Raymond Quinn wrote to Roy Witt:   
      
    RQ> -=> Roy Witt wrote to TOM WALKER <=-   
      
    RW>> AFAIK, if you already have a license and you've successfully passed   
    RW>> a higher license exam, you may operate with the higher privileges on   
    RW>> your present class of license for 30 days or the day your new   
    RW>> license is delivered in the mail. If you aren't presently licensed,   
    RW>> you'll not be able to operate until you do have your license in   
    RW>> hand.   
      
    RQ> If you are a licensed Technician class operator and you upgrade to   
    RQ> General, you can immediately use your new privilages as long as you   
    RQ> append /AG to your call when operating within those new privilages.   
    RQ> For Amateur Extra, it is /AE.   
      
   This is basically what I referred to above.   
      
    RQ> For example, when I upgraded to Amateur Extra last June, I was able   
    RQ> to use my new privilages after leaving the test session by   
    RQ> identifying as "W6RAY/AE". (I only missed 2 out of 50)   
      
   This is what I did when I upgraded from Technician to General, c1979.   
      
    RQ> As a VE, I went to a test session provided by another group to avoid   
    RQ> any sug- gestion of impropriety. Although not a VE at the time (you   
    RQ> have to be at least a General Class operator to become a VE and can   
    RQ> only administer the Technician Class test) I went to a session in yet   
    RQ> another town when I upgraded to General in (I think) 2007.   
      
   When I upgraded from general to advanced in 1980 (there were no VEs then),   
   I saw no further need to upgrade to AE because I was more into VHF/UHF   
   repeaters than I was in morse code and HF...the few KCs of extra band   
   space didn't appeal to me at all. To each his own in HAM radio - I   
   maintained my own repeater on Mt Palomar (449.125-) as well as the Poway   
   club's VHF repeater (147.030+).   
      
      
            R\%/itt, K5RXT   
      
      
   --- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-31012   
    * Origin: Texas Lone-Star - Texan, American, USAian  (1:387/22)