H. Ward Silver - Ham Radio For Dummies

Videos: Most license study videos are on YouTube ( www.youtube.com ). Search for ham radio technician class or ham radio technician study guide . There are quite a few videos to choose from. The “crash courses” are designed to help you pass the exam quickly. Others are more in-depth. Almost all are free and many are given by clubs. After you’ve passed the exam, you may find the same instructors giving video lessons on other topics that you will find useful. If you buddy up with a study partner, studying is much easier. Having a partner helps you both stick with it. Each of you will find different things are easy or difficult, so you can help each other get over the rough spots. Best of all, you can celebrate passing together. When you find that a topic is difficult to understand, try different explanations from two or three different sources. Seeing the topic from a few different perspectives often leads to an aha! moment of understanding.

Online practice exams can be particularly useful. When tutoring students, I urge them to practice the online exams repeatedly. Because the online exams use the actual test questions, they’re almost like the real thing. Practicing with them reduces your nervousness and gets you used to the actual format.

The sites score your exams and let you know which of the study areas need more work. When you can pass the online exams by a comfortable margin every time, you’ll do well in the actual session. You can find lots of online exams by doing an online search for ham radio practice exams . Practice with exams from two or three different sites to get a little practice with more than one style of exam. The ARRL provides a free online app, Exam Review for Ham Radio ( arrlexamreview.appspot.com ), which generates practice exams online.

How do you know when it’s time to stop studying and take the actual exam? Take the practice exams until you consistently score 80 percent or higher. Also, make sure that you’re practicing with a random selection of questions; you shouldn’t see the same questions each time. Passing the practice exams with a little safety margin will give you the confidence to sign up for your exam session.

Studying for your license may take you on a journey into unfamiliar territory. You can easily get stuck at some point — maybe on a technical concept or on a rule that isn’t easy to understand.

As in many similar situations, the best way to solve a problem is to call on a mentor — a more experienced person who can help you over the rough spots. They’re called Elmers, as explained in Chapter 3, and having someone to fill that role is important at this stage. (I discuss my own mentoring experience in the sidebar at the end of this chapter.)

A lot of potential mentors are out there in Ham Radio Land. You can find them in the following places:

Radio clubs: Clubs welcome visitors and often have an introduction session during meetings. This session gives you an opportunity to say something like this: “Hi. My name is so-and-so. I don’t have a license yet, but I’m studying and might need some help.” Chances are that you’ll get several offers of assistance and referrals to local experts or classes. (Find out more about clubs in Chapter 3.)

Online: Although the best way to get assistance is in person, several popular ham radio websites have forums for asking questions. The eHam.net site, for example, has a licensing forum (from the home page, look in the Community tab and select Forums). So does QRZ.com in its Community Help Forum (go to the Forums index and look for Becoming an Amateur Radio Operator).

In your community: Many of today’s hams find mentors by looking around their own neighborhoods. A ham with a tower and antenna may live near you, or you might see a car with a ham radio call sign on the license plate. If you get the opportunity, introduce yourself, and explain that you’re studying for a license. The person you’re talking to probably also needed a mentor way back when and can give you a hand or help you find one.

After you get your license, you’re in an excellent position to help other newcomers, because you know exactly how you felt at the start of your journey. Even if you’re just one step ahead of the person who’s asking the questions, you can be a mentor. Some hams enjoy mentoring so much that they devote much of their ham radio time to the job. You won’t find a higher compliment in ham radio than being called “my Elmer.”

When I started in ham radio, my mentor was Bill (then WNØDYV, now KJ7PC), a fellow high-school student who had been licensed for a year or so. I wasn’t having any trouble with the electronics but I sure needed a hand with the Morse code and some of the rules. I spent every Thursday over at Bill’s house, practicing Morse code (pounding brass) and learning to recognize my personal-nemesis characters: D, U, G, and W. Without his help, my path to getting licensed would have been considerably longer. Thanks, Bill!

Since getting my license, I’ve required the assistance of several other mentors as I entered new aspects of ham radio. If you can count on the help of a mentor, your road to a license will be much smoother.

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