I have a question so I’m a bit confused here. According to what has been going around is the FCC is planning to deregulate some of the rules in which part of it was dropping the Ham testing and making the FCC license for life instead of renewing every ten years. So I was wondering was anyone aware of this or not?
News to me in the UK. Is not gatekeeping part of the worldwide rules countries signed up to? Even tiny countries subscribe to the rules. I was going to say the US wouldn’t set these aside and ignore them, but nowadays anything is possible. The trouble with ham radio is that it’s success relies on two people. Both must want to talk to each other.
If the FCC drops the testing, Ham radio is DEAD. Can you imagine the filthy mouth CBers on the ham bands. I used to talk on the cb channel 38 lsb until they started dropping the “F” bombs and the M.F words. The FCC will NEVER drop the ham testing. There’s a lot hams in Congress and the Senate and the Federal Govt to let that happen…
K9ILL. Buddy.
I was not aware of this, but IMAO I think that would be cool. It might get more people to enter the hobby (as far as the no testing for a ticket goes). Like I said it’s MAO. I also like the idea of having a ticket for life…
I can definitely see the possibility of lifetime licenses simply to reduce a significant amount of clerical paperwork and payments. Other than that, I definitely don’t see the elimination of testing for “ham” licenses.
However, GMRS requires no testing, and the people on it seem to be well disciplined. That service seems to be used primarily by people working outdoors in a business environment.
Schools are using it to communicate with employees and also school security personnel.
It’s FAKE NEWS. Don’t believe everything you read on Facebook.
it was not on facebook when I called the FCC asked them about it they said a lot of people were asking about it
In response to this the reason it was brought up was due to the fact that not everyone can understand the testing as some people has a learning disability
And they told you they were cutting testing?
You misunderstood what I said they told me that it was a open discussion on the idea but they never said that they were going to do it
Right so it’s just rumors. I first saw it on Facebook groups as an April fools joke.
I have a friend who has a learning disability and couldn’t pass a ham test so he got a GMRS license because there is no test. My friend is a great gmrs operator and follows all the rules and very professional, BUT he has the learning disability. There should be some kind of verbal test they could give him. I know they already have a verbal test they give people who cant read but they should have a test without all the technical ■■■■. Just the protocol of ham radio, courtesy, when and how call CQ and check into nets, There should be a way for these folks to get into ham radio. If you would talk to my friend on gmrs, you’d think he was an extra class ham but because of his learning disability, he’ll never be a ham, sad.
Has he tried an online course? Ham Radio Prep is fantastic.
Ham radio prep is a rip off. My friend took that course (cost $80.00) and it was a big FAIL. He said he didn’t recognize any questions on the real test compared to Ham Radio Prep.
I used it very recently and found it to be excellent. I passed technician easily after couple days of studying. Did General a month later and passed that as well. It was $50 for Technician & General. Does your buddy have problems with memorization or something because it’s all laid out for you. The actual test questions are all highlighted in blue.
And I did a lot of research before I picked a course, they get very positive reviews overall. If you can’t pass the tests with this course good luck out there…
Sorry. I thought he told me $80.
Was this the friend with the learning disability or somebody else?
Learning disabilities come in all shapes and forms. However exemptions and workarounds are context led. It is perfectly possible for a person with no eyesight or no hearing to get into ham radio. There are some things they cannot do, but most things are open to them. I have seen deaf people send and receive morse. Blind folk can have speech recognition. The only tricky area is where a level of cognitive ability is necessary. Look at people who are not disabled but who simply cannot do computers. They cannot use for example, dmr radios unless somebody programs their radios for them. What you cannot do is give them special treatment simply because computers are beyond them. Understanding licence terms and being able to work within them is a necessary requirement. Dumbing down access and educational requirements is not complying with discrimination laws, it is making the wrong kind of adjustments. Somebody who has lost the use of their legs can drive a car. Throttles and brakes can be moved to the steering wheel etc. however, allowing a blind person to drive is ridiculous. You would not put a deaf person on the emergency telephone system. That is just how it has to be. Adjust wherever you can, but not be stupid. Allowing more people into a hobby by making it easier does not help the hobby, it hinders it.
Not everyone gets to be superman. It is not cool. If you have a learning disability then you should not be a brain surgeon.