SB QST @ ARL $ARLB007
ARLB007 ARRL Seeks Partial Reconsideration of Restructuring R&O
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ARRL Bulletin 7 ARLB007
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT January 28, 2000
To all radio amateurs
SB QST ARL ARLB007
ARLB007 ARRL Seeks Partial Reconsideration of Restructuring R&O
The ARRL will seek partial reconsideration on two points in the
Amateur Radio license restructuring plan announced by the FCC
December 30. Both points involve the way the plan deals with
Technician-class licensees. The new FCC rules go into effect April
15.
The League will ask the FCC to continue to maintain records that
indicate whether a Technician licensee has passed a Morse code exam
to earn Novice/Tech Plus HF privileges. Under the current system,
the license class of Technicians is designated by a ''T'' in the FCC's
amateur database, and of Tech Plus licensees by a ''P.'' Under the
FCC's restructuring plan, Technician and Tech Plus licensees will
all be known simply as ''Technician.'' The ARRL asserts the change
will eliminate any easy way to tell which licensees have passed the
Morse code exam and which have not.
''We're going to try to persuade the FCC that it made a drastic error
in deciding to change all those Ps back to Ts in the database,'' said
ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ.
The FCC has said that it would be up to Technician licensees, if
asked, to prove that they have successfully passed the 5 WPM code
test. The ARRL plans to ask the FCC to stipulate that any amateur
who provides proof of having passed an FCC-recognized Morse code
exam prior to April 15 would be entitled to receive credit for the
Morse code exam element when applying for future upgrades. The FCC
has indicated to the ARRL that after April 15, code credit for
Technician applicants passing the 5 WPM test would not survive
beyond the 365-day term of a Certificate of Successful Completion of
Examination--or CSCE.
Under both the present and new rules, anyone who held a Technician
license before February 14, 1991, has permanent credit for the Morse
code element, but others do not.
The ARRL Board of Directors approved a motion to file the Petition
for Partial Reconsideration at its January 22 meeting in Memphis.
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