Third Thursday May 2023 Report

BRTC, PTVET, Testing

Thanks to the Laurel VEC and the FCVET of N4MQU, K3UI and K4EUP and to our host K4PKD and W2CK we had a successful amateur radio exam session. Although we had no applicants everyone got what they came for and the paperwork submitted was perfect. And now another look at behind the scenes of a VE Team. When we arrived the team discovered trees in the front and back yard were down. This apparently was due to a storm in the area sometime Tuesday night. We really appreciate Paulette and Stan hosting us on the third Thursday. Fortunately there appeared to be no damage to the facility. By the way there is paperwork still do be done even if we have no applicants. Be sure to thank a VE next time you meet one. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes.

For more articles on history of Banks Road testing click here.

Banks Road Testing Results April

BRTC, Testing, Uncategorized

Banks Road April Activity

Five County Ham Radio Enthusiast didn’t start as a VE team. A couple of us wanted somewhere in Wendell area to go to to talk ham radio without going to Raleigh or Benson. Then one day I saw that the Hamvention didn’t charge for exams and I started asking questions. I found out that the VECs are able to establish the rates they charge and Laurel VEC made a decision not to charge a fee and that each team took care of their own expenses. I found out they didn’t have any teams in North Carolina so I started one. Our first testing session was in Wendell at my friend KJ4MDY’s Peter Eggimann place of business Electronic Products Design. We had a tech in a day class with 9 students. 5 of them passed. Our regional coordinator for Laurel came down to help as it was my first time leading an exam session. It would have been a disaster without the support of him and the other VEs from other VECs. Anyway I felt a need to give a brief history of the organization as we approach 400 subscribers.

Thanks to the Laurel VEC and the FCVET of K3UI, KO4W, K4WCA, W2CK and N4MQU everyone once again got what they came for.

N9QEQ Upgrade to Extra

KQ4IBO Sorin D Lazareanu of Apex new tech

KQ4HZW Frank Slifer Of Knightdale new tech

KQ4HZV Sudhakar Nagarajan new tech

K3UI renewed his license!

N9QEQ Upgrade to Extra

KQ4IBO New tech

KQ4HZW New tech

FCVET Wendell February Results

Amateur Radio, Testing

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

FCVET Banks Road Third Thursday for February

Amateur Radio, BRTC, Testing

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:

Randall Ricker (KQ4GGU)
Ashley Young (KQ4GGS)
Emmaus Smith (KQ4GGZ)

W2CK, N4MQU, K4WCA, K3UI, K4EUP

Instructions

KQ4GGS New Technician

KQ4GGZ New General

KG4QQL New Technician

Area Laurel VEC Teams Were Busy Saturday

Amateur Radio, Testing

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

My Journey to Find the Ham by KQ4ERC

Member Subm, Testing

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.

Amateur Radio Worksop Recap

Amateur Radio, Testing, Workshop

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.

FCVET November Activity

Amateur Radio, Testing

Five County HRE November Report

Tycho Lycos NC State Rocketry Club Exam Session

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.

Banks Road Third Thursday Results November

Congratulations to the new amateurs and thanks to the FCVET of K4WCA, W2CK and K3UI for another 100% got what the came for testing session at Banks Road. Thanks to Laurel VEC for offering no charge amateur radio exams and thanks to Supreme T-shirts and Apparel for hosting.

The new amateurs are

Jacob Brown Stephens KQ4EPO of Cary

Gerald Sullivan KQ4ENQ of Cary

Lee Irvin KQ4ESK of Cary

Joseph Zambon KQ4EOG of Raleigh

Be sure to welcome them as you hear them on the radio.

JARSFEST 2022 Laurel VEC Activity

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.

FCVET November Stats

Totals for November:

Applicants: 18

Technician (passed): 11

General (passed): 2

Extra (passed): 4

Failed all exams : 1

Total Applicants: 18

Total elements taken (all three sessions): 29

Laurel VEC activity in November for North Carolina

According to the FCC 29 applications were granted in North Carolina processed thru Laurel VEC.

Exam Results for Third Thursday 2022

Amateur Radio, BRTC, Testing

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.

David Brown KO4YRT of Durham
Frank Rinaldo KO4YRU of Raleigh
Paul Jameson KO4YRV of Greenville
Haoze Du KO4YRW of Raleigh
Elena Jakubikova KO4YRX of Raleigh
Daniel Brown KO4YRY of Durham
Allan Meadows KO4YRZ of Holly Springs

Be sure to answer their call as they get on the radio.

FCVET March 2022 Testing Session Report

Test, Testing

Thanks to the FCVET Volunteer Examiners consisting of KK4QEF, K4EUP, K3UI, KX4ZQ, N4MQU, KO4TWA, and AI8U we had a successful exam session Saturday March 5, 2022. It was the first session for K3UI.
Thanks to the Wendell United Methodist Church for allowing us to use the facility for the testing. Thanks to the Laurel VEC for allowing us to offer no charge amateur radio exams.