Serving Radio Amateurs in Michigan's Washtenaw & Wayne Counties

Tag: VE

VE Team Goes Electronic

One of the great things about our club is the VE team. We religiously (pun intended) hold test sessions every second Saturday of the month at the Fellowship Bible Church here in Ann Arbor. There are 26 members of our VE team, and this team is one of the reasons our club has been so successful.

An amateur radio license exam session.

At the January 11 test session our VE team used ExamTools for the first time. Photo: Steve, AC8YA.

At the January 11, 2025 test session, our VE team went electronic, this being the first test session they used ExamTools. ExamTools is a web-based software package that allows for administering and grading exams via computer or paper, and digital signing of all forms including NCVEC Form 605 and all Certificates of Successful Completion. It can also be used to generate randomized exams for Amateur Radio Element 2 (Technician), Element 3 (General), and Element 4 (Amateur Extra).

ExamTools streamlines the administration of amateur radio exams for both in-person and remote exam sessions. Candidates take tests in a web browser on a computer or tablet, after which VEs grade the test on a computer, generate an electronic Certificate of Successful Completion of Exam (CSCE), and electronically submit the test results to their Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC), which in our case is the ARRL.

The January 11, 2025 test session was very successful. There were four candidates, and they all passed the Tech test. One attempted the General exam, but unfortunately, failed. There were 10 VEs administering the test, including:

  • Dinesh, AB3DC
  • Steve AC8YA
  • James, AE8JF
  • Mark, W8FSA
  • Jeff, AA8HF
  • Ralph, AA8RK
  • Calvin, KC8NYZ
  • Jeff, KN8A
  • Ron, N8TEN
  • Mark,W8MP

Jeff, AA8HF, commented, “I was impressed with how much quicker the whole process was. I’ve been a VE for just about a year, and the test sessions I’ve seen have taken an hour or more depending on how many candidates we had. In the past, they often spent more time waiting for us to grade each test and fill out and sign all the forms than they spent taking the actual test. Using Exam Tools, our session took a little more than a half hour, and the candidates got their results instantly. The ‘paperwork’ only took a few minutes for each test.”

With ExamTools, it looks like our VE team will be able to make more new hams even faster.

ARROW is testing again

ARROW re-started in-person VE testing several months ago after pausing for COVID. We test every second Saturday of the month at Fellowship Bible Church, 2775 Bedford Road, near the intersection of Washtenaw and Stadium Blvd., in Ann Arbor.  This morning, 5 VEs tested 6 candidates. Also  in attendance was one observer and Pastor Matt Postiff, aka W8MAP.

When we got to the church this morning, Pastor Matt had already hung signs directing people to the assigned room. It seems that his job description exceeds the normal range of pastoral care. Thanks, Matt!

The good thing is that all of the candidates were successful and left with either a new license or an upgrade. One of the applicants was a young lad of 10 or 11, whose mother brought him to the test session. He passed the Tech test handily, and seemed to be very happy about this result. In fact, all of the applicants were pleased to have passed. The VEs were happy about this as well, since it is always a bummer to tell somebody they failed.

One of the applicants was ARROW member Steve Bemis, W8AYN, who got 50 correct answers on his Extra element. As he was leaving, I told him that if he had studied harder, he would have done better!

If you have been wanting to get your ham license or upgrade to General or Extra Class, our next exam session will be at 9AM EST on Saturday morning, January 8, 2022 in the Youth Room at the Fellowship Bible Church.  Walk-ins are allowed, but we would prefer pre-registration by e-mailing Mark, W8FSA, at mrkgoodwin@comcast.net, or yours truly, Ralph, AA8RK at aa8rk@arrl.net.

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén