burner50
Pinlifter
Premium,VIP
join:2002-06-05
On the lead
 ·Mediacom
 ·FrontierNet Intern..
| Licensing thread
I think to start we should start where everyone does, Getting licensed.
Maybe we should explain how where and why you should get licensed, and what you can do with that license.
--jason
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drjim
Premium,MVM
join:2000-06-13
Torrance, CA
clubs:
| The ARRL has some excellent books available, and for those who just want quick study guides, there's books available from the Gordon West radio School.
»www.arrl.org/
»www.gordonwestradioschool.com/
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One man's Magic is another man's Engineering. |
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GeekNJ
Premium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to burner50
The info in the thread would prove useful to become entries in the forum FAQ.
For me, it wasn't a matter of being hard, just having the time to study. I felt 1/2 or more of the tech license was common sense and the remainder was technical info related to the hobby. I think anyone, with 2 weeks of reading either the ARRL guide or Gordon West's guide could pass a test without any problem. It's really just taking the initiative that's probably the biggest hurdle.
Heck there's even free guides on the Internet net, some which show the question and just the answer. Now folks might not "learn" the same info studying in that manner as they would from reading the detailed and information filled ARRL guide, but once licensed, you learn as much listening and participating in the first weekend as you would reading about it.
Also, a local radio club is probably a great asset for folks looking to get licensed or those newly licensed. I have a fabulous one by me and all the folks are great. The activities (on-air nets, foxhunts, swap meets, contests, etc) really enhance the overall experience.
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KeysCapt
Premium,Mod
join:2001-07-11
Keys Exile
clubs: | reply to burner50
There's also some info in the new FAQ: »Amateur Radio
Please feel free to submit info you think might be useful. |
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Dlazy
@comcast.net | reply to burner50
another link for exam practice: »www.aa9pw.com/radio/ |
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GeekGirl1
The Medium IS the Message
Premium
join:2007-01-28
Morrisville, PA | reply to burner50
This should be our first sticky. |
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KeysCapt
Premium,Mod
join:2001-07-11
Keys Exile
clubs: | ... and so it is. |
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burner50
Pinlifter
Premium,VIP
join:2002-06-05
On the lead | reply to GeekGirl1
i didnt want to push my luck in the new hangout already  |
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sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Netcong, NJ
| reply to Dlazy
can haz lisense pleez? |
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with every mistake we must surely be learning |
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KeysCapt
Premium,Mod
join:2001-07-11
Keys Exile
clubs:
·AT&T Southeast
Host:
Time Warner Cable ..
Ham Radio
Sports Chat
| reply to burner50
Here's the problem ...
There are around 390 questions in the pool for the Tech exam ... give or take. The test can be made up of any 35 of those 400+ questions, so passing one sample test isn't much of a guarantee. OTOH, if you consistently pass every one it throws at you, I'd take that as a pretty good sign that you would have no difficulty. |
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aSic
Premium
join:2001-05-17
Wakulla, FL
clubs:
| reply to burner50
That AA9PW site is kinda nice. Guess I'm going to have to start studying for General now eh? Although I still have no personal use for HF at this time.. might as well continue my training.
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GeekGirl1
The Medium IS the Message
Premium
join:2007-01-28
Morrisville, PA
·Verizon FIOS
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to sporkme
said by sporkme  :How good is this practice exam? I didn't do too bad a job since I have not studied or anything. Haven't cracked a book on anything radio-related in at least 10 years. I haven't cracked a book on rules-n-regulations in the last 10 years either. Just took the Extra test dead cold. The only problem area was packet and that's because I haven't used it in 10 years. Theory was no problem. I don't know what subset of the pool questions I got, but it seemed focused too much on packet and not enough on CW, SSB, RTTY. Or maybe things have changed since I last took the test xxx years ago. |
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sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Netcong, NJ
| said by GeekGirl1 :said by sporkme :How good is this practice exam? I didn't do too bad a job since I have not studied or anything. Haven't cracked a book on anything radio-related in at least 10 years. I haven't cracked a book on rules-n-regulations in the last 10 years either. Just took the Extra test dead cold. Damn!
Hey, I'm a liberal arts major. Maybe I'll just need to break down some mental barriers to study up enough to do this for real.
I think I'm living in a really great place (as far as apartments go) to do some radio stuff. I have access to the roof, and that pic is what I can see to the east. I'm on the upward slope of what's called the "First Mountain" in NJ. I've had a hard time finding the full history of the site, but it's got a great shot to the NY metro area. Edison also did some early experiments about 2 miles up the hill from here. 
Only picture I'm finding of facilities on first mountain, and it's dated. There's now a huge UHF antenna crowning the thing off.
»gallery.bostonradio.org/2003-01/···med.html
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with every mistake we must surely be learning |
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GeekGirl1
The Medium IS the Message
Premium
join:2007-01-28
Morrisville, PA
·Verizon FIOS
·Verizon Online DSL
edit:
November 12th, @08:13PM
| Nice. You've got just about everything open to you. Consider that you could also throw a simple dipole out the window to work HF. Line-of-sight to just about every repeater in NJ / NYC area. Or, with a clear shot of open sky, do satellite work (yes, there are ham radio satellites - AMSAT - check the FAQ- »Amateur Radio »AMSAT(tm) - The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation ).
Don't be intimidated if you get stuck on anything. If you have any problems understanding any concepts, check the FAQ for links or post a thread in the forum. You'll get plenty of help. |
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pokesph
It Is Almost Fast
join:2001-06-25
Sacramento, CA
clubs:
·Comcast
| reply to burner50
General Lic Practice Test |
just did one of the practice tests (for the General lic) |
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evilghost
join:2003-11-22
Springville, AL
·Windstream
| reply to burner50
I recently passed my Technicians license so I figured I'd share any gems of wisdom I have to offer.
The question pool was spot on to what you see on the test. The test itself, which consisted of 35 questions, seemed to sample about 2 to 3 questions from each section. I was surprised to see that there were really only two questions about power, voltage, current and the E=I*R or P=I*E formula usage.
I was asked two questions along the lines of "What frequency is in the 10M/2M band" and used the 300/Wavelength = Frequency formula.
No questions on antenna length but that could have simply been my test sample.
Overall, I'd say the ARRL question pool and the practice tests are spot on, if not verbatim, of the questions you'll see on the test. |
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GeekNJ
Premium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ
·Verizon FIOS
| The questions should be verbatim. They aren't allowed to change the text of the questions or answers though they can order the answers differently.
As for the specific questions asked, there's actually a defined subset that the questions are pulled from. If you ever noticed the numbering of the questions, they are broken up into groups called subelements. A specific number of questions are asked from each of the subelement groups. So using the tech test as an example, T1 is a subelement on FCC rules and station license responsibilities. That subelement of T1 contains 43 possible questions of which 4 random ones of those 43 are asked on the test. In the tech test there are 10 subelements that comprise the 392 questions of which 35 are asked on the test with a specific number coming from each subelement group.
The above is why, even if you're having trouble remembering a specific area such as what phone (voice) frequencies make up the specific bands, there will only be a limited number of questions
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moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD | reply to burner50
The best advice I can give is to go find a local club and see if they have a class you can take. |
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TROLL131313
join:2004-12-21
Horsham, PA
| reply to burner50
Well they could do what I did 2 months ago, and for being out of ham radio for 30 years and jumping back in blind, I don't think I did too bad. I took the TECH and General tests today and passed the TECH and missed the General by one question.
Go to the ARRL and get the the Q&A and License Manual for the class that you want to get. I would also get the the Full Ham University CD.(The CW game is addictive TBH) The full CD covers all level of tests.
The other thing is to get involved with the one of the clubs in your area! Look under Exams on the ARRL site and see who is the closest to you and call them. Most of the clubs have study groups for the exams are willing to teach new hams the ropes.
This is what I did, so I hope it helps =) |
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