I became an Extra class amateur radio operator in April
of 2002 and at the time I was told that I could become a volunteer examiner
just by taking a test. Okay! I just passed 4 tests to get my license and
become an extra. What would one more do to me? So I went to the
American
Radio Relay League and found the link that would let me
apply to be a VEapply to be a VE.
I got the study materials in the mail and took the test, faxed my answers
in, (this test is open book and you take in the comfort of your own home),
a couple of weeks later I got my credentials and was a VE. I started looking
around for a test session to join in on, and help out with. During my search,
I realized that there were no test sessions held anywhere near down town
Atlanta, which is more centrally located then all the test sessions in the
suburbs. So I made it my mission to get a session down town and keep a session
down town. I talked to my friend KE4QLH, and he said we could get the GA
TECH session restarted but that it needed a VE LIASON and some VE's to get
it going again. I talked to a few hams in the Atlanta Radio Club and found
that I could get some VE's from there, and with KE4QLH being a student at
GA TECH we could get a room in the student center. We set the first test
date in October of 2002. This and all subsequent sessions at GA TECH have
been co sponsored by the Atlanta Radio Club and the Georgia Tech Amateur
Radio Club. We usually have a couple of students from GA TECH who are also
VE's who show up and help out. The picture below is the core group that is
there every 4th Sunday of each month.