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No-Code Technician Ham Tests
The Nuts and Bolts
What is a 'Ham'? The word Ham is a slang term used to describe a licensed Amateur Radio operator. The test part relates to examinations which you must pass to be issued an Amateur Radio Operators License by the F.C.C.
Why would I want to do that; get a Ham license? You will join the ranks of over 700,000 Hams in the U.S. alone. Depending on the frequency priviliges attendant with your license class, you can communicate with other Hams all over the World, bounce signals off of the moon, talk via sattelite with only 1/2 watt of power, use the many thousands of repeaters in the U.S. and in other countries, just to name a few.
Y2K? For some, Y2K preparedness dictates a license for emergency communications, and staying in touch with the rest of the world. If you don't need to use it for those purposesses that's great, but just in case, Now is time to get a license in your Y2K toolbox.
Who can get a license? There are NO age limits or citizenship requirements. Only employees of foreign governments are not permitted to get a license. The Novice test is written at an 8th grade reading level, and the higer levels are written at High School level. This enables the whole familly to be involved if desired. A Ham ticket rounds out a technology education, including building your own equipment if you want!
What does a license cost? The license has to be the best deal from the Federal government, it's Free! That's right folks, the license fee is zero, and is issued for Ten years and of course is renewable. The persons who are authorized to administer the exams are allowed to collect a small fee for their expenses in fulfilling their tasks, and as they are all volunteers this is certainly appropriate. It is up to the individual tester as to whether or not to apply a testing fee, but in all cases, that fee is limited by the F.C.C. to the princely sum of $6.39. Any donations beyond that to the club which is hosting the testing session are voluntary and will be sincerely appreciated by the folks putting it on.
What is a No-Code Technician? The F.C.C. designation is Technician Class; the No-Code part is used to unofficially designate a Technician Class as opposed to the Technician Plus Class, which requires a 5 Word per minute Morse code test, and has a few more frequency priviledges. The No-Code issue has been hotly debated for years as you will find in the policy newsgroup below. That fact is, some people cannot learn Morse code, such as some persons handicapped with PTSD.
Why a No-Code Technician? As with many functions of government such as annual grant renewals and other Federal budgeting functions, if you don't use it, you loose it. That is exactly what has happened to some Amateur Radio frequency priviledges. The Technician Class allows a huge cross section of people to take advantage of some very usefull and exciting frequency priviledges. While the old-timer code purists may groan, they realize that new bodies are needed to populate the Amateur bands, and keep frequencies from falling into the hands of insatiable commercial interests.
What about the test? For the Technician class, there are two tests, which are called elements. Both tests are 4x multiple choice. The Novice test has 35 questions with 26 passing; the Technician test has 30 questions with 22 passing. If you only pass one of the two, you can re-take the other within one year and get credit for one you passed. Every single question you might be asked is on the site! If you know the material, you will pass.
Where can I take my official tests? There are hundreds of testing sessions accross the country every month. Down below you will find a link for the ARRL Exam Session Search. You can click on that site and punch in your zip code or town name and you will get a listing back. Awesome. Most tests you just show up and walk in, while a few require pre-contact or registration.
About this site. At first I built it for my personal use for testing off-line and then decided to put it on my system (MendoNet) and it just seems to grow! It is a public service site. I will be hooking up with a couple of vendors later on with 'Green Grocer Best Buys' on new equipment, so bookmark this site. Used equipment prices run the whole gamut and can run from $50 and up depending of course, on what it is! There is an eBay price database linked down below. First thing though, is to get your feet wet and take a couple of tests to see if you think it might be your cup of tea!
Alrighty, then; here they are!
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