Remote Amateur Radio Testing and the COVID-19 virus

The EARC club is assembling a team of Hawaii VEs to provide some remote
Amateur Radio license testing.  They have the skills and tools to
provide limited testing

First a little history of remote testing. In 2010 the ARRL petitioned
the FCC to conduct a remote VE testing system for residents in
Antarctica – almost the definition of a remote location.

http://www.arrl.org/antarctic-vec

The following year a group of Amateurs in Hawaii, with support from the
ARRL VEC petitioned the FCC to allow remote testing in Kalaupapa on
Molokai.

https://tinyurl.com/w7r4gsc

The ARRL conducted at least seven test sessions for Antarctica thru
August 2017.

https://tinyurl.com/ydcdsr8a

In July of 2014, the ARRL VEC successfully petitioned the FCC to permit
VECs to proctor exams without the need for a case by case petition to
the FCC.

” Part 97,509 (h) Upon completion of each examination element, the
administering VEs must immediately
grade the examinee’s answers. For examinations administered
remotely, the administering VEs must
grade the examinee’s answers at the earliest practical
opportunity. The administering VEs are responsible
for determining the correctness of the examinee’s answers”

Last year the EARC VE team on Oahu Hawaii conducted remote testing for
US military on Okinawa.

Under the part 97 regulations any ARRL VE team has the ability to test,
with the agreement of the ARRL VEC.
There has not been an overwhelming need for remote testing so few VE
teams are trained in the process. As a result of the Covid-19 virus
there may now be a need.  Many are staying close to home and declining
to participate in VE team sessions with many candidates.

Internet video conferencing technology has advanced to the point of
making remote testing more easily applied to current Amateur Radio VE
test session rules.

An EARC VE team has decided to schedule remote test sessions for ARRL
Pacific residents (Hawaii, Guam, CNMI, American Samoa) and US military
in the Pacific.  This is not intended to replace club planned VE test
sessions.  Candidates working with VE teams in their clubs should follow
the club guidance.

Anyone interested in access to testing can register for a remote
session using the web page,

http://hameducation.org/register

Planning each test session needs information about available Internet
service, computer, printer, scanner and candidate software skills. The
process may be able to be tailored to a candidate’s situation. It will
take some thought to plan each session and, in some cases, they may not
be able to approve a specific testing situation.
But the team will try!

——————————————————————–
ARRL Pacific Section
Section Manager: Joseph Speroni, AH0A
ah0a@arrl.org