So you want to be a Ham. Good choice. When you have earned your license, you could become involved in emergency communication, radio frequency direction finding, moon bounce, contesting, or any number of radio spectrum experimentation. One of the developers of the GPS tracking system is a Ham.

The FCC Amateur Radio license has three classes: Technician, General, and Extra Class.

As a beginner, you need to start with the technician class. The Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) created a public service campaign, Hello Radio, to introduce the public to Ham Radio Operators.

According this campaign, there are two ways to prepare for the FCC Technician license test: take a class or do-it-yourself.

1. Take a Class:
a. At ARRL at http://www.arrl.org//FandES/courses/search.html, you can search for a class in your area.
b. Also, ARRL offers online classes. Information is at this link http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html#ec010.
c. Sometimes the classes are in your local newspaper.
d. Lastly, you could go to a local Amateur Radio club. Many of these clubs offer a Technician class to newcomers. You can find a club in your area at this link: http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html#ec010.

2. Do-It-Yourself
a. You can buy a license manual for Technician from ARRL at www.arrl.org/catalog/lm.
b. Gordon West also provides Technician manuals for beginners at www.w5yi.org/catalog.php?sort=4.
c. If you can't afford a manual, ARRL offers the exam question pool at http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/pools.html. (The questions do not change. Because it is an FCC exam, the same questions you see in the pool are the same questions you will see on the test.)

After you have studied for the test, you will need to find a testing site. ARRL at http://www.arrl.org/exam.html can help you find a site in your area. If you live in Nevada, you can find a test at SIERA (link below).

Since FCC dropped the Morse code requirement, earning a Ham radio license is easier than ever. Hope to hear you on the air.

73s KB7BZE

Useful Links

AA9PW FCC Amateur Radio www.aa9pw.com/radio/
ARRL www.arrl.org
Hello Radio www.hello-radio.org
QRZ.com Practice Exams www.qrz.com/ham/
SIERA www.siera-amateur-radio.org/
W5YI www.w5yi.org

Learn more about this author, Cyn Bagley - Memoirs Steward.
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