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 Previous: Straight Key Night 2007 -- Memories in the Making |  Next: Surfin': Hamming on the Go |
"It's slowing down a little bit, but it's still substantially above what we usually see," observed ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM. She estimated that new Amateur Radio applications were up by 35 percent, while upgrade applications were up by 150 percent over last year's volume.
In a typical pre-February 23 week, Somma said, ARRL VEC would receive paperwork from approximately 115 test sessions. "It's on the order of 150 to 200 sessions per week now!" she exclaimed. Somma and ARRL VEC staffers concurred that applications were roughly evenly split between newcomers and upgraders. She said she's also seen a spike in the number of applications from General and higher class radio amateurs to serve as volunteer examiners.
Let's Do the Numbers
To satisfy his own curiosity, ARRL member Tommy Gober, N5DUX, compiled some unofficial statistics on the number of new Technician, General and Extra licensees before and after the FCC dropped the Morse code testing requirement. His numbers show the FCC issued nearly 700 more Amateur Extra, 3625 more General and 454 more Technician licenses in March 2007 than in the same month last year.
Figures from ARRL member and ham radio statistician Joe Speroni, AH0A, indicate the total number of Amateur Extra licensees is up 1649 from March 2006 to March 2007, while the General population grew by 2668. The total number of Technician licensees dropped by 1632 during the same period, however -- and it continues to drop going into April.
Speroni's figures also show that the grand total of Amateur Radio station licenses has declined by more than 12,800 over the past two years -- to 655,048 at the end of March.
Processing Time Slower
The still-heavy volume has stretched the amount of time it takes for an application to proceed from examination session to license grant. "I think we're looking at eight to ten days from the test date," Somma allowed. By and large, those on the waiting end have been patient and understanding, she added. "We've gotten a lot of compliments for how we've handled the application onslaught since February 23," she noted. A staff of seven full-time and three part-time employees handle the "incoming" from Amateur Radio exam sessions across the US and from other sites where US Amateur Radio examinations are administered through ARRL VEC.
A likely consequence of eliminating the Element 1 Morse code requirement has been an increase in the number of applicants passing a given examination, Somma noted.
Hectic Pace Poised to Continue
There's no light at the end of the tunnel just yet. Somma and her staff are looking ahead to 450 examination sessions registered during May, another 400 in June and 320 apiece during July and August. And summer is "the slow season," she remarked. Another 900 test sessions already are on the calendar for the rest of 2007.
| Previous: Straight Key Night 2007 -- Memories in the Making | Next: Surfin': Hamming on the Go |
