Re: Licensing thread in Ham Radio

Re: Licensing thread in Ham Radio http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19418959 en Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:17:10 EDT Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:17:10 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21260476 Surfinusa :

said by burner50

:

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

»www.qrz.com/

A good place to take practice exams.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,21260476 Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:41:54 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20554573 TROLL131313 : 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 =)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20554573 Wed, 28 May 2008 21:01:27 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19472144 moonpuppy : The best advice I can give is to go find a local club and see if they have a class you can take. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19472144 Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:17:40 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19471456 GeekNJ : 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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Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19471456 Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:23:32 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19471280 evilghost : 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.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19471280 Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:49:22 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19433247 pokesph : hmm I really should see about getting my ticket...
just did one of the practice tests (for the General lic)

General Lic Practice Test

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19433247 Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:06:21 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19431980 GeekGirl1 : 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. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19431980 Mon, 12 Nov 2007 20:07:52 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19426546 sporkme :

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

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19426546 Sun, 11 Nov 2007 23:33:27 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19426348 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. 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.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19426348 Sun, 11 Nov 2007 22:53:56 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19425777 aSic : 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.
--
Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say.
Who is Ron Paul?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19425777 Sun, 11 Nov 2007 21:09:25 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19425022 KeysCapt : 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.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19425022 Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:45:46 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19424964 sporkme :

said by Dlazy :

another link for exam practice: »www.aa9pw.com/radio/

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.
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with every mistake we must surely be learning

can haz lisense pleez?

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19424964 Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:32:06 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19419102 burner50 : i didnt want to push my luck in the new hangout already :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19419102 Sat, 10 Nov 2007 15:06:45 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418997 KeysCapt : ... and so it is.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418997 Sat, 10 Nov 2007 14:44:11 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418959 GeekGirl1 : This should be our first sticky.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418959 Sat, 10 Nov 2007 14:36:23 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418541 anon : another link for exam practice: »www.aa9pw.com/radio/]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418541 Sat, 10 Nov 2007 13:20:51 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418325 KeysCapt : There's also some info in the new FAQ: »Amateur Radio

Please feel free to submit info you think might be useful.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418325 Sat, 10 Nov 2007 12:37:11 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418322 GeekNJ : 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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Tweaked your connection? | Mail Parse | Speed Converter]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418322 Sat, 10 Nov 2007 12:36:03 EDT Re: Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418258 drjim : 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.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418258 Sat, 10 Nov 2007 12:24:14 EDT Licensing thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418249 burner50 : 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
--
--Semi Trailers belong on Rail cars

--Giving you un-biased opinions about Mediacom, BBR, and life in general]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19418249 Sat, 10 Nov 2007 12:22:10 EDT