The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators' (NCVEC) Question Pool Committee (QPC) is currently reviewing the Technician class (Element 2) question pool. According to QPC Chairman Rol Anders, K3RA, the review is part of a regular process: "Each question pool is reviewed on a four year rotation. The next Technician class pool will become effective on July 1, 2010."

According to QPC Member and ARRL Assistant VEC Manager Perry Green, WY1O, the reason the QPC reviews the three question pools every four years to ensure that the questions are asking for information relevant to the that particular license class. "In the case of the Technician pool, the question set should provide for the new Technician licensee to be able to establish his station and operate it legally, courteously and safely. The Technician question pool and exam are intended to be the beginning of the journey into the Amateur Radio Service. It prepares the person for the enjoyment of operating, and that of preparing to learn electronics, the cornerstone of the education needed to obtain the further enjoyment that can come with the higher license classes."

Green said that the QPC must rely on members of the Amateur Radio community to suggest questions and answers in a responsible manner to preserve a high level of legitimacy for our radio service, so the NCVEC QPC is seeking input from the amateur community concerning the revision. They are accepting input for new question topics and new questions, as well as suggestions for changes or deletions.

Anders said that amateurs may also submit questions for the QPC via the NCVEC Web site. If you choose to submit a question for the QPC's consideration, please be sure to observe the following procedure: 

•  Questions must have no more than 210 characters, including spaces, or a maximum of three 70 character lines.

•  Answers must be no more than 140 characters, including spaces, or two 70 character lines in length

•  Each question must be accompanied by four possible answers. The answers may be in any order, but the correct answer must be indicated.

•  Each question must be accompanied by a resource or Part 97 rule to support the correct answer or explanation of the correct answer.

Green said that the most difficult part of writing the questions and answers is creating the incorrect answers. "We try to stay away from 'All of these answers are correct' and 'None of these answers are correct' for some obvious reasons," he said. "It is a more difficult task to find three incorrect answers that are plausible, but are absolutely incorrect!"

The current Technician question pool, effective July 1, 2006, will expire on June 30, 2010. The General class question pool is effective July 1, 2007 and is valid through June 30, 2011. The Amateur Extra class pool became effective July 1, 2008 and is valid until June 30, 2012. If you have any comments or suggestions on the current Element 2 question pool, please contact Anders via e-mail