Subj : ARRL/VEC VE Newsletter To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Mar 01 2019 11:01 am ARRL VE Newsletter March 1st, 2019 ======================================================================== Inside this VE E-Newsletter: FCC Universal Licensing System Maintenance Impacts License Applications Exam Session Reminders ======================================================================== FCC Universal Licensing System will be Down for Maintenance The FCC has announced that the Universal Licensing System (ULS), which processes Amateur Radio license applications, will be offline for scheduled maintenance from 0300 UTC until 1300 UTC on Saturday, March 2 (starting late on Friday, March 1, in continental US time zones). The FCC said all applications, which includes Amateur applications, submitted on Friday, March 1, and Monday, March 4, will be processed on Tuesday, March 5. The outage will affect ULS Application Search, License Search, License Manager, Tower Construction Notification System, E-106 System, Antenna Structure Registration, ASR Application Search, ASR Registration Search, Application GeoSearch, 800 MHz, and Ownership Information Search. We will continue to transmit license applications (individual, club, and exam session applications) into the FCC system even though FCC will not process any applications until Tuesday, March 5. ============================================== Exam Session Reminders GRADING EXAMS: Each VE must grade each exam taken, or must agree to the score given. After all three VE's agree to the number of correct answers shown, the score is announced to the examinee. The VE's must inform the examinee of their grade (pass or fail, and state the score {e.g., 26 out of 35}) upon completion of the grading. NEW GENERAL EXAMS COMING: The new General class question pool will take effect on July 1, 2019 for all Element 3 General class license written exams. With the General class exams changing July 1st, new test designs must be created, and used on that day. ARRL VEC will be supplying all its (near 1,000) Field Stocked VE teams with new test booklets about the 3rd week in June. Do not destroy the 2015 versions of the General exams until June 30. BASIC QUALIFICATION QUESTION PROCEDURES: The detailed instructions are available on the ARRL website. At the exam session, candidates that answer "YES" to the qualification (felony) question should be given the "Applicant Instructions for FCC Basic Qualification Question" document. Print or download here: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/VEs/Applicant%20Info%20Qualification%20 Question%202019.pdf (above URL all on one line) Applicants can also be referred to our Basic Qualification Question web page for information and instructions. View page: http://www.arrl.org/fcc-qualification-question After the application data from the session is submitted to FCC, and an FCC file number is created, the applicant is required to provide an explanation directly to the FCC within 14 days. Do not collect information from the candidate, and do not send any documents to the VEC. ======================================================================== The ARRL VEC Staff is Ready to Serve You! As always, the dedicated VEC staff are here to answer any questions you may have. ARRL VEC: 1-860-594-0300 Address: ARRL VEC, 225 Main St, Newington CT 06111 Email: VEC@arrl.org Web: www.arrl.org/volunteer-examiners ARRL VEC Fax: 860-594-0339 Maria Somma, AB1FM, Manager Amanda Grimaldi, N1NHL, Assistant Manager Stephanie Borden, W2MAU, Service Representative Ann Brinius, Service Representative Lisa Riendeau, Service Representative Joshua Nance, Service Representative We thank you for your efforts and interest in the ARRL VEC program. ========================================================================== ARRL VEC VE Newsletter is published by the American Radio Relay League, Inc. - the national association for Amateur Radio®. Material from the ARRL VE E-Newsletter may be republished or reproduced in whole or in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to The American Radio Relay League VEC. ARRL VEC 225 Main Street Newington CT 06111 USA Sincerely, Maria Somma, AB1FM - VEC Manager / Editor ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio (R) 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 USA msomma@arrl.org ========================================================================== --- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32 * Origin: RadioWxNet: The Thunderbolt BBS tbolt.synchro.net (801:1/2) þ Synchronet þ Temple of Doom BBS - tod.eothnet.com .