How to Get an Amateur Radio License

M0TCX Amateur radio station / Wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0

Amateur radio, also known as ham radio has been around for as long as radio itself. It is a popular and exciting hobby that is easier than ever to get a license for and it doesn’t have to be expensive. People of all ages are ham radio operators from 5 years old to hams in their 90s.

 

What is Amateur Radio

 

Ham radio started out before commercial broadcasts actually did, some of the very first AM radio stations were started by ham operators. Once commercial broadcasts started in the 1920s, ham radio took off as a hobby. Over the years ham radio has been confused with CB radio (citizens band), the two are very different.

Though many ham radio operators got their interest started in radio with CB. Amateur radio requires passing a test and a license to operate your own radio station. Once you get a ham radio license, you can use your own radio station to talk to other ham radio operators throughout the world.

The popularity of ham radio has been declining the past decade with the advent of instant texting, emailing and instantaneous phone calls to anywhere in the world. The thrill of talking around the world isn’t the same to some people as it used to be.

There are still things a ham radio operator can do that no one else can do with their cell phones, like talking to the International Space Station or one of the space shuttles.

Many times one of the astronauts on the shuttle or space station are also licensed amateur radio operators and will use the radios onboard to talk to other hams on Earth.

There is still the thrill of using your own knowledge, radio and antenna you might build yourself and being able to talk half way around the world to some remote location in Mongolia or Norfolk Island.

Over the years, ham radio operators have been at the forefront of many inventions concerning radio, electronics, antennas, television and different modes of communicating. The first television station was licensed to an amateur radio operator. 

Amateur radio station of DJ4PI in Germany / Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0

Famous Amateur Radio Operators

There have been many famous ham radio operators over the years. Here are some of them and their call letters.

• Walter Cronkite. Former CBS news anchor KB2GSD
• George Pataki, Governor of New York K2ZCZ
• Chet Atkins, Singer and guitar player W4CGP
• Ronnie Milsap, singer, songwriter WB4KCG
• Paul Kangas, longtime anchor of the PBS show, “The Nightly Business Report” W4LAA
• Arthur Godfrey TV personality K4LIB
• Howard Hughs, Inventor, pilot, America’s first billionaire W5CY
• Joe Walsh, guitarist, singer, songwriter for the Eagles WB6ACU
• Steve Wozniak, Co-founder of Apple Computer WA6BND
• General Curtis LeMay, military legend W6EZV
• Art Bell, syndicated radio personality W6OBB
• Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles W6QYI
• John Huston, film director
• Shari Belafonte Behrens, actress and model KE6YGN
• Barry Goldwater, former Arizona senator K7UGA
• King Juan Carlos, King of Spain EA0JC
• Bhumiphol Adulayadej, King of Thailand HS1A
• King Hussein, former King of Jordon JY1A
• Queen Noor, Queen of Jordon JY1NH
• Yuri Gagarin, first Cosmonaut.

Joe Walsh, WB6ACU / Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0

Getting an Amateur Radio License is Now Easier

Over the years, the hardest requirement for getting an amateur radio license was learning Morse code. The requirement to learn Morse code to get a license has been dropped in the United States and most other countries. To get an Amateur Radio license all you need to do is pass a multiple choice written test.

There are three classes of license and with each upgrade the tests are more difficult, but not hard to learn and pass. The three classes of licenses are: Technician class, General class and the Extra class. With each class of license you will get more privileges and frequencies to use.

The Technician and General Class tests are each 35 multiple-choice questions and the Extra is 50 questions. The tests include electronic theory, rules and regulations and safety.

In the past you had to go to the nearest Federal Communications Commission office to take the test. To get a license today, tests are given by volunteer examiners at public locations like a library. 

 

Sometimes there is a cost of $15 or less. You can find a list of local amateur radio tests that are given in your area at the American Radio Relay League website.

QSL card from Ascension Island / Flickr CC BY 2.0

What You Can Do With Your Radio Once Licensed

When you pass your test you will receive your license and your own call letters in the mail. Once you have your new license, radio and antenna, you can start talking around the country and the entire planet. In the 30 years I have been licensed, I have talked to someone in almost every country and island.

Ham radio is full of different awards you can go after and there seems to be a contest on almost every weekend. You will meet people of all walks of life and occupations and make life-long friends.

Many who got their ham radio license while still in school choose occupations in technology fields such as electronics, engineering, computers, aerospace and communications.

At times you can talk to the space station or space shuttle. You can use orbiting satellites to talk through or you can bounce your signals off of meteor trails.

You can use Morse code, voice and different types of digital communications. Ham radio operators are still needed in times of emergency when all other forms of communications are down. 

 

Getting Started in Ham Radio

Yaesu FT-450D by Alex Alfenas / Wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0

 

It doesn’t require a large sum of money to get started; you can find good used radios on various amateur radio web sites or E-bay at good prices.

Building your own antenna is what many hams do. Building your own antennas is one of the more enjoyable challenges of the hobby. There is a great feeling in building your antennas and then talking across the country and world with what you built.

To start with, there are simple and low cost antennas you can build out of copper wire. All you need is copper wire, coax cable and the plans of the antenna you want to build. Simple antennas to build include a dipole antenna or possible a delta loop.

Amateur radios can range from affordable to very expensive. To get started there are many used ham radios you can find on eBay or through other ham operators. There are also some affordable new ham radios like the Yaesu FT-450D with a current price of $700.


© 2009 Sam Montana