Thanks to the Laurel VEC for allowing the FCVET consisting of KF4RLJ, AB4SL, K4EUP, K3UI and N4BJH for volunteering to administer no charge amateur radio exams. Thanks to the Wendell United Methodist Church for hosting our monthly exam sessions. We had three applicants.
The following actions were granted by the FCC
KQ4GMF Jonathan L Allen of Clayton new General
KQ4GMG William L Burgon of Raleigh new Technician
KQ4GMF
KQ4FVM F Norbert Hector of Raleigh upgrade to General
KQ4FVM
Thanks to the Laurel VEC for allowing the FCVET consisting of W2CK, N4MQU, K4WCA, K3UI, K4EUP for volunteering to administer no charge amateur radio exams. We had four applicants.
The successful applicants were:
W2CK, N4MQU, K4WCA, K3UI, K4EUP
Instructions
KQ4GGS New Technician
KQ4GGZ New General
KG4QQL New Technician
Area Laurel VEC teams were busy Saturday. This was not planned that way on purpose but W4CEC had scheduled the end of his class for that day so he had his exam. His team had 4 new Technicians and 1 new General and 1 upgrade to General.
Photo shows W4CEC from last year
Award winning W4CEC teaching class
FCVET at the Wendell United Methodist Church with leader K3UI in charge had 1 new technician, 3 upgrades to general and 1 upgrade to Extra.
Photo from an earlier session.
Photo shows K3UI from an earlier session
RCVET Richmond County VE team with N4MQU in charge we had 1 applicant that needs more study but it was a great experience for the new Laurel team to get use to the Laurel procedure. The previous W4VEC team has over 10 years of experience and has the support of the Richmond County Emergency Management providing their great facility to give the exams.
Photo RCVET from Saturday
Richmond County VE Team
Thanks to Laurel VEC and all the applicants and volunteers for making this happen.
Area Laurel VEC upcoming no charge amateur radio exams are as follows This information is current at the time published.
6400 Johnson Pond Road, Fuquay Varina, NC 27526 First Saturday 10::00 AM
2813 Banks Road, Raleigh, NC 27603 Third Thursday 10:00 AM*
129 North Main Street, Wendell, NC 27591 Fourth Saturday 1:00 PM (Jan-Oct)
*registration required due to space limitations all other locations registration requested https://fivecountyhre.org/study-tips-and-registration/
The RARS VE Team conducts exams on the fourth Tuesday of even numbered months (February, April, June, August, October, and December) prior to the RARS Gathering at the Ridge Road Baptist Church, 2011 Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27607.
For W4CEC Exams see https://w4cec.com/registration/
The Richmond County Amateur Radio Club is offering no charge amateur radio exams check their website for exam information. https://k4rnc.org/?page_id=17
For scheduled no charge Laurel VEC exams near you see Laurel VEC
Mark Gibson
I have to admit I wasn’t interested in Amateur Radio for a long time. I always thought it was kinda cool but never looked into it further. It wasn’t until my partner got involved that I started to look a little more closely but the testing seemed like a lot of work.
One day, my partner showed me a video about someone’s antenna setup and I noticed the person was in a park (POTA) using Morse Code to make contacts. I didn’t know you could do that outside. I looked into Parks on the Air (POTA) and Summits on the Air (SOTA) and how they combined radio contests with the great outdoors. I decided then and there that I would buy a radio, get my license, and learn Morse Code. I ordered the Elecraft KX2 Shack In a Bag but it would take 12 to 16 weeks to get to me. At least I had plenty of time to get my license. I studied for a couple of weeks using the All Ham/No Spam book, Hamexam.org and one of the free study apps and passed my Technician exam.
After the exam, I was told it would be beneficial to get at least a General license to be able to use all the KX2 had to offer. I started studying again using the same resources as before and passed my General exam.
I looked into applying for a vanity call sign but the one I wanted was only available to Advanced licenses and above. Back to studying I went. I used the HamStudy app to study for those. It has a small cost but includes all the information that was in the books as well as flashcards and practice exams. It took me another few weeks of studying to pass the exam and get my Amateur Extra license.
I still have a while to go before I get my radio and hear back about the vanity call sign. I now have time to learn and practice Morse Code so I will be ready to go once my radio arrives. I already know several letters and can even pick them out in some of the POTA/SOTA videos I watch. I am very excited to get out into the parks and get some contacts but I still have a lot to learn before I’m ready.
So far, Amateur Radio has given me a great sense of accomplishment from passing all three exams in this short amount of time. I look forward to learning more about this new hobby.
Thanks to the Triangle Torah Fellowship. for hosting the Amateur Radio Workshop and exam on Saturday 12/10/2022. Also thanks to the FCVET consisting of KQ4DRZ, KE4VNC, W2CK, NY4NC, and Thanks to K3UI for being the session manager since I had a prior engagement. Congratulations to the 5 new technicians and 3 upgrades to general. Thanks to the volunteers helping answer questions. I haven’t heard anything about the food but the past events the food had been outstanding. Here are photos from the event.
It has been said blank (fill in the blank) is not rocket science. But for one group of our applicants in November they plan to use their amateur radio in rocket science. Congratulations to all one student left early so he didn’t mark the group shot.
Congratulations to the newly licensed amateur radio operators of the Tycho Lycos NC State Rocketry Club. As you hear them on the radio be sure to welcome them to the hobby.
KQ4EJO Nathan Potvin
KQ4EJP Frances McBride
KQ4EJQ Benjamin Lewis
KQ4EJR Muhammad Aman B Anas
KQ4EJL Michael Pudlo
Thanks to the FCVET of KQ4DRZ,KO4LRJ,W2CK,K3UI, N4MQU, K4EUP, KX4ZQ, WA4GIR, N8DHZ for volunteering to support the exam on a short notice.Thanks toLaurel VEC for allowing us to administer no charge amateur radio exams.
Be sure to welcome them as you hear them on the radio.
Five team leaders from Laurel VEC came to support the examination at JARSFEST in November. The teams included RARS VE, W4CEC, CenCar, Piedmont Triad and FCVET. Looks like we have six new amateurs as a result of this effort and 6 upgrades. Thanks for the support and volunteering. This was our second year in supporting JARSFEST by providing no charge amateur radio exams.
To see if you have any no charge amateur radio exams near you see Laurel VEC website.
According to the FCC 29 applications were granted in North Carolina processed thru Laurel VEC.
Portable RF Lab W2CK
From W2CK
HF radios ranked by receiver performance All the way back to 1958 in the case of Collins.
http://www.sherweng.com/table.html
Wendell, NC The Five County Ham Radio Enthusiasts will be operating an amateur radio during opening weekend of June 17 -19 at the Wendell Museum. The radio club received a special event call sign W4L for the amateur radio station. Amateur radio operators all over the world will be able to talk to the station. Mark Gibson said. Mark is a resident of Wendell and the founder of the radio club. On Saturday June 18 the station will participate in the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Kids Day. Kids will be allowed to speak to other kids participating in the event on the amateur radio station.
The first documented amateur radio operator in Wendell, NC was in 1930. W4AVT G.H. Wright, Jr. He happened to be the post master of Wendell.
Amateur radio is a fun family activity. Ready gov suggest that you have alternate forms of communication available. During an emergency is not the time to learn how to use your communication.
No charge Amateur radio exams are offered throughout the year and are published at https://fivecountyhre.org/ and https://www.laurelvec.com/
The Federal Communication Commission charges a $35.00 fee for new amateur radio license. The fee is paid directly to the FCC and is not collected by the volunteers administering the exam.
The kitchen is just inside the back door so we should have plenty of traffic. Photo Credit :KE4VNC
Photo Credit:KE4VNC
Photo Credit:KE4VNC
QSL Card designed by Tyler Church
Mark Gibson (N4MQU) will give a on air presentation on what goes behind the scenes at an amateur radio exam session. Mark Gibson has been the team leader of the Five County VE team since 2018 and the FCVET has conducted over 50 exams in North Carolina and Virginia and his team has processed had over 200 amateur radio applications.
Mark will give an overview of behind the scenes activities of the process a VE team goes thru to make sure you have a successful and pleasant process at your amateur radio exam.
Presentation will be on Tuesday May 10, 2022 at 7:00 PM on the K4ITL 146.880 repeater and on K4ITL/PCRN Facebook Group.
VE team member gets stuck
Thanks to the FCVET team of KK4QEF, KK4QDZ, K4WCA, K3UI, and W2CK We had a successful third Thursday exam session. Thanks to the Laurel VEC for allowing us to offer no charge amateur radio exams.
Congratulations to K4ZXX on upgrading to General
We have the following new individuals to welcome to the amateur radio fraternity.
Be sure to answer their call as they get on the radio.
