Interested in Amateur Radio?

Great!  Ham radio is a wonderful communications hobby and service.  It's been around pretty much as long as there's been radio, around the turn of the (last) century.  Today, it's state-of-the-art.  And it's a terrific compliment to the communications you've started taking for granted on the internet.

To get started, you might want some more basic information on Amateur Radio itself.  For that, let me point you to a page from our national organization, the American Radio Relay League : http://www.arrl.org/hamradio.html .  Don't get lost in browsing and forget to come back!

To operate an Amateur Radio station, you need an FCC license.  To get that license, you need to learn some rules and regs, some operating procedure, some safety information and some elementary electronics.  Then, to show you've learned that stuff, you must pass an exam, administered locally several times a year.  That's what our class is all about. 

There are three levels of ham licenses: Technician, General, and Amateur Extra.  As you go up the license ladder, you take progressively more difficult tests, and you earn greater privileges.  You can get a simplified overview of the ham license structure here .

The RARS Class is designed to help you pass the FCC exam for the Technician Class license.  This is the "No-Code" license, and no Morse code is required.  We do offer an optional code class for those interested gaining the extra privileges that come with passing the 5 word-per-minute code test.   If you're interested in that, contact Neal Fisher N4HAF .

Class Schedule: - student poll!

We completed our first "Weekend Warrior" class in early August, 2003.  This class concentrated everything into two Saturday sessions, with an exam following the second session.  You can see the schedule we followed at: www.rars.org/students.  The format was successful - 8 of 11 students passed their test on the first try - but it was tiring.  

What should we do for our next class?  Our traditional format has been a six week schedule, with two-hour classes on Monday and Thursday nights.  That seems to take forever, and many students miss some classes due to conflicts.  But we have more time for expanding the lessons with real-world instruction.  The two-Saturday class format gets it over with, but if you can't make it one of the days, you probably miss too much.  Both classes require homework - studying the textbook before class.  The 6 week class is one chapter per class, with a couple days (or a weekend) to prepare.  The Saturday classes require studying 5 chapters before the first class, and five more in the week between classes.

So we need your feedback as potential students.  What class format would work best for you?  E-mail Gary Pearce KN4AQ  with your preference, and to get on the notification list for the next class.

The Cost:
The cost for the RARS class, including the textbook, is  $25 ($10 class fee, $15 for the textbook).  The only other cost is the exam fee, currently $12, when you take your test.

The Book:
The class is based on the textbook Now You're Talking - 5th Edition , published by the ARRL.  We can supply the book, or you can  order it from the ARRL's web site .  This is a new edition, published in the spring of 2003.  It covers a revised pool of FCC questions. 4th Edition and older books can not be used.  It's $19.95 retail.  Our price will be $15.

The Class:
The classes include some lecture, demonstration, an occasional video and discussion.  We also add a bit of real-world experience to help you get ready to go on the air yourself.  Unfortunately, there is homework !  You must study the text chapter(s) for the upcoming class before that class.

Important note: the class lectures and demonstrations only supplement the text.  We answer your questions, and explain some of the more difficult concepts.  We can't teach everything you need to know in class - there's not enough time.  The truth is that you can get your ham license with the book alone, and many people do.  You can't pass the test with the class alone, but the class will make it easier, more fun, and you'll know more real ham radio when you finish!  Many people find that the class provides them structure to actually get it done, get their license and get on the air.  

(Click here for more pictures from a recent class.)

Location:
The class is held at the Nortel Technical Education Center, which is along NC 54, about a two miles west of the State Fairgrounds (right next to I-40).  Directions are on the registration form (see below).

Exams:
Exams for the Tech license (and all other ham licenses) are usually given by the RARS Volunteer Examiners on the last day of class.  

There are many other exam opportunities throughout the year, in Raleigh and surrounding communities.  Here's a web page for exam info: www.3rdtech.com/nick/hamfaq.htm .  The exam fee is $12.  The exam fee is not included in the class fee.

Class Size Limited - Download the Registration Form:
Class size is limited to 30 students, on a first-registered basis.  This is an informal requirement, and we'll work with everyone if we see the class filling up.  Our largest recent class was 28, so don't panic!  

You don't have to be an electrical engineer to get a ham license. Many hams begin with no technical knowledge beyond what they learned to get their licenses.

The exam questions cover four areas:

• FCC Rules and Regulations
• Operating Practices
• Basic Electronics and Radio Theory
• Safety

Caution: don't try to memorize the question and answers by number ("question 1 is 'A,', question 2 is 'C,'" etc.).  There are hundreds of questions in the pool, the questions won't be numbered the same on the exam, and the answers may be presented in a different order.

We think you're better off actually learning the basics, not just memorizing them.  We won't pretend there's no work involved, but it's much less than a high school semester's worth.  And most of what you learn will be useful to you as you enjoy the hobby in the future.

Test Yourself Online:  There are several web sites out there that package the question pool into sample exams.  One of our favorites is http://www.aa9pw.com/radio/exam.html .  We recommend that you begin taking on-line sample tests starting the first night of class.  You probably won't "pass" the first night, but with each class you'll see your score jump up, and by the end of the class you'll pass the test with confidence.

The Technician license is code-free, with full privileges on all the VHF, UHF and above ham bands, and that may be as far as you want to go in ham radio for now.

But, Morse Code is a strong tradition in Ham Radio, and you'll need to learn it to progress to higher class licenses .  Add code to the Tech license and you'll gain voice privileges on the worldwide Ten Meter band, as well as code privileges on several other worldwide bands.  The license restructuring in 2000 lowered the code requirements for the General and Amateur Extra licenses to one 5 word-per-minute exam.  In 2003, the World Radiocommunication Conference dropped the treaty requirement for code.  The FCC has received petitions to eliminate code as a requirement for US amateur radio licensing, so the requirement may be eliminated in the next few years, although Morse code will continue to be a popular on-air mode for the forseeable future.

RARS will offers a separate Morse Code class occasionally during the year, separate from the license classes.  If you're interested in that, contact Neal Fisher N4HAF .