That’s a nice deal! I’d grab a 7300 myself if I could get that deal now.
And on cheap HF radios: I paid $579 for my FT-891, brand new. Fantastic radio with a “full” 100 watts. It’s become my go-to travel / field rig. And since I’m here, +1 against another arbitrary administrative agency money grab. 73, N5OL Sent from my iPhone > On Aug 30, 2020, at 9:15 AM, Keith NM5G via BVARC <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Oh, and only a $1000 for an HF radio??? > I bought a repack IC-7300 from MTC for $1000, tax and shipping included. > Plus, I got a $100 rebate check from Icom a month later. > > 73, Keith NM5G > > From: BVARC <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Michael Amos via BVARC > Sent: Saturday, August 29, 2020 5:19 PM > To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]> > Cc: Michael Amos <[email protected]>; [email protected] > Subject: Re: [BVARC] FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio Service Fees > > I agree however lets look at the more damaging picture here. How many > possible new hams will turn away with the thought of having to now pay $65 to > get his/her first license instead of the $15 to take the test. All those > kids whose dreams were smashed. I know it’s only $50 but for that parent who > is a little skittish about paying the government MORE money, that might be > the turn-off. > > Also, don’t forget that once the government gets that running again…. What’s > to stop them from increasing it? Where is the end to this? Picture paying > $100, $200, or more to just renew. And what are they going to do with the > money? Maybe help track down illegal transmitters on the bands? Like those > folks playing nasty recordings with vulgarity, etc? OR, maybe they could put > a halt on trying to take away the frequencies that are already there. How > about crack down on manufacturers that produce RF splattering equipment to > the general public. Or, even better, how bout pushing the power companies to > do a better job keeping their lines from generating so much RF you cant even > hear the NATURAL static. > > Just my soapbox. Sorry for opening it… Oh, and only a $1000 for an HF > radio??? Lol 😊 > > > Mike – KG4NDS > > > From: BVARC <[email protected]> On Behalf Of JP Pritchard via BVARC > Sent: Saturday, August 29, 2020 5:01 PM > To: 'BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB' <[email protected]> > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [BVARC] FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio Service Fees > > Okay KJ, I get your humor and I even hear your logic. But the question is Why > charge such a fee? Sure, it’s not a lot of money for many of us, but for a > lot of amateurs who are retired, or who’ve lost their job thanks to Covid-19, > there’s always somebody looking for another 50 bucks or another 25. New hams > face a bunch of expenses already, for new gear, etc. It’s like a lot of the > permit fees a person is asked to pay. Why are you charged these fees? Mostly > it’s just government at one level or another looking for another source of > revenue. The FCC is already clearing billions of dollars by selling large > chunks of spectrum to the wireless business. Another 50 bucks will mean > nothing to Uncle Sam, but may have meaning for someone who’s just scrapin’ by. > > JP > > > > From: BVARC <[email protected]> On Behalf Of KJ Anderson via BVARC > Sent: Saturday, August 29, 2020 4:51 PM > To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]>; 'john Parmalee' > <[email protected]> > Cc: KJ Anderson <[email protected]>; [email protected] > Subject: Re: [BVARC] FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio Service Fees > > Here’s how I see it: > $1000 for an HF radio > $1000 for a second/backup/whatever spare HF radio (most of us don’t have just > one decent radio, be honest) > $5000 for a modest tower, concrete, etc. > $2000 in an actual antenna, feed line, rotator, etc. > $1000 for two cars fully installed with mobile VHF/UHF radios and antennas > $500 for a gas generator and battery backups (some of us) > $300 a year for field day supplies, the camping trip, food, conventions, etc. > > If the FCC bills us $50 every 10 years (your license is now good for 10 years > due to the 2019 rule change), I’m not sure I can stay in this hobby any > longer, the costs of the FCC will make this hobby too cost prohibitive for > me…. > > A bit of tongue-in-cheek for a Saturday afternoon. > > 73!! > > KJ5EMP, KJ in Cypress > > ------------------------------------------------- > KJ Anderson > 253-380-2636 > www.linkedin.com/in/scrumnerd > > From: BVARC <[email protected]> On Behalf Of JP Pritchard via BVARC > Sent: Saturday, August 29, 2020 3:18 PM > To: 'john Parmalee' <[email protected]>; 'BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB' > <[email protected]> > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [BVARC] FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio Service Fees > > I’m new to this game, but as far as I am aware, the FCC does very little to > support amateur radio, with the exception of allowing hams to use certain > frequencies. This would appear to be nothing more than a money grab, having > nothing to do with cost of administration, (since it sounds like most of the > administration is automated). They certainly contribute very little to > enforcing their own rules. I don’t mind paying for a toll road if I’m a user, > but a toll road requires constant upkeep and upgrades. I don’t see the > parallel to amateur radio. I hope the ARRL gathers its forces against this > proposal (to the extent that its bylaws allow) and supports all ancillary > efforts to kill this effort. That’s just my initial thought on the matter. > Tell me why I’m wrong. > > 73, K5JPP, JP > > > > from: BVARC <[email protected]> On Behalf Of john Parmalee via BVARC > Sent: Saturday, August 29, 2020 2:27 PM > To: [email protected]; [email protected]; > [email protected] > Cc: john Parmalee <[email protected]> > Subject: [BVARC] FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio Service Fees > > FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio Service Fees > > 08/28/2020 > > Amateur radio licensees would pay a $50 fee for each amateur radio license > application if the FCC adopts rules it proposed this week. Included in the > FCC’s fee proposal are applications for new licenses, renewal and upgrades to > existing licenses, and vanity call sign requests. Excluded are applications > for administrative updates, such as changes of address, and annual regulatory > fees. > > The FCC proposal is contained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in MD > Docket 20-270, which was adopted to implement portions of the “Repack > Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act” of 2018 — > the so-called “Ray Baum’s Act.” > > The Act requires that the FCC switch from a Congressionally-mandated fee > structure to a cost-based system of assessment. In its NPRM, the FCC proposed > application fees for a broad range of services that use the FCC’s Universal > Licensing System (ULS), including the Amateur Radio Service that had been > excluded by an earlier statute. The 2018 statute excludes the Amateur Service > from annual regulatory fees, but not from application fees. > > “[A]pplications for personal licenses are mostly automated and do not have > individualized staff costs for data input or review,” the FCC said in its > NPRM. “For these automated processes — new/major modifications, renewal, and > minor modifications — we propose a nominal application fee of $50 due to > automating the processes, routine ULS maintenance, and limited instances > where staff input is required.” > > The same $50 fee would apply to all Amateur Service applications, including > those for vanity call signs. “Although there is currently no fee for vanity > call signs in the Amateur Radio Service, we find that such applications > impose similar costs in aggregate on Commission resources as new applications > and therefore propose a $50 fee,” the FCC said. > > The FCC is not proposing to charge for administrative updates, such as > mailing address changes for amateur applications, and amateur radio will > remain exempt from annual regulatory fees. “For administrative updates [and] > modifications, which also are highly automated, we find that it is in the > public interest to encourage licensees to update their [own] information > without a charge,” the FCC said. > > The FCC also proposes to assess a $50 fee for individuals who want a printed > copy of their license. “The Commission has proposed to eliminate these > services — but to the extent the Commission does not do so, we propose a fee > of $50 to cover the costs of these services,” the FCC said. > > The Ray Baum’s Act does not exempt filing fees in the Amateur Radio Service. > The FCC dropped assessment of fees for vanity call signs several years ago. > > Deadlines for comments and reply comments will be determined once the NPRM > appears in the Federal Register. File comments by using the FCC’s Electronic > Comment Filing System (ECFS), posting to MD Docket No. 20-270. This docket is > already open for accepting comments even though deadlines have not yet been > set. > > ________________________________________________ > Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club > > BVARC mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.bvarc.org/mailman/listinfo/bvarc_bvarc.org
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