Norm Goodkin K6YXH visits with David W0DHG and talks about getting up and running to do remote testing for Amateur Radio Licenses. Norm mentioned that there were a lot of other players involved, but this is a good review of what they went through to get up and running. We discuss security concerns and how it works. This is a great service, provided by volunteers to keep our hobby and value to the community growing.
Hi fellow Hams. This is my first post and I don't yet have a callsign but I wanted to comment on this video. I just took the test this morning, administered by Norm and his group. It is pretty amazing the amount of effort these folks have put into the realization of successful remote testing. I passed both the Technician and General tests back to back with 6 different VE's observing. I believe they are administering approximately 40 tests per day, 20 applicants for each session, morning and afternoon. Thank you Norm, Naomi and your entire team for all the time and effort you are donating and allowing new Hams like myself to get into and participate in the hobby.
The FCC hasn't expressly prohibited remote testing for the past couple decades. Problem is that of the 14 or so VEC's, only one, Alaska VEC has done it ... and even they required a physical proctor to be present. Now I'm sure more of the VEC's will start to allow it, although the chairman of the Laurel VEC has expressly said "No means No. Does No mean ever? At this point in time, the answer is Yes. Let’s move on."
Kind of arrogant, don't you think? That'll help people want to upgrade. I'll surely never test under the Laurel VEC.
Innovate or die. Laurel had a good thing going with the free ham exams. Too bad the Laurel VEC chairman is a fusty, hidebound, stand-pat, traditionalist. This is a technical hobby. If we don't allow for innovation, the hobby dies. Time for said chairman to step aside. He is obviously not up to the leadership task and time the FCC rescind the Laurel VE rights and award them to a different organization.
Under the excellent supervision of W5YI VEC Allan Batteiger, WB5QNG, we've successfully tested over 70 new and upgrading hams by remote since April 24. 73 Mike W5MDB
I don't think the hobby would have died in the month or two that the stay at home orders will be in place.Unless your sayin we're never leaving our homes again.We lose alot of new hams after they pass the ham cram exam and never follow up with them .Many leave having a callsign and not knowing what to do next. But at least showing up for the exam , they would be talking to fellow hams. I delivered radiograms to a few local hams . They didnt know what a radiogram was. They didnt know what DXing was or how to set up a station in their house. But at least they knew the name of the local club that gave the exam. Now your saying someone can study at home AND take the exam at home ?I think its great for the physically challenged or the Alaska situation but I dont think the hobby needs to sever what little human to human contact we still have.
Why not? It's why we have FT8, contesting, "short time no comment" texting, etc...society is pulling away from human to human contact even before the Wuhan clap got a hold of us. Absolutely nothing stopping someone from testing online and having Youtube as an elmer (what a goofy damn name) and not having to see a single human in the process. It's a great time to be a hermit. The local clubs have discouraged enough new amateur radio operators with their arrogant cliqueish behavior that it would serve some of them right to fold up but I digress.
This whole nonsense is an embarrassment to any ham worth their salt. You can earn fully certified academic degrees entirely online yet people are still nattering on about the pros and cons of online license testing. For a hobby that should, by most measures, be all into this amateur radio sure has dropped the ball.
I'll add my 2 worthless cents. Online only testing, in an uncontrolled environment, with no physical proctor, cheapens the exam process and by extension the license itself.
Here is more proof the FCC could care less about the Amateur Service. Up until the late 70's FCC rules required a person to set under their vetted staff to pull a license except Novice and Conditional tickets. As court rulings continued to limit the ability to impose licensing fees to recover costs of examinations and license management, the Commission's interest turned to mitigating the amateur service's financial drain on their ever dwindling funds. As far as the FCC is concerned it would just as soon totally deregulate Part 97 like 27 MHz. This just cuts one more wire before the FCC implements Licensing by Rule as has been done for Part 95 27 MHz users.
Depends on the company providing the testing services or the costs associated with maintaining your own website/hosting/etc.
This exactly. Very well stated. As a university professor I’m embarrassed that not only entrance exams but every class taught at universities now and every teacher across America at every grade level has figured out how to administer an exam online — yet ham radio can’t (or worse...won’t) figure this out. It’s a give-away exam as it stands. The answers are pre published. The code was eliminated. The license classes collapsed from 5 to 3. Any assurance of academic integrity by having a live VE session of 3 local good old boys is a complete figment of imagination now and a relic of the last century.
