This comes from www.arrl.org
==>KNOW YOUR PRIVILEGES! MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUND REGARDING TECH HF PRIVILEGES
Some Technician licensees who gained new privileges February 23 remain
unaware or uninformed as to what they may and may not do on the HF bands,
says ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist Dan Henderson, N1ND. In addition
to all Amateur Radio operating privileges above 50 MHz, Technicians who
never passed a Morse code test now have CW privileges on certain segments of
80, 40 and 15 meters plus CW, RTTY, data and SSB privileges on certain
segments of 10 meters. And that's it. "Know your privileges
<http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/bands.html>," Henderson
advises all Amateur Radio licensees. He says some Technicians apparently
believe their new HF phone privileges go far beyond what they really have.
"Technicians have no phone privileges on any HF band other than 10 meters,
period!" Henderson emphasizes. "That's the bottom line. If you want to
operate phone on the other HF bands, you'll have to upgrade to General or
Amateur Extra class."
A lot of Technician licensees appear to have done just that, according to
statistics compiled by Joe Speroni, AH0A
<http://ah0a.org/FCC/Licenses.html>. So far in March, the number of General
class licensees is up by more than 2700 over the February figure to 134,173,
after hitting a 5-year low of just under 131,000 in January. The number of
Technicians dropped by 4655 in the same period to 318,838. Speroni notes,
however, that his mid-month figures tend to underestimate actual totals.
Most Technician license holders face a learning curve to take advantage of
their new CW privileges on HF, but they no longer have to pass a Morse code
examination. Technicians also may use their new HF privileges without having
to apply for them first. No other license class automatically acquired
additional privileges February 23. The "omnibus" rule changes effective last
December 15 did not give Technician licensees without Morse code credit any
additional privileges either.
Henderson further warns new Techs not to extrapolate additional phone
privileges by misconstruing the FCC Part 97 rules to mean something they
don't.
"Calls I've been getting lately indicate that some misinformed individuals
believe Technicians may operate 'digital voice' on 80, 40 and 15, where they
have only CW privileges," he says. "Not true. Digital voice is really
digitized voice, and it's not permitted in non-phone band segments."
Henderson reiterates that Technicians do not have FM voice privileges on 10
meters -- or on any other HF band, for that matter.
The HF privileges all Technicians now have are equivalent to those that
Novice licensees enjoy, Henderson notes. "This also means the 200 W maximum
power limit still applies, regardless of where you operate in the HF bands,"
he says. Technicians may operate at up to the legal limit on VHF and UHF,
however.
On 10 meters, Technician and Novice licensees have CW, RTTY and data
privileges from 28.000 to 28.300 MHz, and CW and SSB privileges from 28.300
to 28.500 MHz. "We're sorry that the sunspots aren't favoring 10 meters at
this point in the sunspot cycle, but they will in a few years," Henderson
allowed.
In addition, Technicians and Novices have CW -- and only CW -- privileges on
from 3.525 to 3.600 MHz on 80 meters, from 7.025 to 7.125 MHz on 40 meters
and 21.025 to 21.200 MHz on 15 meters.
Henderson believes at least some of the confusion may have originated with a
few brand-new or inexperienced Technician licensees who heard that the FCC
deleted the Morse code requirement to obtain an Amateur Radio license, but
paid little attention to the fine print.
"And we all know the devil's in the details," Henderson says. "Remember, the
FCC requires you to know where you may and may not operate and with what
modes. Stick to the privileges your license allows or risk hearing from the
FCC."
Credit for this story to www.arrl.org.
==>KNOW YOUR PRIVILEGES! MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUND REGARDING TECH HF PRIVILEGES
Some Technician licensees who gained new privileges February 23 remain
unaware or uninformed as to what they may and may not do on the HF bands,
says ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist Dan Henderson, N1ND. In addition
to all Amateur Radio operating privileges above 50 MHz, Technicians who
never passed a Morse code test now have CW privileges on certain segments of
80, 40 and 15 meters plus CW, RTTY, data and SSB privileges on certain
segments of 10 meters. And that's it. "Know your privileges
<http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/bands.html>," Henderson
advises all Amateur Radio licensees. He says some Technicians apparently
believe their new HF phone privileges go far beyond what they really have.
"Technicians have no phone privileges on any HF band other than 10 meters,
period!" Henderson emphasizes. "That's the bottom line. If you want to
operate phone on the other HF bands, you'll have to upgrade to General or
Amateur Extra class."
A lot of Technician licensees appear to have done just that, according to
statistics compiled by Joe Speroni, AH0A
<http://ah0a.org/FCC/Licenses.html>. So far in March, the number of General
class licensees is up by more than 2700 over the February figure to 134,173,
after hitting a 5-year low of just under 131,000 in January. The number of
Technicians dropped by 4655 in the same period to 318,838. Speroni notes,
however, that his mid-month figures tend to underestimate actual totals.
Most Technician license holders face a learning curve to take advantage of
their new CW privileges on HF, but they no longer have to pass a Morse code
examination. Technicians also may use their new HF privileges without having
to apply for them first. No other license class automatically acquired
additional privileges February 23. The "omnibus" rule changes effective last
December 15 did not give Technician licensees without Morse code credit any
additional privileges either.
Henderson further warns new Techs not to extrapolate additional phone
privileges by misconstruing the FCC Part 97 rules to mean something they
don't.
"Calls I've been getting lately indicate that some misinformed individuals
believe Technicians may operate 'digital voice' on 80, 40 and 15, where they
have only CW privileges," he says. "Not true. Digital voice is really
digitized voice, and it's not permitted in non-phone band segments."
Henderson reiterates that Technicians do not have FM voice privileges on 10
meters -- or on any other HF band, for that matter.
The HF privileges all Technicians now have are equivalent to those that
Novice licensees enjoy, Henderson notes. "This also means the 200 W maximum
power limit still applies, regardless of where you operate in the HF bands,"
he says. Technicians may operate at up to the legal limit on VHF and UHF,
however.
On 10 meters, Technician and Novice licensees have CW, RTTY and data
privileges from 28.000 to 28.300 MHz, and CW and SSB privileges from 28.300
to 28.500 MHz. "We're sorry that the sunspots aren't favoring 10 meters at
this point in the sunspot cycle, but they will in a few years," Henderson
allowed.
In addition, Technicians and Novices have CW -- and only CW -- privileges on
from 3.525 to 3.600 MHz on 80 meters, from 7.025 to 7.125 MHz on 40 meters
and 21.025 to 21.200 MHz on 15 meters.
Henderson believes at least some of the confusion may have originated with a
few brand-new or inexperienced Technician licensees who heard that the FCC
deleted the Morse code requirement to obtain an Amateur Radio license, but
paid little attention to the fine print.
"And we all know the devil's in the details," Henderson says. "Remember, the
FCC requires you to know where you may and may not operate and with what
modes. Stick to the privileges your license allows or risk hearing from the
FCC."
Credit for this story to www.arrl.org.
No apology or sign off,nothing but dead air on the over. 
