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  • ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,500
    God's Country
    Yes I am sure. I am a VE there. It is listed on the ARRL site as well.

    Exam Session
    12/14/2019 | Davidsonville MD 21035

    Sponsor: Anne Arundel Radio Club
    Location: AARC Clubhouse
    Time: 1:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed)
    Learn More



    Thanks for the post. My work schedule is unexpectedly open this Saturday so I signed up for the test. I just missed passing the Extra a few weeks ago by one question. But now I’m a bit more prepared. Looking forward to passing.
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    Editing what I posted earlier. Never mind! The Laurel club's process/contact info etc is inscrutable and the physical address they posted appears to be a homeless shelter or the like downtown. I can drive an extra 10-15 minutes and be at Davidsonville for the AARC's exam ... so, done! Be there Saturday at 1:00.
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,500
    God's Country
    Editing what I posted earlier. Never mind! The Laurel club's process/contact info etc is inscrutable and the physical address they posted appears to be a homeless shelter or the like downtown. I can drive an extra 10-15 minutes and be at Davidsonville for the AARC's exam ... so, done! Be there Saturday at 1:00.


    See you tomorrow.

    I’ve been studying a bit each night. Tonight I’m hoping that drinking some fine German beers while studying will push me over the finish line tomorrow.

    Good luck.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    See you tomorrow.

    I’ve been studying a bit each night. Tonight I’m hoping that drinking some fine German beers while studying will push me over the finish line tomorrow.

    Good luck.

    Hopefully luck won’t have much to do with it! I’m going for the low hanging fruit of the Technician’s exam, and trusting in bourbon to focus the mind on the sample tests (and help me find my old calculator).
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    It was great to see ToolAA (again) and meet Traveler (for the first time), especially under the happy circumstances of a new call sign earned and an upgrade, too. The folks at AARC couldn’t have been nicer and ran a well oiled exam-giving machine. The test was free but I’m afraid a new interest in this area ain’t gonna be. &%#!@ MDS!
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,500
    God's Country
    We’ll first want to thank K31 for the great FAQ. Ed Shell for pointing me in a good direction early on. Gamer Jim who I tested with in 2017 and who’s examples piqued my curiosity.

    It was cool to test with Occam today and meet Traveler. I probably didn’t need to take the Extra but it just became something I wanted to get done none the less. I did learn a few things preparing.

    Occam if you are like me, you’ll buy a few cheap HT’s and do nothing with them for a while. Then one day you’ll get curious or board and start exploring. You don’t have to spend much to have a little fun.

    I’m messing around with FT-8 tonight. 2 months ago I had no idea what this even was. I just heard some strange whistling sound coming over the HF bands and thought it was interference or something. Now I’m sending short messages to people in South America, Africa and Europe.

    21f35ebbdd7a8e8fc5a12c0b3746feae.jpg
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    Oh, think I’ll be going down the rabbit hole sooner than later! It’s 1:00 in the morning and here I am reading up on FT-8. Now you’ve done it.
     

    mac1_131

    MSI Executive Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 31, 2009
    3,280
    I have an tuned end fed wire antenna that's about 130 feet long and 30 feet off the ground running across the backyard. On 40 meters everyone sounds like they're speaking like Dark Vador, any suggestions or filter adjustments that can be made. I suspect some type of electrical interference.
    Just band conditions. I'll guess you were listening at night. We're at the rock bottom of the sunspot cycle so close in stations will sound like that.

    Multipath, Aurora, things like that make signals sound that way.

    Try again during the day.

    I suspect your antenna is fine.
     

    K31

    "Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 15, 2006
    35,632
    AA county
    It was great to see ToolAA (again) and meet Traveler (for the first time), especially under the happy circumstances of a new call sign earned and an upgrade, too. The folks at AARC couldn’t have been nicer and ran a well oiled exam-giving machine. The test was free but I’m afraid a new interest in this area ain’t gonna be. &%#!@ MDS!

    It was cool to test with Occam today and meet Traveler. I probably didn’t need to take the Extra but it just became something I wanted to get done none the less. I did learn a few things preparing.




    Congratulations!
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    So! My (temporary, as I do the paperwork for that recovered call sign from my late uncle) brand new call sign has been issued. I've edited this post to remove it from plain text, per the kind advice of wise souls here. But I will stick with my earlier point, in case someone from the FCC who curates the list of available calls happens to be reading: I’m not a boob from Kansas City!
     
    Last edited:

    Mark75H

    MD Wear&Carry Instructor
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 25, 2011
    17,173
    Outside the Gates
    Congratulations!

    It took exactly 18 days for my vanity call sign to be assigned. I received my grant notification email at 12:01am on the 18th day
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    Congratulations!

    It took exactly 18 days for my vanity call sign to be assigned. I received my grant notification email at 12:01am on the 18th day

    Hey, thanks for calibrating my expectations! Once you’ve waited for an ATF tax stamp, every other federal agency seems like lightning.
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    The process was a little byzantine, but my footprint in the FCC database now shows the revocation of my just-issued call, and my family-member-used-to-have-it-vanity-request is marked as pending in their system. Tick tock!

    I presume, should I get super squirrely and attempt to program one of my HTs to actually use a local repeater and actually SAY something on the air, that I could use the robo-issued initial call in the meantime.
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    I don't see anything on the FCC site under KC3OOB about a revocation, only that there is a pending application. KC3OOB is also listed on QRZ

    They explicitly used that term in at least one of the screens I worked through while choosing my method of asking for a reassignment. Something to the effect of - paraphrasing - “by proceeding you acknowledge that our system requires the revocation of this license .. “ and such.
     

    Mark75H

    MD Wear&Carry Instructor
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 25, 2011
    17,173
    Outside the Gates
    They explicitly used that term in at least one of the screens I worked through while choosing my method of asking for a reassignment. Something to the effect of - paraphrasing - “by proceeding you acknowledge that our system requires the revocation of this license .. “ and such.

    I bet there was an "if granted" clause.

    As long as the current status of KC3OOB shows online as your call sign, its your call sign, just like Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday all you had was an FRN number and a thumbs up from the VE's; even though you passed the test, you didn't have a license until it was posted. As long as its posted, its in force.
     

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