SB QST @ ARL $ARLB026 ARLB026 VECs Struggle with Paperwork Mountain ZCZC AG26 QST de W1AW ARRL Bulletin 26 ARLB026 From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT May 12, 2000 To all radio amateurs SB QST ARL ARLB026 ARLB026 VECs Struggle with Paperwork Mountain Despite an infusion of temporary help, Volunteer Examiner Coordinators continue struggling to process the huge influx of exam session paperwork resulting from Amateur Radio restructuring. ARRL-VEC and W5YI-VEC continue to estimate that it is taking from three to four weeks from exam session to license grant. ARRL-VEC Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, and his staff have been putting in a lot of overtime and weekend hours. Fred Maia, W5YI, cites a similar situation at his W5YI-VEC. ''We've got mail buckets everywhere,'' he said. Jahnke and Maia say processing is proceeding as fast as possible. They urge amateur applicants to refrain from contacting either their respective VECs or the FCC to inquire as to the progress of individual applications. Applicants wishing to file a vanity call sign application or to upgrade their Volunteer Examiner status cannot do so without a license grant from the FCC reflecting the applicant's upgraded class. In a few cases, applicants are awaiting first-time amateur licenses and do not even have interim operating authority. Jahnke says the ARRL-VEC has caught up with the paperwork backlog from pre-April 15 test sessions. The ARRL-VEC served nearly 35,800 applicants between January 1 and April 14. It continues to deal with the nearly 16,000 applications logged in from April 15 through April 25. Jahnke points out that while VE teams have 10 days to ship session paperwork, transit times can be as long as a week. Once keyed in and sent on electronically to the FCC, most applications are granted overnight. Jahnke says the care ARRL-VEC takes in checking VE session paperwork and applications for ''completeness, accuracy and integrity'' pays off in avoiding problems down the road. Statistics to date suggest a total of more than 13,000 new Generals and more than 10,000 new Extra class hams as a result of restructuring. NNNN /EX