Why snail mail?

[mpatch]

Why would/do the people administering the test still use snail mail for submitting info? Found out after testing that they still use snail mail to submit the info.
I assimilate it to the few times a year when I have a customer ask me to fax something.....it's not 1988 anymore is normally my response and I ask for an email address.

 

[a417]

Not every person has access to a scanner to send documents, or the ability to send documents in the format a recipient may require. Some places are slowly catching up to the 21st century.

 

[AK9R]

The VECs, the organizations who sanction the testing, prepare a data file that is uploaded to the FCC for license processing. Each VEC is responsible for the contents of that file.

Some VECs, such as the Laurel VEC, put that responsibility on the test session leader to make sure all of the documentation is correct before sending the session data to the Laurel state/regional coordinators who prepare the upload data for the FCC.

Other VECs, such as the ARRL VEC, prefer to have all of the paperwork from a test session in hand at a central location before preparing the data. That means that all of the paperwork from an ARRL VEC session has to be mailed to the ARRL headquarters where a staffer there verifies the applications and codes the data for upload to the FCC.

 

[ramal121]

You wouldn't believe the mess some VE teams mail back to the VEC. W9BU is correct, it has to be all sorted out before it is entered for e-file to the FCC. Paper makes sense for them to arrange everything. It has been this way for years.

By the way, ARRL uses priority mail which gets the package into their hands in about a day, even from Cali. Heck, I had to wait almost a month for my novice ticket but that was mostly the FCC to process and print a license. Our VE team mails a session the same day and new callsigns are posted in three or four days.

ARRL is also now testing e-file from select VE teams, but is still requiring the paper to be mailed as verification.

 

[W8RMH]

I took my Tech test in 2009 on a Saturday and my call sign was in the system on Tuesday. Pretty fast for 10 years ago.

 

[n5ims]

The W5YI VEC Team has nearly everyone file electronically with the only exceptions are the very few groups that have repeated rejections in their submissions. They have done this for several years so their turnaround is very quick. I passed my last upgrade on a Thursday evening and had it reflected in the ULS by mid-afternoon on Friday and this was in 2014.

 

[iMONITOR]

The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. So they make lots of money by requiring snail mail.

 

[ko6jw_2]

All of this depends on the VEC. I just had friend who had an old Technician license from the late 1950's who was entitled to an automatic upgrade to General. He contacted a VEC in Los Angeles and his upgrade was posted in less than 24 hours. On the other hand, when I was first licensed the wait time was 8 to 12 WEEKS. Nothing was on line and you had to wait for your license to come in the mail. No transmitting until the piece of paper was in your hand.

My experience is that inefficiency on the part of those giving the exams is the main cause of delays. Several years ago I upgraded from Advanced to Extra in Anchorage Alaska. They are their own VEC and the upgrade was posted on the FCC site in 48 hours.

 

[AK9R]

So they make lots of money by requiring snail mail.

Neither the United States Postal Service nor the Federal Communications Commission requires that VE teams submit test session documents by mail.

Some Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VECs), which are private organizations, require that VE teams submit test session documents to the VEC by mail. The VEC then prepares a data file which sent to the FCC electronically.

 

[vagrant]

My experience is that inefficiency on the part of those giving the exams is the main cause of delays.

My Technician license took several weeks to show up in the database in 2012. After that, changes were quick as I tested for General with a different group. My General upgrade and a vanity change were in the system later that same month.

The group for my Technician test were quite haphazard with their Field Day event itself, which is when I tested. I honestly thought I would need to submit that slip, one is provided after passing the test, in order to get licensed.

 

[W5lz]

When the 'kit' was sent to the local VEC there was a postagepaid envelope included. When each test session is sent in that postage paid envelope is used, and, another set of forms and PP envelope is returned to the VEC. Seems like a good idea to use them, so we do. So far, it usually takes a week or less to get results which is reasonable. If you're looking for 'instant gratification' I would suggest testing else where. You can always use that 'wait time' to get things ready.
For those that are going to comment about some faster way of doing things, you should have to wait the three months it took my original license to arrive. You had to have that 'hard copy' in hand before touching a transmitter, and the license was only good for one year. That three months was about average... and a real PITA, but it was worth it.

 

[mpatch]

Out of curiosity I shot one of the VE's an email asking why snail mail.
This was the reply I got.

"The submission of the testing paperwork is done by mail to the ARRL per their procedure. They send the information to the FCC electronically. The ARRL is being very conservative in updating the process to reduce the amount of paper being mailed and getting our results quicker. "

 

[k6cpo]

I'm a Team Leader for the SANDARC VEC. We're a small VEC and operate only in San Diego County, CA. We used to hand-deliver the results to our VEC but now most of the team leaders are scanning and e-mailing the results to the VEC. Just this past Saturday, I conducted two different test sessions. One was a regularly scheduled morning session and the other was a Technician class of 25 students. Sunday, I scanned both sets of paperwork and e-mailed it to the VEC. All the call signs were up yesterday morning. We once conducted a test session on a Friday morning and the paperwork was delivered to the VEC within an hour of the session. Call signs and upgrades appeared in the ULS before the close of business the same day.

 

[needairtime]

Apologies for necro, but I suspect the reason why ARRL-VEC still uses snail mail to get VE data is just to be consistent across all VE teams - especially for the VE teams out in the boonies where they may not readily have internet access. This is very unlike the smaller VECs which probably also only test well populated (and thus well connected) areas, and internet submissions can easily be standardized.

But maybe someday ARRL-VEC will get with the times and have multiple methods of getting the data to them so the VE teams with faster connectivity can get the data to the VEC faster, maybe more so with the current pandemic. But I suspect they're reeling with all the older/traditional method applicants with paper, and now some with only electronic equivalent CSCEs with the experimental online exam sessions. Keeping it all straight must be annoying...

 

[BaoFeng_Blogger]

Mpatch said in part...

Why would/do the people administering the test still use snail mail for submitting info? Found out after testing that they still use snail mail to submit the info.

Interesting. When I took my Tech test they entered everything via cell phone. Ten minutes later (well, maybe 12 minutes later ), I had my call sign.

73 to ya...

BaoFeng Blogger

 

[k6cpo]

Interesting. When I took my Tech test they entered everything via cell phone. Ten minutes later (well, maybe 12 minutes later ), I had my call sign.

73 to ya...

BaoFeng Blogger

How long ago and which VEC?

 

[crazyboy]

Have you read some of the posts on QRZ? The fact that they use snail mail is, by far, not a surprise after seeing the amount of hams stuck in the stone ages. Surprised the test isn’t taken on stone with a chisel.

 

[wa8pyr]

By the way, ARRL uses priority mail which gets the package into their hands in about a day, even from Cali. Heck, I had to wait almost a month for my novice ticket but that was mostly the FCC to process and print a license. Our VE team mails a session the same day and new callsigns are posted in three or four days.

ARRL is also now testing e-file from select VE teams, but is still requiring the paper to be mailed as verification.

Yes, ARRL is pretty quick; I'll get the package in the mail the Monday after the session and the licenses typically show up on line by the following Monday. That's not bad at all.

 

[a417]

That's not bad at all.

That's because they're in Nothingtodoington,CT.

Might as well move stuff along, ya know?

 

[alcahuete]

Well, it's as much the FCC's fault as it is the hams who are completely stuck in the stone age.

The VECs should be out of the loop aside from making sure the VEs are trained to the appropriate standards. The VEs should be able to log into a FCC portal as soon as the test is finished, and the FCC database spits out a callsign. This is 2020 here. If the VEC wants a hard copy or scanned copy of the test, that can happen after the fact.