HAM radio/amateur radio FAQ

[karstic]

Need to take them in order - I did take Tech followed by Gen on the same day when I got relicensed. Missed general that day by one question :Wow1:

Actually, no. You do not need hold a Tech license in order to get a General license. You can take the Element 2 and Element 3 exam and if you pass, earn the General license.

from the arrl.org website

LEVEL 2: General Class License (upgrade from Technician)

EXAM REQUIREMENTS: 35-question General Written Exam (Element 3); No Morse Code Exam
PRIVILEGES: All VHF/UHF amateur bands and most HF privileges (10 through 160 meters).
LICENSE STUDY MATERIALS
Technicians may upgrade to General Class by passing a 35-question multiple-choice written examination. The written exam covers intermediate regulations, operating practices, and electronics theory, with a focus on HF applications. Non-licensed individuals must pass Element 2 and Element 3 Written Exams to earn a General License. The FCC grants exam element 3 credit to individuals that previously held certain older types of licenses. Valid Forms of Examination Element Credit can be found on the Web.

My emphasis added

 

[James86004]

I am thinking of going down this road, but I want to do some research into costs, etc. Where do you all purchase your radios? Online, or at a local store?

I took the practice test online with 0 studying and got a 75. I think knowing some electronics saved me. I'll be studying some more to try and get my score up.

My mother really hates that we go out alone into remote areas - hopefully ham radio will ease her worries a little bit.

 

[gary in ohio]

I am thinking of going down this road, but I want to do some research into costs, etc. Where do you all purchase your radios? Online, or at a local store?

I took the practice test online with 0 studying and got a 75. I think knowing some electronics saved me. I'll be studying some more to try and get my score up.

My mother really hates that we go out alone into remote areas - hopefully ham radio will ease her worries a little bit.

You can buy online or if you have a local store buy there. There are also hamfest (ham radio flea markets) held through the year. There is a Ham radio outlet in Phoenix, AZ you might want to check out.


I would advise before going down the ham radio group you find a local ham or club to help you out. Not just what gear to get but what type of ham radio, unlike CB where you have a small fixed number of channels on the same band, Ham radio has lots of "channels" on many bands. Each with advantages and disadvantages.

Find a local club and go to a meeting. you can search for a club at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/clubsearch.phtml


might also check out the hamfest calendar at http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.html There is a hamfest coming up in AZ next weekend

 

[James86004]

Wish me luck. I am scheduled to take the test on Thursday. I have found the info in this section very helpful. I downloaded the ham radio podcast to my MP3 player and have been listening to it during my commute. It has really helped to cement the knowledge in the books. I have also been taking the practice tests at http://www.qrz.com/ham/, and I usually get above 90% on the Technician test and above 80% on the General test, so I think I am ready.

 

[tmac]

Wish me luck. I am scheduled to take the test on Thursday. I have found the info in this section very helpful. I downloaded the ham radio podcast to my MP3 player and have been listening to it during my commute. It has really helped to cement the knowledge in the books. I have also been taking the practice tests at http://www.qrz.com/ham/, and I usually get above 90% on the Technician test and above 80% on the General test, so I think I am ready.

Good luck with your test, sounds like you're ready. I am still a ham n00b as I
only have had my license since April of this year. I don't use it enough as it is
a mobile unit in my FJ. I have the Yaseu FT-7800R using the remote faceplate mount. I'm up in Marana if you want to take a look at the setup. They have changed the model to the FT-7900 and may have added some features. It is a dual band radio - 144/430 MHz.
I bought it online from https://www.hamcity.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=112&idproduct=1792. The whole setup - radio, antenna, and antenna mount w/ cable was a little over $350.

 

[xtatik]

• Technician class - This will get you the basic privileges 99.9% of you are most likely to use on a regular basis while traveling in your FJ. There are lots of options with this "basic" class and it will give you what you need to talk well over 30 miles in many areas. It's not the ultimate emergency tool like the general license is, but in many places will allow you to communicate very long distances to call for help (or your buddies) if necessary. The test is VERY easy and over half of it is common sense stuff about safety. Most people will pass with ease even if they bomb every single math question on the test. With that said, if you can divide and multiply, then you'll ace the math stuff as well. Don't take my word for it, take some practice exams and see for yourself.
  
• General class - This is where you really step up your distance of communication. General class is all about HF (or high frequency) privileges. HF has better distance propagation than what you see in the Tech privileges and at higher power in some instances. This is the license you want if you need to talk to someone in Arizona from your Baja 1000 trip under your own power. The ultimate in emergency communications. However that comes at greater complexity and cost of equipment. The test and math requirements are quite a bit higher than the tech exam but you won't be doing calculus on the test. Most of these tests are memorization of frequencies and law. There is a lot more focus on circuit design and understanding of components in this test. While not impossible, will take a lot more studying for those of you who are not already EEs.
  
  [*]Extra class - You'll move onto this license if you want to show off with a really short call sign and are extreme into the hobby side of things. It will give you a few extra frequency privileges that will let you talk to other extras. It's not a completely worthless license at all, but in general won't give you much over the other two.
  
  
  
  
  This is a well written and informative synopsis. But, I'm gonna correct you on your sum-up of the Extra Class. The Extra Class has huge benefits over the General Class just as General has benefits above a Tech. Anyone who's chased DX or DXpeditions will know this. They will nearly always be heard in the Extra portion of the band first and many won't bother moving up into the General portion if they're making contacts.
  First, not very many Extras will bother to change their callsign if they've been on the air for a while. One reason is that they've already been logged in on many other operators logs and most won't want to create the confusion. With all the Hams out their....., after being on the air for a few years... you'd be surprised at how recognizable not only call signs can be, but also voices from all over the world.
  Secondly, the band plans/allocations/privileges are not uniform around the globe. While the additional band segments are sometimes nice in avoiding the crowded conditions, the benefit is not necessarily the exclusion of others. The Extras' additional frequency privileges allow US operators to talk to operators of all license classes in other countries...at least in portions of their band allocations/privileges. Some countries offer frequency privileges for their operators that are still "out of bounds" even for our Extras.

 

[mr r2fj]

I can appreciate your love of the extra class for all of the reasons you've mentioned. However, I'm not sure DXing would be a benefit to most of the people reading this article. The article is intended to get the average expenditioneer up and started. I'm not aware of any limitations to the general class for your second point, communication with countries outside of the US. For the pure sake of communication, isn't there enough overlap just in the general class or lower? Again, if the goal of the article is to get people started in DX competition it would be written entirely different. I'll admit, I really don't know much about the laws in other nations as it concerns amatuer frequencies. I'm not a dxer at all. Not yet anyway =).

 

[SunTzuNephew]

I agree. I'm an Extra, still have the same callsign I did as a Tech, and hardly ever either chase DX expeditions or even go into the extra bands.....

 

[xtatik]

I can appreciate your love of the extra class for all of the reasons you've mentioned. However, I'm not sure DXing would be a benefit to most of the people reading this article. The article is intended to get the average expenditioneer up and started. I'm not aware of any limitations to the general class for your second point, communication with countries outside of the US. For the pure sake of communication, isn't there enough overlap just in the general class or lower? Again, if the goal of the article is to get people started in DX competition it would be written entirely different. I'll admit, I really don't know much about the laws in other nations as it concerns amatuer frequencies. I'm not a dxer at all. Not yet anyway =).

Your article serves its purpose very well and for someone that is merely wanting the utility of the radio as an appliance for the vehicle during trips....you've covered it. For someone that may be interested in the hobby...intentionally or not, you've sold it a bit short and it reads as though the Extra class license brings little benefit. To an active amateur it brings huge benefits.
My point is simple, if you talk outside the states often enough, that extra chunk of the bands can make the difference between your ability to talk with an equivalent (secondary) license class from another country or not.
If you've ever spoke to anyone outside the contiguous states.....technically you're a DX'er. DX is not necessarily a competition thing, it simply refers to any QSO attempted or made outside ones own country. A General or higher class licensee can do this routinely.

Using 20m phone as a first example: This is globally accepted as being the most reliable daytime distance (DX) band. The General class runs from 14225 to 14350, but if you're familiar with the activity on the band you'll know that relatively little takes place above 14300 with most activity occurring between 14150 and 14300. Half of that bandspread (14150-14225) is in the Extra class, and there is more activity occurring in the Extra portion than in the upper portion of the entire combined band. A Kiwi operator that holds an equivalent "General" class license has phone privileges that span both our license classes. He can call for US stations in our Extra portion where only Extras can answer, and this recurs often. And so, as an General here, if he's calling on 14195, as much as you may want to talk with him...you can't because you have diminished privileges from what many other countries may enjoy.
Using 40m phone as an additional example: This is generally accepted as being the most reliable nighttime distance (DX) band. The General class runs from 7175 to 7300. But again, if you're familiar with activity on the band you'll know that as propagation changes in the evening the international broadcast stations (megawatters) will bomb the band with strong, broad carriers that leave little of the band left, except below 7200. That leaves a very narrow band for a General, unless he can find a spot to "shoehorn" himself into between carriers further up. The lower Extra portion seldom ever suffers this problem and is wide open most nights.

If any of these HF privileges were to benefit someone here, it would be for those who travel to really remote areas...areas beyond the reach of FM simplex or repeaters, and those who would actively use their radios to maintain a link.

I hope this illuminates the Extra privileges as well as your post did for the overall.

 

[gary in ohio]

Dont forget 14.225 to 14.175 is also available to "advanced" class operators not just "Extras"

 

[mr r2fj]

Dont forget 14.225 to 14.175 is also available to "advanced" class operators not just "Extras"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that license is no longer available? Obviously people who have it still benefit from the privileges.

xtatik,
Again, all great points, I'm not an extra, so I obviously don't spend a lot of time in those bands. =) I will adjust my description so it's a little less offensive to those that are and more appropriately defines the benefits there. Thanks for laying out some great details about the extra bands I wasn't familiar with!

I still have a question about your last statement

If any of these HF privileges were to benefit someone here, it would be for those who travel to really remote areas...areas beyond the reach of FM simplex or repeaters, and those who would actively use their radios to maintain a link.

I would say this is a general statement about HF privileges that the general class provides and not something specific to the extra class? If you know who you're maintaining a link with, the general class shouldn't be a point of restriction there? My intention here is to make sure people don't think they have to go all the way to extra just to get HF privileges to communicate long distances. Are you saying that the general bands are so crowded that it is very difficult to find a band that will propagate well and be somewhat free of already existing traffic?

 

[gary in ohio]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that license is no longer available? Obviously people who have it still benefit from the privileges.

You can no longer get the get an advanced class license but there may be non extras in the that portion of the band..

 

[xtatik]

I still have a question about your last statement

I would say this is a general statement about HF privileges that the general class provides and not something specific to the extra class? If you know who you're maintaining a link with, the general class shouldn't be a point of restriction there? My intention here is to make sure people don't think they have to go all the way to extra just to get HF privileges to communicate long distances. Are you saying that the general bands are so crowded that it is very difficult to find a band that will propagate well and be somewhat free of already existing traffic?

The HF privileges afforded to the General class is the first step into true self-sufficient distance communication as a radio amateur. It functions precisely as it is termed..... "General". For the casual or occasional operator that doesn't need full capabilities for international communications, it's sufficient.

And yes, it's true that if someone were to schedule (what hams call a "sked") QSO's to check in on occasion, the General class license would more than suffice. That is, if everyone on the band is in a good mood and would practice common courtesy. If you were to find someone on your frequency at the prescribed time, in most cases you could break in, make your contact and have them QSY to a clear spot and no one would get flustered. If you happen to be in the sticks during a contest weekend it could be hard to both break in or find a clear spot up or down the band. It's possible it could even be difficult in the Extra or Advanced segments (I missed this, thanks Gary)...it depends on the band or time of day/nite.
Can the bands get that crowded?...yes. The point I made earlier regarding 40m revealed itself tonite. Everything above 7200 was near solid carriers. If you consider courteous separation at 5khz and properly avoiding the lower band edge (being LSB) that left less than 25khz for Generals to work with. That's barely enough room for 4 conversations to take place. Just below that was 50khz wide open in the Extra portion.
The point I was making is that the addition of any spectrum allows greater flexibility and utility, especially when calling across borders and big ponds with operators of differing privileges. The Extra class affords this and has little to do with shorter callsigns or being any sort of elitist group.

 

[mr r2fj]

You understood perfectly. This is all great info, I'm just asking questions. You've made some excellent points and I've modified the extra class section to reflect that. I honestly never considered the international aspects of the extra class, that's my inexperience showing.

I define calling someone elitist offense. If it wasn't to you, that's good, it was never my intention to be insulting. I have a dry sarcastic humor that I integrated into the faq to make it more interesting to read. Anyway, I think we're past that.

If there's anything else that you think can be improved in the FAQ let me know. This is for the benefit of all. The next portion I wanted to work on is repeaters. I know starting out that was one of the most confusing items that I ran into.

 

[StumpXJ]

Thanks for the putting up this FAQ, its has a lot of awesome info, especially for someone like me who always assumed a CB was 'great' for communications. Now that I am back stateside, I will be going for the tech license on Feb 28th.

Thanks again,

~ James