Passing the Technician License Exam
In elementary school science fairs, Tim did things like building an electronic organ, weather station, and small radio. He had an interest in amatuer radio, and did some work on a license (at that time, the Novice), but the price of even modest equipment put any of it out of reach, so he let the study languish. Years later, while recovering from back surgery, he came back to it after meeting a couple of hams. Cost was still a problem, but some equipment was at least within reach.
After meeting some of the local club members, hearing the chatter on the repeater, chasing storms, and realizing that we could talk to each other while shopping, photographing fires or zoos, and so on, Sherrie took an interest in a Technician license. Building on Tim's suggestions (which formed the basis of this page) and her own style, she passed the exam about three weeks after starting to work on it.
The Technician is the first U. S. A. license level these days. At the suggestion of those hams we met, we purchased Gordon West's book. We bought it at Radio Shack, but it's available from a number of sources. There are other materials available--the ARRL has a book, a number of outfits produce computer software and videos, some clubs offer classes, and the question pool is available in print and on the internet. All of these materials deal with the same material: a fixed pool of questions and possible answers from which the exam must be constructed. Note that the questions change periodically, so make sure you get a copy that is current and will remain so long enough that you can study them.
We like West because he gives the answers and explains what is behind the question (although sometimes he over-explains or gets onto a side track). For some people, it is certainly possible to memorize the answers and pass the exam. After all, the question pool and possible answers are all fixed. If you are one of those people, look elsewhere. Although we will point out some tricks and tips for getting through, it's also our hope that you'll strive to understand what's going on here. The babble below tells how we worked through the material. Everyone does not learn in the same way, so some of this may or may not work for you, of course.
The first step is to read through all of the questions. Some of them may appear ridiculously easy, but they still merit your attention. Depending on your knowledge of government regulations, physics and electronics, some of the answers will come to you quickly. Others will take more work. On a second reading, we made notes, looking for links and similarities, trying to understand the principles functioning behind the material. We're not going to spell everything out (but will consider addressing common problems) because the idea is for each person to do the work, but there are some things to note:
All told, Tim spent about a month preparing for one to two hours a day. Study methods including writing notes (rather than highlighting), and reviewing those notes during odd times. Sherrie used some of those notes, but found reading and talking about the questions to be more helpful. After a couple of weeks, we both used practice exams (available on-line at eHam or as software from several providers). These exams are great, but there are a few pitfalls. It's easy to start memorizing the questions and their order. On the real exam, the answers can be in any order (so learning "A" doesn't work), and so can the questions (the FCC rules could be in the middle, or at the end). Also, not all of the software programs provide true random choices. You may run a practice exam five times but only deal with a few different questions, and that does not provide a good test.
OK, that's all for now. We will, as time permits, answer questions and work them into this section; e-mail.