[Ccarc] VEC and FCC info

[Tom Murray]

FROM: TOM KB9WSL


A quick note: Watch for September's QST in your mailbox!

==> ARRL VEC Team Attends National VEC Conference

Representatives of 11 of the nation's 14 Volunteer Examiner Coordinators
(VECs) met July 27 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, for the 22nd annual
National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC)
conference. NCVEC Chairman Tom Fuszard, KB9PU, presided over the
gathering. This yearly gathering offers an opportunity for VECs to
discuss issues facing the volunteer examination program and to meet
face-to-face with FCC staff members. The ARRL's delegation to the
conference included ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM; Assistant
Manager Perry Green, WY1O, and Regulatory Information Branch Manager Dan
Henderson, N1ND. Also on hand were five FCC staff members: Donna Scott,
Sandy Eckenrode, Terry Fishel, Senior Program Analyst Bill Cross, W3TN,
and Riley Hollingsworth, Special Counsel in the Enforcement Bureau.
Cross and Hollingsworth addressed the conference.

Jim Wiley, KL7CC, chairman of the NCVEC Question Pool Committee, led a
discussion on the QPC's plans for the upcoming year. The QPC is working
on the new Amateur Extra class pool and syllabus that is scheduled to be
released December 2007; it will become effective July 1, 2008. Wiley
mentioned that the QPC does not expect any new pool releases in 2009.

Fred Maia, W5YI, spoke about a problem he found with information between
the Universal Licensing System (ULS) and the Commission Registration
System (CORES) computer systems not being exchanged. Amateurs, he said,
are complying with Part 97 rules by keeping the ULS license database up
to date, but this information does not find its way into the CORES
database. Part 1 of the Rules, Section 1.8002(b)(2), which Maia said
most amateurs are unfamiliar with, states that applicants must keep
their CORES records current. Amateurs can supply CORES with up-to-date
information via the CORES Web page
<https://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/coresWeb/publicHome.do> or by filling out
and submitting FCC Form 161
<http://wireless.fcc.gov/feesforms/forms.html>.

Maia proposed that the FCC update CORES automatically when the ULS is
updated. ULS is maintained by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
(WTB) and CORES is handled by the Office of Managing Director (OMD). The
FCC's Bill Cross said these systems are two separate systems and that
they are discussing a solution.

Cross also moderated the FCC portion of the meeting and took the
opportunity to introduce the FCC personnel attending the conference. He
reviewed recent Commission rule decisions that have affected VECs,
including WTB 04-140 and 05-235 and remarked that the FCC is watching
the data streams and upgrades. Cross noted that the ARRL Web site showed
ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, buried in piles of work
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/02/28/101/?nc=1>.

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