Class Information
The Amateur Radio Relay League website
ARRL has a lot of information about becoming an Amateur Radio Operator and how to upgrade your license. Enter the word "classes" in the ARRL Website Search box to find out where the classes are located.
There are in person classes and online classes. There are books and question pools.
After you are ready to take the Amateur Radio License Exam, Dial Radio Club and Butler County Amateur Radio Association (BCARA) have about 4 or 5 exam sessions per year.
See Dial's
Exams webpage for more information about the Exams.
Dial Radio Club History of Classes
Dial has a long history of offering in person classes to
prepare students for their amateur license exams for over 30 years, but they have been put on hold since the beginning of COVID-19.
The student's only financial investment in the in person class was to purchase the text.
Classes had been held at Miami University Middletown and generally
followed Miami's calendar. The Technician class usually started in
late August. The General course followed the Technician and ended
around Thanksgiving. Spring classes began in late January and
continued though early May. Classes were held on Wednesday evenings
from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm. The Technician and General classes had been offered every year - depending upon interest. They lasted 6 weeks and
were followed by an exam session. The Amateur Extra preparation
class was offered less frequently. It is a 12 week class that was
typically offered every other year during the spring.
Instructors where Dial club members. Students were likely to 'see'
different instructors every class meeting in the Technician and General
preparation courses. Some of the more technical topics for the
Extra are broken into two consecutive weeks with the same
instructor. Still, over the entire class, there could
more than six different instructors.
Photos from a March 2017 Extra Class:
Students
Instructors (KD8W and K8CM)