Ham Exams

GARS Ham Radio Exams – Second Sunday of Every Month

Our Volunteer Examiner (VE) Team conducts Amateur Radio testing for all classes of Amateur Radio licenses as prepared by the W5YI-VEC group.  We are located in Gwinnett County, Georgia.
  • Walk-ins are welcome, no pre-registration required.
Reminder: All Technician exams given on or after July 1, 2022 will use the new 2022-2026 Technician question pool.
 
NOTE:  We will be transitioning from in-person paper exams to in-person electronic exams using HamStudy and ExamTools in the near future (hopefully Fall or Winter 2022).  When that happens, the below instructions will change slightly.  Please be sure to revisit this page a few days before you attend our exam session so you don’t waste any time performing any unnecessary tasks.  Thanks!

When

Second Sunday of every month starting promptly at 2:00pm. Doors open at 1:45pm so we can start promptly at 2:00pm.

View the list of our upcoming exam sessions on https://ham.study/sessions/GARS/.

Where

Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Chapter 690, Hangar #1
Gwinnett County Airport – Briscoe Field
690 Airport Rd
Lawrenceville, GA 30046
http://www.gars.org/gars/location/
(Please view this link — The entrance is not obvious upon arrival)

Cost

  • Exam Fee: $14.00 – CASH
  • FCC Application Fee: $35.00 – Billed and payable directly to the FCC. This fee is in addition to the Exam Fee. This fee is only billed if you pass your license exam and get a new call sign, and it will be billed directly from the FCC to you (the applicant). This fee applies to anyone getting their first call sign (newly licensed), requesting a new sequential call sign as part of a license upgrade, or anyone requesting a new vanity call sign (regardless of whether a new vanity call sign is issued).

What to Bring to our Exam Session

  • $14.00 – CASH ONLY – CHECKS, CREDIT CARDS, ETC. ARE NOT ACCEPTED
  • An FRN (FCC Registration Number) – SEE BELOW
  • Filled out application form: NCVEC 605 Form – SEE BELOW
  • A Government Issued Photo ID – Driver’s license, Passport, etc.
  • Minors without a Photo ID must bring their Social Security Card and Birth Certificate
  • One copy of your FCC Official license (or FCC Reference copy) for us to keep – if any
  • Original CSCE for any outstanding license upgrade(s) and one copy for us to keep – if any
  • Face Mask – Optional
  • If you don’t feel well, please be respectful of our volunteers and stay home.

*** As per the W5YI-VE manual – section 1.3:
*** Volunteer examiners are under no obligation to test anyone should they desire not to for any reason.

*** Cell phones, Smart watches, Bluetooth headsets, earbuds, etc. ***
*** MUST BE TURNED OFF AND PUT AWAY DURING THE EXAM SESSION ***

The ARRL has an excellent write-up on What to Bring to an Exam Session Here

What We Provide

  • Scratch Paper
  • Pens and Pencils with erasers
  • Simple Calculators – please use ours and don’t bring your own

Required Preparation

Get an FRN

An FRN (FCC Registration Number) from the FCC is now REQUIRED. If you already have an Amateur Radio license, your FRN will appear on your license. If you are unlicensed, you can obtain an FRN directly from the FCC’s website. To register and receive your FRN, click on the following link and click on the REGISTER button – https://apps.fcc.gov/coresWeb/.

Print and Bring a Copy of Your Ham Radio License (if you are already licensed)

Download and Print an Official copy of your license (preferred):
Log into the FCC ULS License Manager System https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsEntry/licManager/login.jsp with your FRN and password to ‘Download the Electronic Authorization’ of the official license. On the ‘Download Authorizations’ page the license holder will add their call sign to the ‘Authorizations to Download’ and then click download. The PDF of the license can be saved to a computer and printed later or the file can be opened and printed immediately.
Download and Print a Reference copy of your license (quicker):
Go to https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchLicense.jsp, enter your call sign and click the search button. Click on your call sign from the list of results. Click on the ‘Reference Copy’ link towards the top. The PDF of the license can be saved to a computer and printed later or the file can be opened and printed immediately.

Recommended Preparation

NCVEC 605 Application Form

Save time by printing out a filled out 605 form before you go. Download the NCVEC 605 Form by clicking on the link, fill it out, and print. It will not only save you time once you get to your exam session, but it can avoid data entry mistakes of your information made due to poor penmanship. We will have 605 forms available if you are unable to print one out.

Online Training

Find a Class

Unfortunately, not all classes are listed on the ARRL’s website. We also recommend asking at your local Amateur Radio Club(s), and by doing a Google search.

Get a Study Guide

If you are taking a class, it is recommended that you get the Study Guide recommended by the instructor. If you are studying on your own, or if the instructor does not have a preference, here are a few study guides to choose from. Don’t forget to try a Google search. New Technician Study Guides are being added all the time, and some of them are free.

Take Practice Exams

We recommend that you use multiple websites when taking practice exams. Not all websites seem to pick questions as randomly as what appears on the actual exams. All exams should use questions from the official Question Pools as determined by the NCVEC (National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators). Google search “ham practice exam” for additional websites.

Questions

Email us at exams@gars.org

Additional Exam Locations and Schedules

Many other groups offer Ham Radio Exams too. If our schedule does not fit your schedule, or to find a more convenient location, please click on the following link:

If you live in North Carolina or South Carolina and haven’t found an exam session closer to home, please check out https://wcars-club.org/schedulevewcars.htm and https://www.w4vec.org/ too.

Additional New Ham Info

The following sites contain a lot of good information about getting started in Ham Radio.

Amateur Radio License Lookup

The following FCC site allows you to look up Amateur Radio licenses by Call Sign, FRN or Name.

FCC CORES

Use the FCC CORES site to register and manage your 10 digit FCC Registration Number (FRN). This information (Name, Address, E-mail, etc.) pertains to your FRN, not your Amateur Radio license. It is important to keep your information up to date in both systems, the FCC CORES site and the FCC ULS site. Also use the FCC CORES site to pay any FCC Fees (new license, renewal, etc.).

FCC ULS

Use the FCC ULS site to manage any information pertaining to your Amateur Radio license (Name, Address, E-mail, etc.). It is important to keep your information up to date in both systems, the FCC CORES site and the FCC ULS site. Also use the FCC ULS site to renewal your license. (You will have to pay an FCC Fee at the FCC CORES site when renewing your license.)