The Valdosta Amateur Radio Club will be hosting field day activities this weekend (June 22, 2019) at 4903 Hickory Grove Road North, Valdosta, GA 31606. Prep and setup for the event begin at 10 AM and operations begin at 2 PM. There will be a dual band DMR/Analog HT Raffle and other door prizes available as well. Everyone is welcome to attend or check in via the talk in repeater at 444.700 MHz or via simplex at 146.460 Mhz. If you are planning on attending, please be sure to bring your own chairs. There will be some food provided (hot dogs, hamburgers, and some drinks), but guests can bring their own as well.

The Coastal Plains Amateur Radio Club with the assistance of Derrick Young will have a “Ham Cram” session on Saturday June 15, 2019. It will be held at the Tift County Emergency Operations Center 316 West 2^nd Street, Tifton, GA 31794. The session will start at 8:00 AM. The Technician and General session will end about 3:00 PM with the test to follow. The Amateur Extra session will end about 4:30 with the test to follow. There will be a one hour break for lunch and a 15 minute break every hour. We will be accepting registration until June 1^st. Our resources are limited therefore we will limit the session to 30 participants. First come first served. In the event that we have more than 30, we will plan another Ham Cram session.

Derrick’s sessions have an impressive 93% test pass rate!

To register for the Ham Cram send an email to [email protected]. Please include your full name, address, cell phone number, call sign if you are currently licensed and your email address. Also include the license that you intend to test for. Technician is the starting license. General and Amateur Extra are the other options. Exams must be taken in order. Technician First, then General then Amateur Extra. All three will be offered during the session but you will only be studying for one license class.

Upon completion of the session we will offer the Ham Exam.

What to Bring to an ARRL Exam Session:

      1.  One legal photo ID (identification): 
           a. State Driver’s License
           b. Government issued Passport 
           c. Military or Law Enforcement Officer Photo ID card
           d. Student School Photo ID card
           e. State Photo ID card 

      2.  If no photo ID is available, two forms of identification:
           a. Non-photo State ID card (some states still have them)
           b. Birth certificate (must have the appropriate seal)
           c. Social security card
           d. Employer’s wage statement or Minor’s work permit
           e. School ID card
           f. School or Public Library card
           g. Utility bill, bank statement or other business correspondence that 
               specifically names the person; or a postmarked envelope addressed
               to the person at his or her current mailing address as it appears on
               the Form 605.

      3.  Students/minors without a photo ID need to bring only one of the 
           above items if a legal guardian presents their photo ID; otherwise  
           two non-photo IDs are required.

      4.  Social Security Number (SSN) or your FCC issued Federal 
           Registration Number (FRN); VEC’s are required by the FCC to submit 
           either your SSN or your FRN number with your license application 
           form. If you prefer not to give your SSN at the exam session, then 
           you may register your SSN with the FCC before exam day. Once you 
           have a FCC issued FRN, you may no longer use your SSN on the 
           application. For instructions on how to register your SSN with the 
           FCC and receive a FRN, visit the FCC’s FAQ page and the 
           FCC’s registration instructions page.  Please note that some 
           exam teams will only accept a valid FRN on your application.  
           Check with your local exam team before exam day.

      5.  If applicable, bring either a photocopy of your current Amateur Radio
           license or a reference copy printed out from the FCC website, the 
           license information printed from ARRL website or QRZ website,
           or the original(s) and photocopy(s) of any Certificates of Successful 
           Completion of Examination (CSCE) you may hold from previous
           exam sessions. If your license has already been issued by FCC, 
           the CSCE showing license credit is not needed. The photocopy(s) 
           will not be returned. 
           Instructions on how to obtain an official FCC license copy are on 
           our Obtain License Copy  web page. 

      6.  Two number two pencils with erasers a pen and a highlighter. 

      7.  A calculator with the memory erased and formulas cleared is allowed.  
           You may not bring any written notes or calculations into the exam session. 
           Slide rules and logarithmic tables are acceptable, as long as they’re free 
           of notes and formulas. Cell phone must be silenced or turned off during  
           the exam session and the phones’ calculator function may not be used.
           In addition, iPhones, iPads, Androids, smartphones, Blackberry devices 
           and all similar electronic devices with a calculator capability, may NOT 
           be used.

      8.  Bring a check for $15.00 to cover the exam session fee. The check should be made out to ARRL VEC – No Cash Please

If possible follow this link, fill out the form, print it and bring it with you. If you are unable to do this, blank forms will be available. http://www.arrl.org/files/file/VEs/NCVEC%20Form%20605_2018_Interactive.pdf

Greg Walls – W4GHW

Ham Cram 2019

DATE: Saturday – March 23, 2019

LOCATION: Department of Health – 325 W Savannah Ave. Valdosta

TIME: 8:00 am- 6:30 pm – Be on time!

Program Description: HAM CRAM is a noMorse code AMATEUR RADIO TECHNICIAN, GENERAL, OR AMATEUR EXTRA LICENSE cram session. The cram session will assist participants with their ability to pass the FCC Technician, General or Amateur Extra class license exams.

The cram session is a guided self-study review of the test questions and answers that will take about 6 hours. Students will be allowed 1 hour for lunch and 1 hour for the exam.  Participants may study the material on their own before the session to help increase the odds of passing the exam.

Participants will be able to take the FCC Technician, General or Amateur extra class license exam on the same day at the end of the class time. Most people are able to finish the exam in about 30 minutes or less. Exam passing rate is typically 90%.P

Registration/Cancellation: No walk-ins. All participates must be pre-registered! Email the contact below so you can register. Cancellation requests should be received at least 72-hours prior to the course if possible. This course is open to the public.

Contact Information for RSVP: Derrick Young (W4DEY)
Email: [email protected]

FCC Exam – ID & Fees: REQURED! Bring Photo ID & a check made out to “ARRL VEC” for $15.00 for the FCC License Exam Fee. No cash or credit cards can be used to pay for exam. You will fill out a FCC application on site.

We’d like to welcome a new member to our growing VARC family, Rusty Wetherington, KB4VLD! Rusty is bringing his wealth of knowledge and experience to our group and we can’t be more excited to have him involved. He’s also been elected unanimously as our club secretary! Thanks Rusty!

Please welcome Walt Dix – KM4SMU and Dale Blanchard – KM4QFB to the VARC family.  Both Walt and Dale are active amateurs and are committed to the advancement of amateur radio in the South Georgia area.

Walt has accepted the position of President and Dale has accepted the position of Vice President.  Please reach out to them and show them your support!

Check out their bios on VARC – Leadership page….

• Regular amateur radio license testing is held on the 2nd Saturday of each ODD month at the South Georgia Regional Library in Valdosta.
• Testing sessions start at 11:00 AM.
• Remember to bring a photo ID and a personal check (no cash or credit cards) made out to “ARRL-VEC” to the exam session.
• For more information or to schedule yourself for a test session please contact Larry KI4JKB at “donnadoll3@msn (dot) com”

The VARC held the first ham cram of 2016 on Saturday February 20th and the Department of Health conference room on Savannah avenue.  It was a long day but several folks passed the exam and received their technician class license!  Congratulations everyone on a job well done!

Out of the 22 folks that signed up for the session 15 passed the exam.  This is a pretty good number of new hams for the South Georgia region.  Please take time to welcome them in person and on the air!

Valdosta Amateur Radio Club (VARC) – Ham Cram 2016

 DATE: Saturday February 20, 2016

LOCATION: Department of Health – 325 W Savannah Ave. Valdosta

 TIME: 8:00 am- 5:30 pm – Be on time!

 Program Description: HAM CRAM is a no Morse code AMATEUR RADIO TECHNICIAN LICENSE cram session. The cram session will assist participants with their ability to pass the FCC Technician license exam.

The cram session is a guided self-study review of the test questions and answers that will take about 6 hours. Students will be allowed 1 hour for lunch and 1 hour for the exam.  Participants may study the material on their own before the session to help increase the odds of passing the exam.

Participants will be able to take the FCC Technician license exam on the same day at the end of the class time. Most people are able to finish the exam in about 30 minutes or less. Exam passing rate is typically 90%.

 Prerequisites/Study Material: Question & Answer bank will be sent to you via e-mail upon registration. Bring a printed copy with you to the session!

Registration/Cancellation: No walk-ins. All participates must be pre-registered! Email the contact below so you can register. Cancellation requests should be received at least 72-hours prior to the course if possible. This course is open to the public.

Study Session Fees: No Charge.  Question/answer bank available for $5.00 each (Cash).  It is advised that the student print and bring their own question/answer bank to study in order to avoid this cost.

FCC Exam – ID & Fees: REQURED! Bring Photo ID & a check made out to “ARRL VEC” for $15.00 for the FCC Technician License Exam Fee. No cash or credit cards can be used to pay for exam. You will fill out a FCC application on site.

Its that time of year!  Cooler weather, good food and Hamfests!  Talking about Hamfests… The Stone Mountain Hamfest was the first weekend of November and it was real blast! The Tampa Hamfest is coming up just around the corner in December.  Probably the best Hamfest in the south is the Orlando Hamfest coming up in February.  So get with your Ham Radio buddies and plan a Hamfest road trip!!!  The more who ride together the cheaper and more FUN the Hamfest road trip is!

Talking about the Holidays… Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas is right on its heels.  The VARC membership wishes Happy Holidays!

Don’t forget to ask Santa for that Ham gear you have been eyeing all year.  Also make sure to make the New Year resolution to be more RADIO ACTIVE!

73 from the crew at W4VLD…

W4VLD would like to wish all Americans a fun and safe July 4th!