Wellington VHF Group, Inc: Online.

A recent Amateur Radio Training Course run by the Tauranga Emergency Communications Group Inc., NZART Branch 88, trialled Wellington VHF Group’s preparatory material and ARX facilities.

Part of the procedure is that each successful candidate receives a message, firstly enabling them to check the accuracy of the certificate that SMART has emailed to them. Then secondly, to assure each new amateur that future assistance with regulatory matters is known to be available. The message from the Examiner to each new radio amateur reads:

“Congratulations on becoming a radio amateur. I hope you have many years of fun and enjoyment. You should have received your certificate (with callsign notification) attached to an official email. Please print it, frame it, and hang it on your wall! Admire it with pride! Please check it very carefully and advise me promptly if there are any errors, typos etc. If you have any future queries about regulatory matters, callsigns etc., please don’t hesitate to contact me. Best wishes – and good luck! Have FUN!”

Our ARX has received the following positive feedback, as just one indication of the success of this approach and the use of our materials.

“Thank you for the congratulations. The whole course and exam experience was a very positive one. I was very impressed with the quality of the material and the spirit in which it was taught and the efficiency of all the processes. It is easy to recognise that I am the beneficiary of very many years of thoughtful effort by a lot of people. I do feel that some very interesting windows are opening for me with the new certificate. I do expect to have plenty of fun and hopefully we will meet soon on the air.”

There were to be five candidates but one dropped out because of a clash of essential appointment times, and another was delayed in the South Island because of floods. Another exam is scheduled to cater for these two. A second course has also been established and that will be examined in a month or so.

Feedback such as that noted above is expected to further boost enthusiasm!