Make it easier to get into? I’ve wanted to for years but when I looked into studying for the test (which can only be taken in another city in my state and only a few times a year), I found a like 4 hour long video and when I tried watching it it was like someone speaking a foreign language. I don’t have a ton of free time to study for the test and it seems like I need to already be a master electrician to even study for the test.
So yeah, maybe don’t make it so difficult and more people might want to get into it?
My country just introduced a super-beginners license that can be done with basic high school physics. Of course, severe limitations, basically, a “Baofeng license”. Still great idea.
10W at 2m, 70cm and 10m. Except for the 10m, which I have never heard anyone use (*), that fits pretty well with the idea of giving high school kids an aliexpress handheld to get them into STEM.
The ugly part is, you need to do the same regulatory and legal questionnaire that you need to do for the larger licenses.
“N Lizenz” in Germany, for reference
(*) I just remembered that 10m is basically CB, but Ham. So if you find/inherit an old CB radio and want to experiment, it might be a really cheap way into the hobby.
I do agree that the test itself could be tuned down a bit, especially for the tech license. hamstudy.org also has all of the test questions available online to help you study.
Are you eligible for a US license? HamStudy.org and study for the Technician’s license. Memorize the answers. Then when you are passing practice exams with a solid 80% or better, schedule your remote exam through the HamStudy website, take it, then get on the air.
I did my Tech from a beachside resort in the Philippines during the peak of the pandemic.
I’m intensely jealous of people who couldn’t work during COVID (well more specifically those who could manage or were being paid still). Working at a grocery apparently makes you as essential as a doctor or nurse…
I had been looking for remote testing since about 2018 because personal circumstances had me moving about quite a bit. Possibly there were some options back then, but I had not been able to find it; Covid certainly made that widely available. As soon as I had discovered it, I booked my appointment and studied/memorized.
Covid was a tough time for many, and a tragedy for others. I am thankful for folks, like you, who worked during that difficult global time, to ensure access to food went basically uninterrupted.
I love hamstudy’s algorithm, that it feeds you back questions you missed later. I actually contacted them once to see if they could maybe also do aviation knowledge tests (which are formatted almost exactly like amateur radio tests; they’re both government ABC tests) but we tripped over a source for the question pool, the FAA doesn’t publish it.
It’s a great algorithm called spaced repetition. I use the method so much I discovered Anki (and its parent site Anki Web) to do a ton of university studies. There’s a small learning curve, but once you get it, you can make all sorts of flash cards with fine grain detail for spaced repetition.
As for the FAA, once you are past PPL, Sheppard Air is pretty much the golden standard, only there is no space repetition in their system.
This exactly. My brother keeps trying to get me into it. It’s hard to even take the test let alone how boring it is to study for. I want someone who’s passionate about it to explain it to me. I also have hella ADHD so that’s a factor for me personally lol.
At least when my brother talks about it he’s excited but his ADHD is unmedicated so I still don’t know much because we start talking about that but then we somehow end up replacing a window or something and have no idea how we got there… Lmao
Make it easier to get into? I’ve wanted to for years but when I looked into studying for the test (which can only be taken in another city in my state and only a few times a year), I found a like 4 hour long video and when I tried watching it it was like someone speaking a foreign language. I don’t have a ton of free time to study for the test and it seems like I need to already be a master electrician to even study for the test.
So yeah, maybe don’t make it so difficult and more people might want to get into it?
My country just introduced a super-beginners license that can be done with basic high school physics. Of course, severe limitations, basically, a “Baofeng license”. Still great idea.
Lol, I like the idea of a Baofeng license. 🤣
10W at 2m, 70cm and 10m. Except for the 10m, which I have never heard anyone use (*), that fits pretty well with the idea of giving high school kids an aliexpress handheld to get them into STEM.
The ugly part is, you need to do the same regulatory and legal questionnaire that you need to do for the larger licenses.
“N Lizenz” in Germany, for reference
(*) I just remembered that 10m is basically CB, but Ham. So if you find/inherit an old CB radio and want to experiment, it might be a really cheap way into the hobby.
I have a set of Baofeng type radios but no idea how to really use it yet.
As always, the answer is “it depends” :D
Feel free to PM me or ask in a new post
I can’t trouble you or anyone with that, lol, I have zero knowledge, it would be like teaching a toddler.
You do realize that this hobby consists of nerds and pensioners, who sometimes spend thousands on being able to talk to other nerds?
If anything, you might need to politely stop people from over-sharing all the cool stuff they made… :D
LMAO, very very fair point. 🤣
If you’re in the US, you can test online! https://hamstudy.org/sessions/remote
I do agree that the test itself could be tuned down a bit, especially for the tech license. hamstudy.org also has all of the test questions available online to help you study.
Thanks, I’ll try to remember to check this out after work!
Are you eligible for a US license? HamStudy.org and study for the Technician’s license. Memorize the answers. Then when you are passing practice exams with a solid 80% or better, schedule your remote exam through the HamStudy website, take it, then get on the air.
I did my Tech from a beachside resort in the Philippines during the peak of the pandemic.
You can do it!
I’m intensely jealous of people who couldn’t work during COVID (well more specifically those who could manage or were being paid still). Working at a grocery apparently makes you as essential as a doctor or nurse…
Great advice though, sir or madam.
I had been looking for remote testing since about 2018 because personal circumstances had me moving about quite a bit. Possibly there were some options back then, but I had not been able to find it; Covid certainly made that widely available. As soon as I had discovered it, I booked my appointment and studied/memorized.
Covid was a tough time for many, and a tragedy for others. I am thankful for folks, like you, who worked during that difficult global time, to ensure access to food went basically uninterrupted.
I love hamstudy’s algorithm, that it feeds you back questions you missed later. I actually contacted them once to see if they could maybe also do aviation knowledge tests (which are formatted almost exactly like amateur radio tests; they’re both government ABC tests) but we tripped over a source for the question pool, the FAA doesn’t publish it.
It’s a great algorithm called spaced repetition. I use the method so much I discovered Anki (and its parent site Anki Web) to do a ton of university studies. There’s a small learning curve, but once you get it, you can make all sorts of flash cards with fine grain detail for spaced repetition.
As for the FAA, once you are past PPL, Sheppard Air is pretty much the golden standard, only there is no space repetition in their system.
This is helpful advice, thank you.
This exactly. My brother keeps trying to get me into it. It’s hard to even take the test let alone how boring it is to study for. I want someone who’s passionate about it to explain it to me. I also have hella ADHD so that’s a factor for me personally lol.
Oh same here. It’s a struggle to listen to a monotone voice talk about numbers and electrical terms I’m completely unfamiliar with.
At least when my brother talks about it he’s excited but his ADHD is unmedicated so I still don’t know much because we start talking about that but then we somehow end up replacing a window or something and have no idea how we got there… Lmao