So You Want To Be A Ham

[wj5g-admin]

Obtaining an Amateur Radio license is straightforward and fairly easy. There is no age limit. Morse code is no longer a requirement for any amateur radio license class. Also, there are currently only three Amateur Radio licence classes. You can learn all you need to know to pass the license exam through self-study if you want. Many people learn by obtaining a study guide from an Amateur Radio store or from an online store.

The wife of a friend of mine grew bored on a trip from Lubbock to Amarillo when he and I were going to Amarillo to take the exam for our Advanced Class License. She passed the Technician Class license exam after studying for less than two hours. I passed all five exam elements using self-study.

However, Classroom training is probably the best way to learn what it takes to get your amateur radio license, since usually there will be multiple instructors who will help you learn the material.

The following external websites contain practice exams (question pool and answers).

Ham Study – https://hamstudy.org/
QRZ – https://www.qrz.com/hamtest/
EHam – https://www.eham.net/exams/
ARRL – http://www.arrl.org/question-pools

The 3 classes of Amateur Radio licenses:

Technician
[Element 2]

– pass a 35-question written exam
– all VHF/UHF Amateur band privileges (frequencies above 30 MHz)
– limited operations in certain HF bands

General
[Element 3]

– pass a 35-question written exam
– all VHF/UHF and most HF Amateur band privileges (10 through 160 meters)

Amateur Extra
[Element 4]

– pass a 50-question written exam
– all Amateur band privileges

As in many cities and towns, here in Abilene, Texas, exams are offered every month by the Key City Amateur Radio club (https://keycityarc.org). The club often offers classes open to anyone who wishes to attend. Check out the website if you would like more information.

Exam sessions are held in Abilene on the 1st Saturday of each month.