After talking with a few club members about HAM Radio Licensing, there's a group of us that want to go for the 'Technician' license in order to lawfully use 146.460Mhz (and other frequencies in the HAM spectrum) for communications on the trail. After getting jaded on the uncontrolled traffic and noise on pretty much every CB channel, scanning HAM frequencies gives much clearer communications and little interruption, combined with the low cost of entry ($20 BAEOUFANG or YAESEOUI radio's on Amazon...), everybody seems to be migrating to the newer technology.
If you're a future HAMster, keep reading!
There are over 3 Million HAM radio operators in the world today, with about 700,000 of those here in the United States. For those unfamiliar with the licensing process, the FCC allows for frequency use within certain bands for amateur radio operators within the United States (*the UN controls the band 'plans' around much of the rest of the world) for holders of a 10-year license. In order to use these frequencies legally, individuals need to pass a 35 question, multiple choice test from a bank of 350 total test questions. Don't let that scare you, though - the ACTUAL test questions are available from many different sources, so you can study the exact material you need to pass the test with flying colors. You'll only need to take the test ONCE, and then renewal is simple process every 10 years.
This thread will consolidate some useful informational links, forum member questions (*and maybe some answers from existing HAMs?), and possible study group dates leading up to our Target Test day - Saturday, April 22 @ 7p. On that day, the Arizona Red Cross and an associated local Amateur Radio group hosts Volunteer Examiners who will administer the test (all 3 levels if you're looking to upgrade your license from Technician to General, or Amateur Extra) for anybody that signs up ahead of time. This test date was chosen based on schedule availability of club members, and the tests are administered monthly on the 4th Saturday of every month in case you want to test sooner or later.
As a starting point, the most common and complete study guide is the "ARRL HAM Radio License Manual" which you can get through Amazon (for $23.86) here: The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual: ARRL Inc.: 9781625950130: Amazon.com: Books , and provides an online study and practice test capability with purchase of the printed manual. This may be convenient for 'book-learners' (like me), and there's a series of YouTube videos which explain the content in an instructor-led forum for 'listen/see learners', too. Here's the book;
This book provides a lot of useful information beyond just passing the test, so I can recommend it already even though I've not read the whole thing cover-to-cover, just yet.
Over the next several days, I'll update this thread with more specific information on the test location, expectations, and how we can work out study groups if people want to do so. Please vote in the poll above, or catch me at this Friday's CSC Monthly Meeting if you're interested, and I hope we get a bunch of us licensed and up to speed on the latest technology to make our Club Runs that much more entertaining!
AZ Amateur Radio Club (testing): www.w7io.org
Location: 4747 N 22nd Street @7p on 4th Saturday of each month
Online Study Guide & Flash Cards (study & practice testing): www.hamstudy.org
If you're a future HAMster, keep reading!
There are over 3 Million HAM radio operators in the world today, with about 700,000 of those here in the United States. For those unfamiliar with the licensing process, the FCC allows for frequency use within certain bands for amateur radio operators within the United States (*the UN controls the band 'plans' around much of the rest of the world) for holders of a 10-year license. In order to use these frequencies legally, individuals need to pass a 35 question, multiple choice test from a bank of 350 total test questions. Don't let that scare you, though - the ACTUAL test questions are available from many different sources, so you can study the exact material you need to pass the test with flying colors. You'll only need to take the test ONCE, and then renewal is simple process every 10 years.
This thread will consolidate some useful informational links, forum member questions (*and maybe some answers from existing HAMs?), and possible study group dates leading up to our Target Test day - Saturday, April 22 @ 7p. On that day, the Arizona Red Cross and an associated local Amateur Radio group hosts Volunteer Examiners who will administer the test (all 3 levels if you're looking to upgrade your license from Technician to General, or Amateur Extra) for anybody that signs up ahead of time. This test date was chosen based on schedule availability of club members, and the tests are administered monthly on the 4th Saturday of every month in case you want to test sooner or later.
As a starting point, the most common and complete study guide is the "ARRL HAM Radio License Manual" which you can get through Amazon (for $23.86) here: The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual: ARRL Inc.: 9781625950130: Amazon.com: Books , and provides an online study and practice test capability with purchase of the printed manual. This may be convenient for 'book-learners' (like me), and there's a series of YouTube videos which explain the content in an instructor-led forum for 'listen/see learners', too. Here's the book;
This book provides a lot of useful information beyond just passing the test, so I can recommend it already even though I've not read the whole thing cover-to-cover, just yet.
Over the next several days, I'll update this thread with more specific information on the test location, expectations, and how we can work out study groups if people want to do so. Please vote in the poll above, or catch me at this Friday's CSC Monthly Meeting if you're interested, and I hope we get a bunch of us licensed and up to speed on the latest technology to make our Club Runs that much more entertaining!
AZ Amateur Radio Club (testing): www.w7io.org
Location: 4747 N 22nd Street @7p on 4th Saturday of each month
Online Study Guide & Flash Cards (study & practice testing): www.hamstudy.org
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