Just passed my Technicians exam tonight

[Railman]

After reading some posts on OB a couple weeks ago about Ham radios, I decided to stop putting it off any longer and figure out how to get a license. So after about a week and a half of studying the answers I took the test tonight and passed with only one wrong answer. I encourage anyone who is on the fence to try this to just do it. The study material is readily available.

Now do I understand any of it? NO! But, I am going to figure it out. I flew through the test in about 10 min. and they encouraged me to take the General exam. I did reluctantly knowing I would fall on my face. AND I DID! I do feel like kind of a fraud, passing the test and not really know much about what I studied. So where is a good place to learn what I need to know.? I have visited several sites and watched some videos but most of it was over my head at the time. I do now know some of the terms and will probably be able to follow along better. I would love some advice on where to go now to figure this all out.

 

[TerryD]

Your local Amateur radio club is the perfect place to learn more! You'll learn a lot about effectively communicating and the theory that our gear works on. I spent this evening with a great group of guys, talking about our different projects and upcoming Emergency training exercises and then making fun of each other.

Read the license manuals that the ARRL publishes, they are full of good info, you can also spring for the Handbook, which got a full revamp for next year. Plus finding projects you are interested in and trying some of them out. Maybe get a hand held and go listen to a FM satelitte pass. SO-50 and AO-85 (I think, have to check my notes) are very easy to receive and amsat.org has all the info you need to get started.

Find some nets in your area and start listening to them and then join in. There is a LOT to learn and do. Wednesday night I'll be sending e-mails to our state ARES coordinator via airwaves (no internet) and then Thursday me and two other guys are working on doing some local e-mails from our vehicles for use in the Simulated Emergency Training in October with our club station here in town. We are also working on implementing a 2.4GHz network around town using repurposed Linksys routers to handle emergency traffic and possibly support a VoIP phone system in the future that fall into the Amateur portion of the 2.4GHz band.

Start studying for your General, things get to be more fun when you can use more of HF than just a few KHz of 10m.

 

[Railman]

Your local Amateur radio club is the perfect place to learn more! You'll learn a lot about effectively communicating and the theory that our gear works on. I spent this evening with a great group of guys, talking about our different projects and upcoming Emergency training exercises and then making fun of each other.

Read the license manuals that the ARRL publishes, they are full of good info, you can also spring for the Handbook, which got a full revamp for next year. Plus finding projects you are interested in and trying some of them out. Maybe get a hand held and go listen to a FM satelitte pass. SO-50 and AO-85 (I think, have to check my notes) are very easy to receive and amsat.org has all the info you need to get started.

Find some nets in your area and start listening to them and then join in. There is a LOT to learn and do. Wednesday night I'll be sending e-mails to our state ARES coordinator via airwaves (no internet) and then Thursday me and two other guys are working on doing some local e-mails from our vehicles for use in the Simulated Emergency Training in October with our club station here in town. We are also working on implementing a 2.4GHz network around town using repurposed Linksys routers to handle emergency traffic and possibly support a VoIP phone system in the future that fall into the Amateur portion of the 2.4GHz band.

Start studying for your General, things get to be more fun when you can use more of HF than just a few KHz of 10m.

Thanks for the quick response. Lots of good info there. I am going to start on the General exam this week. I have talked my wife into at least taking the Tech exam, so I am having her get ready for that and hopefully we can go take our respective tests together.

 

[taliv]

So where is a good place to learn what I need to know.? I have visited several sites and watched some videos but most of it was over my head at the time. I do now know some of the terms and will probably be able to follow along better. I would love some advice on where to go now to figure this all out.

i'd start by being a little more specific about your goals. if you got your license so you can communicate practically with specific people (e.g. trail rides, ARES/emergency situations, wilderness hikes/hunts) then what you need to know is very different from other goals like building your own antennae/radios, socializing with random contacts in other countries or the space station, doing fox-hunts, etc.

in the former case, you can mostly be focused on product knowledge and protocol; how to operate your gear and etiquette. In the latter, you're going to need to invest some time in theory of electronics, radio, etc.

for the former, my approach would be to survey the people you want to talk to and find out what they're using, then buy that, then start reading the list of features for the product, and start exploring the interesting ones and practicing. i think that would get me operational in the least amount of time. also, i recently discovered this site which is pretty cool http://www.4x4ham.com/

for the latter, probably depends on your background, but I would start with the aforementioned ARRL handbooks. they're not quick reads, but very informative. then i would attend a hamfest or look around on ebay or something and buy a bunch of used crap to tinker with whilst deciding what my ultimate setup would be. having some stuff to put your hands on and play with as you read the handbooks will help you understand and retain knowledge.

i'd also try to make local contacts asap. look up your local repeater clubs, or ARES club coordinator or university ham club and invite them to dinner. pro tip: they are probably big fans of all-you-can-eat buffets

 

[TerryD]

i'd start by being a little more specific about your goals. if you got your license so you can communicate practically with specific people (e.g. trail rides, ARES/emergency situations, wilderness hikes/hunts) then what you need to know is very different from other goals like building your own antennae/radios, socializing with random contacts in other countries or the space station, doing fox-hunts, etc.

in the former case, you can mostly be focused on product knowledge and protocol; how to operate your gear and etiquette. In the latter, you're going to need to invest some time in theory of electronics, radio, etc.

for the former, my approach would be to survey the people you want to talk to and find out what they're using, then buy that, then start reading the list of features for the product, and start exploring the interesting ones and practicing. i think that would get me operational in the least amount of time. also, i recently discovered this site which is pretty cool http://www.4x4ham.com/

for the latter, probably depends on your background, but I would start with the aforementioned ARRL handbooks. they're not quick reads, but very informative. then i would attend a hamfest or look around on ebay or something and buy a bunch of used crap to tinker with whilst deciding what my ultimate setup would be. having some stuff to put your hands on and play with as you read the handbooks will help you understand and retain knowledge.

i'd also try to make local contacts asap. look up your local repeater clubs, or ARES club coordinator or university ham club and invite them to dinner. pro tip: they are probably big fans of all-you-can-eat buffets

Our local club has two meetings a month. One is club business and the second is an activity night with more of a show and tell nature about it. We've also had visitors we've helped get on the air and shown people how to setup their gear or use a new mode.

We do go out to supper as a group after the business meeting but it's best to have eaten before the activity night, you never know how long it'll run!

To expand on my last comment, join the "100 watts and a wire" facebook group. They were a huge inspiration for me and a handful of other locals when it came to upgrading and also finding out what others are doing out there. I don't think they can replace a good local club but the enthusiasm they generally have helps keep you interested.

 

[9K2KA]

Congratulation ! With practice you will learn to make proper QSO, and local ham clubs + Arrl books that you can get them online

Welcome to the 0.2% of the world

De 9K2KA

73's

 

[Prerunner1982]

Congrats. A lot of the stuff you will learn as you go. You might also check out http://www.kb6nu.com/study-guides/ , the Technician study guide is free and though you have already passed the test the study guide isn't just question and answer so it may help you understand the info a little more.....maybe not.

 

[Railman]

i'd start by being a little more specific about your goals. if you got your license so you can communicate practically with specific people (e.g. trail rides, ARES/emergency situations, wilderness hikes/hunts) then what you need to know is very different from other goals like building your own antennae/radios, socializing with random contacts in other countries or the space station, doing fox-hunts, etc.

in the former case, you can mostly be focused on product knowledge and protocol; how to operate your gear and etiquette. In the latter, you're going to need to invest some time in theory of electronics, radio, etc.

for the former, my approach would be to survey the people you want to talk to and find out what they're using, then buy that, then start reading the list of features for the product, and start exploring the interesting ones and practicing. i think that would get me operational in the least amount of time. also, i recently discovered this site which is pretty cool http://www.4x4ham.com/

for the latter, probably depends on your background, but I would start with the aforementioned ARRL handbooks. they're not quick reads, but very informative. then i would attend a hamfest or look around on ebay or something and buy a bunch of used crap to tinker with whilst deciding what my ultimate setup would be. having some stuff to put your hands on and play with as you read the handbooks will help you understand and retain knowledge.

i'd also try to make local contacts asap. look up your local repeater clubs, or ARES club coordinator or university ham club and invite them to dinner. pro tip: they are probably big fans of all-you-can-eat buffets

Great advice. I checked out the 4X4ham.com. I will definitely be spending some time over there. Thanks so much

 

[Railman]

Our local club has two meetings a month. One is club business and the second is an activity night with more of a show and tell nature about it. We've also had visitors we've helped get on the air and shown people how to setup their gear or use a new mode.

We do go out to supper as a group after the business meeting but it's best to have eaten before the activity night, you never know how long it'll run!

To expand on my last comment, join the "100 watts and a wire" facebook group. They were a huge inspiration for me and a handful of other locals when it came to upgrading and also finding out what others are doing out there. I don't think they can replace a good local club but the enthusiasm they generally have helps keep you interested.

Thanks for the "100 watts and a wire" group suggestion. Waiting for my approval...............