FCC's Morse Code Report & Order
The FCC's 05-235 R&O on the Commission's proposal to eliminate the Morse code
requirement for all license classes was issued on 12/19/2006. However, it does
NOT go into effect until 30 days from the time it is printed in the "Federal
Register". The Federal Register Publication Date and the Effective Date are NOT
yet known. As soon as the R&O is published in the Federal Register the ARRL
will verify the effective date and publicize it on the ARRL Web and in QST.
The FCC has clarified that there will be no changes in the administration of
Amateur Radio examination elements or upgrades and in granting a Certificate for
Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE). CSCEs are only valid for
examination credit for 365 days from date of issuance per FCC Rule 97.505(a)(6);
applicants cannot use CSCEs older than that to upgrade. Amateurs possessing
CSCEs that have gone beyond the 365 day window must retest. The FCC will not
make any exceptions to this rule. Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VECs) will
handle all upgrades through volunteer examiner teams.
Candidates for General or Amateur Extra testing between now and the effective
date of the new rules will still have to pass Element 1 (5 WPM Morse code) to
obtain new privileges. Those earning Element 3 or Element 4 credit between now
and the effective date of the new rules will receive a CSCE from the VE team.
Once the new rules are in place, anyone holding a valid CSCE may apply for an
upgrade at a VE examination session. As with any candidate who attends a test
session, the candidate must present a photo ID, their current license and CSCE
document, pay the $14 test session fee and fill out a NCVEC form 605 to have the
upgrade paperwork processed. The upgrade may NOT be sent directly to the FCC or
the VEC.
"I have always wished for my computer to be as easy to use as my
telephone; my wish has come true because I can no longer figure out how to
use my telephone"
- Bjarne Strousstrup
Hi,
While searching for a user manual (1999), I stumbled across an article published
in QST at:
http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2002/11/16/1/
Basically, the FCC might still have the original user manual available from the
FCC certification process.
BTW, they had the one I was looking for :).
Marvin, KE6HTS
Hello SBARC Members,
This is just a quick note to advise you that Vince Hooper,
W6PRH passed away. Vince lived in Camarillo, CA, but he
was a number of SBARC and he helped Ted Green, WA6GNY,
early on, with the Santa Cruz Island repeater.
I have a few more of the details if you would like to
hear of them.
---
---
Michael P. Jogoleff - - - W A 6 M B Z - - -
1324 Panchita Place /// 805 560 0605 or 805 966 4808 voice tel.
Santa Barbara, CA /// 805 966 4804 or 805 966 1598 fax tel.
93103-2223 /// 805 729 3388 cell phone (Verizon).
/// 805 570 5293 cell phone (Cingular).
Email Addresses:
mike.j(a)att.net, bungalow(a)ix.netcom.com,
wa6mbz(a)att.net, mike-j(a)ix.netcom.com.
Many many thanks (.end, 2006-09-28).
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.15.18/586 - Release Date: 2006-12-13 18:13
ARRLSB - The Official ARRL Santa Barbara Section Mailing List
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of an Era: FCC to Drop Morse Testing for All Amateur License Classes
Dec 15, 2006 -- In an historic move, the FCC has acted to drop the Morse
code requirement for all Amateur Radio license classes. The Commission
today adopted a Report and Order (R&O) in WT Docket 05-235. In a break
from typical practice, the FCC only issued a public notice at or about
the close of business and not the actual Report & Order, so some details
-- including the effective date of the R&O -- remain uncertain. Also
today, the FCC also adopted an Order on Reconsideration, in WT Docket
04-140 -- the "omnibus" proceeding -- agreeing to modify the Amateur
Radio rules in response to an ARRL request to accommodate automatically
controlled narrowband digital stations on 80 meters in the wake of rule
changes that became effective today at 12:01 AM Eastern Time. The
Commission said it will carve out the 3585 to 3600 kHz frequency segment
for such operations. Prior to the long-awaited action on the Morse code
issue, Amateur Radio applicants for General and higher class licenses had
to pass a 5 WPM Morse code test to operate on HF. The Commission said
today's R&O eliminates that requirement for General and Amateur Extra
applicants.
"This change eliminates an unnecessary regulatory burden that may
discourage current Amateur Radio operators from advancing their skills
and participating more fully in the benefits of Amateur Radio," the FCC
said. The ARRL had asked the FCC to retain the 5 WPM for Amateur Extra
class applicants only. The FCC proposed earlier to drop the requirement
across the board, however, and it held to that decision in today's R&O.
Perhaps more important, the FCC's action in WT Docket 05-235 appears to
put all Technician licensees on an equal footing: Once the R&O goes into
effect, holders of Technician class licenses will have equivalent HF
privileges, whether or not they've passed the 5 WPM Element 1 Morse
examination. The FCC said the R&O in the Morse code docket would
eliminate a disparity in the operating privileges for the Technician and
Technician Plus class licensees. Technician licensees without Element 1
credit (ie, Tech Plus licensees) currently have operating privileges on
all amateur frequencies above 30 MHz.
"With today's elimination of the Morse code exam requirements, the FCC
concluded that the disparity between the operating privileges of
Technician Class licensees and Technician Plus Class licensees should not
be retained," the FCC said in its public notice. "Therefore, the FCC, in
today's action, afforded Technician and Technician Plus licensees
identical operating privileges."
The wholesale elimination of a Morse code requirement for all license
classes ends a longstanding national and international regulatory
tradition in the requirements to gain access to Amateur Radio frequencies
below 30 MHz. The first no-code license in the US was the Technician
ticket, instituted in 1991. The question of whether or not to drop the
Morse requirement altogether has been the subject of often-heated debate
over the past several years, but the handwriting has been on the wall. A
number of countries, including Canada, no longer require applicants for
an Amateur Radio license to pass a Morse code test to gain HF operating
privileges. The list has been increasing regularly.
The FCC said today's R&O in WT Docket 05-235 comports with revisions to
the international Radio Regulations resulting from the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference 2003
(WRC-03). At that gathering, delegates agreed to authorize each country
to determine whether or not to require that applicants demonstrate Morse
code proficiency in order to qualify for an Amateur Radio license with
privileges on frequencies below 30 MHz.
Typically, the effective date of an FCC Order is 30 days after it appears
in the Federal Register. That would mean the Morse requirement and the
revised 80-meter segment for automatically controlled digital stations
would likely not go into effect until late January 2007.
(ARRL)
_______________________________________________
ARRL Santa Barbara Section List Mailer
To Subscribe: mailto:arrlsb-request@mailman.qth.net?subject=subscribe
To Post: mailto:arrlsb@mailman.qth.net
Web site: http://www.qsl.net/arrlsb
Administrator: mailto:arrlsb-admin@mailman.qth.net
Citizen Band Radio is back, only now you can legally crank up the amp!
Like a friend put it: this primarily is a reflection of our society as a
whole;
softening-down, dumbing-down, and just basically lazying-down
overall. Our society in general subscribes to: if Instant
Gratification is blocked by the rules, change them. If blocked by the
work required, just reduce or remove it. Not to be a doom-and-gloom
prophet, but we're bringing it on ourselves.
Dennis H. Morales, AD6EZ<><
Goleta, CA 93117
Hi everyone,
Just a reminder that Sunday, December 17, is our annual Christmas Party at
Rusty's on Storke Road starting at 1:00PM. As usual, it will be hosted by Dennis
and JoAnn Schwendtner and held in conjunction with the WB6OBB repeater party.
Also, since elections weren't able to be held at the November meeting, please be
there at 1:00PM to ensure we have a quorum of members to legally hold the
elections. This is important!
Thanks!
Marvin, KE6HTS
I have lots of issues of QST, World Radio, and Discover magazine.
They cover the past several years, although I do not have every
issue. The entire set is free to whomever wants them.
Please respond by email to NO6O(a)ARRL.NET with your contact information.
Thank you!
---Michael Reynolds, NO6O
