Since 1984, Volunteer Examiners (VEs) who are US licensed Radio Amateurs holding a General Class license or higher, have offered their time to administer the FCC licensing exams through an FCC authorized Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) organization. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) VEC is the largest VEC organization in the US. These volunteer examiners (VEs) have been an essential part of ham radio for over 30 years. The ARROW Communication Association (ARROW) has a team of accredited VEs that has been regularly running amateur radio licensing exam sessions. Becoming an ARROW/ARRL Volunteer Examiner (VE) is simple and free:

  • You are 18 years of age or older; and
  • Never have had your amateur station or operator licenses suspended or revoked; and
  • You hold a valid General, Advanced or Extra Class license (Note: refer to below)

To become a VE you will need to:

Full details on becoming an ARRL VE are available on the Become an ARRL VE page
https://www.arrl.org/become-an-arrl-ve

Once accredited as a VE, you will receive a laminated badge to be worn at ARROW VE testing sessions. Engraved VE name tags are available from Ham Badgers.com (The Ham Badgers) or The Signman.com (https://thesignman.com).

ARROW VE Sessions

  • License testing sessions are held each month on the second Saturday of the month.
  • Currently, these testing sessions are held at 9AM at the Fellowship Bible Church, 2775 Bedford Rd., Ann Arbor MI
  • Testing sessions are usually finished by noon or earlier.
  • Your role as a VE includes:
    • Verifying test taker’s identification, FORM 605 Application, FRN Number or license
    • Proctor the testing
    • Grade the tests
    • Review and sign Form 605, CSCE, VE Test Session Report and the candidate roster for accuracy for the testing session.
  • The week before a testing session, the ARROW VE Team Leader will post information on Groups-IO about the upcoming VE Session and request volunteers. There is no obligation to assist with a testing session. We understand that everyone’s schedule is different. If you are not available when asked for a specific testing date, we will simply keep you on the list for next time.
  • ARROW VE sessions are open to the public.
  • The ARROW also assists with a Technician licensing testing session given to students at the University of Michigan. This testing session is given on a weekend afternoon in the fall (usually in October). Details for these sessions are posted in Groups-IO prior to the testing.

Special Note About License Class

Depending on your license class, you will be able to administer certain license exams:

  • General class licensees: Technician exams only
  • Advanced class licensees: Technician and General exams only
  • Extra class licensees: Technician, General, and Extra exams

Each testing session requires, at a minimum, three volunteer examiners. ARROW VE sessions are open to the public and Extra Class exams are offered requiring three Extra Class VEs for all our Saturday tests.

General and Advanced class amateurs are still encouraged to consider becoming a VE. Assistance is welcomed and encouraged for the Technician testing session at the University of Michigan in the fall and at Saturday testing sessions. When you do, you can still be one of the examiners of record for the Technician level exams given.

 

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