AMATEUR RADIO LICENSING IN THE UNITED STATES

In the United States, amateur radio licensing is governed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Licenses to operate an amateur stations for personal use are granted to individuals of any age, free of charge, once they demonstrate an understanding of both knowledge in operating a station and of FCC regulations through passing an examination.

Operator licenses are divided into different classes, each of which correlate to an increasing degree of skill and knowledge in operating a station. Over the years, the details of the classes have changed significantly, leading to the current system of three primary classes and three grandfathered classes.

History of FCC's amateur licensing

Formation and early history
Established in the early 1900s, regulation of amateur radio was a result of the U.S. Navy's concern about interference to its stations and its desire to be able to order amateur radio stations off the air in the event of war. The FCC's licensing of amateur radio experimenters and operators has evolved considerably over the century since its inception.

1951 licensing structure decision
In 1951, the FCC moved to convert the existing three license classes (A, B, and C) into six named classes. Following the rule change, the classes were Novice, Technician, General, Conditional, Advanced, and Extra. Each license class required two exams, one on theory and one on Morse code, and each license was valid for five years.

Incentive licensing
In 1964, the FCC and the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) developed a program known as "Incentive Licensing," which rearranged the HF spectrum privileges. The General/Conditional and Advanced portions of the HF bands were reduced, with the spectrum reassigned to those in the Advanced and Amateur Extra classes. It was hoped that these special portions of the radio spectrum would provide an incentive for hams to increase their knowledge and skills, creating a larger pool of experts to lead the Space Age. The opposite happened, however, as new ham radio applications fell drastically.

 
 
 

Novice enhancement

Prior to 1987, the only difference between the requirements for Technician and General licenses was the morse code test, which was 5 words per minute (wpm) for Technician and 13 words per minute (wpm) for General. The written test, then called element 3, was the same for both classes.

The changes also granted Novices and Technician Plus classes limited voice privileges on the 10-meter HF band. Novices were also granted voice privileges on the 222MHz and 1200MHz portions of the radio spectrum with limited power. For the first time, Novices and Technicians were able to operate in voice modes on HF, though still in limited areas and limited power. It was hoped that this would prompt more hams to move up to General, once they had a chance to sample HF without a Morse key. It did have some effect.

  
 
 
© Copyright 2008 W7rjr.com , Inc. All rights reserved.
 

"W7rjr - Find License and Radio Of Amateur. Providing the License and Radio Of Amateur from www.w7rjr.com."