By the time I publish this, I’ll have sat my Foundation Licence Examination to become a Licensed Amateur Radio Operator.
Several years ago, the rules were relaxed so that a Morse Code test was no longer a pre-requisite, and also made it possible to progress in sequence through various levels. The old school are up in arms because the price of entry is now much lower – the “riff raff” are joining in. And I can see some of their point: various stories of abuse of the airwaves abound, and seem to be more common since the changes. But in today’s world of instant gratification, the 5 months I’ve had to wait since deciding I wanted to become licensed still seems something from the last century.
I’m not sure the changes have made things easier to become a ham – you now have to work you way though a series of 3 examinations to be able to get all the privileges, but it does mean that lots of people will only progress to the first level.
So why I am bothering?
Well, first of all, it’s interesting technology. Secondly, it fits in with some of the stuff I’m doing with Hampshire and Berkshire 4×4 Response. And most importantly, it gives me the opportunity to play with New! Shiny! gadgets.