I'm studying for tech license. Some of the sections are easy and I am familiar with some aspects of circuitry. Some not so easy. Like taking a calculator to help with logrithyms and understand dB=10Log(P1/P0) where p0 is the reference power and p1 is the new power. How did your 8 year old get that?
You don't need a calculator to take the Tech exam. I'm not sure you're looking at good information.
Here's my analogy. Studying for this test is like making a driver study to be a mechanic. Why do I need to know how to rebuild a motor, carb, rewire circuitry ..etc to drive a car?
Radio operators are responsible for the signals they transmit and the potential interference those signals may cause. You need an understanding of how radios and receivers work to be able to do that. Additionally, Amateur Radio is intended as a field of civilian innovation and experimentation. The rules are set up to allow for innovation and experimentation without causing interference to life safety systems or commercial interests.
I saw a lot of "yes men" in my fire dept career. They nod there heads yes to anything anyone of authority puts to them. I'm seeing a lot of
"yes men" here. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating to break rules or "sticking it to the man". I just think maybe someone should be and advocate for change.
If I'm not a home ham operator will I fit in their idea of a ham operator? And by "their" I mean the local Ham clubs. I'm just wanting it for communication on the trail. How about a simplified course and test and category for a casual mobile user?
This statement says to me that you are looking at Amateur Radio (ham radio) from only your personal use perspective. You don't appear to have an understanding of the full scope of the hobby. Amateur Radio is not just people sitting in their house trying to talk to someone a long distance away. Amateur Radio is not just home stations, mobile, handheld, and repeaters. These radios can be used to control remote equipment, to send and receive data, they can be integrated with Global Positioning Systems, they can be used as beacons for navigation, they can assist with search and rescue operations, and a myriad of other things. Related technology was the basis for Bluetooth, wireless connectivity, and cellular voice and data networks. The Technician License is a minimum barrier for entry. More advanced licences allow for greater access to bands and greater ability to experiment.
Why do the volunteer ham groups have authority to test? Why not FCC paid professionals? How much control and influence do the local ham radio groups have? Why do I feel like this whole thing is unnessesarily convoluted?
The Amateur Radio community has historically done a good job of NOT creating oppressive rule sets that hinder innovation. At the same time, the community has been active in shutting down, reporting, and assisting with prosecution of operators who fail to follow rules and cause harmful interference or create dangerous conditions for the public.
Again, the original purpose of giving civilians access to these bands was to foster innovation and experimentation. The FCC controls which bands are available to Amateurs, has a set of very general rules which spell out what is and is not harmful interference, and enforces rules. Organisations like the ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League) create band plans and more detailed rule sets that allow many users to use the limit bandwidth available for a multitude of uses without interfering with each other.
Local groups affiliated with larger organizations like the ARRL are given authority by the FCC mostly because of historical precedence, but also because the FCC doesn't have a budget or staff to do the things the ARRL does. Also, it's just the way it's always been and it has worked well.
Local groups don't have all that much authority. They might own the local repeaters, and they would have authority over access to repeater networks, but that's about as far as they go.
I suspect that your feeling that the system is convoluted might be because you haven't looked farther into it than your own, very narrow use case. Amateur Radio has a ton of different uses and users and all of them need to be able to play nicely within our limited bandwidth and without causing interference to commercial, life safety, or government systems. The thing about radio waves is that they can travel great distances. An operator in Montana who's radio is creating harmful interference could pretty easily cause interference all over the Pacific Northwest. Not knowing that your system is causing harmful interference because you "just want it for communication on the trail" isn't a valid excuse.
