t being stopped by an examination.
If licenses were examination and cost free, then the only bar to entry is the cost of the equipment. Perhaps it would lead to busier bands, particularly in the 144/220/440 areas where radios are cheaply available.
What I’d really like to see is a regional survey of band usage. Turning on my radio in Saline, MI I just don’t see a lot of activity, and the fears that the bands will be overwhelmed seem unfounded.
What I’d prefer to see is a simplification. Wrap MURS, GMRS, FRS, and similar services together into one free registration service that doesn’t require the usage of call signs on those bands. Add a few slivers of ham bands into that license, with the caveat that calls signs must be used on those ham bands. Include specific coordination and provision for a tiny digital channel in each band for calling connections and radio coordination. This would allow users to put their call signs into their radios, and while they could just use a frequency within their plan, they could also “call” another call sign using their radio, and if the other user has their radio on the two radios would coordinate one or two frequencies for half or full duplex analog or digital connections for the duration of their communication.
It would require a great deal of work and coordination, but once designed and FCC backed it would provide a competitive service freely available to the average consumer, and give them a little taste of what amateur radio can do for them, particularly when cellular, internet, or other services are lost during storms and other events we face. Further, it would result in a proliferation of inexpensive and novel radios from the commercial sector.
A nearly trivial stepping stone to more advanced license classes and usage might be the shot in the arm amateur radio needs.
Dave New, N8SBE says
Adam,
A lot of interesting ideas in there. While reading through the section on how families could benefit from having inexpensive VHF or UHF radios at home during a communications (cellular in particular) outage, I was reminded that those radios don’t get out very far without their own infrastructure, i.e. repeaters.
A lot (most?) repeaters are ‘open’ meaning that you are not required to contribute to the repeater maintenance, but regular users eventually get the idea that it is a good gesture to do so, to help keep their favorite repeaters on the air.
Now, consider opening the current repeater network to a vast new audience that have no thought of maintaining the local repeaters. Rather, they would view the whole affair as a free-for-all bonanza. Very quickly, as various repeaters needed maintenance, there would be a rush to charge for access, or else the repeaters will simply go off the air, for lack of support.
So, what would initially be thought of as a free service, would very quickly turn into a commercial enterprise, with repeater maintainers charging for access on a routine basis. Aside from the possible emergency operations aspect (battery/solar backup, microwave links, etc), which many cellular systems are achieving, how would this ultimately be any different than using cell phones with push-to-talk switches?
PTT cell phones are still somewhat popular among the first responder crowd, but for the majority of folks, its time has come and gone. Most folks don’t even talk on their cell phones any more, preferring to text or browse, instead.
I hear these stories of ham families using their HTs to keep in touch, but that is pretty rare, and most families instead have cell phones for each family member that’s old enough to figure out how to operate one these days.
Simplex FRS, etc. use in the wilderness is very short range, and really only useful for groups traveling together. Otherwise, satellite units like the Garmin are the rule, if you want to be extracted from an ill-advised solo trip into the wilderness.
Rob W4ZNG says
The Tech and even the General tests aren’t terribly hard. They do (mostly) enforce a minimum level of proficiency which keeps the safety issues and inadvertent interference down, and that’s what they’re designed to do. For that reason alone, it’s important that we keep testing in place. I think Brazil is going down the wrong path with this proposal.
JB says
I think most of the responses are off target.
The purpose of the exams is not to prove that the licensee knows anything, but shows that they put forth an effort to try to learn something. We already have too many stupid people in amateur radio, letting in more isn’t going to solve the problem of a shortage of new people entering the hobby.
Unfortunately we have a lot of LIDS in the USA, and they are not all Technician Class. The Part 97 is not an option, it is the rule. Most licensee’s don’t understand that there is more to the 97 then just what is covered in the exams.
The ARRL Proposal of giving Technicians HF privileges in both CW, Digital and Phone is the biggest mistake they ever made.
At least Brazil is open and honest about turning the whole shooting match into CB radio.
Repeaters were never intended to replace amateur radio – simplex. repeaters were built and licensed to extend the range of a person while mobile.. It had nothing to do with people being too cheap or stupid to buy a real radio, put up a real antenna and learn how to operate.
Most Technician and General Class operators in the USA shouldn’t even have a license. Had the FCC kept the code they wouldn’t even be an issue.
Some repeater owners are LIDS – they actually think they own the frequency they use. No one owns a frequency.
If you want to make HAMS out of Joe Plumbers you first need to institute some type of regulation where a person can operate until they first find a real ham, use that ham as an Elmer and learn how to operate properly.
Listen to the garbage you hear on most repeaters.. Honestly – doesn’t it sound more like a cell phone conversation?
How is this amateur radio?
In the ARRL Technician Class Manual it says – anything that can be done on a telephone should be done on a telephone.
The repeater is not a free cell phone for hams!
Where I live there is at least one repeater per a county that it built and maintained by the county – free for all to use.
And no one uses it!
There is a repeater linked to 50 0ther repeater, and no one uses it! So what good is it?
You can’t change people!
You can’t fix stupid!
If a person wants to be a real ham, they will apply themselves, read the books, try to learn as much as they can about the hobby. The only thing I ever got out of the ARRL when I was a member was the monthly QST Magazine.
At least the magazine tried to teach a person something.
Todays QST looks more like an advertisement for MFJ – not really anything inside of it anymore, half as many pages as 25 years ago, and all the articles are feel good articles – propaganda.. At least 73 magazine told both sides of the story. CQ died and has been on life support these last few years. Without education, all radio is – is The Citizens Band – Period.. So why bother? You can get the same thing with a 40 channel CB radio and about a $300 investment in antennas and coax and a tower and a decent radio.
Ham radio will die, not because it is old technology, but because the people have changed..
The people do not want to be burdened with a expensive radio, buying and putting up a tower and antennas, investing in both time and troubles to build a decent station.
And if you do go to that extent, do you want to talk to some looser that’s only investment is a cheap $30 radio?
This is why there is so many people hanging out on 160 and 80m at night.. If you don’t have a 1000w amplifier they won’t even talk to you.. If you don’t have a decent antenna you can’t even operate there.
Joe says
I don’t like politician but I going to say it any way. Fcc it running out funding. the first approach funding was is the reinstatement of the ( OO ) Observer Operator, the next will be fee reinstatement and the next I let the Imagination let me throw a curve ball here don;t be surprise the next change is in license expiration. that included on section close to 1296 MHz or 1.2 Ghz it been sold for Wi-fi use what next 2 meter, 1-1/4 meter 70 cm or 33 cm. from some where they has to be funding .
Joe says
By the way if Brazil eliminated the the amateur radio exam the amateur radio community it going to suffer. ( 1) A lot of un educated operator will be on the air wave (2) they give them the green light to operate in any band causing malicious interference (3) we got enough with bad operator the when someone it’s trying to have a QSO or trying to get a DX station some always start talking 2 or 3 KHz up or down of the frequency the alredy be in use same thing we some people running there net every day and they herd the people talking and they start there net in top of the people doing a nice QSO we out asking if this frequency is in use, that is a bad operator. if I was running a net I have two secondary frequency to run a net ant that is in HF.