Jimmy,

JA>Yeah - but my HT won't do HF. :-) There are several active 'old timers'
JA>in the local club, and one of them already mentioned passing down
JA>some old equipment to me to help get me started. Another guy in a club
JA>down the road said, "don't go and pay a lot for a new antenna - I have
JA>several old pieces where I've upgraded - we'll work something out."

  First, HT's weren't designed for HF. Second, it's good to hear of 'old
timers' willing to help you get started, gear wise. I bought my first HT
from a ham in the area.

JA> DS> But, you can become a Volunteer Examiner (VE),

JA>Yeah, I wouldn't mind getting into that to help 'give back' to the
JA>hobby. The local club we joined has SEVERAL VE's already, and they
JA>are known for giving exams at local fests, so I don't think they
JA>"need" more right now, but they will eventually. :-)

  I would rather have more than enough VE's for several reasons:

1) You have to have a minimum of 3 in the room to conduct and grade the
exams. If one has to step out for a minute or two, you can still keep
things going.

2) If you have to provide "special accommodations" to a disabled user,
that doesn't affect grading if you have several VE's on hand.

3) If some VE's have to cancel out at the last minute, having additional
VE's as a backup makes it less likely you'll have to cancel the exam
session. However, if you don't have at least 3 examiners, the session
can NOT be conducted.

4) If at a hamfest, you can set it up like an assembly line for signing
the Certificate Of Successful Completion Of Examination (CSCE)
documents, and the bottom of the NCVEC Form 605 documents. As the VE
Team leader, I sign them in and check their ID, and have the other VE's
get them the paperwork, pens, pencils, scratch paper, calculators, etc.
Then, while I grade the exam, I can let other VE's initial their
approval on it.

5) If you get a large number of examinees, the more VE's you have will
make the exam process go smoother. One year, at the hamfest in Little
Rock, they were begging and pleading for VE's -- that's what encouraged
me to upgrade to Amateur Extra, and becoming a VE. Another time at the
hamfest in Little Rock, we had 18 examinees...and one year at the
Austin, Texas Summerfest, we had 36 examinees!! In both cases, we had 7
VE's, but we could've used more.

  If a properly accredited VE doesn't grade any exams or sign any
paperwork, they still get credit for the session...the same for all of
the VE's if no examinees show up.

Daryl Stout, WX1DER
UALR Ham Radio Club VE Team Liaison

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