Posts Tagged ‘FCC’
Three Steps to Getting Your Ham Radio License
October 13th, 2014 | 
Author: 
These are the three basic steps to getting your USA amateur (ham) radio license: 1) Learn the Material 2) Take Practice Exams and 3) Pass the Real Exam.
This article is very short and to the point, for a more detailed explanation see Stu’s article over at HamRadioSchool.com.
1. Learn The Material
The entry level ham radio license is the Technician License, so you’ll need to get a book that covers the theory, regulations and operating procedures required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). My recommendation is the Technician License Course over at HamRadioSchool.com, which offers an integrated learning system (web, book and smartphone app).
While you can learn the material on your own, many people find classroom instruction to be very helpful. Check the ARRL web site for courses in your area or just do an internet search for “ham radio license class” and your location.
2. Take Practice Exams
The question pool for the Technician Level Exam is made public, so you have access to every possible question that will be on the exam. Better yet, various organizations have created online practice exams so you can test yourself in advance. After you study the material, take these practice exams to test your knowledge. Go back and study any topics you are having trouble with on the exam. A passing grade is 74%, so you’ll want to be consistently above that before trying the real exam.
These are a few of the available online practice exams: qrz.com, eham.net and aa9pw.
3. Pass the Real Exam
The FCC exams are administered by radio hams known as Volunteer Examiners (VEs), so the exam session is sometimes called a VE session. In most areas, there are exam sessions given on a regular basis. Check the ARRL web site to find a license exam session in your area.
Be sure to follow the instructions of the local VE team, since policies and procedures do vary. If you’ve studied the material and checked your knowledge by taking the practice exams, you should have no problem passing the Technician level exam.
4. One More Thing
Actually, there is one more step to this process. Getting the required FCC license is just the start, a learners permit for amateur radio. You’ll need to get on the air and gain some practical experience. It is extremely helpful to have some help during this process, so I highly recommend that you connect up with a local ham radio club. If you can’t find a club then perhaps make contact with a local ham or two.
There are many hams out there that are willing to help. However, it may be a challenge to find one. You can always drop me an email and I will try to assist.
73, Bob K0NR
I’ll admit, I fell for it!
This from the ARRL today:
ZCZC AG16
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 16 ARLB016
>From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT September 4, 2014
To all radio amateurs
SB QST ARL ARLB016
ARLB016 New Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Fee Set at $21.40
The FCC has adjusted very slightly downward - to $21.40 - its proposed Amateur Service vanity call sign regulatory fee for Fiscal Year 2014. In a June Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), the Commission said it was planning to hike the current $16.10 vanity fee to $21.60 for the 10-year license term. The FCC released a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (R&O) in the proceeding on August 29, in which it recalculated the fee to $21.40 for the 10-year license term. The $5.30 increase still represents the largest vanity fee hike in many years.
The new $21.40 fee does not go into effect until 30 days after the R&O is published in The Federal Register.
In the R&O, the FCC said it considered eliminating the regulatory fee for Amateur Radio vanity call sign applications but decided not to do so "at this time," because it lacks "adequate support to determine whether the cost of recovery and burden on small entities outweighs the collected revenue; or whether eliminating the fee would adversely affect the licensing process." The Commission said it would reevaluate this issue in the future to determine if it should eliminate other fee categories.
The FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau sets the vanity call sign regulatory fee using projections of new applications and renewals, taking into consideration existing Commission licensee databases, such as the Universal Licensing System (ULS) database.
The FCC reported there were 11,500 "payment units" in FY 2014. The Commission said the vanity program generated an estimated $230,230 in FY 2013 revenue, and it estimated that it would collect nearly $246,100 in FY 2014.
The vanity call sign regulatory fee is payable when applying for a new vanity call sign or when renewing a vanity call sign, although some older vanity call signs are not subject to the regulatory fee.
NNNN
/EX
I wonder what the fee will be in 2020 when it's time for me to renew again! I think it was around $14 in 2010 when I last renewed. Oh well, if you want to dance, you have to pay the piper, I guess.
I love this part, though. "In the R&O, the FCC said it considered eliminating the regulatory fee for Amateur Radio vanity call sign applications, but decided not to do so "at this time," because it lacks "adequate support to determine whether the cost of recovery and burden on small entities outweighs the collected revenue; or whether eliminating the fee would adversely affect the licensing process." Translation - "Naaah! We decided to raise it by $5.30 instead."
Ya just gotta love the Federal Government!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
This Spewed Out of the Internet #28
More important things have spewed forth from the interwebz:
HamRadioNow interviews the Ham Hijinks guys and has the nerve to actually publish the video. Later the Hijinks crew posted this article about changes being made to Field Day.
Baofeng is going to change its name. Or is this just another Ham Hijinks article?
WE2F writes: 146.52 Reasons to Monitor VHF Simplex but whatever you do, do not use 146.52 MHz on Field Day. Mike AD5A posts Why Operate QRP from Summits? The FCC kicks the butt of a cell phone jammer manufacturer, to the tune of $34.9M and also fines a couple of 14.313 MHz problem children.
A Broadband Over Powerline (BPL) provider bites the dust. Did I mention that it is a really dumb idea to transmit bits over AC power lines?
I did a little explaining about those antenna connectors on handheld radios. Randy (K7AGE) has a neat video showing some basic 2m FM portable operating.
I knew it: Digital is overrated and vinyl is making a comeback. Really.
Due to popular demand, I updated the VHF QRP page. Yes, some radio hams do operate QRP above 50 MHz…apparently for the same reasons that people operate HF QRP. Which is to say we really don’t know why.
I also found that the domain name for the Colorado 14er Event was broken, so I fixed it. See ham14er.org This event is the most fun you can have dorking around with radios in the Colorado mountains. Also, be sure to check out these operating tips.
73, Bob K0NR
LHS Episode #127: Dirty Catfish
In this episode, your intrepid hosts discuss several ham-radio related stories including operators interfering with jail communications, getting lost in strange valleys, and transmitting through a hammock. But that’s only the beginning. Thanks for tuning, and for being a valued listener of our show.
73 de The LHS Guys
This Spewed Out of the Internet #27
More important things spewing forth from the interwebz:
The Ham Hijinks guys have been at it again, with this article: New Drug Aims To Get More Hams On The Air
Warning: Do Not Take These Guys Seriously, It Only Encourages Them
Chiming in on April 1st, Dan KB6NU reported that the FCC is going to reinstate the Morse Code test.
I posted an article about using UTC over at HamRadioSchool.com: Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
KB9VBR has a nice article that explains the common types of antenna connectors used with ham radio.
Elliot KB0RFC has been writing some interesting stuff about D-STAR, DMR and other things digital on his blog. See his latest article: Developing a DMR / D-STAR radio
James R. Winstead, KD5OZY, of Coleman, Texas found out that sometimes the FCC does show up and bust radio amateurs that are causing problems on the air. See the ARRL article here. It always cracks me up when the FCC Engineer reports that during their station inspection, the offender’s radio is still tuned to the frequency where the problems were occurring.
Serious DXers all over the world are in severe depression after finding out that Crimea is Not a New DXCC Entity. Conspiracy Theory: the whole thing was instigated by a group of hams that believed Crimea would be a new one.
73, Bob K0NR
LHS Episode #125: YFKTest Lives!
In this episode of Linux in the Ham Shack, Pete goes AWOL. While he’s out being dishonorably discharged, Harrison and Cheryl step in to fill his medium-sized shoes. We also get an interview with Bob, W9YA, current maintainer of YFKTest. He tells us all about the new and exciting world of YFKTest and how it’s not, in fact, dead.
73 de The LHS Guys
Show Notes #116
Episode #116 Audio (Listen now!):
- Week-end Brushes with fame
- HamQTH Author Wants Your Feedback
- Search for Vanity Call Signs
- What’s New in Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty Tahr)
- Ubuntu 13.10 for Smart Phones (Ubuntu Touch)
- Pete Looks for a phone
More Topics
- The Savannah Project
- List of small/medium/large ham radio projects
- Fascinating tour of the space station
- Small Wonder Labs to go QRT
- Social Media Roundup
- Google+
- Felix R.
- Peter N.
- Twitter
- @TheZerocool (Denis S.)
- Mailing List
- Adrian (2E0SDR)
- Rusty (NM1K)
- Robert (AD0BM)
- Subscriptions
- Bill A. (Monthly)
- Bill H. (Monthly)
- David L. (Yearly)
- Gary U. (Monthly)
- Jeremy H. (Monthly)
- Scott P. (Monthly)
- Robert H. (Yearly)
- Thank you to our monthly and yearly subscribers.
- Thank you to all of our listeners, live and quasi-live.
- Please check out our website: http://lhspodcast.info.
- You can reach us at [email protected]. You can leave us voice mail at 1-909-LHS-SHOW (547-7469).
- All hatemail can go to [email protected]
- Please subscribe to the mailing list. A link is on the Web site.
- Go to CafePress and Printfection and buy some of our show merchandise. Each purchase helps out the show.
- Listen live every every other Tuesday at 8:00pm Central that would be Wednesday at 02:00z. Our recording schedule is on the Web site.
Music
- ”The Soundtrack of Our Summer” by The League from the album The Soundtrack of Your Summer, courtesy of Jamendo.
- ”Whore of Babylon” by Sons of Sin from the album Rebelations, courtesy of Jamendo.
