No Code-Free Upgrades Available Until February 23

NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 5, 2007 -- Code-free upgrades to General or Amateur Extra will not be available at volunteer examination sessions until the 5 WPM Morse code requirement disappears from the FCC's Amateur Radio Service rules on February 23. ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist Dan Henderson, N1ND, says that, judging from the questions he's been getting, many in the amateur community -- including some Volunteer Examiners (VEs) -- don't fully understand the new rules and privileges resulting from the FCC's Report and Order (R&O) in the "Morse code proceeding," WT Docket 05-235. He stresses that VE teams may not accept upgrade applications in advance of February 23, then hold the paperwork.

"There will be no instant midnight upgrades February 23 for applicants advancing to General or Amateur Extra," Henderson explains. "You must make application." He further advises that a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) valid for Element 3 (General) or Element 4 (Amateur Extra) credit does not confer any operating privileges and, lacking Morse code credit, is no good for an upgrade until the new rules become effective.

"Anyone holding or earning a valid CSCE for element credit must wait until February 23 to redeem it at a volunteer examination session," he says. "You may not operate as /AG or /AE until you have upgraded and have been issued a CSCE marked for upgrade." A CSCE is good for 365 days from the date of issuance, no exceptions.

Henderson further emphasizes that those who qualified as Technician licensees under the examination regime in place from March 21, 1987, until April 15, 2000, do not get General class Element 3 credit on that basis. For starters, he says, the "old" Element 3 is not the same as the current Element 3.

"When the Novice and Advanced examination elements went away, the FCC renumbered the elements," he explains. "Those who passed Element 3 from March 21, 1987 until April 15, 2000, qualified for the Technician license, and the exam was not the same as the current Element 3 General element test."

Applicants upgrading at a test session on or after February 23 on the basis of a valid CSCE must present the certificate for element credit, fill out an application and pay any applicable exam session fee, which most VECs charge. Between now and then, Henderson points out, upgrade applicants still have the option of passing the 5 WPM Element 1 Morse code test in addition to the General or Amateur Extra written tests.

Technician licensees who have not passed a Morse code examination automatically gain new privileges on February 23 without having to apply at an exam session. But they're the only ones. On that date, all Novices and Technicians will have equal privileges on HF: CW on parts of 80, 40 and 15 meters, and CW, SSB and data on parts of 10 meters.

Test sessions at 12:01 AM Friday, February 23, have been scheduled at ARRL Headquarters and in many other locales to handle upgrade applications as well as those taking an exam element for the first time. W1AW will be on the air that weekend to welcome newly upgraded licensees to the HF bands.

The ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC) reports that business has been very brisk since the FCC announced the new rules dropping the Morse requirement for any Amateur Radio license.

"We're avalanched," said Assistant ARRL VEC Manager Perry Green, WY1O. "Sessions are going onto the schedule fast and furious. They're all waiting for that magic date of February 23." ARRL VEC has hired extra personnel to deal with the anticipated post-February 23 application onslaught.

ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, says the VEC typically schedules some 5500 exam sessions a year. By the end of January, some 3500 were already on this year's calendar with more pouring in every day. Sales of ARRL Amateur Radio licensing materials also are up dramatically.

The ARRL has posted all relevant information on these important Part 97 rule revisions on its "FCC's Morse Code Report and Order WT Docket 05-235" Web page.

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