Ham radio liscense

[quickpix]

I was mystified and mortified over getting the Ham Radio License.
I am well aware some don't, but I am one that likes rules.
So - I got on the net and searched a ham radio person in my town and the first on the list was a company out in the country selling high tech antennas.
I called and got a delightful person Jean who is a HAM and encouraged me to be one too. She had the test prep booklet ($13.00) and the name of the person who gives the test locally. I called him and he has a weekly discussion group and invited me next week. So far the process is painless. I am half way through the study book in a couple of hours. Mostly common sense stuff. Plus HAM is for more than talking; in the Technician test there are several inferences to FPV, the transmission of telemetry and the transmission of video signals. People in rocketry have a HAM license as well as people who talk to the Space Station. More uses than I could have imagined. I hope to pass the test straight away and off to FPV land. I will keep you posted on how the process for me works out.

[Loopy1]

Congrats on your decision, quickpix! Here are some links that might be of use...

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Regul...May%202008.pdf

http://www.arrl.org/licensing-preparation-exams

http://aa9pw.com/radio/java/

[Hucker]

Quickpix: it is really easy, there really is nothing to it if you are willing to study a couple hours a night for a few nights. If you have no tech background it might be a touch more. There are lots of great online sources for studying.

[Vitamin J]

Just do an online practice test about 10 times and by the end you will have memorized all the answers.

[jimmaplesong]

I read the study guide twice, once at lunch the day of the test, and passed easily.
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Get%2...ide-2nd-ed.pdf

The same questions and answers are on the test; memorize the obscure ones, and the rest should fall into place.
I did end up googling a lot of concepts to help with the memorization...

[quickpix]

Hey I really appreciate the support. Most of the questions are common sense, it seems.
Study Study
Thanks

[bgarber]

Here is a really good, free online practice test site. I used it and it was a piece of cake to get the license! If you register (free) it will keep track of your progress.

http://hamexam.org/

A local FPV buddy and I took took the test at the same time and then bought super cheap 2m/440 radios to talk. I ended up getting a high gain antenna (cause I live in an RF dead zone) and discovered that you can talk to people through low-earth orbit sats with that setup. Apparently you can talk to the ISS, but I haven't tried that yet.

[jimmaplesong]

bgarber... which radio did you choose? I'm following the reviews at http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/49
and am saving up for a Kenwood TH-D72 at the moment, but only because the reviews are very good.

[bgarber]

I bought a Baofeng UV-5R,

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ht/0205.html and then got this antenna...

http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...ants/4723.html

For playing around on the local repeaters the Baofeng is fine... just a PITA to program! The problem with using the Baofeng for satellite communication is that it is semi-duplex; I have to switch between transmit on VHF and receive on UHF manually. I've heard good things about the TH-D72 (full-duplex) radio for sats + a whole lot of extra features.

[quickpix]

When I looked on the net for test info these are the people that helped me, they specialize in antennas.
http://www.wb0w.com