RE: [Paddlewise] Just received my Icom m32.

>Dave Kruger wrote:
>
>The FCC bogarted on that when they relaxed licensure rules for US
>pleasure boaters, some 8 years ago.

I'm not saying I agree or not, but the rationale for dropping the license 8
years ago went like this:

Laws at the time did not require a radio on rec. vessels, but if there was a
radio, you needed a license. Joe Boater would logic thus: "If I don't buy a
radio I won't have to pay for a license for it. Ergo, I'll not buy a radio."

So a lot of boats were running around without radios for want of an
inexpensive license. So the government thinks, if we drop the license
requirement more people will have radios and thus more people will be saved
because they will be able to call for help in an emergency.

I guess that worked, but in my mind the better solution would have been to
require a radio on anything where one was appropriate. The license didn't
require any knowledge, it was just a registration tax, so maybe dropping it
was the right thing to do if they were not going to require training.

C
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