Family Fun

By Duane Cutlip (AI8U)

AI8U, KO4TAQ(daughter),KO4TAS (brother), KE4SSV (nephew, N8LPZ, brother

A child of the 60’s, Dock’s bent toward anything with a wire was fed by a burgeoning DIY home electronics industry. Heathkits, three-inch-thick technical manuals, and a variety of radios (and radio parts) littered his childhood. A shortwave radio purchase in the 70’s surpassed all the old transistor experiments, and it was on. A variety of scanners (and experiments on them) fed the move to Amateur Radio in the 80’s. But, he fell short of convincing any of his family to take up the hobby along the way.

For more than 30 years, Dock’s hobby was his own. He found friends in Ham and roped any family members he could into attending Ham Fests in multiple states along the East Coast, but couldn’t get any to “officially” join him. Finally, in 2021, all that changed.

At the beginning of this year, Dock sent his youngest brother a radio and unwittingly sparked a competition. You see, unable to gain the interest of his family in the intervening years, Dock had been content to achieve his Novice, Technician, and then General licenses, but (despite all intentions) had not yet attained his ultimate goal – Amateur Extra. After learning this, on the first Saturday of February 2021, Duane snuck by Dock and passed his Amateur Extra exam with the FCVE Team (much to Dock’s chagrin). Dock promptly earned his Extra license a couple of weeks later (but forever after his youngest brother had earned his).

That competitive nature, with a few HF conversations over the 300 mile distance, and the rest of the family soon took interest and gathered in Wendell on the first weekend in September 2021 for some last-minute group studying to take exams with the Wendell FCVE Team. Dock’s son Austin, brother David, and niece Amelia (Duane’s daughter) passed their Technician exams on September 4. Austin doubled down and also passed his General exam the same day.

Thanks to Laurel VEC, Five County Ham Radio Enthusiasts, and the FCVETs, Dock went from no family to four in the hobby in the space of a few months. The wait (and a radio investment) paid off. Word has it, David, Austin, and Amelia intend to take their Amateur Extra exams in the next month so they can join Dock and Duane on the full spectrum. There’s also been talk that they’re planning to bring some of their friends into the hobby, too.

Editors note: Duane was our first Trifecta meaning he went from not being licensed to extra in one sitting. Due to nepotism rules he did not participate in the testing session when his family tested.

FCVET First Trifecta and how he did it!

CQ POTA, CQ POTA, CQ POTA!

Amateur Radio, Camping, Member Submitted, POTA

By:Ken Castille (KN4GUS)

Many of you may have heard the call when scanning the bands but have you ever thought about venturing outdoors to activate a park? If you enjoy the aspects of amateur radio on Field Day, you’ll equally enjoy doing a POTA (Parks on the Air) activation. I exclusively do portable operations with my radio and while I’ve setup outside near my home for field days, special events or regular ops, I wanted to explore the option of taking my gear to a park to participate in POTA.

The idea of amateur radio in parks was brought to the forefront in 2016 when the ARRL wanted to help the National Park Service celebrate their 100thanniversary and encouraged amateur radio operators to promote the parks and show amateur radio to the public. The event was widely accepted and shortly after, a non-profit Parks on the Air organization was formed to continue encouraging Hams to venture out into the Parks. Awards are given out to Hams for their activations and there is a Facebook group where members can publish their activation pictures and stories. While the event started with National Parks, the organization now recognizes State Parks to include recreation areas, wildlife management areas and state game lands among others but does not include any City or County parks. The excitement of the initial U.S. event has spread to Canada, Europe and Japan where POTA activity is gaining traction.

As I mentioned, I personally do all portable ops. I recently went out to William B. Umstead State Park on Wednesday, July 17th and did a POTA activation with a couple of non-hams and had a really fun time. After checking in with the Park Office, I took out my Yaesu FT-891, LDG-100 tuner, Bioenno 12V-30ah LiFePo battery and my Buddipole antenna and set up in a small clearing near one of the parking lots. I had posted on the POTA website that I would be operating from 1430-1730 hrs. UTC to help spot me for any “hunters” searching for a POTA call. I didn’t have to wait long. The frequency got hot quick. In the the first 90 minutes, we got 59 contacts! I actually had to deal with mini-pileups to sort through all the stations trying to call in. We ended our time with 108 contacts total and had a blast. I had so much fun, I couldn’t wait to head out to another local park.

Yaesu FT-891, LDG-100 tuner, Bioenno 12V-30ah LiFePo

On Saturday, July 24th, after a breakfast meetup with some Ham friends, I took my gear and headed to Clayton, NC and the Clemmons Educational State Forest for a solo activation. I wasn’t disappointed. I checked in with the Park Office again and started talking to Kevin, one of the Forest Rangers. I gave him an information sheet on POTA and invited him to come out to see how the operation is done. During his lunch break, he came out and sat with me while I went on and on about POTA, ham radio, propagation, solar weather, Q-codes, etc and he was very interested, even expressing he might want to get licensed. I ended the day with 54 contacts with stations as far away as CA, AZ and NM – all with 100 watts in a forest!

As you can tell, POTA is a fun and exciting part of our hobby and I am already planning another POTA activation at some of the State parks around Cary and Apex. I encourage you to do “POTA – Where every day is Field Day!”

A Slightly Off-Center-Fed Dipole

Amateur Radio, Antennas, Contributed Article, Member Submitted

By: Richard Hall (K7RLH)

Dipole antennas are a relatively inexpensive first antenna for HF operation and there are countless books that offer the numerous variations of the dipole that have used by other amateurs over the years. Of course, space requirements/limitations may define what you are able to construct/install at your QTH. The off-center-fed dipole (OCFD) is a very popular and easily constructed antenna for HF operation over a wide range of frequencies.

An article in the September 2019 QST described a variation on the classic OCF dipole antenna for 80-10 meters. If you are an ARRL member, you can access the article on page 30 of the archived edition via their web site. If not a member (I encourage you to become one), then I will try to paraphrase the construction details without all the charts and to describe its function as simply as I can.

Per almost any antenna design treatise, the required length of wire is determined by a formula similar to this: (492 x .95)/3.5 = approx. 136 ft, 2.5 in in total length. The author of the article, Brian Machesney, K1LI/J75Y, has several charts and representations of trials that he went through to determine that a feed point of approx. 45% of length is the appropriate OCF location rather than the classic 1/3-2/3 that most antenna books use for this type of antenna.

Of course, when preparing any wire antenna it’s usually best to make it a little long so that you can adjust for better ‘raw’ tuning before letting most HF rigs use an internal (or external) tuner to finely adjust for best performance. The OCFD antenna will basically have a 200 ohm feed-point impedance that must be reduced using a 4:1 current balun to provide a 50 ohm feed to the transmitter. Thus, the balun is inserted at the 45% length point with the outward ends terminating at an insulator before being tied off in whatever shape you can achieve. Ideally, you would like to have the feed-point be about 30 feet in the air and then, for best RF protection, slope down on both ends to about 10 ft above grade. This is not too critical and is solely dependent upon your environmental constraints.

Now, before you permanently affix the insulators, it is best to do some preliminary SWR analysis of the antenna on the bands to arrive at the final antenna length for your situation, i.e., height above ground, soil conductivity conditions, trees, etc. Once you begin analyzing the antenna, you may find that you need to shorten the wire length to bring your SWR within your rig’s antenna parameters for most of portion of the band you plan to operate in. A look at the ARRL band plan for specific modes of operation, within your license class, will help you rough out the required wire length. Before you cut the wire, fold it back onto itself thru the insulator and continue testing until you have reached a suitable SWR reading describe above.
Once you have achieved the desired SWR readings, it is usually desirable to solder the wire near the insulator or otherwise permanently anchor to resist coming apart in high winds, etc. You may find that, by using readily available paracord type material to tie off the insulator, your antenna flexes sufficiently to avoid needing any other form of strain relief.

Components required are: 150 feet of 18-10 AWG stranded wire, 4:1 balun (constructed per the article, or other sources, or purchased), two ceramic or plastic insulators and 100 feet of suitable paracord type rope material, and 50 or more feet of your preferred coax (with PL-259s on each end) to feed the transmitter. The wire and paracord can usually be found at your favorite home improvement store, wood can also be used for the insulators, so you may only need to purchase the balun from other than local sources.

I have one of these antennas on my property and I also have an Eagle One vertical that covers the same frequency ranges. In my opinion, depending upon your specific environmental conditions, you will find them very similar in ‘noise’ level and performance. I have also compared these two against a Wolf River Coil vertical with similar results.

Obviously, sometimes a vertical is better than a horizontal and vice versa. Last year at Field Day was a perfect example; we swapped back and forth depending upon responding to stations that heard our calls and whether or not we were too close/far for one type of antenna to provide the best signal back to them.

This is a hobby and experimentation has always been a key element of enjoying one’s amateur radio privileges. So, just like any other hobby, doing something for yourself is very gratifying rather than purchasing everything ready-made. Have fun, save yourself some money, and use the knowledge you acquired along your path to amateur licensing to enjoy whatever facet of ham radio that ‘lights your fire.’

FCVET First Trifecta and how he did it!

Amateur Radio, Contributed Article, Member Submitted, Testing

Duane Cutlip (KY4EC)

I learned a new word Saturday. I had heard it before but really didn’t know what it meant. The word is Trifectaa bettor wins by selecting the first three finishers of a race in the correct order of finish. In ham radio it is where a person with out a amateur radio license passes their technician, general, and extra exam at the same test session. We had that happen at our session on February 6, 2021.Duane Cutlip (KY4EC) of Wendell, NC.

From Duane Cutlip (KY4EC)

I work in financial services and my oldest brother has been a ham operator for over 30 years (N8LPZ). I studied for almost a week every evening using mostly online (and mostly free) resources. I used Dan Romanchik’s No Nonsense Technician Class License Study Guide. I found HamStudy helpful because they offered explanations of why the right answer was correct. I also went through the Roanoke Valley Amateur Radio Club slides and material, which helped flesh out detail and provide more context. I ended up doing all my practice exams at eHam.net There are probably a lot of options there, but I like the review options of just wrong answers or the whole test, which helped on unsure answers.I tried to take the tests in sets of 3 to gauge my progress since the questions appear randomly and there are so many questions in the pool. When I felt I had a good grasp of each test, I started taking the 3 tests back-to-back (Technician, General, Extra) to make sure that I could handle the entire pool of questions and to make sure I could complete them all in an allotted time. As I reached a point of comfort, I dumped all my study material into a (very long) Word document. Then, I would delete sections I felt I had mastered so after each subsequent edit, I was having to peruse less and less material, focusing in on the trouble spots. Not having a background in electronics or radios left me with some sections that I just had difficulty comprehending and they eventually came down to a memory exercise that I hope I’ll understand more about when I get my hands dirty. Of course, since you can’t use a radio until you’re licensed, a lot of the information to do with bands, power constraints, and FCC rules just come down to memorization anyway. In the end, I was pretty lucky, so now the real learning begins!

Duane Cutlip (KY4EC)

Thanks to Martin Brossman III (KI4CFS) for the video and Duane Cutlip (KY4EC) for granting the interview.

Network Etiquette

Amateur Radio, Contributed Article, Member Submitted, Net

By: Richard Hall (K7RLH)

For Amateur Radio Operators and Net Controllers (NC), there are some protocols that should be followed to ensure proper and efficient use of the repeater system and allow all who desire to check-in to do so.

Net controllers often open the scheduled net with announcements, such as type of net (formal or informal, etc.) and a request for any Emergency or Priority traffic.
Following the opening comments, the Net Controller may then describe how check-ins will be accomplished, e.g., by call sign prefix. The NC will then call for check-ins and, after a suitable period, he/she should then acknowledge those received and ask for any additions or corrections to call signs. If the check-ins are taken in segments, e.g., prefixes A to J, then NC should follow the above recommendation and acknowledge those received in each segment. Once this has been accomplished the NC may then call upon each sign-in for comments. Those who checked in as ‘In/Out’ should be acknowledged but not called upon further as it is assumed they had nothing to comment upon.
Amateur Radio Operators choosing to check in should address NC with his/her call sign followed immediately by the operator’s call sign. There is no need to ‘unkey’ between calling the NC and identifying yourself. If you were calling CQ on simplex or a repeater you would typically not unkey when trying to reach another station. Too many times when this occurs, there not only is wasted time, there is the opportunity for doubling. However, one caveat-on DMR it’s best to actually wait 10-15 seconds before responding because you are using the Internet for your transmission.
Sometimes an operator may wish to ask a question or add something to another operator’s dialogue; to do so, simply say ‘Comment’ and NC should acknowledge that operator for follow-up remarks.
When it’s time to close the net, the NC will thank the repeater operator for use of the system and ask for a ‘final’ round of check-ins. By doing so, this allows operators who didn’t happen to be on the air during the formal check-in period to have their say and be recognized as a participant in the net.
Most importantly, both NCs and operators should be courteous and respectful; remember, there is no profanity allowed as well as no political or religious discussions. Every properly licensed individual has a right to participate in net discussions, and, by following these guidelines, nets should run efficiently.
Some of these suggestions work well when contacting hams on HF as well. If you find a frequency where folks are talking, be courteous and wait for a break in the conversation before throwing out your call sign. This is true particularly if you can hear both sides of the conversation, otherwise you may have to anticipate when a break has occurred.
Have a good time and enjoy your radio license privileges.

Applying for a vanity call sign

Member Submitted, Vanity

By: Larkin Folsom (NC4AU)

KO4GBL, KO4IBM, NC4AU, W8NTV

Many of us have considered the possibility of selecting a vanity callsign. This article is intended to discuss the callsign selection process from two different perspectives. We hope this will assist hams who are considering a vanity callsign. With potential FCC application fees looming on the horizon, now would be a great time to apply for one.

Part 1

I would like to begin this article by mentioning that you do not need to pay a third party to apply for a vanity callsign. You may be tempted to do this as some websites offer this as a service for a rather hefty fee. I nearly made this mistake myself, but after additional research I realized that you can apply for it directlyusing the FCC website.

I first earned my Technician and General class licenses in July2020 using remote testing. Then I took my Extra exam in August 2020. This is where I met Mark (N4MQU). I specifically waited to apply for a vanity callsign until I had upgraded to Extra because it meant I could have access to the full range of callsign configurations. Additionally, I was concerned about having a vanity callsign application still pending when I took my Extra exam. Since the shortest callsigns are difficult to come by, I decided I would pick a 2×2 once I upgraded.

Now that I knew I was going to request a 2×2 vanity callsign, I started thinking of various themes. This was a process of thinking about my interests and coming up with various combinations of letters to represent those interests. After I compiled a list of legal candidate callsigns, I began to search through the FCC database to determine which ones were available.

During my selection process I also considered how difficult the callsign might be to understand if my signal was weak. So, I tried to avoid letters which are more likely to be confused with other letters. I learned from my systematically assigned callsign (KO4FJI) that “f” is often confused with “s”, and I was surprised to find that “j” was often confused with “g”.

I settled on the NC prefix for obvious reasons. Because I like both astronomy and gold, I ultimately decided that my suffix should be AU. In astronomy, AU refers to an Astronomical Unit, which is the distance between the Earth and the Sun. In chemistry, the symbol Au from the Periodic Table, which is derived from the Latin word “Aurum”, refers to gold. This callsign was not used according to the database, so I applied for it. In addition to this callsign, I added several other candidate callsigns to the list that I submitted to the FCC in case someone else took the callsign while my application was still being processed.

After about 20 days, I received a notification that I had been assigned my new callsign, NC4AU. I am very happy with it and I am glad that I put careful thought into selecting it. The next portion of this article is written by W8NTV. She will cover another route to consider when selecting a vanity callsign, which is the concept of multi-generational callsign heritage.

Larkin Folsom (NC4AU)

Applying for a vanity call part 2

Applying for a vanity call sign part 2

Member Submitted, Vanity

By:Sarah (Sally) Folsom (W8NTV)

Part 2

NC4AU, KO4IBM, W8NTV

Applying for a vanity call part 1

My son, Larkin (NC4AU), mentioned to me earlier this summer that he planned to earn his ham radio license and suggested that I should consider doing the same. I took my Technician exam in August, the same day that my son passed his Extra exam.

The thought of pursuing ham radio reminded me of my uncle, Lynn Faulkner, who was an avid ham. As a young child in the 50s and 60s I remember seeing my uncle sitting in a small room off of his living room. The entire room was filled with metal boxes with knobs and displays on them. They looked very important to me as I would watch him sitting in front of them speaking into a microphone. He spent a lot of his time in that room, early in the morning before going to work as the principal at the local high school and in the evening after he returned. He told me that he was talking to people all over the country which was an impressive feat to me.

His house was located at the highest point in the town on a mountain in West Virginia. Much of his front yard was consumed by a very large tower that his neighbors may not have appreciated! Now I realize that he may have chosen that spot to have the best signal.

Since he was a principal and my aunt was a teacher, they did not work in the summer. Each summer they would pack up the travel trailer and take extended cross-country trips. Every trailer they owned always had a dedicated space for his ham equipment. After they retired and began to spend winters in Florida living in a small travel trailer, he still utilized a lot of space just for his ham equipment.

Larkin spent time researching Uncle Lynn’s history and found that he first got on the air in 1916. During his service in the U.S. Navy, he was a radar and electronics officer. He also completed West Virginia University with a degree in electronics engineering. His passion for ham radio never waned, but no other family members ever became interested in it. When I was studying for my Technician license, I read about vanity signs, but did not think much about it. Larkin talked about obtaining a license based on family heritage and I knew that was something I wanted to do to honor my uncle. Unfortunately, he passed while I was pregnant with Larkin and so they never go to know each other, but I know he would be pleased that his family is continuing the tradition.

His call sign was located in the Radio Amateur Call Book and subsequently verified in the database as available. Based on his callsign I needed to obtain my General license which I did in October on the same day that my grandson, Skye, passed his Technician license exam. The application to change my callsign to W8NTV was submitted to the FCC website and about three weeks later I received notification that I had been assigned the new callsign.

Did I mention that my uncle’s house was at the intersection of two roads which formed a triangle? The back of his house faced the apex of the triangle and the front faced his neighbor’s house on the right side of his lot. This is where he placed the huge metal tower. On the left side of his lot, he faced the Dairy Queen which was right next door. That was the other great reason for visiting him!

Sarah (Sally) Folsom (W8NTV)

Simultaneously allow two Pi-Star DMR networks

Amateur Radio, DMR, Member Submitted

By: Vladislav Papayan KO4GOB

Thanks go to Vladislav Papayan KO4GOB providing us with this presentation on how to set up two DMR networks on the same hotspot. The amateur radio community is fortunate to have two DMR platforms for the PI-Star platform. How do you set it up Vladislav KO4GOB put this presentation together for us.
PiStar-DMRGateway-MultiNetwork

PIStar DMR MultiNetwork

Continue reading →

My Aux Comm Experience

Amateur Radio, Member Submitted

By Richard Hall K7RLH

Mark Gibson, N4MQU, challenged members of FCHRE to expand our horizons and consider becoming an Aux Comm member, so, I accepted the challenge. Using my stay-at-home time wisely, I set out to complete the required courses listed on the FCHRE web site for Aux Comm.There is a daunting amount of material to learn and absorb, but, just like anything else, it will require putting things into practice to really make it stick! I was able to complete the four mandatory courses over five days and print my certificates. The next step was to register with NC Aux Comm Society and I must admit that I was puzzled at first.I reached out to Mark about the inability to register without a login password and he redirected my request to Scott Lewis, AB4SL. I received an email from Scott asking you for copies of my completion certificates and he advised that I would receive an invitation to enter the NC Aux Comm database information within a few days. I subsequently received the invitation with a login password and have filled out the database required info. So, having said all that, it really wasn’t all that difficult and I’m now in the database.

Ham Radio License Remote Testing From the Perspective of a Testing Candidate and a VE

Amateur Radio, Contributed Article, Extra Class, General, Member Submitted, Remote Testing

KF4EAG

BY:William Joshua Tate (KF4EAG)

My name is William Joshua Tate (KF4EAG) and I have been a Ham Radio Operator since 1995, when I was first licensed as a Technician. At that time, your only option was to take your examine person. I remained a Technician for many years until this year (2020) when I decided to go for my upgrade to General and then my Extra. There was only one problem, COVID 19. This was particularly a problem for me since I was considered high-risk because of my Asthma. I had studied for almost 6 weeks at this point and was ready. However, I could not take the risk of doing a “in-person” exam. After researching alternatives on the ARRL site and HamStudy.org, I found groups that were starting to conduct “online” testing. I thought about it a while and decided to go ahead and register for a spot to take my General Exam “online”. The registration process to take my General exam was easy to follow through HamStudy.org, allowing me to pay for my exam fee via PayPal. It appeared that the fee depended on the group offering the testing session and ranged from $10.00 to $15.00. My General exam session I choose was on a Saturday, although there were many other days and times available. The day of my exam I was extremely nervous. I was especially nervous about taking an online exam through a process that I had never been exposed to. On the day of my exam I was sent a zoom invitation by the team lead or organizer. In had no problems signing onto the zoom session. Upon entrance, I was greeted by achost and waited a few minutes while the other VEs who were overseeing my testing session got ready for me. Once the other VEs joined in, they started through some verification procedures to identify that I was who I said I was by showing a photo ID (My Drivers License). They also asked me to present a secondary photo ID and verified with me that I was taking my General Exam. The next thing that I was asked to do was to take my camera and show them my testing area / room. I had to show the ceiling, walls, my desk area, and under my desk. I also could not have a headset on and any papers that were lying around had to be removed from the room. The door to the room was shut to ensure I would not be interrupted or that someone could provide information during the exam. The VEs asked me to share my desktop and made sure all applications were closed apart from my chrome browser and a basic calculator app. Once all the VEs were satisfied they gave me some final instructions about keeping my eyes forward on the test materials. After receiving a final word of encouragement, I was permitted to start the exam. While taking the exam the VEs placed themselves on mute and stopped their video. This prevented the VEs from distracting me and helped to ensure test integrity so that if a VE reacted to a question I answered I could not see their reaction. While I was taking the exam the 3 VEs could see my desktop and my face. They would watch my eyes and my body movements to ensure that I was not looking somewhere else that would indicate cheating. They could also hear me and any other audio sources in the room. I was instructed to make sure no one walked in the room to interrupt the exam. As far as taking the exam itself, it was a really good experience. The online test itself utilized hamstudy.org and followed a similar format as to what I had used while taking my practice exams during my studying. It took me about 30 minutes or so to finish the exam and look over my answers. The VEs unmuted their mics and re-started their video. They ask me if I was ready to have my exam graded, which of course I said “Yes, Let’s do it!” I was instructed to click “grade exam” and instantly got my results; I passed and only missed one or two questions! They congratulated me, encouraged me to study and go for my extra exam. Since the experience was so positive, I decided to study for my extra license before the extra question pool changed in July. I continued studying for an additional three weeks and then registered on HamStudy.org to take my extra exam with the GLAAR group. My experience sitting for my extra exam was very similar to my General with some differences. The controls put in place to ensure exam integrity were the same. However, this group had designed their process to allow for simultaneous testing of multiple participants with the use of rooms. They had 6-8 exam rooms and one room that was a welcome room. When you first entered you were placed in a welcome room. The lead in the welcome room asked you to confirm the exam you were taking and verified your identity with your photo ID. I had brief wait in the welcome room with other candidates till an exam room became available. Each exam room had 3 VEs and 1 room lead. The welcome room was a great idea in allowing me to chat with other participants, which helped to relax me as a candidate. Before I knew it, my time had arrived, and I was placed in an exam room with the room lead and 3 VEs. They welcomed me, sharing a little bit about themselves and where they were located. I once again was asked to present my photo ID and verify all my information. The VEs asked me to show them my room, walls, ceiling, desk, and under my desk. They also asked me to remove any loose papers on my desk or near me to ensure my testing area was clear. I was asked to remove my headset like before to prevent getting answers from a outside source. As before, I was asked to share my desktop, closing all programs with exception of my chrome browser and basic calculator. Once all the VEs and room lead was satisfied they brought up the exam and said I could begin. As before, the VEs placed themselves on mute and stopped their video. This prevented the VEs from distracting me and helped to ensure test integrity so that if a VE reacted to a question I answered I could not see their reaction. The VEs monitored my eyes, body language, and my screen/desktop like before. When I was ready the VEs unmuted and re-started their video. After making sure I had answered all the questions, I was asked if I was ready to have my exam graded. With a nervous “Yes”, I was instructed to click the “Grade Exam” button and instantly I received my results. Once again, I was successful!! I passed!! The VEs congratulated me and I received final instructions. I signed some documents and the VEs electronically signed the documents. Since then, I have become a VE for Laurel Amateur Radio Club and GLAAR. I have had the amazing opportunity to serve as a VE for a remote session with GLAAR and scheduled to help with another remote testing session this Saturday (7/18). Now having had the opportunity to participate as a student taking a remote exam and as a VE administering an exam, I have great confidence in the assurance of exam integrity while administering remote examinations. Both experiences have been extremely rewarding! Remote testing provides many potential ham radio operators an opportunity they would not otherwise have. As we seek to grow our community of ham radio operators in a very challenging time, remote testing can provide that opportunity in a way that can ensure exam integrity and encourage those people who really want to get involved in such a great hobby, but cannot sure to health reasons. As a high risk person myself, facing disappointment in not being able to finish what I had studied so hard for; remote testing provided a critical solution and in the end got me even more involved in service through Ham Radio!