Amateur Radio at IEEE AP-S/URSI 2017

At the AP-S/URSI 2015 symposium in Vancouver, we began to encourage Radio Amateurs to display their callsign on their conference badges and we held the first-ever Amateur Radio breakfast meeting. Given the very favourable response, we continued these initiatives in Puerto Rico in 2016. Our second Amateur Radio breakfast meeting attracted even more attendees and formal expressions of support from the Education and SIGHT committees.

Welcome to San Diego in 2017, and further expansion of this special interest group.

ARRL will be publishing stories about our Amateur Radio activities at IEEE APS/URSI 2017. These activities will include:

FCC Amateur Radio License Exam Session - Sunday, July 9

Volunteer Examiners from San Diego will be onsite to administer FCC Amateur Radio License Exams to registered attendees of the 2017 AP-S/URSI Symposium. You will need to add this to your advance registration in order to take the exam. There are three FCC amateur radio license classes - Technician, General and Extra. On your application, which we recommend you complete in advance, you will be able to make your selection.

Note that there is no longer a Morse code requirement. The web sites http://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/ and https://hamexam.org are valuable sources of study information.

If you plan to sit for the exam, please note that you will need the following:

1. An NCVEC Form 605. Do not use the FCC Form 605. The form must have your FCC registration number on the form. The form may be downloaded here - http://www.ncvec.org/downloads/ncvec605.pdf
2. To obtain a FRN, please go to https://www.fcc.gov/help/getting-fcc-registration-number-frn-universal-licensing-system-uls.
3. At the exam, please present a legal photo ID (driver's license or a passport). If no photo ID is available, bring two original forms of identification. No photocopies will be accepted. These may include a non-photo ID/driver's license, birth certificate (must be a certified copy), local library card, local utility bill, bank statement or other business correspondence that specifically names you, or a postmarked envelope addressed to you, with your current mailing address, as it appears on your Form 605.
   
   If you are testing for an upgrade, bring either the original and a copy of your current license, or the original and a copy of the certificate of successful completion of an examination from a previous session.
4. Two (2) #2 pencils, with erasers, and a pen.
5. A calculator with the memory erased and formulas cleared is allowed. You may not bring any written notes or calculations into the exam session. Slide rules and logarithmic tables are acceptable, as long as they're free of notes and formulas. Cell phone must be silenced or turned off during the exam session and the phones' calculator function may not be used. In addition, iPhones, iPads, Androids, smartphones, Blackberry devices and all similar electronic devices with a calculator capability, may NOT be used.
6. An advantage to taking the test at the symposium...no fee will be charged.

Amateur Radio Operators Breakfast - Monday, July 10

The Amateur Radio Breakfast Meeting is open to all conference participants who hold an amateur radio call sign, but pre-registration is required. The intent of the gathering is to gather support for AP-S student, outreach, SIGHT and educational activities involving amateur radio.

Amateur Radio special event station N6P - Tuesday, July 12 - Thursday, July 14

Amateur Radio special event station N6P will be set up at the Amateur Radio booth in the commercial exhibits area. Please drop by and see the station in operation!

Other Amateur Radio demonstrations will be held throughout the week in and around the conference venue.

For more information, please contact Dave Michelson, VE7TSX : davem@ece.ubc.ca or Bob Paknys, VE2JBP : robert.paknys@concordia.ca.