Technician Class License

The beginner license class is the Technician Class. The FCC Element for this class is element 2. This license allows voice communication on a small segment of the amateur 10 meter band using Single Sideband (SSB) as well as all amateur priviledges above 50 megaherts (Mhz). While long distance communications is common on 10 meters and it relies on atmospheric conditions and susnspots, it is rare about 50 Mhz, which is more line-of-sight communications. There are always excetpions to the normal propagation characteristics of frequencies. Operation while in certain foreign countries is also allowed where "reciprocal opearting privileges" are available.

General License

The General Class license Exam, element 3 and the license builds on the privileges granted to Technician Class operators and adds a vast amound of frequency spectrum below 30 Mhz where long distance and most international communication occurs. There are hams in MOST countries of the world and you are allowed to talk to most of them, with just a few exceptions. Some countries have also entered into agreements that allow 3rd party communication between hams in those countries. You must either be licensed already or pass the element 2 exam before you can take the element 3 exam. You are welcome to take both elemnts 2 and 3 at the same session but you must pass element 2 to take element 3.

Amateur Extra Class License

The Amateur Extra Class license, after passing element 4, is the highest class in the USA. The privileges include operation on ALL Frequencies and modes applicable to Hams anywhere in the USA. You must either have a General class license or pass element 2 and 3 exams before you are eligible to sit for the element 4 exam. You are welcome to take all three at once but they must be taken and passed in number sequence. We have had about a half dozen candidates come in with nothing and walk out with a CSCE for Amateur Exra class after having passed all three elements.

There are many different ways people learn, some learn better by reading, some by seeing, some by sheer practice and some need a formal course to pass exams and many of us learn through a combination of those methods. We encourage you to at least buy one of the license manuals so you get some idea of the scope of the hobby.

Ecconomically speaking, $15-$35.00 for a book that lets you see what it is all about is cheaper than the $14.00 exam fee plus the $35.00 application fee so it is an ecconomical decision.

Ham radio is often referred to as a fraternity and it is the biggest fraternity on Earth with members in vertually every nation on the globe. The American Radio Relay League, (ARRL) is the National Association for Amateur Radio and they sell license manuals for each class of ham radio exam. Most of our VEs are ARRL members and our CVE, Robbie AD3L is a 50 year life member.

Gordon West also sells books about just about everything related to radio.

All the license manuals are available at all ham radio stores as well as Amazon.com and some bookstore. Just make sure you are buying the most current version. As the quesion pools change, questions are added and deleted so out-of-date license manuals might be teaching you obselete regulations or leaving out content that you will need. The ham radio stores are much more likely to be selling only the most current editions.

The local store in Delaware is Ham Radio Outlet in Parkway Plaza on Dupont Highway near New Castle. If you hear a ham saying he is on the way to the "candy store", it means he is heading to his local ham radio store.

During our exam sessions, you are welcome and often encouraged to keep going until you fail an exam level. If you come in with no license and pass Element 2, we will encourage you to take element 3. There is no extra exam fee for taking successive elements provided you pass the previous exam. You will see your score as soon as the exam is electronically graded. If you passed with flying colors, we STRONGLY encourage you to try the next level, even if you never opened a book or looked at a question. We have a surprising number of applicants who take element 2, continue and pass element 3. If you just squeaked by, we may sugest you study and come back to the next session for the upgrade. Element four "seperates the men from the boys" so to speak, Unless you are an electronics engineer or have a similar background, you are very unlikely to pass element 4 without studying the material but we won't usually prevent you from giving it a try. At very least it is a free look at what the exam is like.

If you fail but just by a couple of questions, you have the option of trying again but VEC policy is, you need to pay the exam fee again and re-register so the records are accurate. You VE team can advise if they think you are wasting your time and money or have a better-than-average chance of passing it the second time, most of us have been at this testing game for quite some time and have seen a LOT of scenarios happen. Nothing pleases us more than to see someone come in with nothing and leave with a CSCE for the Amateur Extra Class. We call that the grand slam or zero to hero!

One big advantage of using Examtools is, they make all the adjustments to the questions they us on your exam as sloon as they are announced, whereas teams who do it the hard way and generate their own questions may not get the memo and you could have a question that was supposed to have been deleted for one reason or the other and it could possibly void your exam if not caught.