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Easily pass the Ham Radio License test

Easily pass the Ham Radio License test

Adam Curry: You know, I’ve received multiple inquiries from people about ham radios. They ask, “What should I get?” and I say, “First, you need a license.”

John C. Dvorak: I never thought about that. Yeah, you need a license. Just get one.

Adam Curry: To get your technician’s ham radio operator license is incredibly simple. Go to ARRL.org, look for the technician’s license, and you’ll find out where the test is. It’s usually done once a month in your area, administered by hams, called VAs. They give you the exact questions for that month’s test with all the answers in a multiple-choice format. The only thing is the answers will be in a different order on the actual test.

John C. Dvorak: There will also be different questions, right?

Adam Curry: No, all the questions are there. You get the entire set of possible questions.

John C. Dvorak: Right, but you’ll get something like 150 questions with all the answers, and if you can remember those, you can pass the test easily.

Adam Curry: Exactly, you don’t get all of them on the actual test, but they all come from that sample set.

John C. Dvorak: Yeah, no surprise questions like at the DMV.

Adam Curry: Here’s an example of a question: “Should you put up an antenna during a lightning storm?” I think that was on the Texas test.

John C. Dvorak: I don’t remember that one.

Adam Curry: It’s pretty simple, though. Then, you can get a BaoFeng or any other radio and get started.

John C. Dvorak: If you’re a tech person, and a lot of our audience are, you probably already know most of the answers. Many of the questions are technical, things you’d know in your day-to-day life.

Adam Curry: The only thing you might need to figure out is how a repeater works. That’s what saved lives in North Carolina. And for computer enthusiasts, I recommend learning one of the digital programs. With low output and a wire hung up in a tree, you can get a lot done.

John C. Dvorak: Just don’t put the wire up during an electrical storm—that’s answer D on question 79.

Adam Curry: Yeah, exactly. And there are online tests. You don’t need to read the long book that the ARRL offers.

John C. Dvorak: Exactly. Go to one of the online Q&A sites, and they’ll give you this month’s or this quarter’s questions. You can take the practice test as many times as you want. After about the fourth time, you’ll get the hang of it, score a passing grade, and then pass the real test. Do it now, don’t wait!

Adam Curry: Yeah, do it now!

https://www.arrl.org

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