Federal Communications Commission 1270 Fairfield Road Gettysburg, Pa. 17325-7245 August 31, 1998 Re: FCC NPRC WT Docket 98-143 To Whom It May Concern: I have been an active licensed amateur radio operator since 1992. I believe amateur radio is a valuable national resource. I have been teaching basic amateur skills and have experienced the joy of sharing electronic learning with many young people who have no formal options for learning basic electronics. I have found that all of those who have started out with a great deal of enthusisum about amateur radio have lost interest and become inactive when faced with learning an outdated mode of communication, morse code. In this fast paced world of changing technologies most new "hams" find the emphasis placed on morse code to be a "political roadblock". It is my opinion that amateur radio needs major changes in order to interest new, younger, operators who will experiment with newer digital technologies. These operators should not be limited to frequencies above 30MHZ. In July of 1998 the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) made a proposal to the Commission to streamline and simplify the amateur radio service. I believe this proposal, exactly as written, would best serve the needs of the amateur community and the commission. It addresses the redundancy in the license classes and it also suggests a reduction to the over-emphasis in the morse code requirements. Please, for the sake of all the young people who need to have a practical form of motivation to learn and develop new techno-skills, adopt the changes recommended by the ARRL. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. Sincerely, Richard Ward (WH6FC) P.O.Box 4877 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96745-4877 (808) 929-7673 anS8SS6SalutationS\  `&Times New RomanSS\  `&Times New RomanS2SS0ClosingS\  `&Times New RomanSS\  `&Times New RomanS6SS4SignatureS\  `&Times New RomanSS\  `&Times New RomanS'    0 .  LFederal Communications Commission#|x(fb}$  *KXX*K*KԘHP LaserJet 4Si,,,,,,0(hH  Z6Times New Roman RegularXQE&DKT9814,jU b}!  *KXX*K*K    *K*K    _FederalCo mmunicationsCommission݌  Ќ*K*K  *K*K  o  1270 FairfieldRoado݌ z Ќ*K*K  *K*K  3  Gett ysburg,Pa.1732572453m݌ D Ќ*K*K  *K*K     8݌̌*K*K  *K*K    Aug ust31,1998݌  Ќ*K*K  *K*K  ]  dRe:FCCNPRCWTDocket98143]݌ 6  Ќ*K*K  d *K*K   Y  ToWhomItMayConcern: Y݌  H  Ќ*K*K  Ihavebeenanactivelicensedamateurradiooperatorsince1992.Ibelieveamateurradioisavaluablenationalresource.Ihavebeenteachingbasicamateurskillsandhaveexperiencedthejoyofsharingelectroniclearningwithmanyyoungpeoplewhohavenoformaloptionsforlearningbasicelectronics.Ihavefoundthatallofthosewhohavestartedoutwithagreatdealofenthusisumaboutamateurradiohavelostinterestandbecomeinactivewhenfacedwithlearninganoutdatedmodeofcommunication,morsecode.Inthisfastpacedworldofchangingtechnologiesmostnew"hams"findtheemphasisplacedonmorsecodetobea"politicalroadblock".Itismyopinionthatamateurradioneedsmajorchangesinordertointerestnew,younger,operatorswhowillexperimentwithnewerdigitaltechnologies.Theseoperatorsshouldnotbelimitedtofrequenciesabove30MHZ.InJulyof1998theAmericanRadioRelayLeague(ARRL)madeaproposaltotheCommissiontostreamlineandsimplifytheamateurradioservice.Ibelievethisproposal,exactlyaswritten,wouldbestservetheneedsoftheamateurcommunityandthecommission.Itaddressestheredundancyinthelicenseclassesanditalsosuggestsareductiontotheoveremphasisinthemorsecoderequirements.Please,forthesakeofalltheyoungpeoplewhoneedtohaveapracticalformofmotivationtolearnanddevelopnewtechnoskills,adoptthechangesrecommendedbytheARRL. Thankyoufortheopportunitytocomment. 4    <     Sincerely, 4    <     RichardWard(WH6FC) 4    <     P.O.Box4877   #`'  4    <     KailuaKona,Hawaii967454877 4    <     (808)9297673