Yes, I have... at some point our government will require us to pay for the privilege of being amateur radio operators. Over the years, I have paid for my license, either a fee for the license or the vanity fee. It is, in my opinion, a small price to pay for the privilege and pleasure this hobby brings me. Just have to dig a little deep once every 10 years. And, so, I will.
End of discussion for me.
73
Will Rogers
K5WLR
Well said! Same here!
A bit of personal history...
Looking back at over 53 years as a licensed radio amateur, I think I got a pretty good deal. Let's see....
My 1967 Novice was free. My 1968 Technician and Advanced cost $4 each (FCC charged for tests from March 1964 to December 31, 1976). My 1970 Extra cost $9, and when I renewed it in 1975 the fee was $4.
Since then, no fees at all. (N2EY is not a vanity call).
So...let's see....
Technician $4 ($33.45 in 2019 dollars)
Advanced $4 ($33.45 in 2019 dollars)
Extra $9 ($60.09 in 2019 dollars)
Renewal $4 ($19.27 in 2019 dollars)
Total fees: $21 ($146.26 in 2019 dollars, per the Westegg Inflation Calculator). All paid in a period of just 7 years!
License terms were only 5 years back then. Uphill both ways in 3 feet of August snow, too.
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Here's what I think the REAL issue is, based on observations since before I was licensed, and research even further back.
For some reason, a considerable number of radio amateurs think that "the rules" should be whatever they were when THEY started out. "The rules" can include FCC rules, the price of radios, how particular things are done, callsign assignments, band edges, license tests, and of course fees.
I first noticed this way back in the 1960s when "incentive licensing" was the hot topic.
In those days, there were six license classes, (Novice, Technician, Conditional, General, Advanced, Extra). Only Novice and Technician had limited privileges; the other four license classes allowed all authorized modes and full legal power on all US amateur frequencies.
That state of affairs had only existed since mid-February 1953, but in the 1960s most US hams had been licensed after that. (US amateur radio licenses grew from about 100,000 in 1950 to about 250,000 in the early 1960s). Most US hams then were Conditionals or Generals. Despite having been created in 1951, there were only a few thousand Extras - it was the least-numerous license in the structure.
Many if not most of the "newcomers" who had full privileges thought that once they'd earned their Generals or Conditionals they were ENTITLED to full privileges FOREVER. They didn't know and/or didn't care what the license privileges had been before 1953, they only knew that they were ENTITLED to full privileges. They were OUTRAGED that they might lose privileges, and would have to take another test or two in order to regain them.
Over time, the idea of multiple license classes with different privileges for each became accepted by most. But you'll still come across the occasional old-timer who whines about "incentive licensing".
The same thing happened when FM replaced AM on VHF, when solids-state gear began to displace hollow-state, when computers showed up in ham shacks, when the VE system was created, whenever license requirements changed, when the power limit increased for most modes but decreased for others, when remote stations via internet became possible, etc.
And the folks who have this attitude hold onto their grudges FOREVER. Not just about "incentive licensing", either. For example:
It used to be that one's callsign had to match the call district of one's station license. Move across a boundary and you got a new call. That went away in the late 1970s, well over 40 years ago, but some folks still complain about it.
It used to be that if you moved across call-district lines you had to restart DXCC (except if the move was less than 150 miles). About 50 years ago, that rule was changed to "all DXCC Qs must be made from the same DXCC entity to qualify". For some folks, that RUINED DXCC.
LOTW? There are folks who claim that only paper QSLs are "real confirmations".
This attitude even affects used radio prices. I've seen current-model used radios for sale at prices very close to the new price. The mindset of the seller seems to be "I paid over $1000 for this new, it's barely used and less than two years old, so I should get $900 for it." Never mind that the price has dropped and a new one with a warranty sells for $850 today; they are ENTITLED to $900 because they paid over $1000.
And so now we have folks who think that, because US amateur licenses were free when they started out, they should always be free.
73 de Jim, N2EY