Committee Report

1
Committee Report

• January 2007

2
Background

• RAC established an Advisory Committee on the
  Restructuring of Amateur Radio in Canada -
  February 2006 to
• consult widely with Canadian Radio Amateurs
• gather information on the Foundation License as
  used in Great Britain and Australia
• examine how such a concept might be used in
  Canada.
• examine how the whole licensing structure for
  Amateur Radio in Canada might be modified to
  accommodate a Foundation License.

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Background

• The committee consisted of
• Bj. Madsen - VE5FX - Chairman - from Tisdale,
  Saskatchewan
• Jim Anderson - VE6JWA - from Edmonton, Alberta
• Brian Jackson - VE6JBJ - from Airdrie Alberta
• Neil Carleton - VE3NCE - from Almonte, Ontario
• Howard Dickson - VE1DHD - from Seabright, Nova
  Scotia
• Also assisting
• Jim Dean VE3IQ from Ottawa, Ontario
• Richard Ferch VE3IAY from Ottawa, Ontario
• Earle Smith - VE6NM - RACs President, ex officio
  member

4
Background

• The Committee proceeded by
• sending an email to all Radio Amateurs listed on
  the RAC database
• posting an official RAC Bulletin in both official
  languages
• establishing a website linked to the RAC home
  page to provide an ongoing update on the
  activities of the Committee
• developing a PowerPoint slide show for the use of
  Clubs to inform their members about our
  activities
• establishing a web-based survey in both official
  languages.

5
Background

• The results of the survey are presented here,
  along with the recommendations that the Committee
  has made to the Board of Directors of RAC.

6
The Survey

• Survey started July 18, 2006
• Survey ended October 31, 2006
• There were 2,220 responses
• 1,815 (82) completed the English version of the
  survey
• 405 (18) completed the French version of the
  survey
• In addition, we received 860 written comments

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The Average Respondent

• Is between 40 70 years of age

8
The Average Respondent

• Is between 40 70 years of age
• Has been a ham for more than 10 years

9
The Average Respondent

• Is between 40 70 years of age
• Has been a ham for more than 10 years
• Is active on all bands, including HF

10
The Average Respondent

• Is between 40 70 years of age
• Has been a ham for more than 10 years
• Is active on all bands, including HF
• Spends more than 2 hours per week on radio

11
The Average Respondent

• Is between 40 70 years of age
• Has been a ham for more than 10 years
• Is active on all bands, including HF
• Spends more than 2 hours per week on radio
• Is somewhat willing to give time to radio

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The Survey

• What did our average Amateur think about the
  issues?

13

• Of the 2,220 Amateurs who responded, 92 were
  quite concerned about the perceived declining
  interest in Amateur Radio.

14
Of the respondents, 92 were concerned that the
declining Amateur Radio population will
ultimately lead to a loss of spectrum space for
Amateur Radio.
15

• And, they (81) would like to see changes made in
  licensing in order to make Amateur Radio
  certification more easily achievable.

16
Most (96) felt that special attention should be
given to bringing young people into the Amateur
Radio service.
17
Nearly everyone (97) agreed that it is desirable
to bring more people of all ages into Amateur
Radio.
18
On the subject of young people, making changes to
the theory/practice ratio in the exam in order to
make certification requirements more meaningful
was less enthusiastically supported. Only 69 of
respondents agreed that this was a good idea,
with the remaining 31 showing a lack of
enthusiasm.
19
However, most (87) supported the idea of getting
young people involved in public service
activities.
20
And most (75) agreed that a critical mass of
young people is necessary to maintain the
interest of young people in the service.
21
The concept of Elmering and support from clubs
and individuals for young people was strongly
supported (91) as was the idea of promoting
Amateur Radio to youth groups and schools (92).
Most respondents (67) felt that they would be
willing to participate in mentoring new Amateurs.
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There was much less agreement on the issue of
BASIC certification requirement, with only 38
agreeing that the exam as it currently exists is
preventing prospective Amateurs from getting
their qualification. A significant number (42)
were satisfied with the status quo.
25
Despite this, a majority (62) felt that they
would like to see the introduction of an entry
level certificate as a means to improve
recruitment into the service. However, 24 were
opposed to this idea.
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38 gt Passing grade of 70 BUT with demonstrated
HF competency 22 gtPassing grade remains at 80
BUT with demonstrated HF competency 30 gt80 as
currently required for HF 9 gtNo opinion
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Written Comments Received
Of the 2220 respondents to the survey, 699 took
the opportunity to amplify their input through
attached written comments. In addition, over 300
e-mails were received, providing more detailed
input. We have summarized those points which
recurred
Please note that these comments should be
considered in proportion to the total number of
respondents. There were 2220 respondents to the
survey itself, of which 816 provided written
comments (37). For example ---gt Only 79 of a
total of 816 comments (nearly 10) stressed a
need to bring young people into Amateur Radio.
But, from the survey itself, well over 2000 of
the 2220 respondents (90) either Strongly
Agreed or Agreed with this issue.
1. We must bring young people into Amateur
radio.................................... 79
37
Analysis of comments received
Number of written comments on this topic
gtgt 1. We must bring young people into Amateur
Radio.............................................
.......... 79 2. Certification should require
less theory with more operating procedure
practice... 66 3. There is a need for the active
promotion of Amateur Radio - to the public,
youth groups, service clubs ......................
.............................. 58 4. Mentoring is
very important ...................................
..................................................
.. 56 5. An entry-level certificate would
result in the dumbing down of Amateur Radio..
48 6. It is preferable to keep the status-quo
leave the current system along ...................
. 47 7. Amateur Radio will become like CB/GRS -
there is no upgrade incentive ...............
40 8. An entry-level certificate is a good way
to get people started ............................
..... 35 9. The survey was a very bad idea and/or
was poorly done ..................................
......... 24 10. An entry-level certificate
should be limited to VHF/UHF operation
.................... 19 11. An entry-level
certificate should be available for all
......18 12. Some level of challenge
should remain to promote pride of achievement
............... 10 13. RAC is not acting in the
best interests of Amateur Radio
........................................ 10 14.
An entry-level certificate should be time
limited ..........................................
........... 9 15. An entry-level certificate
should be limited to youth only
....................................... 9
38
Other, various, comments
1. An entry-level certificate should be for HF
only, with low power. 2. An entry-level
certificate should be aimed at new retirees. 3.
It is important to maintain the quality of
Amateur Radio operators. 4. Add a
family/spousal license similar to the
Foundation license. 5. Put more focus on
emergency communications. 6. Encourage the use of
bands other than 2 metres. 7. Emphasize Internet
related radio links. 8. Industry Canada has
abandoned Amateurs. 9. Bring back annual fees for
Amateur Radio. 10. Create formal courses to be
given in high schools, night schools, etc.
39
Summary of Recommendations
Based on the overwhelming concern expressed in
relation to the declining interest in Amateur
Radio (92 of respondents) the Advisory Committee
on the Restructuring of Amateur Radio in Canada
suggests that the RAC Board of Directors consider
the following recommendations to be made to
Industry Canada. I. That a new Entry-level
(Foundation) license for Radio Amateurs, similar
to that currently in place in the UK, Gibraltar
and Australia, be introduced with the following
criteria applied
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a) That the focus of the Foundation license be
weighted on the side of operating technique and
regulations b) That the Foundation license not
be limited as to age c) That the Foundation
license be time-limited to a maximum of three
years, with annual renewals required and that
licensees be encouraged to upgrade to the
Intermediate level at the earliest
opportunity d) That Foundation licensees
should be identified by a unique four-letter
callsign suffix beginning with the letter F
and followed by three unique letters. The three
trailing letters in the callsign would be unique
at the time of issuance of the Foundation
license and would be carried forward and become
the full suffix of the subsequent Intermediate
license
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e) That the Foundation license provide access to
all bands from VHF/UHF to 160 metres, with the
exception of the 10, 15 and 20 metre bands and
include CW, SSB and digital sub-bands f) That
the Foundation license be limited to 100 Watts
PEP output power g) That the Foundation exam
consist of both a written component that tests
theory and the regulations and a practical
component that focuses on the setup and
operation of VHF/UHF and HF radio equipment as
well as all necessary associated gear h) That
mentoring be an important and mandatory aspect
of the Foundation program i) That Foundation
trainees be required to demonstrate that they
have logged, under the supervision of an
accredited Elmer, a minimum of 25 QSOs on
VHF/UHF (a mix of simplex and repeater
contacts) and 25 QSOs on HF before proceeding to
take the Foundation exam
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j) That the passing mark for the Foundation
written exam be set at 80 and that of the
practical exam be set at 75 k) That Foundation
licensees must present their log books to
confirm a minimum of 250 contacts on VHF/UHF
(simplex or repeater) and/or HF before being
permitted to take the Intermediate exam
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II. That the current Basic and Advanced licenses
be revamped as necessary to mesh seamlessly with
each other and with the new Foundation license,
as follows i) That the current Basic license
become the Intermediate license and that it
consist of a stronger practical component with
some reduction in theoretical electronics this
to be reflected in both the syllabus and the
examination m) That the current Advanced license
should also undergo some structural change that
reflects the overall policy of the new
licensing system for Radio Amateurs and
therefore should include some practical aspects
such as - the design, building and testing of
antennas - the design, building and testing of
simple circuits - and retain an emphasis on
electronic theory.
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AMATEUR RADIO LICENCE COMPARATIVE PRIVILEGES
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The End