Tennessee Approves Credentials for Amateur Radio Technician License

The FCC Amateur Radio Technician Class license is now an approved industry credential in the State of Tennessee. The certification has been placed as Tier 1- Recognised and will be included on the 2026-27 Statewide Industry Credential List.

Stephanie Kelly, Director of Credentialing and Post-secondary Success, Division of Post-secondary, Workforce, CTE, and Military Readiness for the Tennessee Department of Education, said this certification will benefit students throughout the state. “Students across the state will have access to high-value, industry-recognised credentials that support strong post-secondary and workforce pathways.”

“We sincerely look forward to the next steps in getting students licensed, on the air, and learning with all the benefits and applications in amateur radio”

— Justin McClain, KQ4ANJ - Riverside High School Teacher

The statewide industry credential program promotes credentials for grade K-12 students through a structured process that allows for the submission of credentials for review by various agencies. The program is designed to enhance post-secondary articulation and provide students with certification, credentials, and degrees in high-skilled and high-wage industries.

New Technician Class Question Pool Released

The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) Question Pool Committee (QPC) released the revised 2026-2030 Technician Class (Element 2) question pool. It will be required for all exam sessions beginning 1st July 2026. The new pool includes 409 questions (27 new, 30 removed, and about 155 modified), compared to 412 in the prior pool. The pool also includes three diagrams used for some of the questions.

This updated question pool incorporates significant changes compared to the prior pool. The questions were checked for technical accuracy and relevance to current amateur radio practices, as well as for grammar, syntax, format, clarity, and for redundancy within and between the pools.

VECs and Volunteer Examiners must use test designs based on the new pool starting on 1st July 2026. Current ARRL VEC Technician Class exam booklets (2022 series) and computer-generated Technician Class exams created from the 2022 question pool are valid until 30th June 2026. After that, old versions should be destroyed.

ARRL will have new editions of Technician Class study materials, including The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual, Gordon West Technician Class License Prep book, and ARRL’s Tech Q&A, by May 2026.

NCVEC - https://ncvec.org/

Dan Romanchik No-Nonsense Study Guides - https://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/

ESC Announces Updated Version of the Direct to Full Syllabus

The RSGB Examination Standards Committee is pleased to announce the publication of an updated version of the Direct to Full syllabus.

The significant changes from the previous version are the moving of some points between Section One on Licensing and Section Two on Operating. These changes bring the Direct to Full syllabus into line with the latest version of the three-part syllabus.

You can find the updated syllabus and change documentation on the RSGB website.

These changes will come into effect from January 2026, so please choose the correct version of the syllabus for the date you plan to take your exam.

More Information - https://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/rsgb-notices/2025/08/22/esc-announces-updated-version-of-the-direct-to-full-syllabus/