New FCC Fee Does NOT Apply to Upgrades!

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Important Message from ARRL VEC

By Maria Somma, AB1FM, ARRL VEC Manager

The FCC released a Public Notice on March 23, 2022, stating that the amateur radio application fees, including those associated with Form 605 application filings, would become effective on April 19, 2022. The Federal Communications Commission’s authority to impose and collect fees is mandated by Congress.

The $35 application fee, when it becomes effective on April 19, will apply to new, renewal, and modification applications that request a new vanity call sign. The fee will be per application.

Administrative updates, such as a change of name, mailing or email address, and modification applications to upgrade an amateur radio licensee’s operator class*, will be exempt from fees. (*this new information was just confirmed by FCC staff on Tuesday, March 29.)

FCC Fees for Amateur Radio Licenses begin on April 19, 2022

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In a move long delayed and telegraphed by the FCC, they will begin collecting a $35 fee for Amateur Radio licenses starting April 19, 2022.  The fee will be collected for new licenses, vanity call sign applications, and renewals.  It is our belief that they will not collect a fee for an address change (required by FCC rules to always be current) or upgrades of existing licenses (Ed)

You can see the announcement here:  DA-22-307A1

NCRC Holds First Electronic VE Session

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Newport County Radio Club held its first electronic VE exam session today at the All Saints STEAM Academy parking lot in Middletown.  Two folks took the exam.  Congrats to new hams:

  • Bruce Bragga (Passed Technician)
  • James Garman (Passed Technician & General)

Because the exam was electronic, there was no paperwork to deal with.  The examinees used a tablet computer to select their answers.  Once they indicated they were finished, the exam was graded instantly and all the paperwork was filled in via a completely automated process .  When all candidates were finished, they received their signed CSCE copies via email, and the required paperwork was uploaded to the ARRL. Had the exam been held on a business day, the entry into the FCC ULS would have happened within an hour or so.

The slowest part of the process was getting the assigned VEs to electronically sign the paperwork (which required them to click a “Sign” button and enter their password).  In reality, one or one hundred students would have taken the same amount of time, and things were wrapped up in 30 minutes.

John K1JSM (left) helps student with tablet computer during the exam

The exam was not without its tribulations, however.  Originally the plan was to hold the exam indoors.  However no one came to let us into the building.  We quickly regrouped.  Rob KB1ZZU had a 115 Vac outlet in his car which was used to power the GoLocalMe WiFi HotSpot, allowing the exam to be held in the parking lot.  So hams, once again, prove adaptable and resilient.  The highlight of the morning was when two Middletown Police cruisers showed up to respond to a silent alarm in the building right before the exam began.  Imagine their surprise to find the parking lot full of radio nerds.

Police stop by to see what fun things were going on!

Our club is very grateful for John K1JSM, who undertook this project, got two tablet computers setup for the students along with the HotSpot.  He held a training session for our initial set of VEs.  Our thanks to the following VEs who assisted with the exam session:

  • John K1JSM
  • Mike AA1XQ
  • Rob KB1ZZU
  • Jim KA1ZOU
  • Nancy KC1NEK
  • Paul K1YBE
  • Bob WB4SON

NCRC March Meeting

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Our regular March 2022 NCRC meeting will be held via Zoom on Monday March 14th at 7PM.  Invitations for the meeting will be sent via email.

The club is trying something new to see if we can make our meetings less about business and more about things we care about.  With that in mind, we will no longer discuss committee reports during our meetings.  Instead we will publish them on the club website under Documents/Current Year Documents/Current Year Committee Reports.  Please check under the Documents Tab for details on the club’s workings.

The business part of our meeting will now be reserved for items that require a vote by the membership (like new applicants, or significant expenditure of funds).  That will leave more time for the presentation and socializing.  Of course if a member has any business item to discuss, please feel free to bring it up during the meeting.

Minutes of each meeting will continue to be published under Documents/Current Year Documents/Current Year Minutes

The presentation will be given by Paul K1YBE, who will cover an introduction to Celestial Navigation.  Members are invited to join the club for a Field Trip on Saturday March 19th from 11am-1pm at Brenton Point Park in Newport.  Sextants will be available.  Of course members are free to setup and run HF gear as well (like POTA)

 

Pete Lawson Memorial Outdoor Adventure

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Pete Lawson Memorial Outdoor Adventure

WHEN:   Sunday Sept 18, 2022 starting at noon

WHERE:   Ft. Getty Park, Jamestown (Memorial Pavilion)

WHO: All members, spouses & their family, children welcome

HOURS:   noon to 4pm

This will be the first running of an annual event to celebrate our radio friends who are now SK’s. SK is the morse code signal sent to indicated the end of a message. Amateur radio operators have adapted this signal as “Silent Key” to denote those who have passed away.

The event is named in Pete Lawson’s memory as he was one of the leaders in building NCRC’s robust outdoor operations.

The event will be family oriented, more social than radio. It will be a picnic with plenty of food and activities for both children and adults. There will be no charge to attend. It will be held, rain or shine, under the pavilion at Fort Getty Park in Jamestown, RI.

Members are encouraged to donate to this event to build up a kitty for its on-going support. Some members have already done so.

Questions? Contact any of the following members:

Nancy Austin, Bob Beatty, John Mills, Willy Maclean, Jim Sammons