Amatuer Radio, a worldwide hobby that is often used as a Public Service as well, has something for everyone and everyone is welcome!
If you haven’t already, be sure to start with post #1 in this series https://ki4win.com/so-you-want-to-become-a-ham/.
If you’ve gotten this far, you’re likely ready to start the process, so let’s get going!
First things first, you need to get yourself an FRN (FCC Registration Number). You only need to do this once, and you can follow the instructions here to do that: https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/support/knowledge-base/universal-licensing-system-uls-resources/getting-fcc-registration
It’s important to have that done before you go and take your test as that number needs to be entered on your paperwork before submittal to the FCC.
Alright, now that you’ve satisfied Uncle Sam, it’s time to start studying!
There are three levels of license currently being issued:
The three ham radio license levels are Technician, General, and Extra, from lowest to highest:
Technician: The entry-level license that grants privileges to transmit on VHF and UHF bands for local area communications. Many new operators start with this license and stay with it for a long time. This gets you into 2, 6, and 10 meter bands, as well as the upper bands (70 cm and above).
General: A more advanced license that grants additional operating privileges. This gets you into 12, 15, 17, 20, 40, 60., 75., 80, and 160 meter bands.
Extra: The top-level license. This license allows you complete unrestricted access to the entire spectrum of all of the Ham Radio bands!
You can read a lot more about licensing here:
https://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-licenses
To get started, you’ll want to study up for the license level(s) you want to test for. You ARE allowed to test for up to all three levels of license at once, however, you have to pass the lower tests to get the upper level licenses!
Several great websites where you can study and take practice tests:
https://hamradioprep.com/
https://hamstudy.org/
https://hamexam.org/
https://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/
https://www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/
https://w4eey.com/ham-license-classes.html#/
Some excellent study guides you can purchase as a book:
ARRL Ham Radio License Manual
Gordon West Technician Class FCC Element 2 Amateur Radio License Preparation
The Ham Radio Prep Technician Class License Manual (2022 – 2026)
*I have provided amazon links as they’re readily accessible, however, I am not affiliated with, nor do I support, amazon.com.
The ARRL (Amatuer Radio Relay League) creates a new question pool for every class of license about every four years, so the information you study will take the same answers for that time period. Be sure to check the dates of the question pool you’re studying for the license class you’re after to ensure you’re studying the right stuff. While the information and technology are mostly the same year after year, new or updated information does make it into the test question pools!
Lastly, if you’re not sure what class of license to go for, just start with your technician license and once you earn it, use the mess out of it! 😀
So, what about Amateur Radio is interesting to you?
Drop a comment below to let me know what brought you here, what you’re looking for, or what you’d like to read more about!
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