You have got to be kidding me, look the entry level amateur license (tech) is so easy a 5 year old can do it. There are plenty of place's online you can study,just do it and stop trying to skirt the system.
All i got to say is Good Luck Chuck

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I didn't know there was a war either , I personally call it "attitude" between the two. After a few decades of being a cb'er , Lord knows I have met plenty of Ham radio operators in my time. I've also known many that were both ,Folks whom have been cb'ers for very long times didn't care to make the change over , it wasn't so much about the test , they just liked where they were to begin with, I have met and listened to all kinds on the cb radio , some good , some bad , lunitics , idiots , and agitators alike.(I've personally have been a little of them all over the years) I have heard many a Ham's come down to the 11 meter band like evangelists putting us down for what we do ,in turn just being agatators in there own ways. I personally don't have a problem with anybody and I don't care what you do as long as it doesn't have anything to do with me directly,even then,I doubt I would waste my time with you if that were to be the case. There's assholes in every bunch. If I had to be in a room full of Ham's or Cb'ers , I know where I would go. It's just a better then thou attitute over the years and that has personally been the one biggest turn off of all for me. It really wouldn't matter much where I was , I treat others the way I would want to be treated and IM personally not looking for a new adventure as far as Ham radio is concerned. Although I do think the equipment used and power allowed is AWESOME ! It still doesn't change what I am and remain to be.......Your friendly neighborhood CB'er.

Wow! I can't believe we are still having these discussions. $20 bucks and 30 minutes of fill in the blank from the answers you just memorized over the last 5 days, wait another 5 days and your call will posted on the internet, and you still had enough change left over to buy the wire for your first dipole. Oh yeah thats right you didn't really learn how to do that yet.

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If you run, you'll only die tired.
CDX-251,2SF251,AE926,

Lets define an 'entry' license. What does it 'do'? It allows someone who doesn't have the slightest idea of how radio works get his/her foot in the door. It also limits the entry level operator from causing a lot of grief because they haven't learned how to 'do' things yet by limiting their usage of bands and modes. It also at least gives them an idea that touching this'n'that can be very detrimental to their health, or others, as in safety. Hmm, sounds a lot like the learner's permit for getting a driver's license, doesn't it? What's the problem with that? (I don't really see one, especially since I've had one of both.)
The 'problem' is when the 'rules' for that particular permit (notice it isn't a license?) are not followed. Those 'rules' are to teach the uninformed that there are things you should and should not do, for various reasons. They deal with safety stuff and convenience. Convenience as in not having to be eternally watching for really, really stupid drivers doing really, really stupid things and getting YOU mixed up in something you have no desire to be mixed up in, right?
The amateur service had one of those permits/licenses for years, a 'Novice'. Not sure exactly why, but it was done away with. Not really all that much of a hardship since the testing for the 'first' license, the 'Technician' has been really 'relaxed', and sort of takes the 'Novice's place. So you might say that there IS an 'entry level' license. It isn't free, and you do have to sort of learn things to get it, but, I think that's a pretty good thing. At least you won't kill your self the first rattle out of the box (maybe), and you won't cause a lot of hassle cuz you don't know what you're doing (maybe). Something that I've learned is that if it doesn't 'cost' me something to get, whatever it is that I get just doesn't mean much to me. If I have to work for it, I tend to take better care of it, you know? Another way of saying about the same thing is that if I work for it, I tend to 'live up' to it. If It's free, I feel like I can 'live down' to it. Weird? Yeah, but so am I.
All 'entry level' thingys have limitations, all of them! Don't like those limitations? Get something else with less limitations. Don't like limitations at all? Then you have problems and always will have. Sorry 'bout that.
- 'Doc


As for the 'war', best way to end it is to just don't pay any attention to it. I seriously doubt if there's still many around who were around when it started. And if you weren't there, then you aren't missing anything, and what's the difference?

Sorry, I had to vote no! and I am not a Ham.

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CDX-112

Let's try an analogy...

CB is one of those neighborhoods. The kind where, if you ain't from here you ought'nt a come here. The kind where they tell you "We don't call no cops around here, we solve our own problems in the neighborhood". The kind of neighborhood where problems never get solved. The kind where the kids are jumping up and down on your car hood and spraying graffiti on your possessions while their parents are unhooking the trailer. Yes, I have seen precisely this behavior.

Amateur radio is a gated community. The kind where some fat ugly woman yells at you "We don't want your kind around here" when you pull your brand new truck into the driveway to turn around and go the other way. Yes, I have seen precisely this behavior.

The people who splatter their obscene nonsense into the ham bands, or invade the ham bands intentionally, are like the family of pigs in this town who dump their trash over the fence into a gated community. Yes, I have seen precisely this behavior.

People with the attitudes and behaviors that make CB such a wonderful place obviously exist. The CB bands give them a place to be where the rest of us don't have to go. Works for me.

Hams worked to get into their gated community. They chose a higher standard, and don't want the neighborhood to go to seed. Who can blame them for trying to keep the neighborhood clean?

Not exactly teh kind of folks I hope to encounter. I hate elitists.

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Taking the body of traffic as a whole, there is a lot less noise level as far as content of traffic on the ham bands. It's not elitism as a majority at all, it's just people who prefer to be civil and courteous.

Are there horrible ops on ham? You bet. Are there a whole lot more spaces/modes/options to get away from them? You bet.

I was just on 160m the other night with a bunch of friends. We were there over an hour with no trouble, then out of nowhere a bunch of clowns who wouldn't ID just started cursing us out and throwing deliberate interference on us. We stayed a good half hour without saying anything to them as we were all so close it didn't even matter. Total CB'er behavior, pretty much exactly what you hear on the local CB channels in NJ. So there are morons on both CB and ham. At least with ham you have many options to get away from them.

I started out with 11m years ago, spent thousands of hours on the air. Locally it has deteriorated to nothing but cursing and name calling, it's not at all what it was in the late 80's here. I'm glad I got my ticket back in April as had I just gone out and got another export radio, there would be nearly nobody to talk to around here.

If you want to be a civil operator and make friends from all walks of life with the common bond of radio, by all means get your ticket. Radio in general is what you make of it. If you have nothing to really say and just want to play around making noise with the locals, CB is perfect. If you want to talk about most anything you can imagine and maybe even learn a bit about radio, by all means, ham is the way to go.

The main purpose to licensing as I see it is the accountability. It greatly reduces the ability for people to hide behind deliberate interference. If they drop the licensing requirement any lower or entirely, it would destroy the community. The slight barrier to entry keeps the service for those who have at least some respect for it, those who truly want to be there for the right reasons.

That's a good perspective 385.

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