[Today’s run: 11.4 miles with Boardtown Runners]
Today I participated for the first time as a Volunteer Examiner at an Amateur Radio license testing session.
To transmit over the airwaves as a ham you have to have a license from the Federal Communications Commission. The licenses come in three categories: Technician, General and Extra. There have been other categories in the past but those are the three we have now.
The license structure has evolved over the years. There were more and different licenses in the past. And the testing has changed. Not only has content of the tests evolved but also the manner of testing.
Testing used to be done completely by FCC personnel. A prospective ham might have to travel to a neighboring city to an FCC office or to a place where the FCC did periodic testing visits.
These days the development and administration of the tests is done by a group of organizations called Volunteer Examiner Coordinators. Each of those VECs then enlists the volunteer help of other hams to act as Volunteer Examiners (VEs).
The VEC provides the testing materials, grading sheets, application forms, and training for the VEs. As a VE my job was to help run the session, to check identification papers (driver’s licenses) of the testing candidates, to help with grading, and to sign my name on the paperwork certifying the outcome. Three VEs are needed for each testing session and each VE has to sign the paperwork. So the answers are checked three times and all three VEs certify the results.
Since it was my first time, I followed the lead of the other guys. Last week I also reviewed the VE training materials; I had a pretty good idea about what was going on.
Getting into ham radio is not really hard. It takes some study. I think the best helps are the online practices tests such as those at the website qrz.com. The practice tests use the same questions as the real tests.
The test costs less than $20. You can take it as many times as you want (but every time costs another $20). You can take all three tests at one session if you are able, and then you just pay one testing fee.