Five County Ham Radio Enthusiasts

03/07/2026

I have a temporary website up at

Five County Ham Radio Enthusiasts Volunteer Examiner Team (FCVET) is a part of the Laurel VEC Organization. Laurel VEC offers amateur radio exams at no charge. You can find our in-person exam sessions at Hamstudy.org/FCVET. If you live outside the central North Carolina area check for your exam loca...

03/04/2026

K3UI Will do anything for A QSO
K3UI is a big supporter of amateur radio playing multiple roles. AUXCOM, Big RTTY contester and the supports central North Carolina Volunteer examiners for the Laurel VEC. Before I moved to Rockingham and was considering leaving the team leader position of the Five County VE Team he convinced me to stay as leader but he would do the role as deputy meaning taking care of all the paperwork for the exam sessions. Video shows him going to his shack after knee surgery to make contact with me for the South Carolina QSO Party. The next day he did the same thing for the North Carolina QSO Party. Last year the FCVET had 38 exams and 136 applicants. Laurel VEC offers in person no charge amateur radio exams. Thank you to all the applicants and all volunteer examiners that serve in that role. Check with your local team to volunteer to help

01/17/2026

Once again this year we are supporting CACKALACKYCON in Durham May 16 by providing no charge amateur radio exams to the computer hackers. If you are a VE and would like to help reach out to me!

12/18/2025

Five County Amateur Radio Enthusiasts is pleased to support the Wendell Museum’s ARRL Kid’s Day activities
When: January 3, 2026 1:00 PM - 4@:00 PM

Activities include but not limited to
Opportunities for Visitors to talk to other Kids Day participants around the world!
Morse Code Demonstrations Learn how to send your name using Morse Code
Satellite Demonstrations
Free no charge amateur radio exams!

12/02/2025

I just looked at the statistics for the FCVET. 37 sessions, 146 applicants took at least 146 no charge exams. Thanks to all the volunteer examiners and the venues that offer their venues at no charge. We pass the savings onto the applicants. Wendell United Methodist Church, Supreme T-shirts & Apparel, and Smithfield American Red Cross
If you need to find an exam near you enter your location and find a free exam! https://hamstudy.org/

11/20/2025

Good News The FCC is processing amateur radio applications again!

05/20/2025

Hackers Take Amateur Radio Exam

Premiers at 12 noon May 20, 2025

Five County VE Team (FCVET) offers no charge amateur radio exams through Laurel VEC. They have gave exams to scouts, balloonists, and rocket scientists but never computer hackers. Several months before The organizer of CackalackyCon asked FCVET to host an exam session at their event in May. It turns out that was the same day an exam was already scheduled that morning in Smithfield and on the weekend of the Hamvention was being held in Ohio. This meant a few members may be out of town. Team leader Mark Gibson asked if the team would support this event. They said yes. The exam date was published in on the website and over 15 people registered. Since the room the hotel assigned to us was outside the events area the applicants would not have to pay the entrance fee. In the video the host of CackalackyCon KG4IVD Peri Jones was interviewed as well as the Volunteer Examiners that assisted with the event. I appreciate all the volunteer examiners that offer their time to further the hobby.

Premiers at 12 noon May 20, 2025

Five County VE Team (FCVET) offers no charge amateur radio exams through Laurel VEC. They have gave exams to scouts, balloonists, and rocket scientists but ...

03/22/2025

It was a pleasure to attend a successful amateur radio exam session in Wendell today. Due to privacy concerns we are unable to publicize how many applicants but we had sveral..

03/03/2025

I started noticing I was having trouble with my last two activations of a couple of parks and started to think it was my Icom 706 Mark II G. it turns out it wasn’t the problem!
A broadcast engineer with 46 years of experience Van Billingsley (KQ4RIC) checks the specifications of a radio. The equipment being used to test the radio is an international Flight Instrument The video shows checking the transmitter and receiver side of a transceiver including frequency, power and modulation level.

I started noticing I was having trouble with my last two activations of a couple of parks and started to think it was my Icom 706 Mark II G. it turns out it ...

02/28/2025

No charge amateur radio exams for March

6400 Johnson Pond Road, Fuquay Varina, NC 27526 First Saturday 9 AM

2813 Banks Road, Raleigh, NC 27603 Third Thursday 10:00 AM*

805 S 3rd St Ste A Smithfield NC 27577, Third Saturday 9:30 AM

129 North Main Street, Wendell, NC 27591 Fourth Saturday 1:00 PM (Jan-Oct)

2011 Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27607 Fourth Tuesday Even Months 6 PM

Rockingham, NC once a quarter details at

Feb. 22, SC QSO PartyFeb. 23, NC QSO PartyMarch 7-8, Charlotte Ham FestMarch 8, Club Meeting ! This is the Saturday of Charlotte Ham Fest. The meeting will be held as usual.March 15 RCVET Test Session Video by Rob Humphries K4PDR This is a general interest Amateur Radio club and is open to any indiv...

01/29/2025

I thought I would look at our statistics so far for the year. Thanks to all the volunteer examiners and those behind the scenes.

01/21/2025

New No Charge Examination Venue Smithfield, NC

Congratulations to the 7 applicants!
Thanks to the Laurel VEC Volunteer Examiner team consisting of

N4RMF Kevin Walton
K4EUP Lowell Sayles
W2CK Stan Disbrow
AB4SL Scott Lewis
NE4Y Ken Kubacki
K3UI Richard Spargur
W4SIS Tom Lewis

We thank the Laurel VEC and the American Red Cross for allowing us to offer no charge amateur radio exams to the community.
For details of no charge area exams see

Study Tips and Registration 6400 Johnson Pond Road, Fuquay Varina, NC 27526 First Saturday 9 AM Register for the exam. 2813 Banks Road, Raleigh, NC 27603 Third Thursday 10:00 AM* Register for the exam 805 S 3rd St Ste A Smithfield NC 27577, 2025** Third Saturday 9:30 AM Register for the Exam 129 Nor...