Ham Radio For Dummies - H. Ward Silver

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rel="nofollow" href="#fb3_img_img_c2edfa2f-f442-5455-bcc7-174a1aa917b9.png" alt="Tip"/> Because of the pandemic, in-person classes may have shifted to an online format. This means you can take classes from almost any organization since you don’t have to travel to attend. Online classes are likely to continue since they have been very successful.

      Other options for finding classes include local disaster-preparedness organizations such as CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams, sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA); the National Weather Service’s SKYWARN instructors; and public-safety agencies such as police and fire departments. By asking around, you can usually turn up a reference to someone who’s involved with ham radio instruction.

      Occasionally, classes are advertised that take you from interested party to successful exam-taker in a single weekend. The Technician exam is simple enough that a focused, concerted effort over a couple of days can cram enough material into your brain for you to pass. The good part about these sessions is that by committing a single weekend, you can pass your exam on Sunday and find your new call sign in the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) database right away. For busy folks or those who are in a hurry, this timesavings is a tremendous incentive.

      

Remember when you crammed for a final exam overnight and the minute after you took the exam forgot everything that was on it? The same phenomenon applies to a weekend course. A lot of information that you memorize in a short period will fade quickly. In two days, you can’t really absorb the material well enough to understand it. You’ll use everything you learn in your studies later in real life. If you have time to take a weekly course, that’s the better option.

      

After the license study course, the same sponsor may also offer “new ham training” courses or presentations that help you use your new license. These are well worth your time, will help you learn to operate effectively, and you’ll have an opportunity to make new friends, as well!

      Books, websites, and videos

      You have a variety of options to help you study on your own. If you can, look at a few of the different resources to find one that seems right for your style. Here are a few of the more popular choices:

       Study guides: The best-known guide for licensing studies is the ARRL’s Ham Radio License Manual. Aimed at the person studying for a Technician exam, it goes well beyond presenting just the questions from the question pool; it teaches the why and how of the material. A great companion to the manual is ARRL’s Tech Q&A which gives the correct answer to each exam question. Both books are available in the ARRL Store (www.arrl.org) in the Licensing, Education & Training section and at numerous retail outlets.Gordon West (WB6NOA) has written a series of licensing guides and audio courses for all three license classes. These guides focus tightly on the question pool in question-and-answer format and are geared to students who want to pass the exam quickly without the more extensive background of the ARRL books. West’s books are available at www.masterpublishing.com/radio.html, www.w5yi.org, and various retail outlets.Dan Romanchik (KB6NU) also writes a series of popular study guide books that present the material in a very focused format. Dan has also written a great guide to learning Morse code and blogs extensively on a variety of ham radio topics at www.kb6nu.com.A team led by Stu Turner (WØSTU) offers a two-license package of study material for the Technician and General licenses (www.hamradioschool.com). The book includes graphics and explanations for each question.

       Websites: Here are a few good choices:HamTestOnline (www.hamradiolicenseexam.com/index.html) offers online tutoring and training material that you can access through your web browser.Hamstudy (hamstudy.org) is a practice guide in a flashcard format with apps for Android or iOS.

       Videos: Most license study videos are on YouTube (www.youtube.com). Search for ham radio technician class or ham radio technician study guide. There are quite a few videos to choose from. The “crash courses” are designed to help you pass the exam quickly. Others are more in-depth. Almost all are free and many are given by clubs. After you’ve passed the exam, you may find the same instructors giving video lessons on other topics that you will find useful. If you buddy up with a study partner, studying is much easier. Having a partner helps you both stick with it. Each of you will find different things are easy or difficult, so you can help each other get over the rough spots. Best of all, you can celebrate passing together. When you find that a topic is difficult to understand, try different explanations from two or three different sources. Seeing the topic from a few different perspectives often leads to an aha! moment of understanding.

      Online practice exams

      Online practice exams can be particularly useful. When tutoring students, I urge them to practice the online exams repeatedly. Because the online exams use the actual test questions, they’re almost like the real thing. Practicing with them reduces your nervousness and gets you used to the actual format.

      The sites score your exams and let you know which of the study areas need more work. When you can pass the online exams by a comfortable margin every time, you’ll do well in the actual session. You can find lots of online exams by doing an online search for ham radio practice exams. Practice with exams from two or three different sites to get a little practice with more than one style of exam. The ARRL provides a free online app, Exam Review for Ham Radio (arrlexamreview.appspot.com), which generates practice exams online.

      

How do you know when it’s time to stop studying and take the actual exam? Take the practice exams until you consistently score 80 percent or higher. Also, make sure that you’re practicing with a random selection of questions; you shouldn’t see the same questions each time. Passing the practice exams with a little safety margin will give you the confidence to sign up for your exam session.

      Studying for your license may take you on a journey into unfamiliar territory. You can easily get stuck at some point — maybe on a technical concept or on a rule that isn’t easy to understand.

      As in many similar situations, the best way to solve a problem is to call on a mentor — a more experienced person who can help you over the rough spots. They’re called Elmers, as explained in Chapter 3, and having someone to fill that role is important at this stage. (I discuss my own mentoring experience in the sidebar at the end of this chapter.)

      A lot of potential mentors are out there in Ham Radio Land. You can find them in the following places:

       Radio clubs: Clubs welcome visitors and often have an introduction session during meetings. This session gives you an opportunity to say something like this: “Hi. My name is so-and-so. I don’t have a license yet, but I’m studying and might need some help.” Chances are that you’ll get several offers of assistance and referrals to local experts or classes. (Find out more about clubs in Chapter 3.)

       Online: Although the best way to get assistance

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