VK1TX wrote:... I WILL POST NO MORE ,GOOD LUCK.
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VK1TX wrote:... I WILL POST NO MORE ,GOOD LUCK.
Is that on a straight exchange rate conversion or a PPP?VK2GOM wrote:I, to even Mars chocolate bars being 4x more expensive than the UK.
I hear what you are saying but if you want a fright try gaining a new diploma in something , the tutors do get paid modestly so there is serious profit to the Tafe's and rto'sVK2XSO wrote:And we have a new club member today. He did his standard exam at the club today.
I fell off my chair when I saw how much he had to pay just to get into the hobby.
$70 for EACH exam. (x3) = $210
$20 to pick is callsign
$73 for licence
$303 to walk in off the street ?
Is anybody expecting this hobby to improve while this continues ?
It's rotten to the core and I'm now considering what it would cost me personally to put a business proposal to the ACMA to compete directly with the WIA for licence testing.
Agreed.VK4WDM wrote:Having said that, there should be a rethink on the cost of entry to AR, especially for the new foundation licence members.
This problem may well fix itself.As well as the cost of the exams and license there is the cost of a radio - there are not a lot of 10w-capable radios out there at a reasonable price. My suggestion when the FD was first mooted was to be able to use commonly available 25w land mobile or marine radios with 80 and 40m crystals and a VXO (with the sunspot predictions, they won 't need to worry about 15 and 10m).
The interesting thing is that 'this old and established truth' may have been so for some things but not for amateur exams in the 1960s - 1980s when many of us had to sit them.VK7DR wrote:My personal view is much simpler, if you can't pay for it, you can't have it. (I know, this goes against the entire gen Y economic model, but it is an old and established truth.)
I knew it was a bit pricey, I didn't realise it was that bad. The WIA is out of its depth and should simply hand the entire licensing process back to the ACMA.VK2XSO wrote: $303 to walk in off the street ?
Is anybody expecting this hobby to improve while this continues ?
It's rotten to the core and I'm now considering what it would cost me personally to put a business proposal to the ACMA to compete directly with the WIA for licence testing.
Why do you think handing it back to the ACMA would make it any better?VK5ZLR wrote: I knew it was a bit pricey, I didn't realise it was that bad. The WIA is out of its depth and should simply hand the entire licensing process back to the ACMA.