Sheboygan County has an ARRL VE team ready to help you get your new ticket (license) or upgrade.

The VE test team is not part of the Sheboygan County Amateur Radio Club, but rather, is an independent group dedicated to helping others get their Amateur Radio license or upgrade for even more on air privileges.

Location:

The Sheboygan County VE Team meets every other month at the Salem United Church of Christ in Plymouth WI to administer tests. The test site is handicap accessible. CURRENTLY WALK-INS ARE NOT ACCEPTED – YOU  MUST PRE-REGISTER.

What you need to take the test:

• $15 test fee: Make checks payable to “ARRL-VEC”. Cash is acceptable as well (please bring correct change).

• Valid Photo ID (Drivers License, Passport, Military ID)

• If applicable, your original (AND A PHOTOCOPY) of your Amateur Radio license plus any Certificates of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) you may have from previous exams not included in your current license.

•  Federal Registration Number (FRN):  VECs are required by the FCC to submit your FRN with your license application form. New license applicants must create an FCC user account and receive their FRN before attending exam sessions.  For instructions on how to register your  SSN and receive an FRN from the FCC, visit the FCC’s Registration  page and the FCC’s Registration instructions page.

• Optional – Calculator with memory cleared.

Additional information is available here:  http://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session

FCC $35 Amateur Application Fee Effective Date will be April 19

The $35 application fee, when it becomes effective on April 19, will apply to new, modification (upgrade and sequential call sign change), renewal, and vanity call sign applications. The fee will be per application.

Administrative updates, such as a change of name, mailing or email address, will be exempt from fees.

VECs and Volunteer Examiner (VE) teams will not have to collect the $35 fee at exam sessions.
Once the FCC application fee takes effect, new and upgrade applicants will pay the $15 exam session fee to the ARRL VE team as usual and pay the $35 application fee directly to the FCC by using the CORES FRN Registration system (CORES – Login).  VEC and VE team licensing procedures will not change.

When the FCC receives the examination information from the VEC, it will email a link with payment instructions to each successful candidate. The candidate will have 10 calendar days, from the date of the application file number being issued, to pay. After the fee is paid, and the FCC has processed an application, examinees will receive a second email from the FCC with a link to their official license. The link will be good for 30 days.

Per usual procedures, examinees that pass multiple exams at one session, will have one application transmitted to the FCC reflecting the highest level license class earned. The candidates will have an extra step before the license is issued More info is available here: www.arrl.org/fcc-application-fee.

Additionally, the FCC stated that applications processed and dismissed will not be entitled to a refund. This includes vanity requests where the applicant does not receive the requested call sign. However, returned applications that are missing information will not require an additional fee, if the missing information is given to the FCC within the proper amount of time.

Youth Licensing Grant Program
Anticipating the implementation of the fee in 2022, the ARRL Board of Directors, at its July 2021 meeting, approved the “ARRL Youth Licensing Grant Program.” Under the program, ARRL will cover a one-time $35 application fee for license candidates younger than 18 years old for tests administered under the auspices of the ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC). Qualified candidates also would pay a reduced exam session fee of $5 to the ARRL VEC. ARRL is finalizing details for administering the program.

2022 VE TESTING DATES 

Saturdays – Registration at 8:30 AM, testing at 9:00 AM
November 12

Tuesdays – Registration at 6:30 PM, testing at 7:00 PM
September 20

Pre-registration may be REQUIRED.   Please be aware that testing site precautions may be more restrictive than the current CDC guidelines regarding COVID-19.  You will be notified of current conditions when you pre-register.

Ready to schedule a date for the test, or have some questions? Contact the VE test team:

Art Pahr  K9XJ   Team Leader
k9xj@arrl.net  please put “VE Exam” in subject line

OR

Mike Gottsacker  KD9TZ   Assistant Team Leader
mgottsac@tds.net   please put “VE Exam” in subject line

Finding the test site is easy using the map below to get directions to the VE Session

Salem United Church of Christ  —  217 Salem Drive  —  Plymouth, WI 53073 – Location IS handicap-accessible.

Please Note: Please enter the building on the EAST side – the parking lot is off of Kensington Avenue, just EAST of Salem Drive.

 

 

If our exam dates don’t work out for you, there are other testing sites/dates available.  Fox Cities Amateur Radio Club’s scheduled dates for 2022 are June 4, July 23,  September 17, and the Fall Hamfest November 6.   For testing in the Appleton area, please contact Rick Kosiorek WJ9K at (920) 809- 1010 or rick@kosiorek.com .

IF YOU’RE IN A HURRY GET YOUR LICENSE OR UPGRADE, OR ARE JUST NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THE ABOVE GUIDELINES – PLEASE CHECK THE ARRL WEBSITE.  EXAMS ARE ADMINISTERED THROUGHOUT THE STATE ON A REGULAR BASIS.

http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session

HERE IS ANOTHER LINK FOR REMOTE EXAMS:

https://hamstudy.org/sessions

73, VE Test Team