Subj : Local License Exam Update To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Wed Jan 05 2022 16:23:44 From the ARRL Website, Jan. 5, 2022: New Technician Question Pool Released, Effective July 1, 2022. 01/05/2022 The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) Question Pool Committee (QPC) has released the 2022 - 2026 Technician Class FCC Element 2 NCVEC Question Pool Syllabus & Question Pool into the public domain. It's available as a Word document or PDF. The three graphics required for the new Technician question pool are available within the documents, or separately as PDF or JPG files. The new pool incorporates some significant changes compared to the 2018 - 2022 pool. Its 257 questions were modified slightly to improve wording or to replace distractors; 51 new questions were generated, and 62 questions were eliminated. This resulted in a reduction of 11 questions, bringing the total number of questions in the pool from 423 to 412. The difficulty level of the questions is now more balanced, and the techniques and practices addressed have been updated. The new 2022 - 2026 question pool is effective July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2026, and must be used for Technician-class license exams administered on or after July 1, 2022. -- Thanks to NCVEC Question Pool Committee As a side note, in the 14 years I've been a VE Team Liaison, I've yet to see a set of Question Pools that gets released WITHOUT ending up having corrections, changes, modifications, etc. made, due to errors. So, while these are available now, I don't expect a "final version" until April or May, 2022...the latter around the time of Hamvention. Once the "final version" is released, I will place these items in the appropriate file area on The Thunderbolt BBS. Regardless, as noted, the 2018 - 2022 Technician Class Question Pool and Exams will be WORTHLESS as of 12am local time, July 1, 2022. At that time, VE Teams MUST use the 2022 - 2026 Technician Class Quesion Pool and resulting exams...and those wishing to study, will need to use the 2022 - 2026 Technician Study Guides. On that day, the 2018 - 2022 Technician Exam files and graphics will be removed from The Thunderbolt BBS. If someone has not yet started studying the 2018 - 2022 Technician Class Question Pool by June 1, I would instead recommend study of the 2022 - 2026 Technician Class Question Pool. If you study the wrong pool, you're practically guaranteeing that you'll fail the exam, and you're basically wasting your time and money. With the spreading of Covid-19 again, testing opportunites may be limited. Call, write, or email the contact person for the VE Team before going to the exam site. While some will take walk-ins, others will require pre-registration. And, with Covid-19, masks likely will be required. In the Little Rock, Arkansas, area...the UALR VE Team has not yet set dates for 2022. Right now, we're looking at mid-March, late May, July/August, and October. I will post dates out when they are finalized. Also, the occurrence of Covid-19, and directions by the University Of Arkansas System, will determine the needed precautions on campus. Further information (along with directions, and a campus map) is available at: http://callsign.ualr.edu/ve-exams.php Lastly, as of Jan. 5, 2022...still no posting on the ARRL Website of when the $35 fee for a new, renewed, or upgraded ham radio license, or callsign change (sequential or vanity), will take effect. It will be 30 days after it appears in the Federal Register before it takes effect...so right now, it'd be early February, 2022, at the earliest. The fee will be payable directly to the FCC on their website within 10 days of notification. Otherwise, the license grant will be dismissed. The examinee will still need to pay the applicable fee, if any, to the VE Team on exam day. Daryl Stout, WX4QZ, UALR Ham Radio Club VE Team Liaison --- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (954:895/7) .