All bets appear to be off as to when the FCC might make a final decision on deleting the Morse code requirement. Last July, an FCC Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Order (NPRM&O) in WT Docket 05-235 proposed to eliminate the Element 1 (5 WPM) Morse code requirement for all license classes. Most observers expected the Commission to release a Report and Order (R&O) to that effect by the end of this year, but even that timetable could prove optimistic, based on what the Commission will say publicly.

Congratulations to Jerry Latham, N8OON for passing his extra test earlier this month!

Extra Class

Congratulations to Barry Evans,KC8ZIA (New Call AB8WI) and Bob Beckelhimer, WA2HOV for passing their Extra class tests!

Lyle Hamilton, AB8SH – March 22

The National Council of Volunteer Examination Coordinators (NCVEC) has released a new question pool for Element 2, the Technician Written Exam. The NCVEC has been receiving considerable input from its member Volunteer Examiners (VE’s) about the relevancy of some of the questions that have traditionally been included in the pool and has produced a new pool which I think more closely resembles what a “present day” Tech looks like. More Info

Seventeen people signed up for the Milford Technician class that was held in March. Out of the seventeen people that signed up for the class, fourteen actually made it to the first class and Eleven finished both sessions. Conratulations!

A special thanks go out to Lyle Hamilton AB8SH, Barry Evans KC8ZIA, Rick Miller AB8ON, and Chuck Beal N8CJB for the great job they all did!

New Technicians:

Steven Hagey – KI4OQD
Thomas Caley – KD8DIS
Tom Kloecker – KD8DIR
David Jones – KD8DIU
John Harrell – KD8DFV
Eric Bose – KD8DFU

Waiting to Test:

Debora Caley, Elizabeth Caley, Ed Dadosky, and Chris Miller.