The Technican Element 3 test wasn't more difficult than the Novice Element 1 and 2 together, so Technican became the lowest license class when they stopped having to take Element 1.
First, that is not true. Novice still exists. You cannot become one, but you can renew as one. Second, so what? You said that prior to 2007 the code test was required for "all but" the lowest license class. That's also not true. Novice, which still exists and is still the lowest license class, required a code test.
The change to 13 WPM was in 1936,
So you're acting as if the code speeds were going up and up and up at the request of the ARRL and you needed to stop the nonsense, when in fact it was 80 years ago that they went up and stopped. Like I said, a LONG time ago.
The Indianapolis cop episode was back in 2009.
I say, you're using an issue from 80 years ago to complain about the ARRL getting code speeds raised, and yet you don't think one example of a government agency drooling over amateur frequencies from just 7 years ago is relevant? One example of an ongoing problem, whereas this radical idea of having people who wanted access to radio spectrum be able to use a mode that was very very very common back then is unacceptable to you.
In 1936 CW was a major mode, and it was important to know. You act as if it was a sin to be made to know something to get access to valuable radio spectrum IN 1936. That awful ARRL asked for increased code ability as part of an incentive licensing system. IN 1936, when ships at sea were required to have CW operators in case of emergency, and before SSB was in heavy use.
A satphone is less expensive than a trained HF operator.
But much more expensive than a VHF operator. Much more expensive. You think the only spectrum that government agencies are drooling over is the HF band? You show your ignorance again.
Iridium costs $30 per month and $0.89 per minute
My latest VHF handheld cost $40 and I pay nothing per month or minute.
You think it's a big deal to lobby against paid operators because there will be objections?
No, Bruce, like I said, I think it will be a big deal because THAT BATTLE HAS ALREADY BEEN LOST, and it was lost a long time ago by the actions of our own ARRL.
And you don't care about young people getting into Amateur Radio.
Oh, fuck you Bruce. I run regular classes and exam sessions specifically to bring in new hams. There are about 100 people who have licenses because I took my time to teach them and then run the exam sessions for them. Some of them I've lost track of, but many of them are active and using ham radio to actually save lives. My youngest licensee so far was 13 or 14. So don't tell me what I don't care about, because you are once again ignorant of the truth.
Fortunately, when the real hams go to get something done, folks like you aren't hard to fight,
More ignorance and arrogance and insult. "Real hams"? "folks like me"? You mean the ones who oppose the intrusion of outside agencies into ham bandwidth? The ones who point out that YOUR actions to make it almost trivial to get a ham license opened the door to more of this? The ones who think that it is arrogant to claim some star status because you "lobbied" to get rid of code by not using it? Well, Bruce, that same "star status" applies to a very large number of folks, and I'll point out once again that you didn't need to pass any tests to be able to use 20 wpm code, and the FCC didn't give a rat's ass that you weren't. They truly could not have cared less.
Right, "folks like us" aren't hard to fight. You don't know who "folks like us" are because you've got a persecution complex and think anyone who disagrees with you on anything you say must be arguing for those 20wpm code tests to come back. That only shows your ignorance, again. It is possible to agree with the removal of the code test and still understand that it wasn't a pure victory for ham radio. But you want to fight "people like us" because you don't care that there might have been a negative impact.
Do you know I even spoke in Iceland when I was lobbying against the code rules?
Wow. That's nice. And you chose not to use 20 wpm code after you passed a test that gave you the privilege of using it on the amateur bands. Oh, wait, you didn't need to pass a test for that.
Read what I write, Bruce, and stop leaping to ignorant and arrogant conclusions about what you think I said.