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Author Topic: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct  (Read 1408 times)

KN6SU

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Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« on: January 19, 2021, 11:13:22 AM »

I was a bit dismayed to learn from N2EY's thread on FCC License Counts that of the current FCC issued licenses, the Novice and Advanced numbers have rapidly declined, while the General and Extra ranks  continue burgeoning. I kept my Advanced Call when I passed Elements 1(C) and 4(B), because I liked its sound on CW. I got the Extra just to operate on a bit more of the HF spectrum.

I still like the extra spectrum privileges, but sometimes wonder if I should have remained in the Advanced Class for nostalgic reasons. At least I'm glad I kept the Call.

Anyone else feel the same?
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RADIOPHONE

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #1 on: January 19, 2021, 11:33:31 AM »

You are right.

To my way of thinking, in this queer 21st century, an active Novice Class license should be considered the most coveted.  I am serious.
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WA3CUJ

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #2 on: January 19, 2021, 11:40:22 AM »

I have an Advanced class license and my original call from the early 60's. It's a piece of nostalgia so I would never think of changing it.
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KA0USE

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2021, 11:52:11 AM »

You are right.

To my way of thinking, in this queer 21st century, an active Novice Class license should be considered the most coveted.  I am serious.

i still hold my novice call, even though i trudged up through tech, tech plus and now general.
there should be a special award for working (and getting a qsl card) from novices in their portions of the bands.
sad day when novice roundup was discontinued.
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W1VT

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #4 on: January 19, 2021, 12:32:30 PM »

They did away with the "Novice Ghettos."  Novices can operated alongside General class licensees in the 80, 40 , and 15M band down to the Extra class sub band edge with 200 Watts.

Zak W1VT
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RADIOPHONE

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #5 on: January 19, 2021, 12:37:58 PM »

I can't remember...
Were the "old" novice calls that had the "N" in the prefix...was that prefix format dropped when the Novice ticket became a renewable license ?
or.......
Could there still be  "old" style/format licenses still  active?  With the N in the prefix?
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W6MK

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #6 on: January 19, 2021, 12:56:33 PM »

Could there still be  "old" style/format licenses still  active?  With the N in the prefix?

Probably not. The 1950s Novice license, for which an N was added to the prefix, was not renewable.
One had to upgrade to General after the first year or the license no longer was viable. Thus, in my case, my original call KN6ZNI had to become K6ZNI or simply disappear.

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KF4HR

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2021, 02:05:10 PM »

Yep, unless the FCC changes the license classifications it's a safe bet that eventually Novice and Advanced Class licensees will eventually disappear.  The Grim Reaper is relentless.

I started out in 1968 with a WN call.  As many of you old timers may remember these were the days when taking your amateur tests meant a trip to your local FCC Field Office.  Back then the Novice License was good for 1 year and was non-renewable.  And the Novice Class licensee could only use up to 75-watts [input] to the final stage of their transmitter, and they could only use crystal controlled transmitters on a few small segments of a few amateur bands.  This was also back when there was no Internet to run to, to read and memorize the questions and answers.  And course there were the various CW tests to pass too.  Back then Novice Class licensee had a lot of incentive to study, learn and pass the Technician or higher license class, or go off the air after a year. 

As many hams did, I worked my way up through all 5 license classes (Novice, Tech, General, Advanced, and Extra).  Granted it was a different time back then, but I definitely remember feeling a very high sense of pride when I passed my Novice license.  The Novice License was basically a license to learn. 

Personally I think a mistake was made eliminating the Novice and Advanced Class license classes.  Based on what I've read lately the ARRL's focus seems to be lobbying the FCC to give away more privilege's to the lower class licensees.  Perhaps their main goal is ensure a steady increase in the amateur population. 

Providing many achievement license steps (5 is a good number), with actual corresponding steps of improving privileges, would not only provide more incentive steps for people to aim for, study and work toward, but also it would instills a lot of pride in ones license class.  Imagine if changes were made to the General Class to where they could only use portions of the all of the HF bands, and could only use 400 watts.  And imagine if the Advanced Class added additional band segments with a 1kw power limitation, and passing the Extra Class tested yielded all the band segments and full legal limit (1500 watts).  Yeah, I know... additional OO and FCC enforcement would be required, but consider, we'd have a lot more people studying and taking pride in their increasing achievements and privileges.  It's been my experience that people tend to have a much higher respect for something when they have to work hard for it.   
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KF5LJW

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #8 on: January 19, 2021, 02:32:31 PM »

It is outdated, time to get over it, and move on.
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W3HF

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2021, 03:01:59 PM »

Were the "old" novice calls that had the "N" in the prefix...was that prefix format dropped when the Novice ticket became a renewable license ?

No. The WN (and similar WL, WH, and WP) calls all "graduated" to the permanent versions in late 1976. Existing licenses received the new calls even without an upgrade. The licenses weren't made renewable until 1978.

Could there still be  "old" style/format licenses still  active?  With the N in the prefix?

Yes, though for a different reason. All of the distinctive Novice calls that were in force at the moment of transition in late 1976 were "upgraded." (I think that was ~ 1 Dec 1976.) But FCC had a practice of allowing amateurs to reclaim callsigns if their licenses had lapsed and then re-tested. So someone whose license had expired in August 1976 had their license expire as a WN (or WL or WH or WP). Not long after that (perhaps when the Novice license became renewable), that same person could re-test for a Novice license. And if they chose, they could reclaim their old call, and they wouldn't have to get a new call when upgrading. These were never considered vanity calls, so they show up in the ULS as HA (not HV) callsigns.

I know a few who did this, but I'm reluctant to mention them by name (or call). But there are numerous cases of this--just do a search for those prefixes in 2x3 calls and look for HA (or HAI).

And don't be confused by new KN calls. In districts where all the KM 2x3s have been issued, KN calls are re-appearing. But that was another article here on eHam.
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AC2EU

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #10 on: January 19, 2021, 03:05:53 PM »

It is outdated, time to get over it, and move on.

I was scratching my head about this thread too!
The Technician class has expanded privileges over the Novice, plus no code requirement.
The Novice and Advanced are now "orphaned" classes and will pass away with with holders of those classes.
Why hold onto an obsolete class. anyway? I think Advanced can upgrade to Extra, isn't that the case?

N5XJT

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #11 on: January 19, 2021, 03:26:59 PM »

Sadly, if the ARRL has its way all license classes will consolidate into one.  The objective of course being more license holdersand more ARRL members.  And if you can provide Novice class with HF privileges similiar to current General class can this result be far behind?  I am a current General class so not sure if I should bother to upgrade??
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RADIOPHONE

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #12 on: January 19, 2021, 03:28:42 PM »


kF5LJW     AC2EU

cancel culture
« Last Edit: January 19, 2021, 03:32:56 PM by RADIOPHONE »
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W9AC

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2021, 04:03:31 PM »

They did away with the "Novice Ghettos." 

Akin to placing the children at the "kids table" during the holidays.  The same people who brought us the novice license were themselves running wild on the bands in the late 1920s with free-running Hartley, TNT, and TPTG transmitters.  How smug of them to suggest that new licensees should be limited to 75W, crystal control, and significantly reduced band access.  But, that's how incentive licensing got its start.

Almost a half-century later, I can now confess to having run 150W and a stable VFO as WN9JCG.  Nobody noticed, including the FCC.   

Paul, W9AC
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KA1CNK

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Re: Novice and Advanced Will Become Extinct
« Reply #14 on: January 19, 2021, 04:27:04 PM »

I haven't given it much thought at all and I'm still using my original FCC issued call regardless of  my current license class.
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