W6MLP
Milpitas ARES®/RACES
Obtaining Your FCC License
There are three classes of FCC Amateur Radio Licenses: Technician, General, And Extra. Each brings with it additional frequencies that you are allowed to utilize. For emergency communications a Technician Class License will meet your needs. You can always upgrade later if you desire to become more involved in long distance communications or other aspects of the hobby.
The Exam for the Technician License consists of 35 multiple choice questions. These questions are selected from a question pool of at least 350 questions. There is no longer a requirement to pass a Morse Code exam to earn your license.
License Manuals/Study Guides
You can order the ARRL Technician Class License Manual On-line or you can pick it up locally at Ham Radio Outlet in Sunnyvale. The manual comes with a CD that has practice exams.
Make sure you get the most current manual with the question pool effective July 2010. The questions pools are revised every three years.
Testing Locations/Organizations
Always verify the location and testing date with the sponsoring organization. Last minute changes do occur.
Bay Area Educational Amateur Radio Society (BAEARS) - offers a one-day Ham Cram followed by the test once each quarter rotating locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
The ARRL provides a list of upcoming Exam Sessions - this list is searchable by city, state, and zip code.
Silicon Valley Volunteer Examiner (VE) Group - Conducts testing in Saratoga two times each month.
Sunnyvale VEC - Conducts testing in Redwood City and Sunnyvale monthly.
South Bay Amateur Radio Association (SBARA) Fremont - Conducts testing in the Warm Springs area of Fremont monthly.
On-Line Practice Tests
Your Exam Session
Review this link of what to bring to an Exam Session
Your exam will be graded as soon as you complete it and you will be given the results. You will not be told which questions you missed or your score, only that you have passed or failed.
If you pass the exam your FCC License will show up in the FCC ULS database in about 7-10 days. Once your call sign is in the FCC database you can get on the air (transmit) with your new call sign. You do not have to wait for the hard copy to arrive via the mail.
Last Updated: April 3, 2012