I feel your pain.  I am 90 minutes S. of Austin.  It will be rare that I find a test less than 90 minutes away (San Antonio, Houston, or Austin).  Maybe once a year a could other clubs host a test.

Not sure who said it was a PITA.  You have to spend some time sitting around waiting for a spot to open, I guarantee it is less time than you would spend in Austin traffic.

https://glaarg.org/

It's $10, you can always bail out if the testing is too much trouble.  Just do it.  

Seriously, I did mine over lunch on a weekday through glaarg online, took 30 minutes total.

Mine was through them as well, will take my extra with them if the time slots match my availability.  I haven't even started to study yet but work has me pretty busy this week and looks like most of next week.

As an aside, one of the dudes during the testing appeared to have a disability, maybe ALS.  As nervous as I was being "watched" during the test, that was pretty bad ass for someone like that to be making the effort to help out others.

My call sign finally showed up on the FCC website today -- 11 days after my on-site testing. I'm trying to get into another on-site testing session next weekend to take my Amatuer Extra test. They are full due to social distancing, but told me that they might be able to work something out to accommodate me.

Total noob here :D

Missed the pinned thread at the top of the page and sent an email bugging one of the memebers, then I saw the pinned post.

Living in Temple, TX, hope to find some like minders locally.

Looked up the nearby ARRL group (Belton), but would rather meet ARF members first.

I passed Technician this past Sunday.  They asked me if I wanted to go for General, but the thought never crossed my mind prior, so I was not prepared in the slightest.  Oh well.

Just for grins, I check the FCC database yesterday about mid-day and my call sign was there.  

I got the notification email from them this morning.  The only difference was there was a 'printed date' on the license today.

I passed my Amatuer Extra test today! 4 weeks ago today, I read Ben's thread in GD recommending people to get into amatuer radio, and decided I was interested enough to try. 1 week later, I passed both the Technician and General tests on the same day. 2 weeks passed from that testing date and I took the Amateur Extra test. All tests were in person at two different locations, one over 200 miles roundtrip and the other over 150. Please, PLEASE don't take this as bragging, but I scored 100% on all three tests -- and I'd never even seen a ham radio before, let alone turn one on. If I can do it, anyone can. Now the really hard part begins -- learning about actually using a radio!

Passed my Tech yesterday. Missed General by 1 question. I didn't study for the General at all but plan to test for it again in about 6 weeks when the test is given again locally here.

Congratulations!

I got my Tech and General because of you guys.  I need to buck up and start working for Extra.  The Extra QSO thread got me a little jealous I can't transmit there.

"It ain't bragging if you can prove it!"

Great accomplishment!  Congratulations!

Thanks! I just don't want to come off as overbearing. I try to be a humble person, but that doesn't mean that I can't be proud of my accomplishments. I put in a lot of hours studying, and it paid off. My main point is that if someone who has zero radio or electrical experience can pass these tests, then anyone can if they are willing to put in the effort. I went hardcore on the studying because of the distances involved. Like the main VE at my testing said yesterday, "Today was a good day - everyone passed.  It’s not much fun to tell someone they failed, or failed twice." Driving that far and failing would have been even worse!

That's not overbearing, you set out to accomplish a meaningful goal, and did!

Congratulations to all the recent licensees!

Aced the tech this morning.  Didn't take the general.  Learning is part of the process, so I will study first.  Maybe at the next local test in 3 months.

Congratulations!

Just passed my Tech! 100 percent.

Congratulations!

Thanks!

Passed my Tech exam this morning. Used the HamStudy app on my iPhone over the past few weeks. Was scoring around 90% on the app and got 91 (32/35) on my exam.

Awesome!

Passed my Tech exam tonight.  35/35.  

Thanks to the nice folks out of Garland,TX ham club for making the exam possible.

Good job!!  

Thank you.

Welcome aboard!

Thanks.

I used Hamstudy.org as well as Gary Wise's(W4EEY) videos on youtube.  The format of Hamstudy works for me.  Also, IMHO Gary does a pretty good job in his videos of giving you only what you need to know, while encouraging you to learn more at your own speed. The AARL books I picked up are what I read while not having access to a computer.

I am now preparing for my General license using the same study method.

I used HamStudy for all three tests. It worked out great for me.

Just finding this thread. Took local ham crams, and passed tech and general in the last 6+ months. My 16yo daughter passed her tech test today. Need to work on my young adult son.

I have the 8W Baofeng HT, which works well enough to hit the local repeater from my front yard. I have a uhf/vhf mobile antenna inbound to make it a little easier to hit the repeater.

I bought an ICOM 7100, power supply, antenna tuner, but no antenna yet. I'll probably swap the mobile antenna around a bit if I like it. If so, might just buy another one to leave with the car.

I've kinda vapor locked on buying an HF antenna.
Been looking at these for a couple months, and can't make up my mind:
ICOM AH-710 Folded Dipole Antennas AH-710$289.99https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/ico-ah-710160-10M
MFJ-1982HP, END FED, 1/2 WAVE, 80-10M, 800W, WIRE ANTENNA$119.95https://mfjenterprises.com/products/mfj-1982hp80-10M
EFHW-8010-2K-Plus$275https://myantennas.com/wp/product/efhw-8010-2k-plus/80-10M

I'd like to get my daughter a nice HT, and we have the Stone Mountain hamfest coming up in two weeks.

Congratulations to you and your daughter! As for an HF antenna, just throw together a center-fed dipole using less than $5 in wire.

Congrats on the licensing & getting started


Yeah, I wouldn't spend that kind of money on simple wire antennas, when you can readily make your own.

A lot of HF antennas at the basic/introductory level comes down to your location, and what you have available as far as space & supports. Also, who you want to talk to, ie, are you looking for more "local" / domestic contacts, or more interested in DX. Different types of antennas/configurations do better at some things than others. Get both is always a good option as well.

One thing that is super handy for any kind of dealing with HF antennas, and especially important with homebuilds is an antenna analyzer. The "Nano VNA" is not the most user friendly device on the planet but they're inexpensive and work fine, and any analyzer makes antenna testing and adjustments easier by orders of magnitude. The nature of HF antennas is that they essentially all require custom tuning and adjustment to their individual installations.

Thanks guys. Our local hamfest is in a couple weeks, so my daughter and I are planning to attend that. Debating about getting my daughter a new HT, or something used that is better than what I have. Hopefully I can get the center part for a di-pole. I think it would be fun to hit stuff in the lower 48.

I didn't even go that fancy when I started out. I simply soldered 16.5' of 12-gauge automotive wire to the center conductor of a length of coax and another 16.5' to the shield to get me on 20M. I then pulled it up about 30' into a tree.

As for the lower 48, once you make contact with a foreign country thousands of miles away, the U.S. will take a back seat.

You'll get it.

I've had a Tech license since 2003 and a General since 2007.  In 2009 I stopped using ham radios and just dropped out of the hobby.  Now I'm getting back into it.

To (re)learn the tech and lingo I've been using the QRZ Patrick J Maloney app on my iPhone.  Taking the Tech tests got boring so I moved up to the General tests.  After about 12 practice tests, I haven't passed one yet.  

The QRZ Patrick J Maloney app has both practice tests and also the learning material as well.  Take your pick for what works for you.

Good luck!

I need to get off my butt and take the darn test. I've been studying in and off for months, but I never make it a priority. The apps weren't working to well for me, so I just got spiral bound copies of the study books. Going to try for general and tech in one go round. It's hard to work up motivation for a permission slip from daddy gov for me. I need to get over that and just do the damn thing, hoping y'all can provide some motivation.

Instead of a permission slip from daddy, think of it this way -

The tests are developed by hams and the tests are administered by hams - the tests are more proof that you are qualified among peers

That's mostly it.

It's a simple way of determining that an operator will have enough basic knowledge to not hurt themselves or interfere with others.

WE, as hams, all need you and everyone else on the air to be able to do that.  Like a drivers license shows (hopefully!)  that you can operate the car safely.

Think of it as that, rather than a .gov permission slip.

It's totally worth it, to be able to get on the air with others.

I first got interested in HAM through arfcom, maybe 10 years ago. But first, I needed to spend all available study time on the 1st engineering license exam, then the 2nd, then a whole host of certs.

I'm done putting it off, and now that it seems like testing remotely is a possibility...I'm going to go for it.

Hoping for some suggestions on equipment, as I really don't want to outlay a ton of cash at this point.

Like all of GD, I have some Baofangs that I've used as a scanner for local stuff.

I'm really interested in HF stuff for longer range, but I realize that's not going to be in my bare bones budget. I guess I'm hoping for whatever allows me to pick up the most chatter, since that will keep my interested.

If you just want to listen, an SDR receiver with some wire antennas would let you listen.

I don't know what I have to say, but I'd like to have the capability and knowledge to speak as well.....at least on a more local level.

That and I'd like to be able to BS with folks on the arfcom Ham get-together thing I've read about.

Might not be the most popular concept, and no idea how it would work in your locale... but the traditional system of local involvement and making friends might be useful. HF stuff is expensive, and even the used market has been pretty high since 1/6.

Get licensed, get on some local repeaters with your beofengs, hopefully find a local club or two, go to some meetings, meet people. Pass General (or Extra) license exam, tell folks you're looking for HF, and someone may make you a deal on a radio, or keep you in mind if there's a local SK (silent key) or something.

Another option might be something like a uBitx kit, which is just over $200 I think. Low power radios are often frustrating to the less experienced however.

I think I am going to take the plunge even if it's just to have for emergency use. Where can I go to start learning for the tech and general licenses? Should I get a book of Amazon?

If you learn well from reading books, something like the ARRL or the Gordon West test prep books would be good. I like the Gordon West books, but different people have different opinions.

There are free and paid resources online to study for the tests, if you get books you can use the online free tests to see how much info you are retaining.

The tests are multiple choice tests drawn from a published pool of test questions, be aware that the question pools change every 4 years, so you need a current book for test prep.

Keep in mind that test prep doesn't make you a knowledgeable, experienced or capable radio operator. There is more to know, depending on exactly what facets of amateur radio you decide to pursue. A lot of being a good operator just comes from getting on the air and doing it.

I downloaded all the test questions for the tech and general. It looked oka like the tech changes in June to a new set. Should I study the current tech questions or the new ones?

I watched part 1 of the Ham Radio Tech Class License Course in YouTube today. They pointed to the aap9w.com website so I signed up there to take some practice tests. I took a test just to see where I stand and got a 74. There were a lot of questions I took an educated guess or just made a guess. I still have a lot to learn but after part 2 and 3 I'm sure I will do much better. I need to write down the operating frequencies so I can memorize them as well.

ETA: I think taking Electronics way back in highschool helped.

If you're going to test before June, you'll need the existing questions, after June you'll need the new question pool. Motivation to not dilly-dally.

ETA:
To expound on the question pools...

The question pools for the tests change every 4 years on a rotating schedule. So older test prep material will not have the right question pool and may not cover all the current material.

The Technician question pool changes effective July 2022
General question pool changes effective July 2023
Extra question pool changes effective July 2024

and again 4 years later, etc etc.

For anyone who’s struggled to pass their test from books and regular practice test apps, I cannot recommend hamtestonline.com enough.

I earned my tech after studying from Gordon West’s books for several years. I owned his books covering three different question pools. I just don’t do well out of books. Tried a few cell phone practice apps, but always got tired of seeing the same questions on repeat and hundreds left un-attempted. I finally brute forced my way through tech a handful of years ago. Failed General in the same sitting, despite studying from the books and apps for weeks.

Earlier this year, I decided to go after General and Extra again. Found hamtestonline and actually had fun with studying. Their software allows you to adjust the frequency of repeat questions, prioritize those you either haven’t yet seen, or the ones you haven’t yet mastered (not sure what they consider mastered, presumably after you answer it correctly a specified number of times), or even just the ones you haven’t seen in a long time. It teaches in sections, then quizzes you on pertinent questions. They tell you a lot of “don’t bother memorizing these numbers, but know this for the test.” while still presenting you all the technical info. So you have the option to actually do a deep dive and try to learn the material, or you know exactly what you NEED to know for the test.

I think I set a June target test in March. Started the General program on hamtestonline, and was consistently scoring 100% on General exams within a couple of weeks. Moved on to Extra and had the same result. I was hitting 100% on any practice exams I could find (wanted to try them from other sources to be sure the hamtestonline software wasn’t somehow biased to make me feel good) so easily it got boring. This was before the end of April, and my test wasn’t until June - so less than 6 weeks studying, with more than that left until the soonest local test. I wound up putting the material down for over a month. Picked it back up about a week before the test to refresh, passed both tests with ease (missed two on Extra, IIRC).

TL;DR - hamtestonline.com is a fantastic tool if you’re struggling to learn by other means. Each segment will cost you a couple of bucks, but you’re trying to get into a hobby that ain’t cheap most of the time. I cringe to think about the 6 or 8 Gordon West books I bought without success.

Many worry too much about the math IMO. There isn't that much math on anything other than the Extra, and even on the Extra, you can miss every math question and still pass the test if it comes to that.

It's also multiple choice and some very basic guesstimation can eliminate 2 of the 4 answers usually, so you can guess at 50% most of the time.

If you actually do the math, most is very simple multiplication or division.

Folks worry too much about the testing in general. The tests are a hurdle to jump, not an operating manual for amateur radio. Yes there is stuff on there you need to know, but also stuff that's not particularly relevant for many. If you can get through the test then worry about really learning what you need to know to do whatever you want to do in radio. The real world is an open book test in any event, you can always find the answers you need.