First, W2LJ is going to make a prediction.
"In person VE Testing will largely disappear."
With the proliferation of online testing sessions becoming more and more available, it appears that in person sessions are going the way of the dinosaurs. Next Saturday is our monthly VE Session and I've yet to have anyone contact me about registering. That is odd and not the way it used to be.
If memory serves me, I don't think we've had a session this year with more than 3 candidates. We only had 2 at the W2QW Hamfest in June and that's very unusual. I don't think it's a lack of people wanting to get licensed, I think it's just a preference for taking the exams from the comfort of your own home, and not having to travel or search for a local session.
Personally, I don't want to have anything to do with online exams. As a VE Liaison, with my license on the line, I prefer the control of in person sessions. Members of the team can keep a watchful eye, in person, to make sure no irregularities take place.
Maybe I'm wrong and on line sessions are just as stringent, if not more so, but I'm not interested in finding out
Second item, I was able to repair my 4 States Tuner today. I mentioned that I had managed to break one of the BNC connectors. The 4 States Group was kind enough to supply a replacement upon request, but it took a long time to get here -;and not because they did anything wrong.
It made its way to South Plainfield only to be returned to the sender by our illustrious Post Office! 4 States sent it a second time only for it to be delivered to my neighbor across the street! He kindly brought it over yesterday and I installed it today.
In the meantime, I ordered these from Amazon - taking a shot in the dark that they'd be compatible based solely on the photo.
My guesstimate was that it was a match, so I took the plunge and ordered some spares. They arrived yesterday and it turns out that they ARE an exact match! So if anyone out there needs to order, or wants to order a few spare BNC connectors for the 4 States Tuner, here's the link.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP -;When you care to send the very least!
Our club - PCARS in Ohio (K8BF) still does in-person VE testing. On-line is really not our thing to do. Besides, people taking tests at our club site get to see how involved our club is and they get the grand tour of our club site and the 4 stations we maintain here. The in-person environment goes a long way in helping new hams and exposing others to our hobby.
ReplyDeletede KB8UUZ