CLCC HAM training class - Dates and RSVP (3 Viewers)

[hakalugi]

As a follow up to our club's uber successful self-led and proctored previous HAM class, the club plans on running another HAM class for members in good standing (meaning you're current with us and TLCA).

• Same event: course and testing
• Club peers are already certified and the club can 'legally' train others at the Technician, General and Am.Extral levels (more info: Ham Radio Licenses)

In short, we use CB (poor in woods), Motorola handheld radios (see Ed for more info, he has some for sale), and HAM for longer reach - a great safety tool to have when away from the club, too.

At tonight's meeting we had a show of hands that 11 folks would like to participate. I was out of town for the last one, and was one of the affirmatives tonight, and we hope to see you there.

Things to note:

1) Ed needs 3+ weeks to coordinate with ARRL for the class and test.
2) We need to pick a date, location may be near Burke, and likely in NoVA, final TBD based on date and headcount.

Please vote below on when this would work for you and RSVP.

Some study questions i've drilled in the past are here: eHam.net Ham Radio Practice Exams Ed not sure what other resources folks should check out, ARRL | Licensing, Education & Training | Getting on the Air, that we can share before the class starts?

Dates posted below:

* Saturday June 9th (before school lets out and everyone is traveling for summer)
* Saturday June 23 (on the cusp of early vaca's)
* Saturday June 30th (right before July 4th week)

Closing the poll on 5/11 to give us time to setup in case we pick June 9th, you should be able to pick 2 of the 3 dates below in the poll.

 

[TimmyTRex]

When I was studying for the test I basically just used the following Android app to drill through the possible questions over and over again. It's great for when you only have small blocks of time to study.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iversoft.ham.test.prep

These guys ran a class. It's long - but sometimes helpful to have someone give a little context to the answers.



Note that a lot of the material on the Technician test is similar to the next level General test. Give serious consideration to taking both in the same sitting. There's a real advantage and added flexibility with allowed frequencies to having the higher level General license.

 

[iptman]

I'm in this time. I can't do the 30th but look good for the other 2 dates.

 

[Jakes40]

The 30th is the best day!!

 

[DominicanFZJ80]

Ed runs a great prep class. Highly recommend ya'll jump on this!

 

[emorth]

Based on the votes and the availability of the club’s 4 VEs (Volunteer Examiners) June 9th is the date.

Location: TBD
Start time 10:00

More info to follow regarding details and test prep materials. Just wanted to get this out so you can put it on your calendar.

 

[davesax36]

At this point, I'm in.

 

[iptman]

I'm locked in.

 

[emorth]

Who is planning to attend and which test(s) (technician, general, extra) would you like to take? Please let me know ASAP, even if you are a "maybe". I have to request the test material and FCC forms from the ARRL and I need to know how many to get. Getting too many forms is better than not enough.

More info:

Test location: TBD (The local libraries are booked, any suggestions???) still looking for a suitable location
Date: Saturday June 9, 2018
Technician license class: 10:00 - 4:00 (yes, coffee & donuts in the morning and we will do lunch)
Tests for Technician, General & Extra licenses: 4:00 If you don't need/want to attend the class for the technician license and just want to take a test show up at 4:00.
What to bring: Government issued ID (drivers license) If you are already a ham, bring your ham license.

Background info: There are 3 (technician, general and extra) Amateur (Ham) Radio licenses. The technician is the first level which is the most useful for off-roading. The technician license provides operators with a variety of local comms capabilities. The general license offers operators access to frequencies that will provide extended (region, country and worldwide) coverage. Good to have if you are going to areas very far from civilization. The extra license just provides operators with some additional bandwidth, no additional comms capabilities.

Class for the Technician level license: For those of you planning to take the class for the technician license please print the 3 documents below and bring them to the class. The ncvec.org link will give you all of the possible test questions with answers. There will be 30 questions on the test. We will go over these in the class. Don't stress when you see the tech questions, there are easy, understandable explanations. Kids in elementary school (and Jeff) have passed the test.

1. Technician questions: NCVEC - 2014-2018 Technician Question Pool
2. Band chart: Graphical Frequency Allocations
3. Q signals: http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Get on the Air/Comm w Other Hams-Q Signals.pdf

After you pass the technician test you can take the general test, pass that and then take the extra. Might as well, nothing to lose. We are not planning to cover any of the general or extra license questions in the class. Maybe a few if there is free time before 4:00. If there is interest in getting the general license, we can have another class to cover those questions and offer the test. The extra license will require its own class. The questions & answers for those of you interested in taking the general & extra license test are here:

General: NCVEC - Public Domain Release 2015-2019 General Class Pool (30 questions on the test)
Extra: NCVEC - 3rd Public Domain Release of 2016-2020 Extra Class Question Pool (50 questions on the test)

Additional study material for the technician, general & extra licenses can be found here:

Exam review: ARRL Exam Review for Ham Radio™ (no need to fill in the optional info page)
Exam prep: Instruction: Exam Practice and Review
General info: ARRL | Licensing, Education & Training | Getting on the Air
Also, Google ham/amateur radio test

Most important... If you plan to attend and you are not on the list please let me know so I am sure to bring enough donuts & coffee for everyone.

Apinti KM4EKU, StaleAle KK4SOC & EstMedicinaLuto KN4JLJ will be also be participating.

See ya on the 9th,
Ed WA3TOL

 

[iptman]

I'm in for the Tech and maybe the General.

 

[davesax36]

I'm in for the Tech and maybe the General.

Me, too.

 

[76FJ40]

Ditto

 

[iptman]

Ditto

Sweet....I'll have someone to cheat off of!

 

[76FJ40]

You might want to pick someone smarter to cheat off of ...

 

[Tikicruiser]

Don’t forget a pillow. One of those wrap around neck pillows for an airplane will work great and make it less obvious if you fall asleep.

 

[NearJetties]

Do you need to know far in advance? I’d like to come but not sure I can yet.

Also, I assume you don’t need to own any equipment to be certified?

 

[emorth]

No worries. A “maybe” status is all I need. I just want to make sure I get enough paperwork. No equipment needed.

Hope to see you on the 9th.

 

[davesax36]

Do we still need a location? I can see if my room at school is checked out to anyone. We could probably do it there if we needed to. (Kenmore Middle School in Arlington)

 

[emorth]

Thanks for the offer. The library where we had the class before is booked (pun?). I tried to get a school classroom in Fairfax Co but the club doesn't meet the insurance requirements. Are there insurance requirements in Arlington Co? I am trying to get the training room at the local volunteer fire dept.

Fairfax Co CERT Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) | Fire and Rescue is having a radio workshop on May 20 in the City of Fairfax http://volunteer.fairfaxcounty.gov/...&oppGuid=4196AE99-DA1B-481C-AF1D-975228059B3D if anyone is ready to take the ham test(s).

 

[davesax36]

I don't know of any insurance requirements, but I'll check with my facilities manager. There are so many groups that meet at my place, I can't imagine that insurance would be a sticking point.