Why not encourage them to simply UPGRADE their license?? Instead handing out more freebies?
73 WB4M Buddy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gary" <grwes...@yahoo.com> To: <digitalradio@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 12:55 PM Subject: [digitalradio] Techs on HF digital >I thought I'd run something up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes: > > With the currently extended low sunspot cycle reducing the occurrence of > 10 meter openings to near zero, there is little to offer new hams for > radio operating opportunities besides VHF FM. Many of the people who > attend our Technician license classes are interested in doing much more > than chatting with the local guys on a local repeater. Sure, VHF SSB is a > possibility but for us rural folks, even that provides slim pickings for > distant contacts. > > We are seeing a very low percentage of newly licensed people ever buying a > transceiver and getting on the air. We are estimating that number to be > less than 10%. Other clubs in our area are experiencing the same problem: > good turn out for classes and lots of licenses issued but few new hams > getting on the air. It may be that VHF FM is not a viable stepping stone > to getting very many new folks active in Amateur Radio. > > Being an old fart, I naturally began as a novice operating CW on the HF > bands. Finding other stations to make contact with was never a problem as > there was always activity on either 40 or 80 meters, depending upon the > time of day. Making contact with other stations hundreds of miles away > was common. While that same opportunity is available today, at least > theoretically, CW operation is not part of a new ham's skill set. > > So... Here is the idea. Would you be amenable to allowing Technician > Class licensees to operate digital modes in the Technician CW bands and do > you think that would be of interest to new hams? > > I would imagine, the license limitations would have to state something > like a maximum of 300 baud and 500 Hz bandwidth with a 200 watt power > limit. There may be other limitations that might be nice to toss into the > mix but this is a starting point for discussion. > > Your thoughts? > > Gary - N0GW > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Suggested frequencies for calling CQ with experimental digital modes = > 3584,10147, 14074 USB on your dial plus 1000Hz on waterfall. > > Announce your digital presence via our Interactive Sked Pages at > http://www.obriensweb.com/sked > Yahoo! Groups Links > > >
