Latest Exam Results: September 30, 2023
On a partly cloudy, relatively warm Fall day, five of our members gave of their time to come to the Springfield Justice Center to administer Amateur Radio exams to five candidates. Our candidates came from as far away as Tualatin, Oregon and as close as Eugene.
One candidate was back after a couple of months study to take his Extra exam and passed. He lives in Albany. I believe that he has received his Tech and General exams through us as well. It’s nice to see folks return to us for upgrades.
We started on time and two candidates came in for the Technician exam, two for the General and one for the Extra. One of the folks who came for testing had been a Tech before 1987 and had proof of his license and his call sign. It is required that someone who wants to use that credit take the Tech examine and if successful is allowed to advance to a General Class license. He was successful and left with a grin and our congratulations. I think this is the second exam we have done like this one.
One of the Tech candidates opted to take the General and passed that. I think his intention was to do that all along as he did very well on both tests. The other technician candidate decided he wasn’t ready to try the General and stopped there being very satisfied with his performance on the test. Another of the Tech exam candidates passed, opted to take the General but not having studied for the General did not pass. Even so, he was very happy to get what he came in for and will be back later to try the General exam.
Our Extra class exam candidate did quite well and passed with flying colors. In all, each person who came to take a test left with at least the license they came to obtain. Out of five candidates, every one of them was successful. That says a lot about folks being prepared and anxious to obtain an Amateur Radio license. Many state they want to be more involved with Emergency Communications but there are many who want to also get involved with the HF bands, which is always a pleasure to see.
We advised all candidates that the results of the exam may not get posted to the FCC as soon as others due to the impending government shut down by Congress as there were still about twelve hours left for Congress to act. The exam session paperwork was scanned and submitted to the ARRL VEC by 4pm with confirmation of delivery. At least the session results were at the ARRL despite the threat of the FCC being closed the next day. This also avoids the mail getting lost along the way. All the paperwork is still being sent into ARRL/VEC as a back up.
I want to personally thank each of our examiners for taking time out of their weekend to help administer the examinations. Volunteering your time and experience to help new applicants is one of the great things I have seen Hams doing for our hobby. Again my thanks to each of you. We couldn’t do it without you!
Our NEXT testing session will be on Saturday, October 28th, at the Justice Center, 1pm sharp. Doors will open at 12:30pm. If you are upgrading or coming for your first license we welcome you and look forward to being of service. Please call Peter, N7IY. His phone number is on the ARRL web site under “exam sessions”, if you are planning on testing.
If you are a General class, Advanced, or Extra class license holder you can become a Volunteer Examiner and receive accreditation from the ARRL by passing an open book exam. The service of providing examinations for aspiring Hams is very rewarding and well worth the effort. Nothing feels as good as seeing someone grinning as they are told they PASSED the test.
If you want to get your VE accreditation you can find out all about it here:https://www.arrl.org/become-an-arrl-ve , it is well worth it.
That’s it for this month. Thank you for checking in to see how “your” VE team is doing. I hope you will join us at a meeting or exam. Be well. See you on the air.
73, Bob AD7Z
Last Updated on October 1, 2023 by Bob, AD7Z