Hi Folks,
Yes, that is the type of guy you hope you don't meet in traffic on the day the handgun is under his seat!
I don't see the problem as "dumbing down" of the exams. It seems more of a problem that the tests don't cover the right stuff. The basics are missing. New hams have the chance to learn the basics while studying for the exams, after that there are not many elmers, and folks are to busy to buy and study books the way we used to when getting into ham radio.
We need to train the new guys in the basics, rather than try to use exams as a way to keep out people who might be viewed as not qualified. Anyone is capable of being a ham, but will they be trained in the basics?
For example- How many Extra Class hams out there understand how close to the band edge one can operate and still keep his signal confined to the band or segment? Not many. Is it covered in the exam? No.
Yesterday, listening to the YX0A pileup, I heard some old geezers get their qso on 14.210 wiped out {they were there first, for a long time before the DXpedition came on}. The DX was listening 200-210. Guess what? The DX was listening almost exclusively at the bottom of the range. The interruption of the on-going qso was not only rude, it was useless. The DX never listened there, and a good many operators from the US obviously lacked the basic skill of discovering where the DX was actually listening. As a result, the DX end of the hobby was given a black eye for nothing but a waste of breath and electricity. Is this skill covered in the exam? No.
What about asking if the frequency is in use and listening before making a call, etc. On the exam? We also fail to instill any regard for obeying Amateur Radio regulations. Just listen to the pileup for any major DXpedition, and take note of the General Class hams calling out of band. These guys need to be upgrading, not building their DXCC scores by operating beyond their privileges. Why bother studying when you can just work the DXpedition anyway, and you can get a nice DXCC certificate sent to you.
How do we instill some of this basic knowledge, and greater regard for getting along in the community of ham radio by being a good neighbor? Making a harder technical exam of electronics theory doesn't seem to fit the bill. How about covering more of the basics on the exam, so at least new licensees have been able to study how they are supposed to act on the bands?
Cover more stuff which will actually be put to practice by amateurs, we know those rigs are going to get sent back to Kenwood for service anyway, cover the important stuff.
Just my thoughts.
73, Duane, WV2B
"Nothing great is ever achieved without enthusiasm."- Ralph Waldo Emerson.
