The Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) is hosting a ham exam "gam" in HolidayOceanView Marina on Samal Island, Davao,
Philippines on August 27, 2014 at 1330 local time. The purpose is to offer US amateur
radio license testing. Examinees do not have to be SSCA members OR US citizens. The only restriction is that non-US Citizens cannot be a representative of a foreign
government.
Background Information:
Amateur (or ham)
radio is an infrastructure-free worldwide
communications tool. Individual operators operate from their yachts, homes, cars or tents, creating a network of
learning, good will and
safety worldwide. Amateur radio by definition is non-commercial. In order to legally operate on amateur radio frequencies an individual should possess the appropriate
license.
The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) of the
USA does not conduct amateur (ham) license tests directly but use VECs or volunteer examiner coordinator groups that provide the infrastructure for VEs (volunteer examiners) to conduct testing. The VEC group is the liaison to the FCC. The US is a
member of the ITU, International Telecommunications Union of the UN, so a US amateur radio license is recognized by the 193 ITU
member states around the world.
Recently, the Seven Seas Cruising Association has joined with the Laurel Amateur Radio Club VEC group to accredit "at large" volunteer examiners amongst the SSCA
membership so testing can take place during SSCA
events. HolidayOceanView will host SSCA/Laurel-accredited volunteer examiners from crews from the yachts, Sloepmouche, Carina and Soggy Paws: Luc Callebaut, Leslie Linkkila, Philip DiNuovo, Sherry & David McCampbell.
Specifics:
In the US, amateur licenses are now issued at three levels or
classes: Technician, General and Extra. Exams for each class are called elements and should be taken and passed in sequence . There is no Morse code proficiency required; all testing is multiple choice.
License Class and Proficiency Requirement:
Technician Element 2
General Element 2 & 3
Extra Element 2, 3 & 4
Element 2: 35 questions selected at random from the question pool concerning the privileges of a Technician Class operator license. The minimum passing score is 26 questions answered correctly.
Element 3: 35 questions selected at random from the question pool concerning the privileges of a General Class operator license. The minimum passing score is 26 questions answered correctly.
Element 4: 50 questions selected at random from the question pool concerning the privileges of an Amateur Extra Class operator license. The minimum passing score is 37 questions answered correctly.
In order to access worldwide cruiser support nets and free amateur radio
email (Winlink), an individual aboard a yacht would need to pass two written exams (Elements 2 & 3) in order to possess a General Class license. These two tests can be taken on the same day and often are. Material is similar but the question pool is different for each element.
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL), another VEC, publishes
books of theory and exam pool questions.
http://www.arrl.org/exam-practice
or
http://www.arrl.org/question-pools
Other sites offering theory, practice exams or flashcards are:
No-Nonsense Study Guides - KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog
Practice Amateur Radio Exams by QRZ.COM
AA9PW FCC Exam Practice
eHam.net Ham Radio Practice Exams
HamExam.org: Free Amateur Radio Practice Tests with Flash Cards
http://www.smrs.us/classes/he-tech-study.pdf
Kb0mga.net
How to Sign Up
Please contact Luc at
email:
sloepmouche@gmail.com, Leslie and Philip at email:
ssca@sv-carina.org or Sherry and David at:
ssca@svsoggypaws.com for further instructions or to reserve your spot at the exam session
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