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Link to purchase this very pricey radio (and not-so-pricey study guides!) is located at the bottom of the post.
If you're here because you're considering getting into the Amateur Radio hobby, Welcome!
Anyone who's been in the hobby long enough (or has done enough research) will tell you -- ham radio is vast. No single ham knows everything there is to know, and no two hams are doing the same thing. This hobby spans our continents, our world, our solar system and even our galaxies. If ham radio were a college class, one could easily earn a Ph.D. in each of the 3 license classes (Technician, General, and Amateur Extra). But you don't need a Ph.D. to get on the airwaves, as a matter of fact a 5-year old kid currently holds the record for becoming the youngest licensed ham ever.
My name is Jason, amateur callsign KI5ONA. I first got into ham radio in 2020, I'm what many older operators call a "pandemic ham". When I was a kid I had an old CB radio and car battery, and against my mother's wishes I'd use it often to see what truckers I could talk to passing through the very rural area I lived in. No, mom wasn't very happy about that. But it did open up an interest in radio, and over 40 years later I finally took the plunge and got my license.
Now when I say the hobby is vast, I mean I've been doing this for over five years and still am on the tip of the iceberg. There are three cumulative license classes, and I'll go into a each one a little bit.
Technician -- This is the entry license for all hams. Essentially this gives you transmission privileges on VHF/UHF frequencies (30 MHz up into the gigahertz). Most of these frequencies are considered local. The range on most VHF/UHF transmissions are limited anywhere from two miles to 100 miles. But don't think for a second that your transmission has to stop there. With the advent of repeaters (towers that can greatly amplify your signal), your reach can be global.
My 10-watt handheld is limited to roughly a 30-mile range (at best). But I can transmit to a linked repeater nearby. That repeater is linked via microwave to 15 other repeaters here in the beautiful state of Colorado. So when I key up on my handheld radio, I'm not just transmitting in my limited 30-mile range. I'm not even limited to the 75-mile range the repeater gives me. I'm literally covering the entire state of Colorado on 15 different repeaters at the same time, and sometimes even talking to people just outside the state!
Some repeaters are even linked worldwide via digital modes and the internet. So I can literally key up a low-power handheld on a digital repeater node and talk to someone in South America, Europe, Asia or even Australia. There are even a couple apps I have on my phone that can link directly to repeater stations worldwide so I don't even need a radio!
And with VHF/UHF privileges comes the benefit of LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellite communications. We currently have about 18 amateur radio satellites in orbit. As a matter of fact, the International Space Station has a repeater mounted to the bottom, completely free for licensed ham operators to use. With nothing more than a cheap 5-watt handheld radio and maybe a small yagi antenna, you can communicate over the the entire hemisphere via the ISS. And, if you're lucky, you might even get to talk to an astronaut!
Yes, the Technician class is the entry license. But as you can see there is a lot you can do, and I didn't even go into digital modes like APRS or DMR that allow for text messaging and e-mail without internet access. Nor did I cover packet data transfer, or downloading images directly from satellites and the ISS, or bouncing signals off the moon. Some repeaters even have telephone connectivity with an autopatch feature, which means you can actually make a phone call right through your handheld radio!
General (my current license class) -- This, by far, is the license class to have. On top of VHF/UHF, the General license opens up the global HF (High Frequency) bands. These frequencies (3 MHz - 30 MHz) can carry your signal around the world. No repeaters, no internet, no satellite, just your signal bouncing off the ionosphere and landing at a station in some far away land.
Up until somewhat recently, this used to be a major hurdle for many hams to clear financially. Radios like the one at the top of this post easily run into the thousands and beyond, and that's just the beginning. Add in the cost of a nice antenna tower, ground rods, buried coaxial cable plus dedicated power -- and you can see why many hams stopped at the Technician level and went no further. But if you've had a look at my HF On The Cheap page, you already know that finances are really no reason not get your General ticket.
The major drawback with repeaters and internet connectivity is the fact that they go down during an emergency. Repeaters may or may not have backup power (which may or may not work, especially if they haven't been maintained). Plus if you don't have internet or cell service on your phone, the repeater won't either, which means you'll be limited to whatever range your VHF/UHF rig has. And not all amateur operators have internet or repeater access, expecially in remote locations. But an HF rig with a good antenna (many of us hams design and build our own directional antennas) can reach anywhere on the planet.
Want to talk to a ham operator in Siberia? There's no repeaters there. Antarctica has several research stations (Palmer, Casey and McMurdo just to name a few) but as you may have guessed - no repeaters there, either. How do they communicate with the outside world? Ham radio.
A great many boat enthusiasts also have their ham licenses. So many in fact, that every single day the Maritime Net operates on 14.300 MHz allowing sailboat captains and crew to check in with their location and destination. They even allow us regular hams to check in.
There are also groups like POTA (Parks On The Air) which have contests for campers staying in our national parks, they try to make as many contacts as possible. Same with SOTA (Summits On The Air) for crazies like myself who love to make contact at 15,000 feet and above. Every year, we hams celebrate Field Day where we take our gear into the hills and set up remote stations all over the world. Add in global nets, rag chewing and digital modes and you'll see why so many hams make it their goal to get on HF. It's really the original social network, no internet required!
But the best part of having a General ticket is what we call DX. That's shorthand for long-distance. Just a couple weeks ago I made contact with another station in Transylvania, Romania (no joke!) on the 14 MHz band with just 5 watts of power. Great conversation. HF is where the fun lives, and to take advantage of it you'll need that General license!
Amateur Extra (which I'm currently studying for) -- So why the picture of the submarine? Because the Amateur Extra license opens up what we call MF (Medium Frequency) and LF (Low Frequency) bands and permissions. We're talking way down in the dirt and to the bottom of the ocean. 0.3 MHz - 3 MHz. Transmitting in the kilohertz. The same RF bands the Pentagon uses to communicate with submarines thousands of feet below the ocean's surface.
For the record, no. Not me nor anyone else outside the Defense Department has made contact with a submarine. But we hams love to experiment, and those ultra-low bands carry through almost anything. When you join this "club", you're no longer buying ready-made radios. You're up there with Edison and Einstein developing radios and wire antennas (some over a kilometer or two long) and seeing if you can send messages through the Earth.
As well, having your General or Amateur Extra ticket also enables you to become a VE - Volunteer Examiner. Clubs all over the country always need Volunteer Examiners, and for many of us it's a way to give back to the hobby that has done so much for us.
STUDY GUIDES
This is by far not a comprehensive list, it's just the two most affordable courses (one is free!) I've either used or heard good things about. There are other online study guides available, but some of them will nickle and dime you. Sure the first section was only $5, but the next section is $25 and on and on... My links are either completely free or a one-time online book purchase and both will prepare you for your exam.
Both Technician and General exams pull 35 questions from a pool (424 questions for Technician and 456 for General) at random. The Amateur Extra exam pulls 50 random questions from a pool of 700 (feel sorry for me!). BUT -- both of these courses detail every single question you can expect on your exam, and both will offer explanations. The FCC, in part of its transparency to the public, must publish the exam questions by law. And these courses take advantage of that.
I am currently using Fast Track Ham (link below) for my Amateur Extra license. When I first studied for my Technician's license, the online book was available through Amazon (Kindle Reader App) for about $7. It has gone up a couple bucks but it's still worth the price. Michael Burnette, AF7KB, does an excellent job explaining the theory behind RF and detailing exactly why "Answer A" is correct and the others are not. Plus the book gives you access to his online quizzes and exams.
For both Tech and General, I studied one hour per day. Passed my Technician exam after three weeks, then got my General three weeks after that.
Ham Study is a freebie collaborative put together by licensed hams. Essentially, you'll be taking practice exams time and time again until you get the answers right. It does have an "I Don't Know" option, which will give you the same explanation you'd get had you selected the wrong answer. Personally, I prefer Fast Track. But if you're on a limited budget, I've heard more than one ham swear by Ham Study.
With either course you may feel like you're not getting it, especially in the beginning. That's normal. I have a background in computers and electrical theory but had forgotten a lot and RF was still a new concept for me. I've heard licensed hams from both courses say nothing really started to make sense until they were about 1/3 through. And it was the same for me. About halfway through, it all started making sense.
No matter what, I do guarantee -- if you're consistently hitting 90% or better on your open-book practice quizzes and tests, you'll do just fine on the real exam. Because the questions on those practice tests are exactly what you'll see on the real one.
Enjoy the study. It's a fun one!
Best,
Jason KI5ONA.
LINKS:
I am enrolled as an Amazon Associate so I will make a small commission on qualified purchases via these links (at no extra charge to the purchaser). That being said, you are not obligated to purchase from my links to use the information I've given in this blog. 73 de KI5ONA and enjoy the hobby!
Fast Track Ham (Technician Exam):
Ham Study:
And of course, the ICOM 7610 tranceiver...
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