Hi,
FYI, here is the VEC Newsletter that Maria
sent out last week. If you would like to be on the VE mailing list let her know
and she will add your name.
73,
Harold
Subject:
[ve-list:234] ARRL VE update for Spring - April 2006
As the number of VEs who have signed up to receive the VE
Express Newsletter has 'grown', I thought now would be a good time to 'Spring'
some information on you.
National Volunteer Week is April 23-29, 2006. This week is
about thanking one of
I want to take the opportunity to personally thank our
volunteers, for their dedication and service to the amateur radio community.
We recognize and appreciate all that you, our Volunteer Examiners, do to help
our community grow. We thank you for your support!
If you are planning to attend the Dayton Hamvention this
year, I will be operating the ARRL VEC booth. Stop by and say hello!
73,
Maria A. Somma, AB1FM
Manager
ARRL VEC
vec@arrl.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In This Issue:
ARRL VEC Announces Vanity Call Sign License Renewal Program
Article of interest in March QST on IRAQ VE Team
Priority Mail Envelope with Our Return Label Being Refused
at the Post Office
ARRL VEC National Exam Day Weekends
New Question Pool Schedule
New Technician Class Element 2 Exams
ExamWin Software Updates
Overlay Grading Templates
Session Tidbits
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ARRL VEC just recently announced that we can now process
vanity license renewals.
Software changes have been implemented so that the VEC can
begin renewing Amateur Radio station licenses that have been
assigned vanity call signs. We will process vanity license RENEWALS
electronically to the FCC for a modest fee (see "ARRL Processing Fee
Schedule" below). Requests for new vanity call sign are still handled directly
with FCC by the individual.
ARRL VEC implemented this service now, because the first of
those licenses are due to expire as soon as June. The service is available to
ARRL members and nonmembers, although League members will pay less. Routine, non-vanity
renewals continue to be free for ARRL members. In addition, trustees of club
stations with vanity call signs may renew either via the Universal Licensing
System (ULS) (http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls, Online
Filing) or through a Club Station Call Sign Administrator, such as
ARRL VEC.
As the FCC has already noted, licensees who want to keep
their vanity call signs must pay the regulatory fee, currently $21.90 for the
10-year license term, when renewing their licenses. Licensees who don't want
to pay the mandatory regulatory fee to retain a vanity call sign may request a
sequentially issued call sign at the time of renewal. There is no
fee to renew an amateur service station license when the licensee requests that
the call sign be changed to a sequentially assigned call sign.
Renewal applications must be filed no earlier than 90 days
before the license expiration date. All radio amateurs must have an FCC
Federal Registration Number (FRN) before filing any application with the
Commission. Applicants can obtain an FRN by going to the ULS web page and
clicking on the "New Users Register" link. You must supply your
Social Security Number to obtain an FRN.
Those holding vanity call signs issued prior to 1996 are
exempt from the vanity call sign regulatory fee. That's because Congress did
not authorize the FCC to collect regulatory fees until 1993. Such heritage
vanity call sign holders do not appear as vanity licensees in the ULS http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls Amateur
Radio database.
To renew licenses using ULS, licensees should log into ULS
License Manager (http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls, Online
Filing) using their FCC Registration Number (FRN) and CORES password.
Licensees that wish to keep their vanity call signs should select
"Renew" under the "Work on this License" option. Fees for
electronically filed applications may be paid online or may be mailed. For
mailing instructions visit the Fees website at http://www.fcc.gov/fees/appfees.html .
Interactive filers that choose not to renew their vanity call sign must select
the "Systematic Call Sign Change" option from the "Work on this
License" list. In order to obtain a new call sign, licensees should
answer "NO" to the
question "Your license is eligible for renewal. Renew call sign (vanity
call sign)?" This will
result in a new license, with a sequentially assigned call sign, being issued.
For additional information or assistance from the FCC on how
to renew a Vanity Call Sign, visit the Web at http://esupport.fcc.gov or call the
ULS Customer Support Hotline at 877-480-3201 (TTY 717-338-2824). Hours are
from 8 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except Federal
holidays). To provide quality service and ensure security, all telephone calls
are recorded.
ARRL's new license renewal/modification Web pages contain
complete information on license-filing procedures, including step-by-step
instructions on how to renew or update a license using the FCC's ULS site.
League members should visit the "ARRL Member Instructions
for License Renewals or Changes" http://www.arrl.org/fcc/memberlicenseinstructions.html page, while
the "Instructions for License Renewals or Changes" page http://www.arrl.org/fcc/licenseinstructions.html covers
general renewal procedures for nonmembers. There's additional information on
the ARRL VEC's "FCC License Renewals and ARRL License Expiration
Notices" page http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/renewals.html .
It is
important to note, these ARRL Processing Fees cannot be waived or reduced, and
VE Teams may NOT keep a portion of these non-session related processing fees.
For these renewals and changes sent along with the session - the $6 VE
reimbursement fee may not be retained.
----------------------------------
ARRL
Processing Fee Schedule
For ARRL Members:
Non-Vanity License
Renewal or Change -- No charge
Vanity License Change (address, name) -- No charge
Vanity License Renewal - $26.90 (includes the current $21.90
FCC regulatory fee
and a
$5 ARRL VEC processing fee)
For Nonmembers:
Non-Vanity License
Renewal or Change -- $14 ARRL VEC processing fee
Vanity License Change (address, name) -- $14 ARRL VEC
processing fee
Vanity License Renewal -- $35.90 (includes the current
$21.90 FCC regulatory fee
and a
$14 ARRL VEC processing fee)
For Club Stations:
Non-Vanity License
Renewal or Change -- No charge
Vanity License Change (address, name) -- No charge
Vanity License Renewal - current $21.90 FCC regulatory fee
ARRL cannot process requests for NEW vanity call sign. They
must be done directly with FCC.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The article is titled "VE Testing in
While he was in
After months of planning, the VEC had a major success with
the assembly of a VE Team in
We continue to encourage the setting up of a VE team in
If you have e-mail contact with a VE, or are a VE yourself -
serving in
You too could be a part of history !
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priority Mail Envelope with Our Return
Label Being Refused at the Post Office.
Please know that your use of our BRM (Business Reply Mail)
First-Class Mail Label with the Priority Mail envelope is very much valid when
returning your session materials back to the ARRL VEC. The problem lies with
the postal clerk's lack of knowledge regarding First-Class Mail and Priority
Mail. Priority Mail is
First-Class Mail according to the USPS postal regulations.
If you encounter a problem, ask politely to see the
Postmaster; and refer them to the BRM notice below. This comes from their own
website! If you have had a problem in the past, please go back to the Post
Office where you did your mailing and refer them to the BRM notice below.
If you have any further problems, contact the VEC, and
please supply us with the name of the person(s) with which you talked, and
their telephone number.
There is a chapter and verse permitting use of the BRM for
Priority Mail in the "Mailing Standards of the United States Postal
Service Domestic Mail Manual". You can also check the
"Quick service guides" Section 507a
on the USPS web site http://pe.usps.com/text/QSG300/Q507a.htm . A Printer-Friendly PDF version is available at http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/qsg300/q507a.pdf .
THE
FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS AN EXCERPT FROM USPS QUICK SERVICE GUIDE.
Pay
particular attention to the underlined text.
----------------------------------
Quick Service Guide 507a
Additional Services
Business Reply Mail (BRM)
January 2006
Overview
----------------------------------
For an annual permit fee, a Business Reply Mail (BRM) permit
is available for distributing business reply cards, envelopes, self-mailers,
cartons, and labels. BRM allows the permit
holder to receive First-Class Mail and Priority Mail back from customers by
paying postage only on the mail returned. The BRM permit holder
guarantees payment of First-Class Mail postage plus a per piece charge for
pieces returned by the USPS (see payment options below). When designing a BRM mail
piece or label, mailers must consult with their local post office. The piece
must conform to a specific format to qualify as BRM, including a unique ZIP+4
code assigned by the USPS. Proofs for regular BRM should be approved by the
USPS before printing. Proofs for Qualified Business Reply Mail (QBRM) must be
approved by the USPS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2006 ARRL VEC National Exam Day Weekends
ARRL sponsored national exam day weekends are held annually
on the last full weekends of April and September. Spring national exam day
weekend is April 29 -30, 2006. Fall national exam day weekend is September
23-24, 2006. We thank you for your support of these events.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Question Pool Schedule
Technician class (Element 2) Pool released January 23, 2006
and updated February 6, 2006,
will take effective July 1, 2006.
The current Technician Pool is valid until
midnight June 30, 2006.
General class (Element 3) will be released December 1, 2006
and will become effective July 1, 2007.
The current General Pool will now be valid until
June 30, 2007.
Extra class (Element 4) will be released December 1, 2007
and will become effective July 1, 2008.
The current Extra Pool will now be valid until
June 30, 2008.
Be sure to use only the February 6, 2006 version of the Technician
pool when preparing classroom materials or new examinations for the July 1st
release date. The newer version of the pool includes an errata sheet that
provides a quick reference to all changes in the new version. New Exams are
due to be mailed to Stocked VE Team Leaders about the 3rd week in June. For
additional information see "New Technician Class Element 2 Exams"
below.
The current Question Pools can be viewed or printed from the
ARRL Web at http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/pools.html .
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The new Technician class question pool will take effect for
all Element 2 Technician class license written exams on July 1, 2006. With the Technician class
exams changing July 1st, new test
designs must be used effective that day. ARRL VEC will be supplying all its
(near 1,000) Field Stocked VE teams with new test booklets about the 3rd week
in June. Current ARRL VEC supplied Technician class test booklets versions
(2-1-2003, 2-2-2003, 2-5-2003 and 2-6-2004) are valid until midnight June 30,
2006. At that time you may destroy the old versions of the Technician exams.
The ARRL VEC ExamWin Software will get updated too. If you
use our ExamWin Software package, an ExamWin software update will be available
on the web site about mid-June 2006.
If your team is using ExamWin software, please be sure that
you have the latest update. The current version, ExamWin - (vers. 1.25), was
released July 2004. It can be downloaded from the VEC web site at http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examwin/. If you
will need any NCVEC Form 605s, CSCEs, other exam summary forms or code supplies
to go with your current ExamWin (vers. 1.25), please contact us directly.
The blue plastic overlay
grading templates used to grade the exams at test sessions, should
never be thrown away or destroyed when new exam versions are introduced. We
specifically designed the plastic templates so that they will always be useful,
no matter what exams are created. They will never become obsolete.
The "Key for Templates" is what will be replaced
(paper instructions - explains how to line up the template and explains which
template corresponds which exam version for proper grading). The KEY will
simply be changed or updated to let you know how to match up the templates with
any new exams that are issued.
Simply put, the overlay grading templates will never go out
of style !
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SESSION TIDBITS
* Exam Session Registration and Supplies
Team liaisons should contact the ARRL VEC directly so that
we have the most up to date information posted in our computer and on the ARRL
VEC Exam Session Search page http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examsearch.phtml .
Under normal situations, the team should try to register 3
to 4 weeks in advance of the session. This way we can make certain the
materials requested reach the team in a timely and cost effective manner.
Field Stocked teams should be especially vigilant about
keeping us informed of who has possession of the exam supplies. Notify us immediately
when the teams Field Stock changes hands to ensure that any exam updates will
be mailed to and received by the proper person. Periodically check your
supplies to make sure they are current and that the quantities are sufficient.
We thank you for your ongoing exam session support !
* Test Results
Be sure to show on your Candidate Rosters the results of all
exams passed and failed, and show where credit was accepted. For failed tests,
you must return those along with any passed test documents back to the ARRL VEC
in your completed test session package. Each Candidate Roster entry will have
an accompanying $14 fee payment.
* Fees
ARRL VEC Test Fee for 2006 is $14.00. For necessary and prudent expenses incurred at
a session, a team can retain up to $6.00 per EXAM fee collected for
reimbursement.
For Renewals and Changes sent in with the session to be
processed by ARRL VEC - the $6 may not
be held back for these NON-EXAM related transactions.
==========================================================================
VE Express Newsletter is
published by the
American Radio Relay League, Inc.
The National Association For Amateur Radio
ARRL VEC
Email: vec@arrl.org
ARRL VEC telephone: 860-594-0300
ARRL VEC Fax: 860-594-0339
ARRL telephone: 860-594-0200
Joel Harrison, W5ZN - President
David Sumner, K1ZZ - Chief Executive Officer
Harold Kramer, WJ1B - Chief Operating Officer
Maria Somma, AB1FM - VEC Manager / Editor
*eof
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