This page will (hopefully) tell you everything you need to know in order to get on the air. Amateur Radio requires you to hold a FCC license - but do not worry about that formality. The license is easy to obtain, it is good for 10 years, it can be renewed with no additional testing, and the FCC does not charge you a processing fee. Once you have your amateur license you have it for life.
Testing is conducted by volunteer examiners (VE). A VE is a general or extra class ham, just like you will be one day. They volunteer to conduct exam sessions, help you fill out the required FCC forms, and mail the forms off to the FCC. In the old days all testing was conducted by FCC field agents, and as a result test sessions were infrequent. With the VE system, it is possible to have many test sessions every month. The VE system also saves you, the taxpayer, money because a FCC field agent does not have to get paid overtime to run a test session. It is a good system.
There is a small fee of $12 (ca$h please) authorized by the FCC. FCC rules state that a VE *CAN NOT* profit from conducting an exam session, the $12 fee is simply to reimburse a VE for expenses they incur in the process of giving an exam. This includes testing materials, postage, and in some cases gas money depending on how far a VE had to drive to get to an exam session. Remember, by law hams can not make money directly from ham radio activities, including but not limited to test sessions. Nobody is making money off the exam fee, at best VEs break even. If you ask a VE, they will tell you exactly where that $12 goes - nobody is trying to pull a fast one on you.
Click HERE for exam schedules for the tri-county area!
NEW!!! NEW!!!! NEW!!!!
The ARRL now offers an online study program for the Technician exam. The ARRL program is web based and follows the ARRL's "Now Your Talking" study guide. To find out more about this new program, click HERE
W5YI
Radio Shack USED TO sell manuals for all license classes. These books are written by Gordon West - WB6NOA. You want to start off with the Technician Class book. There is a chance you can still find a study book at a Radio Shack store at a closeout price, but if not you can order them online by clicking the W5YI logo at the bottom of this page. This is what the cover of the no-code technician study guide looks like. Sorry, but I do not have a larger photo available. If you find a better picture, please send it to me via e-mail and I will include it on this page.
You can also download just the question pool, for free, from the ARRL (American Radio Relay League) at the following web address: http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/pools.html.
I recommend you get the book, either from Radio Shack or W5YI. It does not matter which source you use, both sources sell the same book written by Gordon West. One word of warning though - Radio Shack has been known to sell out of date books! Check the cover of the book and it will tell you the dates that the material is valid through. Another word of warning - the W5YI link will try to sell you a "kit" consisting of software, a book, and a copy of the FCC rules. You *DO NOT NEED THIS!!!* All you need is the License Study Guide. You can take all the practice exams you care to take, for FREE, at the following web link: http://www.qrz.com/p/testing.pl
