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Old 12-11-2016, 04:51 PM   #1
electricflyer
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Default Disapointing test session

Big let down. Our November 28th regular test session had no takers. There was supposed to be at least 2 come and test but became no shows. Our VE groups is one of the busiest on the East Coast. We have no problem getting enough VE's. We had 9 for this last session and have had as many as 13 to administer the test for a Technicians class session.

No problem with the number of license holders, US and territories now have 806,696 amateur licenses, an all time high. That can be a little deceiving because includes all the deceased that relatives or friends failed to notify the FCC about as well as club licenses. I know of 1 deceased that is still on the books. His wife did his renewal while he was in the hospital just prior to his death and no one notified the FCC so his call is still good for about 7 more years. I would have done it but you need either a copy of the obit from a newpaper or the information from a funeral home. He was 1000 miles from where I live and I told his sister, a high school classmate) who lives about 40 miles from me to send the notice but nothing has ever been done, not even anyone from the local ham club. I would estimate there is somewhere between 10 and 20 thousand deceased with active licenses.

One note about FCC licenses, there is still one Tech Plus license out there. I keep watching it and waiting for it to disappear as when it comes up for renewal it will revert to just a Tech license.
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Old 12-11-2016, 09:06 PM   #2
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Just for fun I checked and the last tech plus is evidently been reassigned.

I did notice that there are still 10,062 novice licenses. Didn't those stop being issued also?
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Old 12-11-2016, 09:30 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ke0me View Post
I did notice that there are still 10,062 novice licenses. Didn't those stop being issued also?
They can be renewed indefinitely.
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Old 12-12-2016, 09:20 AM   #4
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From what I can glean from Google, the last Tech Plus license was (is) N7IJS, James D. Bell. He still shows up on QRZ and Hamcall database's but is not in the FCC database. The license expired February 11, 2010 and with the 2 year grace should have been removed February 10, 2012. All Tech Plus licenses that were renewed reverted to Tech according to Part 97.21a3. The discussion on another forum said the renewal of the last Tech Plus license has been "Pending" since the expiration.

Novice licenses are still valid. A fellow VE had a father that held a Novice license. He was about 92 years old and sharp as a tack. We offered to come to his home and give him the Technician license test since his son could not do it. Alas, he passed away and we were disappointed that we didn't get the opportunity to give him an upgrade. I have my own database of hams in my county and surrounding counties. I find that people that hold a Novice license never fail to renew (unless they die). Many Techs on the other hand apparently lose interest and let it go.
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Old 12-12-2016, 07:12 PM   #5
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I wouldn't worry about the flat test session. I don't think our group down here even has sessions in November or December.

People are too busy with the holidays to study, much less take the test.

******

I kept my Advanced class call when I upgraded to Extra. I knew there weren't going to be any more issued like that, and I had just become fond of it, I guess.
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Old 12-13-2016, 12:24 PM   #6
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i kept my advanced call also
esp for cw (ke0me, nice and short)

besides, that meant changing a bunch if things ( esp the colorado ham plate)

my first call wasnt bad for cw either WA0OHI, but i felt it was too long

ps- have u seen any interesting calls, like the ham in kansas city with the call KC0MO
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Old 12-13-2016, 08:10 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ke0me View Post
ps- have u seen any interesting calls, like the ham in kansas city with the call KC0MO
A good friend has the call K0CIA, also talked to W5COW and K1GUN.
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Old 12-14-2016, 10:27 AM   #8
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There was a ham in Illinois when I lived there named Robert F Burns ( RF burns)😜 Don't know his call


We had a salesperson calling on us by the name of Mr. Swindler.
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