How To Get Your Tech License The Easy Way

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Lawless

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So you want to get some real commo gear and stop using those walkie talkies from Walmart? This means Ham Radio.

Ham Radio requires a license to do it legally. So you might say "I don't need no stinking license". You could go that route, but you will never acquire the skills you need to be effective in commo without lots of practice and practice means airtime. Hams WILL KNOW IF YOU ARE NOT LICENSED and it just will not go well for you. Get your tech license, it is easy and will give you access to many bands including the much used 2M.

You decided? Great!

OK, here is the free tech study guide. If you read it with the idea that it come DIRECTLY from the test, it makes sense and will give you the basics.
http://www.kb6nu.com/wp-content/uplo...-guide-v20.pdf

Here the tech study guide as an attachment
2014-no-nonsense-tech-study-guide-v20.pdf

Now, once you read it, really read and digest it, then you start flash cards. Online flash cards do two things very well, they drill into your brain the actual questions and answers from the exam, and they give you instant feedback as to your answers. Positive reinforcement.

Do the cards for an hour or so each night or give yourself a break of a few hours if more than once per day so you don't burn out, and you will be able to pass the test.
There are two flash card sites I recommend (you can also take practice exams).
https://hamstudy.org/tech2014
https://hamexam.org/

And another place to take practice exams
http://www.eham.net/exams/

Do a google search for (your county, state)ham exam and you can find where the test is being given. Many Ham clubs offer testing and the cost is $15. While you're at it, go ahead and study for your General test as well, you can take it for free the same night. I passed both on one evening and you can too. It's easy if you spend a few nights with the flash cards to get your Tech license and even General license.

http://wc2fd.com/images/3/32/2011_Ge...tudy_Guide.pdf




For General Class this is a great study guide by the same guy.
2011-no-nonsense-general-study-guide.pdf
 
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Thanks I am planning to get my tech license this coming year.
 
Anybody got a General study guide in PDF form laying around?
 
Goofyfoot2001;n90620 said:
Some good Android free phone apps to use. One day I will take this thing.
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It's stupid easy. Hardest part was carving out 2 hours and just going.
 
Brian K;n90748 said:
It's stupid easy. Hardest part was carving out 2 hours and just going.
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Hey Brian - what is the SWR on those bodacious tatas in your avatar? I gotta get me an antenna system like that.

73
An old fashioned Advanced class guy - WA2OLZ/4
 
Daedalus-NC;n90773 said:
Hey Brian - what is the SWR on those bodacious tatas in your avatar? I gotta get me an antenna system like that.

73
An old fashioned Advanced class guy - WA2OLZ/4
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The reception is horrible. When they're wrapped around your head you can't hear $hit,,,
 
Brian K;n90579 said:
Anybody got a General study guide in PDF form laying around?
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This one is by the same guy as the tech one in the OP

 

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Try the iPad / Android application by Roy Watson. It does a form of flash cards by showing you the question with the correct answer and has sample tests.

When it came to taking the test, I too felt like Brian K and wanted to know the why behind the questions. As much as I hate to admit it, I discovered that much of the test is oriented around the idea of not so much understanding the why, but rather to determine if you read the book. To the end goal of being able to be able to pick out the correct answer, you're probably just as well off studying the question pool and more or less memorizing the answers. In essence, with some practice you can become like a trained monkey that can pick out the correct answer by recognizing what the question authors were looking for. As htperry has said on multiple occasions, take the test to get on the air and you're learning begins at that point. The test and license is just a barrier, admittedly an intentional one.

The no nonsense guides are a good in-between the two extremes in that it provides some contextual information along with the question and answer format.
 
@Scari if you get one of the manuals, the beginning is really dry and boring but once you get past that it's not too bad. The technical information is fairly minimal: some ohms law, a little bit of converting frequency to wavelength, and a little on propagation. It is radio so you should know a little about how it works. With a little time and study it's pretty easy, but the test IS DESIGNED to weed out those who have studied the material.

My wife is a technical turnip as I tell her and she passed the tech test with a perfect score after some study and it took a couple glasses of wine to get her to understand ohms law.
 
I'm going for my Tech license this month.
Been studying and taking practice exams.
Just got a Baofeng UV-5RV2+ radio, got it programmed with some local frequencies, and for now am also in listen only mode.
 
I went and took the exam yesterday am for the Technician level license.

And I Passed!

Now I have got to learn a whole heap of stuff related to what I will be able to do on the radio.
But you know the old sayings.

Number 1. If you quit moving, you die.
Number 2. You got to keep learning in life. If you don't, see Number 1.
 
Congrats mate. I was working on this. But I realised even a cheap Baofeng isn't really in the budget.
 
Alpha007 said:
Now I have got to learn a whole heap of stuff related to what I will be able to do on the radio.
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If you could master it all in a day, it wouldn’t be any fun.
Pink_Vapor said:
This is foreign to me,
what’s the draw to ham radio?
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There are a lot of different aspects and avenues to explore in harm radio. It is one of the few areas where one can still experiment with electronics now that everything is gong to mass produced, very integrated circuits. That is a draw for some people.

Another big draw is the emergency communications aspect. There is s saying about how when the infrastructure goes down being able to send some RF into the air can be invaluable. Think hurricane in PR, which for the first time ever, they enacted the ham radio team to go there to provide communications because everything else was just, gone. Or think of the Tornado in Greensboro this spring. Cell phone towers, land lines, even govt institutions are not above being destroyed.

A lot of other people get together on the air, usually at a designated time and frequency and just shoot the breeze. They may be in very distant locations, but have become friends over their chats.

I myself, have a long commute and I enjoy chatting with other hams on my way to and from work. Last fall, we took a trip up to OH to visit some relatives and we went up through VA, WV, and KY. Periodically I would throw out a call and see who came back. Had a few interesting conversations with folks from different areas, including a truck driver from Arizona (in KY) who was in his way to Hope Mills, NC.

A lot of people have been getting into a digital mode called FT8 which is designed to make contact, but not conversation, and use it to make contacts all over the world using just a few watts of power. Its pretty neat when you send out a signal and within minutes can watch it show up on world maps of others saying “hey, I heard that”.

Those are just a few examples of what people are doing with him radio.
 
noway2 said:
Either do it now, or wait at least a month because the technician question pool changes July 1st, 2018.
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I saw that earlier today. I downloaded the July question pool. I'll look through it at work, when I get breaks and whatnot.
 
Took tech and general yesterday. Passed both. Now while I wait for fcc to do their part, I need to start looking at radios.

I would like to be able to reach out across the eastern us and maybe the UK. What bands are normally used for that? That will lead to radios for the appropriate bands. Any recommendations?
 
Car0linab0y said:
Took tech and general yesterday. Passed both. Now while I wait for fcc to do their part, I need to start looking at radios.

I would like to be able to reach out across the eastern us and maybe the UK. What bands are normally used for that? That will lead to radios for the appropriate bands. Any recommendations?
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Congratulations, before you make the plunge, please check out numerous
Field Day events June 23-24, find FD sites at this link http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator
you can see many radios in operation, as well as all modes and take the chair and operate if you like, most clubs also have the GOTA station.

I run a Kenwood TS-570D, 520, 530 and the 820, all used. Not all at the same time.
For FD we will run psk31 with the 570.
 
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Car0linab0y said:
I would like to be able to reach out across the eastern us and maybe the UK. What bands are normally used for that? That will lead to radios for the appropriate bands. Any recommendations?
Click to expand...
Congratulations on passing both. I still remember the day, it is a proud sensation,

For that you can either use a digital technology like DMR or go old school HF. A lot of HF radios will do all the bands. It’s more an issue of antenna and that is often dictated by your geography, amount of space, location of trees, etc.
 
Car0linab0y said:
Took tech and general yesterday. Passed both. Now while I wait for fcc to do their part, I need to start looking at radios.

I would like to be able to reach out across the eastern us and maybe the UK. What bands are normally used for that? That will lead to radios for the appropriate bands. Any recommendations?
Click to expand...
Congrats.
 
Button Pusher said:
Congratulations, before you make the plunge, please check out numerous
Field Day events June 23-24, find FD sites at this link http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator
you can see many radios in operation, as well as all modes and take the chair and operate if you like, most clubs also have the GOTA station.

I run a Kenwood TS-570D, 520, 530 and the 820, all used. Not all at the same time.
For FD we will run psk31 with the 570.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip on Field Day. There is a club event not too far away; i will check it out.
 
Button Pusher said:
Congratulations, before you make the plunge, please check out numerous
Field Day events June 23-24, find FD sites at this link http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator
you can see many radios in operation, as well as all modes and take the chair and operate if you like, most clubs also have the GOTA station.

I run a Kenwood TS-570D, 520, 530 and the 820, all used. Not all at the same time.
For FD we will run psk31 with the 570.
Click to expand...

You know, when you use words like "field day", you completely ruin this whole thing for Sailors...

;)
 
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