[TMRA] ARRL/VEC info

[Steve kb9ups]

Subject:    	[SRRC] [ve-list:613] Information for Technician Class Licensees

The following information, provided by the ARRL VEC, offers Technicians (and
VEs) guidance on the new FCC Rules and can be distributed in the field.
Maria Somma, AB1FM
Manager ARRL VEC
==========================================================================
Technician Class Licensees

FCC modifies the Amateur Radio Service rules by eliminating the Morse code
exam requirements.
The effective date of the FCC's action will be 30 days after publication in
the Federal Register -- most likely in February.

In an historic move, the FCC has acted to drop the Morse code test
requirement for all Amateur Radio license classes. The Commission adopted
the long-awaited "Morse code" proceeding (WT Docket 05-235), and released it
December 19. The FCC's action will eliminate the Morse code test as a
licensing requirement to operate on HF.

Technicians Gain Operating Privileges

Once the changes are in effect, all Technician licensees -- whether or not
they have passed a Morse code examination -- will have "Tech Plus" operating
privileges. This means you will have all of your current VHF/UHF and above
frequencies and also will have access to the Novice/Technician Plus
frequencies on HF.

No Morse Code Test to Upgrade

Technicians can upgrade to General by passing the General (Element 3)
written exam and to Amateur Extra by also passing the Extra (Element 4)
written exam. No Morse code test will be required. Visit the ARRL VEC exam
search web page http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examsearch.phtml for test
session locations.

Navigating through the Upgrade Process

1. Technician Amateurs who wish to upgrade to General have a couple of
options.

a. We recommend that Technician licensees who have NOT yet passed the
General written exam (Element 3) wait until the new rules take effect to
upgrade. At a session, the candidate must present a photo ID and their
current license, pay the $14 test session fee and fill out the NCVEC form
605. If the Element 3 written exam is passed, the VE team will issue the
candidate a CSCE for the upgrade to a general class license.

b. Technician licensees who have already passed the General written exam
(Element 3) or wish to pass the General written exam before the rules take
effect, will then have to apply for the upgrade at a VE session once the new
rules are in place. At a session, the candidate must present a photo ID,
their current license and the non-expired CSCE document, pay the $14 test
session fee and fill out a NCVEC form 605. If the Element 3 written exam
credit is valid, the VE team will issue the candidate a CSCE for the upgrade
to a general class license. If the CSCE for Element 3 credit has expired (a
CSCE is only valid for 365 days), you will have to retake the examination
element in order to receive the credit toward your upgrade.

The upgrade should appear in the FCC database http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/
within a few hours and a new license copy will arrive in the mail in 7 to 10
days.

VEC Test Fee

As you can see, much of the same work is involved in both types of General
class upgrades, therefore the administrative costs are embedded in the
process.
The FCC has mandated that all paperwork only upgrades be done through a VEC
via their VE Teams. The processing and administration of FCC "projects"
such as this, actually places a greater demand on all the VECs. This is not
a special case involving only a few people; we expect to receive a flood of
upgrades to General. The paperwork only upgrade is not automatic for the
amateur and the forms may not be sent directly to the FCC or the VEC office
(again the upgrade must occur at a test session and follow FCC guidelines).
The VEC test session fee is regulated (per annual agreement) by the FCC.


A New Era

When the new rules are in place, we hope you explore your new band
allocations, enjoy your new privileges and have fun!

73,
Maria A. Somma, AB1FM
Manager, ARRL/VEC
msomma at arrl.org

==========================================================================



Steve/kb9ups
AMSAT area coordinator, Toledo, Oh.
AMSAT area coordinator, Streator, IL.
www.qsl.net/kb9ups

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